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Just this evening I was out in the area of Delhi (near or possibly IN the Oak Hills SD) that has those big sprawling mid-century ranch houses on large, flat lots--not necessarily what the OP would want, but a neighborhood that I always think looks exactly like parts of Amberly. I would venture that many east-siders don't even know anything like that exists out there. (OP, Amberly is an older suburban neighborhood which I think most people would describe as upscale and prestigious.)
So happy so many of you are weighing in on the inadvisability of the Loveland commute. That's got to be one of the more disturbing ideas from a newcomer I've read on this board in a while!
I asked if it was an "insane commute"? So not sure how that qualifies as a disturbing idea.
With that said, a lot of the teachers and faculty must be insane because several live in Mason, Loveland and some even in Kings. They are all saying about 45 min. They say 275 west at 7:30 AM isn't bad. If any of you find this inaccurate, please advise. I was hoping to be in a 30 min commute, have nice conveniences close by, a home that is a good investment in a top notch school system that my four children can grow into and enjoy for the next 15 years.
I asked if it was an "insane commute"? So not sure how that qualifies as a disturbing idea.
With that said, a lot of the teachers and faculty must be insane because several live in Mason, Loveland and some even in Kings. They are all saying about 45 min. They say 275 west at 7:30 AM isn't bad. If any of you find this inaccurate, please advise. I was hoping to be in a 30 min commute, have nice conveniences close by, a home that is a good investment in a top notch school system that my four children can grow into and enjoy for the next 15 years.
Sometimes in a metro area this large, people end up with jobs a long distance from where they bought a home some years before, and end up with a long commute that way. I wonder if that applies to any of the people you've spoken with, because it's not as if there aren't plenty of nice residential areas in or adjoining the Oak Hills SD. I also would have some concerns about the after-school work teachers are often called on to do, making the work day itself pretty long sometimes.
And I certainly have been bringing some strong personal opinions about commuting to bear, based on my own experiences growing up with a father who had such a drive to work (far northwest Hamilton county to Evendale) that back in the 1960s he left home before daylight in the winter, returned home after dark, was exhausted and it really cut into any quality time I might have had with him in the evenings. In my personal working career I had some pretty large variations in the length of my own commute, and I've always thought ANY time I could spend elsewhere than in a car was time better spent.
So, your own priorities for your time certainly may vary from mine. I only hope that based on the commentary on the thread that you do give some of the areas near your job a look. If you don't find something that looks like it would meet your family's needs, then by all means, choose an area that does.
Sometimes in a metro area this large, people end up with jobs a long distance from where they bought a home some years before, and end up with a long commute that way. I wonder if that applies to any of the people you've spoken with, because it's not as if there aren't plenty of nice residential areas in or adjoining the Oak Hills SD. I also would have some concerns about the after-school work teachers are often called on to do, making the work day itself pretty long sometimes.
And I certainly have been bringing some strong personal opinions about commuting to bear, based on my own experiences growing up with a father who had such a drive to work (far northwest Hamilton county to Evendale) that back in the 1960s he left home before daylight in the winter, returned home after dark, was exhausted and it really cut into any quality time I might have had with him in the evenings. In my personal working career I had some pretty large variations in the length of my own commute, and I've always thought ANY time I could spend elsewhere than in a car was time better spent.
So, your own priorities for your time certainly may vary from mine. I only hope that based on the commentary on the thread that you do give some of the areas near your job a look. If you don't find something that looks like it would meet your family's needs, then by all means, choose an area that does.
Thank you for showing your insight on this. Commute times definitely effect the family, personal time, expenses and of course the risk of accidents.
Yes, I would say most people (perhaps teachers at my school) are making long commute times out of there current circumstance. My situation would be a choice.
I will certainly look around the Oak Hills district and Delhi area and consider it for my family. Perhaps my view will change. My reasons for preferring the East side range from petty to very important.
Petty: I like well maintained, clean and "done up" towns and shopping areas. I'd live in Mintgomery or Hyde Park if I could afford it. Loveland is a good compromise. I do not enjoy driving through crummy areas of town to get home or when going to the city center. l would like to be in an area with well maintained roads. Tennessee roads are like driving on glass! Some of Cincy's roads look third world (Northside). I hope to find a neighborhood with a park like setting. So as much as people like Mason (well manicured grass with a few saplings planted around to mask the former cow field) it is not for me. Loveland, Milford and Amberly, North Avondale have this in spades. Perhaps areas of Oak Hills do as well? My wife is a shopper and likes nice clean grocery stores and shopping malls. She is right at home in the Kenwood Mall.
