Toledo: Ottawa Hills vs. Sylvania vs Perrysburg for families (Cleveland: homes, best schools)

[harrismi]

My husband and I will be relocating our family from Denver (where we have lived for 15 years) to the Toledo area. We love Denver and are sad to go but my husband has accepted a position at UT. He grew up in Cleveland and I grew up in Minneapolis so we are familiar with the "midwest." We have visited Toledo several times and are trying to decide where to live. We would like to live in an area that has a lot of children (we have two, ages 3 years and 3 months) as well as activities for kids. We like Ottawa Hills because of its proximity to UT, but are also attracted to Perrysburg given the downtown area, shops, restaurants etc., and Sylvania is also attractive with nicer homes, good proximity to UT, and somewhat of a community feel. Taxes seem to be pretty high in all places, and the schools seem to be very good in each place too. Of course, Ottawa Hills had the best schools, but they seem so small that there may not be a lot going on there. Also, there is no rec center or outdoor pool in OH. People say that Toledoans like the country club lifestyle, but we're not sure that will fit well with us. Perhaps country clubs in Toledo are not as stuffy as they sound (Denver is not so big on country clubs). One other important item is proximity to trails for biking/running which we like to do. Sorry for the long posting but we are struggling with this decision!

[AnytimeAnywhere]

I don't think you will go wrong with any of your choices. Ottawa Hills, Perrysburg, and Sylvania are fine places to live. I can't really comment on the country club aspect. I don't know anybody that belongs to one. Toledo is more of a blue collar town anyhow.

The metro parks have trails. When I was in high school cross country, we used to run all over the metro parks in Toledo and the surrounding area. Hope this answers some of your questions.

[steveblaze98]

check your PMs

[SCBeaches]

Of the 3, I would choose Perrysburg if you like a sense of "town", meaning a downtown shopping area where you will get to know many people pretty fast. I grew up in Waterville which is another suburb of Toledo and it was a wonderful place for children to grow up in. Perrysburg Schools are very good....even if they WERE our (Anthony Wayne) rivals in sports!

[ottorocket]

I would go with Sylvania if I were you. It's a 10 to 15 minute drive to UT. There is access to the UT bike trail that runs from UT all the way out to Sylvania and has multiple access points. Sylvania is surrounded by metro parks like secor and wildwood as well. Pacesetter park and the quarry are great places for the kids. Downtown sylvania has some fun shops and a real local feel to it. Also, sylvania has quick access to a lot of larger shopping areas like westfield mall (5-10 min drive). The sylvania schools are great and there are a ton of families in the area.