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I did find this property though. It's Evendale but appears to be close to Blue Ash. I'm assuming not much is walking distance from it but any thoughts on that area?
That sure is a nicely updated house, and I definitely would not have expected such nice finishes based on the rather vanilla exterior. That being said, I do NOT love that area. That neighborhood is definitely not walkable to anything except the new Summit Park, maybe? It's also in Evendale, so you will not derive the benefits of the Blue Ash Rec Center. The Evendale Rec Center is quite lovely though. I also think your resale value there is definitely not as high as Blue Ash or Montgomery proper. It is on the very very edge of the Sycamore Schools district and is not near any grocery stores. You would have to live with Super Wal-Mart Also, that house is zoned to Princeton Schools. And although Princeton does have a well-regarded IB program, I don't know anybody who is moving to Cincy dying to get into that district, KWIM? I would be concerned about resale.
If you are truly considering Blue Ash, this house just came on the market. It is in a nice neighborhood with lots of kids and is very walkable to downtown Blue Ash. I myself walk in that neighborhood quite often while my daughter attends Mathnasium for the afternoon on Kenwood Rd.
I can't speak to the quality of the house itself as the pics the realtor posted are terrible. However, the location is great if you want walking distance to Blue Ash. One great thing about Blue Ash/Montgomery is the walkability factor. Every major thoroughfare (and many of the minor ones) have sidewalks. It is an easy bike ride from one end of town to other, too.
Last edited by cincy_native; 01-24-2015 at 05:28 PM..
I'm short on time, so I'll just point you to this spot that prob marks off all your criteria the best: Mason Ohio Homes For Sale & Mason Real Estate - Zillow
(If the link doesn't work properly its 5349 Hayden Ln. Condo #5)
If I have time I'll go into some detail about the other spots. Offhand #7, 9, 11, 14, and 15 make little sense, but the other locations are good places to look into more given your criteria and budget.
Good luck!
375k for a condo in mason? lol. You can get a much nicer house for under $230k in mason.
OP, I can get to the dayton airport or CVG airport from mason in 45 min. I have flexibility of 71 and 75 when going to downtown Cincy from mason.
Schools in Mason are top ranked.
Yes you need a car. The lack of a car should not be a reason to not be in Mason or west chester.
375k for a condo in mason? lol. You can get a much nicer house for under $230k in mason.
OP, I can get to the dayton airport or CVG airport from mason in 45 min. I have flexibility of 71 and 75 when going to downtown Cincy from mason.
Schools in Mason are top ranked.
Yes you need a car. The lack of a car should not be a reason to not be in Mason or west chester.
Yes, I concur. There is no reason to spend $375K for a condo in Mason, unless you are a square ft freak. Several nice condos in the development near me for a lot less than that. And not Plain Jane either.
I will agree the commute times are way over-inflated. Perhaps these people drive with two feet?
At our age, Mid-70s, we have a 14 year old car. Is it a necessity? Depends on your perspective.
In my perspective, considering its age, yes I am prepared to run it many more years. This is likely the division between our stature in life. SOB it, we are not likely to subscribe one way or the other.
^Actually it's $345k. And there are options in the community that hit closer to $300k, but I posted this because it met the bed/bath requirement.
Anyways, this condo is better because:
1. New build
2. In a community of million+ dollar homes
3. Walkscore of 52, right behind Deerfield Towne Center and its movie theater, restaurants and bars, Whole Foods, large gyms, etc.
4. SORTA bus stop - direct park and ride to downtown Cincy at Fountain Square within walking distance. Might come in handy for the wife.
So our move date is rapidly approaching. Wife leaves the East Coast for good within two weeks and I'll be following shortly thereafter. We will be staying with family for a while until we sell our house in NH. We are still targeting Loveland as our #1 area (primarily because of a walkable downtown, canoeing/kayaking on river, and bike trail) but we are exploring other areas more thoroughly. Once we get to Ohio, we're going to spend a lot of time testing out commutes and checking out how things have changed in the last 10 years since we left. I'm still concerned that the commute from Loveland to Wright Patt is going to be too much.
A few areas that we haven't driven through but that are on our radar are West Chester and Mason. I was poking around Google Maps tonight checking out Mason and was pleasantly surprised to find a handful of restaurants/bars (a few which seem to be of the non-chain variety) located on 42 (Reading Rd) north of Tylersville Rd. Specifically, it looks like there are quite a few restaurants (Thai, Chinese, Indian, Italian, Pizza) as well as an Irish Pub, a BW3, a bar/grill, and a nice local "organic-y" cafe.
Can anyone tell me about this area of Mason? kjbrill? You seem to be a Mason advocate. Are the neighborhoods immediately surrounding this area family-friendly and walkable with sidewalks? If you live within a mile from here, could you walk/bike to these establishments? What is the housing like in this area - new and cookie cutter or more established and older? Also, I remember someone saying that Mason has bike trails. Does anyone know of a map showing where these trails may run? I'd like to get a feel for where i could get to without a car in Mason if we decided to walk or bike somewhere.
Rent, in Loveland. Use the time to figure commutes and activities both near and far. You may end up buying in Loveland, you may not. As a note, I have a coworker who commutes from Anderson (Five-Mile Road Exit) to I-675 and OH-48. I would recommend, after speaking with him, that you plan to build time in during bad weather. If possible, invest in something with AWD, but for heaven's sake don't take a RWD coupe in the snow/rain. We have been lucky so far this year regarding weather (knock on wood) as Dayton at this point a year ago had 27 inches of snow (Oct-mid Jan). This year was something like 8 inches. And at least the construction on I-75 between Union Center and Monroe as well as Monroe and Spirngboro has been completed.
