P&G intern/perm hire: moving, housing with HS kids? (Cincinnati: extended stay, apartments)

[kjbrill]

I have to agree with Sarah Perry's advice to rent a place in Mason and give yourself time to explore Cincinnati and its neighborhoods to determine where you might want to live longer term.

There is a multi-story apartment complex literally right across the street from the Mason P&G facility. There are some others very near. I am not suggesting it at all for a long term location. But is is literally a roll out of bed and go to work at P&G. It is new enough should be in decent shape. The area has tons of restaurants, fast and more upward such as Mongolean Grill and Tai, taverns and sports bars, and a variety of shopping. Sounds like you will be here during the summer so buy those two younger sons Kings Island season passes since it is so close. They will think you are the greatest.

With a virtually zeo commute, you can walk there, use your non-working hours to explore Cincinnati and get an idea of where you would like to be should the permanent job pan out. With the internship you have a unique opportunity to take your time in getting to know Cincinnati wihout making a longer commitment. So many come here, do a whirlwind tour of the City, and make a binding commitment based on a brief exposure. You have the opportunity to not do that but take advantage of the summer to explore Cincinnati more in depth.

I know you are thinking of a house, but for the summer internship I advise against it. Believe me, if you get those two younger sons Kings Island passes you will never see them, providing you have the means to drop them off and pick them off.

I will not deny that once you get a taste of life in Mason you will consider it as a place to live. Just goes hand in hand with my personal philosophy of live where you work and work where you live. But that is my personal philosophy, not engrained in stone. I am just saying give yourself the maximum flexibility of exploring Cincinnati during your internship.

But recognize if you get those two younger kids Kings Island season passes, you will hve to be there to get them at the pickup area at the park's official closing time. I do not envision that as a problem.

Oh, I forgot to mention, welcome to Cincinnati. And number 2 welcome to Mason.

[runbaber]

Is there a specific reason you want a close-in suburb rather than a city neighborhood? Is it just the assumption that urban public schools are bad? Because that assumption is not necessarily accurate. For example, Cincinnati Public Schools boasts the highest ranked public high school in the state. And it starts at grade 7, so your kids could immediately start going to that school (Walnut Hills).

If schools are not the only reason you prefer to be just outside the city rather than inside it, let us know and it might help us guide you.

Sorry, I wasn't very clear in my original post. I would LOVE to find a city neighborhood that works for us. We are also pretty realistic about schools-- have had a whole spectrum of city/suburb school experiences. Not opposed to private but prefer public. Diversity ideal, honors options important, good soccer would be nice.


Thanks for the help so far!

[natininja]

Sarah Perry has what seems to me a reasonable idea to move to Mason and explore the options, though the kids might not like bouncing around schools. Might want to consult with them about that, though even if they agree to the idea of moving, they might change their minds once they make friends.

Since you are open to living in the city, that really opens a ton of options. The main concern at that point is keeping the commute reasonable. Since it's a "reverse commute", traffic is less of a concern than it would be otherwise, so you can get away with a bit more distance. Another advantage here is you have a wider array of options when you are looking to buy, without worrying about moving from the school district.

The other day, I saw this post on another forum, where someone claims to live downtown and commute to Mason in 25 minutes. Not suggesting you move downtown, but it gives an idea of how much you might be able to get away with in terms of keeping your commute under half an hour. Time of day and location in Mason might be extra aids for that person, I'm not sure.

There are a lot of nice east side neighborhoods (putting you closer to Mason), but Oakley stands out to me as somewhere you might look. It's not as expensive has Hyde Park (in many eyes the premier east side neighborhood), but is sort of like Hyde Park's little sister. That said, maybe you could even find something in Hyde Park; I admit I do not know the rental prices for houses or apartments, which is why I hedge. Pleasant Ridge is a less expensive option than those two.

