Relocating to Cincy from south Mississippi - help! (Cincinnati, Fairfield: middle-class, affordable apartments)

[LostGirl39465]

Hello all! (or y'all)
I just landed a great job in Cincinnati, but I'm a native Mississippian, so guess what?....I know nothing about Cincy. I hear it's a great city. I'm going to be apartment hunting there the week of the 25th.
What can you tell me about the Sharonville area and the Princeton High School?
My job will be close to that area, so it interests me.

I want to live near public transportation as well. Would love any advice anyone can offer. Need a good family-friendly home.

Many thanks!!
LostGirl

[goyguy]

He-e-e-e-e-e-yyyyy...you'll need to buy or borrow a nice heavy winter coat for your visit.
Your accent should not be an issue in Cincinnati. It's the "Gateway to the South," and thousands of people from "Miss'sippi" moved there during the Great Migration of the mid-twentieth century. As seems to be true everywhere I've been, the speech patterns are maintained even more faithfully by AA folks. I haven't heard expressions like "mash three for me" (in an elevator) for ages. But "y'all" is far from unusual.
The Princeton school district encompasses Sharonville as well as five other communities. It's not at the tip-top of the state academic rankings, but it's one of those places where students who really apply themselves can go as far in life as they want. (Among other Princeton grads, I know one who went on to MIT and then to UMich for graduate school and another who became a physician after earning her Bachelors degree at Smith.) The size of the student body, some 3000, lends itself well to extensive class offerings and plenty of AP courses. What attracts many families - and repels others - is its wide-ranging diversity. Heavily impoverished Lincoln Heights and old-money Glendale are within its boundaries.
Sharonville itself is mainly middle-class and contains some well-kept but aging apartment complexes. There are several newer rental "communities" in nearby Woodlawn (also in the Princeton school district), and Blue Ash to the east along with its neighbor Montgomery have the widest selection of all. The latter two cities are served by the Sycamore schools, which do fall within the highest academic rankings. You could also look a bit northward, in Fairfield and West Chester, for numerous apartment choices in school districts not dissimilar to Princeton.
Public transportation in Greater Cincinnati is famously mediocre, as is probably the case anywhere in Miss'sippi. Outside the city limits there are no bus lines other than a few which all originate downtown. So you need a car to travel pretty much anyplace east or west.
I'm just getting started, so hit us with all the questions you can think of.

[abr7rmj]

Welcome to Cincinnati!

Check out Wyoming. ... It's a great area close to Sharonville.

[Scott SW Ohio]

LostGirl, welcome to the city and to the forum. You'll find a lot of good information here. I was in central MS (Jackson and Natchez) this week and it's nice to be back home and out of the rain! I hope you were not affected by the storm that hit Hattiesburg.

I agree with goyguy - if you are based in Sharonville you might have trouble getting around if you are relying on public transit. The good news is that if you have a car Sharonville is convenient to the major highways (I-275, I-75, I-71) so getting around is pretty easy.

[austiNati]

Welcome to Cincy LostGirl. The area you're talking about is pretty much my stomping grounds. I didn't graduate from Princeton, but I grew up 1000 Ft. from the highschool in near-by Glendale, and most of my friends are in the Tri-County area. Sharonville is pretty much an industrial suburb, with residential areas in the corners of its boundaries. There's everything from uper-middle class subdivions, to mobile homes, to affordable apartments, I'd say it's pretty diverse as far as housing options go. To get more of a community feel, you'll want to stick around downtown Sharonville, along Main St. and up to the recreation center.

I am pretty sure that the Princeton city school district is one of the most diverse in the Cincy area. It's about 50% black, 50% everything else. I would attribute this to the strong economy within the district limits that attract people of all kinds of different backgrounds. I've grown to realise that this area is the true melting pot of Cincinnati as far as suburbs go. There is also a new highschool under construction that should be finished this year. The highschool recieved an Excellent Rating as well, however, there are some pretty hood students that attend there, but nothing extreme. Feel free to PM about any additional info, I'm really fond of this area :-)

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by Scott SW Ohio

LostGirl, welcome to the city and to the forum. You'll find a lot of good information here. I was in central MS (Jackson and Natchez) this week and it's nice to be back home and out of the rain! I hope you were not affected by the storm that hit Hattiesburg.

I agree with goyguy - if you are based in Sharonville you might have trouble getting around if you are relying on public transit. The good news is that if you have a car Sharonville is convenient to the major highways (I-275, I-75, I-71) so getting around is pretty easy.

I will go a bit further, public transit around Sharonville is almost nonexistent. Plan on some sort of motorized personal transportation. Once you are convinced you have to transport yourself, there are a variety of apartments you can select from. Forget Blue Ash, Montgomery, and Wyoming, they are all too expensive. Concentrate around Sharonville and Reading for an apartment you can afford while you are paying for that car you will definitely need.

[deg1114]

^
Public transportation in this area is few and far between. There are a few routes that may take you close to where you want to go but would still require some considerable walking. If your intention is to take the bus to work everyday, that may not be feasible.

Take a look at the area around Sharon Woods. It's a nice area near the park and the #67 bus runs through there. It may just fit your needs.

If you are unsure of whether the bus will run to where you need to go, the bus routes are available on Google maps.

[natininja]

Originally Posted by deg1114

^
If you are unsure of whether the bus will run to where you need to go, the bus routes are available on Google maps.

It's hard to follow bus routes onf Google Maps. go-metro.com is a better source.

Here's a link to the system map: http://www.go-metro.com/uploads/pdfs...Ciny%20Map.PDF

Maps and Schedules: Maps and Schedules: Cincinnati Metro - Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority

The 67, which covers Sharonville most extensively, has an awful schedule for most people. It only runs twice a day and only on weekdays, from what I can tell: http://www.go-metro.com/uploads/routes/RT67.pdf

If you want to use public transportation for most of your travels, you pretty much have to live and work in the city. One of the reasons for this is that the city is alone in funding bus operations. It gets no help from the county, so outside the city limits service is pretty thin.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by natininja

It's hard to follow bus routes onf Google Maps. go-metro.com is a better source.

Here's a link to the system map: http://www.go-metro.com/uploads/pdfs...Ciny%20Map.PDF

Maps and Schedules: Maps and Schedules: Cincinnati Metro - Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority

The 67, which covers Sharonville most extensively, has an awful schedule for most people. It only runs twice a day and only on weekdays, from what I can tell: http://www.go-metro.com/uploads/routes/RT67.pdf

If you want to use public transportation for most of your travels, you pretty much have to live and work in the city. One of the reasons for this is that the city is alone in funding bus operations. It gets no help from the county, so outside the city limits service is pretty thin.

I think most of your points are valid. However, if someone has already accepted a job in Sharonville I think it is a mute point concerning living in the City. Sharonville or nearby Evendale should have a suitable apartment. If the OP does not have a car, consider buying one. Look at a used Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, or similar small car with a history of longevity. If you stick close to work with the apartment, the cost of car operation is minimized.

[TornACL1212]

There are some decent apartment complexes in Sharonville, but I agree with one of the others about looking in Montgomery, Blue Ash or West Chester for better options and I would prefer the schools there over Princeton. No matter which you choose, public transportation is not really an option. Evendale is a great community, but you will not find apartments there because they do not have them.