I would say Milford would be as far south as I would go. Probably more in your price range. Montgomery or Blue Ash, IMO would be best, but as has been discussed, it is for the most part above the OP's price point. If you do end up in or near downtown Loveland, try and find back-roads such as OH-48 from downtown Loveland through Maineville. Then take US-42 north to US-35 west. Take the first light and make a right onto Trebein Road. Take to either right on New Germany-Trebein Road to reach Area B, Col Glenn Hwy Office Complexes, and Pentagon Blvd Office Complexes. Continue north on Trebein to Dayton Yellow-Springs to reach gates for Area A. This dumps you next to the B Rd. Gate at its terminus. The Broad Street gate is a little north of that.
I recommend the above route because taking OH-48 through Lebanon and especially Clearcreek Township and downtown Centerville can be a bear in the morning with school traffic being a concern. Downtown Centerville always gets clogged at the OH-48 and south branch of OH-725 because the HS is just down the street. US-42 is freshly repaved and the only lights outside the Lebanon beltway are Utica Road outside Lebanon, Waynesville junction at OH-73 and finally US-35 and Trebein with some surface lights along Trebein. All but the section between the Lebanon beltway and south of Waynesville are dual lane and divided. The Trebein and US-35 interchange is a light for now, but will be transitioning to limited access in the next 3-6 years approximately. This route (OH-48 clear to Lebanon beltway and then US-42 to US-35 and Trebein) to the busy B Rd. Gate is 48.1 miles and takes approximately 1 hour and 5 minutes.
As far as commuting and weather: Stick to backroads in good or wet weather. Take interstates in snow (they tend to clear easier) or don't drive at all. And ice... all bets off, but if you work on base, they have become better at closing in inclement weather (essential personnel still report).
Thanks again for the advice and the backroad directions to WPAFB. After sitting in Boston traffic for the better part of a decade, I'm always looking for backroads to at least keep moving. Sitting in bumper to bumper traffic is demoralizing. Using Google maps from Loveland to WPAFB, it tells me to take 48 to 42 and then take 134/135 north to 675. Is there a reason you wouldn't go this route and would instead take 42 all the way out to Xenia/35?
A few areas that we haven't driven through but that are on our radar are West Chester and Mason. I was poking around Google Maps tonight checking out Mason and was pleasantly surprised to find a handful of restaurants/bars (a few which seem to be of the non-chain variety) located on 42 (Reading Rd) north of Tylersville Rd. Specifically, it looks like there are quite a few restaurants (Thai, Chinese, Indian, Italian, Pizza) as well as an Irish Pub, a BW3, a bar/grill, and a nice local "organic-y" cafe.
Can anyone tell me about this area of Mason? kjbrill? You seem to be a Mason advocate. Are the neighborhoods immediately surrounding this area family-friendly and walkable with sidewalks? If you live within a mile from here, could you walk/bike to these establishments? What is the housing like in this area - new and cookie cutter or more established and older? Also, I remember someone saying that Mason has bike trails. Does anyone know of a map showing where these trails may run? I'd like to get a feel for where i could get to without a car in Mason if we decided to walk or bike somewhere.
Thanks!
I can help out. I believe the area which you are referring to is basically downtown Mason. Here's the only housing development I see that's highly walkable to the area:
Not exactly your speed. I'd peg the houses there at $120k - $180k, 3 bed two bath or less. All under 1600 sq. ft. ranches. And almost everything near that commercial strip is cookie cutter recent build stuff. This development is probably one of the oldest you will find.
If you able to become friendly with your neighbors across the cul-de-sac, you could cut through their yard and the church parking lot to walk to this commercial strip. And you would have excellent access to the community rec center and high school at the end of the lane. Otherwise, I don't see a lot going for focusing around that particular commercial strip.
That puts you closer to the BW3s and Marion's, as well as within walking distance of this park, assuming you are brave enough to cross Butler-Warren Rd: MetroParks of Butler County Ohio
Tylersville from Greenbrier would not be a fun stretch to walk, but Greenbrier puts you in a minute or two drive of the commercial strip you mention.
The area I find most attractive is certainly not new, but has a nice assortment of 2-story homes, and is wedged west of Mason Montgomery, north of Western Row, and south of Tylersville Rd. The western portion of the plot toward Reading Rd has much older subdivisions.
BTW, Tylersville Rd has a paved walk/bike trail along its entire length within Mason from Butler-Warren Co Rd on the west and going east to where it terminates at Western Row Rd near Luxottica. Tylersville terminates but the bike trail continues along Western Row out and past I-71 to Kings Island where you can actually catch another bike trail down to the Little Miami River and eventually to the Little Miami Bike Trail.
I am not aware of an updated map showing the bike trails which exist in Mason, but new ones are being constructed all the time. At the time Reading Rd (Route 42) was recently rebuilt in the south part of Mason a bike trail was added to it. I know you can find a bike trail map at the Official Site | Mason, OH website but I think it is certainly not current.
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Also, that house is zoned to Princeton Schools. And although Princeton does have a well-regarded IB program, I don't know anybody who is moving to Cincy dying to get into that district, KWIM? I would be concerned about resale.
