We are thinking of a move to toledo (Columbus, Cincinnati: crime rates, houses)

[dzolkowski]

What areas of the city nice areas for families?

thank you for your help

[paintballer1708]

Toledo has some nice suburbs. Sylvania, Berkey, Maumee, Perrysburg and Northwood.

[Big Time]

I strongly suggest you do not move to Toledo, but if you do pick Sylvania. It's the most upscale, and upscale in Toledo don't cost much so live the high life. Maumee and Perrysburg are OK but really only have a nice tree canopy along the Maumee River--most homes there are built on old corn fields and have little stick trees. Much of Sylvania is heavily wooded, carved out of old forest.

[vader]

Along with Paintballers suggestions, I would throw in Old Orchard which is a nice area within city limits or Point Place. The most upscale place in the metro is actually Ottawa Hills, its also the pricest. The Old West End is nice and offers alot of house for reasonable prices but the trade off is crime rates are bit higher. Toledo itself historically has had a terrible job market and is heavily tied to the struggling auto industry. On a positive note there is more investment going on in the city than usual.

Ive been in Toledo long enough to tell a Polish name when I see it, t-town has a huge Polish population.

[cseahawk]

Alright.....kinda sick of people bashing Toledo(this means you big time wherever you're from). I've lived here pretty much my entire life.......I've been to NYC, Chicago,Detroit,LA(OC mostly),Lived in Houston for a bit,and Tampa area. It's a great city..........just to let you know right now that people here have this "disease" that if they were BORN in the city, they have a negative opinion of it. Don't ask me why........I was born in Defiance(nice smaller town) which seems to be why I don't have the "Toledo SUCKS" mentality. I have friends from the Detroit area, Baltimore, and couple of other cities that LOVED Toledo. It's a GREAT(stress again).....GREAT place to raise a family. The Old west end is a nice area.......the WEST end is a good area........the entire area area south of Arlington/woodsdale is good. Northwest section of the city is quite nice also.........most if not all of the area north and west of Lewis/Sylvania is good. There are some great prices for houses in the areas I mentioned. The best High Schools in the city itself are Start and Bowsher......Rogers is also good. The private High schools for Toledo are VERY good..........St. Francis and St. Johns(Boys only), St. Ursula and Notre Dame Academies(girls only), and Central Catholic(coed). Cardinal Strich on East side also good.<p><br> I personally would recommend AGAINST Sylvania......nice area but quite snobbish and the kids and people living there reflect it(Sylvania Township isn't that bad though). Ottawa Hills is very snobbish.....they've had numerous problems regarding the way they deal with NON-white people driving through there, walking through there, etc..............if you're white and actually LIVE inside the village, you're OK..............otherwise no matter what color you are, watch out for tickets,etc. Whitehouse,Waterville, and Monclova township are south and west of Toledo............very upscale area, lots of PRICEY homes, very good schools(Anthony Wayne School district....graduated from there but also went to Start so have varied experiences). Can be OK but upper class attitude is starting to permeate those areas. If you have any other questions, PM me. Hope this helps.........

[OneWayOut]

Now, I'm not bashing Toledo this time, before we get started. However, I would have to recommend against it also, to a point.

It really depends on why you are moving here. If you already have employment opportunities here, then more power. The job market is not that great, so if you are just moving here to move here, it will not be easy.

It's not all bad here. I would say if you have a family, Sylvania, Perrysburg, Monclova, Waterville, and Maumee are all low-crime, suburban, family-oriented areas, and are nice to live in.

Most of the "things to do" here are also family-oriented. Hope you like OSU, it takes this place over during football season. We also have 7 month long winters, lots of road construction, Lake Erie, and Cedar Point.

I personally think there are more negatives for me here than positives. I am moving out. If the above applies to you, more power, you will like it here.

[paintballer1708]

I love how people say that most here in Ohio are BUCKEYE FANS. It's true, there are a lot, but not like people live off it or something. Many that have moved here bring in their teams passion with them. There are many from Detroit and Pittsburgh down here in Cincinnati. Lots of Lions and Steeler fans. Ohio State is a great team that has won many national championships. If you go to Texas its the Longhorns, Pennsylvania its Penn State, California its USC, Florida its Florida State, and Michigan its Michigan State. If you go to these states you will see a big fan base for their teams. Its a national thing, and IMHO i think its great that people support their state teams.

[OneWayOut]

Originally Posted by paintballer1708

I love how people say that most here in Ohio are BUCKEYE FANS. It's true, there are a lot, but not like people live off it or something. Many that have moved here bring in their teams passion with them. There are many from Detroit and Pittsburgh down here in Cincinnati. Lots of Lions and Steeler fans. Ohio State is a great team that has won many national championships. If you go to Texas its the Longhorns, Pennsylvania its Penn State, California its USC, Florida its Florida State, and Michigan its Michigan State. If you go to these states you will see a big fan base for their teams. Its a national thing, and IMHO i think its great that people support their state teams.

It really amazes me how this area changes every year in football season. It really seems like people do live off of it sometimes. I saw some guy driving around the other day with what looked like OSU magnets on just about every panel of his car, OSU flags in each window, etc... Its all people will talk about right now. This place really changes shape, especially when the OSU/Michigan gets going.

It's not a bad thing, I do enjoy a good football game. Just could not get into it like some of these people do. Steelers fan myself...

[RichS]

Come on down to Columbus if you REALLY want to "catch the fever"!! LOL

I happen to be one of those ones who really is a Buckeye-nut (Woody Hayes shrine in my office and all). But if you have never had the opportunity to attend a game down here, I highly recommend it. BUT, VERY IMPORTTANT... you need to go with someone who is familiar with the traditions and make an entire day of it.

Visit the Buckeye Grove, go to the Band's skull session, visit Hineygate, tailgate with the best darn fans in the land. It really is more of an "event" than a game.

And if you don't get goosebumps when the band takes the field at the beginning of the game... you will never be a true Buckeye fan. BUT.... if you attend... after understanding the traditions... and you DO get goosebumps... you have discovered a part of yourself that will be a part of you the rest of your life.

Short story. My wife went to UT. Nice school; has football on Saturdays but not anything super great (with the exception of the years Wasean Tait was there). She moved here after graduation. She backed the Buckeyes, but never really understood the mania around the football team. Until she met me, that is!! LOL

I took her down to the Spring Game (spring intra-squad scrimmage). 70,000 people showed up to watch a scrimmage!! She started to understand. Then, I took her to her first game at the Stadium. We sat just above the tunnel where the band takes the field. When the Drum Major exploded out of the tunnel, she literally broke down into tears, the emotion was so high. She was cheering louder than me for the rest of the game!!

She has been as much a Buckeye nut as I, ever since. We even scheduled our wedding day on the only "off-Saturday" in the fall... some may think we are nuts... and I agree... but that's just the way it is.

So if you don't understand the hype, I would invite you down to enjoy a Football Saturday in Columbus. If you don't become a big fan... so be it. But after experiencing it... you will certainly understand why others are "that way" LOL.

[paintballer1708]

That was a great story and a great way of putting it, Rich. BTW, do we play Michigan in Ann Arbor or in Columbus? Im praying its Columbus.