Clifton would be a great option, though it you might start looking cross-eyed on the commute. It offers a more central location, diversity, and urban-type amenities than east side 'hoods. CUF has some really nice historic houses for rent, though it has a more transient population so the community feel is a bit less (and it shares the commute issue with Clifton). East Walnut Hills could be an option (which would be pretty great for your kids, if they went to Walnut Hills, the school I mentioned).

Since your kids are 7th grade or older, unless one of them is very artsy or you are interested in Montessori education, Walnut Hills is probably the city school you'd want to send them to. Other posters can correct me if I'm wrong, but it should be almost trivially easy to get them into the school, assuming they can pass a test which is designed to merely prove they are at grade level.

Not sure about the soccer situation anywhere, but someone else probably knows.

[runbaber]

So we are in town for the weekend, stayed in Mason overnight to get a feel for work and distance. Seems like a nice suburb. Today we're planning to go by UC on an unofficial visit for the HS junior (football) and check out city neighborhoods, starting with Walnut Hills (thank you natininja). I'm not trying to do all of Cincy in a day but would like to give them a good feel for the city. Anything you'd suggest?

Thanks again for all your help -- I feel welcome here already!

[natininja]

Keep in mind the solid distinction between Walnut Hills and East Walnut Hills.

I mentioned Walnut Hills for the high school located there, exclusively! Walnut Hills, the neighborhood, is in rather rough shape. East Walnut Hills is much better off; you could look there. Oakley and Clifton are neighborhoods I suggested for house hunting.

Now I am imagining you driving through Walnut Hills with a giant "WTF?!" expression on your face, thinking I should be thrown in the loony bin for suggesting it...

I admit I am not enormously familiar with East Walnut Hills, but I know it has some really nice housing stock and a fairly central location. It also has the reputation of being relatively safe, but Oakley and Hyde Park probably trump EWH on that measure. EWH and Clifton have more character in their housing options than Oakley, but Oakley is near Hyde Park, which consensus has as "the best family neighborhood" (not IMO, but it's the general consensus).

[goyguy]

Oddly, Walnut Hills High School is actually located in the adjacent Evanston neighborhood. But Walnut Hills itself does extend to the far side of Gilbert Ave, and the opposite side of Victory Parkway.
If the OP's name carries any connotations, she should be aware of Bob Roncker's Running Spot. Now that there are three (four?) locations it may qualify as a chain. But the original is in O'Bryonville on Madison Rd (right smack in between Hyde Park and East Walnut Hills.) Also, the oddly yet-to-be-mentioned Pleasant Ridge has a "social running" group of residents that bounds around their neighborhood early each Saturday morning and then adjourns to the local coffee shop. PR is yet another "Hyde Park alternative" community within the city limits, with easy connections to I-71. Here as elsewhere in Cincinnati, though, if the kids don't "test into" Walnut Hills they run the risk of having to attend the far inferior "district" high school.

[Sarah Perry]

The time I've spent on this site has made me wonder just what's involved in testing into Walnut Hills HS. Does anyone have stats on what percentage of students who take the test end up being actually admitted? Something I think would be illuminating.

[natininja]

Originally Posted by goyguy

the oddly yet-to-be-mentioned Pleasant Ridge

Originally Posted by natininja

Pleasant Ridge is a less expensive option

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by Sarah Perry

The time I've spent on this site has made me wonder just what's involved in testing into Walnut Hills HS. Does anyone have stats on what percentage of students who take the test end up being actually admitted? Something I think would be illuminating.

Yes, I agree. Somehow since it is far and away the premium HS in CPS in addition to being one of the best in the state, I find it somewhat difficult to accept such statements as just testing at grade level is all that is required to get accepted.

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

Yes, I agree. Somehow since it is far and away the premium HS in CPS in addition to being one of the best in the state, I find it somewhat difficult to accept such statements as just testing at grade level is all that is required to get accepted.

Well, this doesn't answer my question, but it should be of interest to newcomers to the area. Doesn't sound all that hard to get in for one year, but yields no information on how difficult it is to test in permanently.

http://www.walnuthillseagles.com/abo...nformation.asp