Important: Top schools for my four children with a small community feel (Mason and Lakota are too big). We like character homes which rules out any mid century builds. Give me 1890-1930 or 1990-Present. I would like a good investment area for real estate that has a decent economy. From what I've been told this excludes West Chester or areas that are on the decline. I'd like a 30 minute drive to the city with conveniences near by and some good parks in the area. As much as I like Hyde Park, we need a quiet street in a subdivision with children 3-10yrs around and we really like having a community pool. My kids also love trees, streams and the outdoors. Walking trails and nearby biking trails are a bonus.
Any neighborhoods with an area that offers a lot On my list?
A few things jumped out for me from your very comprehensive posting. First, largely due to the terrain, Cincinnati is a patchwork of small neighborhoods, and no matter where you settle, to avoid driving through less desirable neighborhoods to get downtown will be basically unavoidable. North Avondale on your list jumped out at me because it's more or less surrounded by some of the worst, most crime-ridden neighborhoods in Cincinnati that you would drive through to get anywhere, including Oak Hills. As beautiful as its homes are, the poorly rated Cincinnati SD is a problem (you'd need to find magnet schools) and it's not a place that would seem to meet other of your criteria at all.
Ill-maintained streets are just a fact of life here. I still haven't completely adjusted after coming from Fayette County, Kentucky 15 years ago.
There aren't a lot of shopping malls left in the area. Kenwood Mall is certainly a destination and one of the places I sometimes make a dedicated trip across town to get to. DItto for Rookwood and several east side restaurants.
I might have a few other thoughts that could be more helpful--what is your price range? One piece of advice I'd definitely give you is to be finding a good realtor right away so as to get as many things on your priority list as possible.
What about Hamilton? Numerous historic neighborhoods, nice parks, awesome bike trail along the river, and a downtown in the early stages of a renaissance. Schools are decent and probably some of the most diverse, economically and demographically, in the Cincinnati area. Houses are pretty affordable as well.
Some cons would be it is still a 30-40 minute commute for you, there is a notable lack of retail and restaurants in the city with most of that being 10-20 minutes east in Fairfield Township and West Chester Township, and some parts of the city are still quite rough. Still it would be worth checking out.
Thank you for showing your insight on this. Commute times definitely effect the family, personal time, expenses and of course the risk of accidents.
Yes, I would say most people (perhaps teachers at my school) are making long commute times out of there current circumstance. My situation would be a choice.
I will certainly look around the Oak Hills district and Delhi area and consider it for my family. Perhaps my view will change. My reasons for preferring the East side range from petty to very important.
Petty: I like well maintained, clean and "done up" towns and shopping areas. I'd live in Mintgomery or Hyde Park if I could afford it. Loveland is a good compromise. I do not enjoy driving through crummy areas of town to get home or when going to the city center. l would like to be in an area with well maintained roads. Tennessee roads are like driving on glass! Some of Cincy's roads look third world (Northside). I hope to find a neighborhood with a park like setting. So as much as people like Mason (well manicured grass with a few saplings planted around to mask the former cow field) it is not for me. Loveland, Milford and Amberly, North Avondale have this in spades. Perhaps areas of Oak Hills do as well? My wife is a shopper and likes nice clean grocery stores and shopping malls. She is right at home in the Kenwood Mall.
Important: Top schools for my four children with a small community feel (Mason and Lakota are too big). We like character homes which rules out any mid century builds. Give me 1890-1930 or 1990-Present. I would like a good investment area for real estate that has a decent economy. From what I've been told this excludes West Chester or areas that are on the decline. I'd like a 30 minute drive to the city with conveniences near by and some good parks in the area. As much as I like Hyde Park, we need a quiet street in a subdivision with children 3-10yrs around and we really like having a community pool. My kids also love trees, streams and the outdoors. Walking trails and nearby biking trails are a bonus.
Any neighborhoods with an area that offers a lot On my list?
Just have to say - "old" Mason (houses there look like they date to the '60s/'70s) has trees that are considerably larger than saplings. Of course those houses are also smaller by today's standards, and still don't meet your "1890s" character definition (though a few of the houses in "downtown" Mason look like they would by the amount of gingerbread and victoriana). Most of the newer subdivisions are on the outskirts of Mason or are really in Deerfield Township (people say Mason when they mean Deerfield all the time).
As far as your commute - some people are "drivers" some aren't. My father commuted about 1/2 hour (worse in bad traffic times) to work by choice his entire working career (40 years) and I have generally also chosen to live about 1/2 hour from work. Personally, I like the separation --- my "home" area is quite distinct from my "work" area.
Some people don't like that at all and want to live within either a 5 / 10 min drive of work or want to be able to "walk" to work. I think that's fine, but personally its never been my thing. Of course - coming from Metro Detroit - I come from a driving culture. I enjoy it. Even when sometimes the freeways are a bit clogged .. I still enjoy it.
So - ultimately - if you like to drive and know you can handle the commute - then pick the best area you can (given your conditions) within that range.
best of luck to your family - and congrats on the job!
Is there a reason that you need to be in Ohio? There is one "Mariemont of Northern Kentucky" with decent schools and old houses and a villagey lifestyle. I forget what it is though- Ft.Mitchell (with the Beechwood School System)? I think that commute would be easier than most of the better school districts in Ohio.
Is there a reason that you need to be in Ohio? There is one "Mariemont of Northern Kentucky" with decent schools and old houses and a villagey lifestyle. I forget what it is though- Ft.Mitchell (with the Beechwood School System)? I think that commute would be easier than most of the better school districts in Ohio.
I thought of that right away, too. It's not close to the OP's workplace and would mean navigating the worst of the I-75 rush hour, but it certainly sounds like the kind of area he's looking for. Property there isn't cheap, though, probably reflecting the aesthetics, the excellently rated schools and the proximity to downtown Cincinnati.
Just have to say - "old" Mason (houses there look like they date to the '60s/'70s) has trees that are considerably larger than saplings. Of course those houses are also smaller by today's standards, and still don't meet your "1890s" character definition (though a few of the houses in "downtown" Mason look like they would by the amount of gingerbread and victoriana). Most of the newer subdivisions are on the outskirts of Mason or are really in Deerfield Township (people say Mason when they mean Deerfield all the time).
As far as your commute - some people are "drivers" some aren't. My father commuted about 1/2 hour (worse in bad traffic times) to work by choice his entire working career (40 years) and I have generally also chosen to live about 1/2 hour from work. Personally, I like the separation --- my "home" area is quite distinct from my "work" area.
Some people don't like that at all and want to live within either a 5 / 10 min drive of work or want to be able to "walk" to work. I think that's fine, but personally its never been my thing. Of course - coming from Metro Detroit - I come from a driving culture. I enjoy it. Even when sometimes the freeways are a bit clogged .. I still enjoy it.
So - ultimately - if you like to drive and know you can handle the commute - then pick the best area you can (given your conditions) within that range.
best of luck to your family - and congrats on the job!
Good points. My longest work commute was 30 minutes, but it was through the beautiful horse farm country between Lexington and Frankfort, on a four lane highway that could get pretty crowded at times but 95% of the time the traffic moved along smoothly at about 55-60 mph. My hubby had the same commute, and both of us found it provided a good time to decompress after the workday. We didn't have kids at home, though.
So will Delhi/ Oak Hills meet the criteria in my above post? If it doesn't then I'm pretty much gonna have to be an East Sider. ive given up on old character homes. I'm just looking at homes built in the past 25 yrs in well kept subdivisions with neighborhood pools. I've found a few near 275.
This home is mid century but is in a great location right where 275 and 71 meets. How bad would this commute be at 7:15 departure? It's basically 275 all the way until my exit.
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Of course those houses are also smaller by today's standards, and still don't meet your "1890s" character definition (though a few of the houses in "downtown" Mason look like they would by the amount of gingerbread and victoriana). Most of the newer subdivisions are on the outskirts of Mason or are really in Deerfield Township (people say Mason when they mean Deerfield all the time).
