From Chicago to Cincinnati - Mt Lookout or Mariemont? (garden, interest)

[cincydave8]

Kilgour is a very good school and your kids could easily test in Walnut Hills High School, which is always ranked one of the best high schools in the state. CPS isn't as bad as suburbanites make it out to be. Like I said earlier, when it comes to Mt Lookout v Mariemont it comes down to if you want to live in the city or not.

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by Chicago2Cinci

C'mon, no fighting! Ha! Yes, we plan on having kids soon and school district is a big part of our decision making process. We want to be in this home for a long time. Thanks!

The two neighborhoods in Cincinnati that will appeal to you are Hyde Park and Mt. Lookout. I live on the border of the two and have lived in Hyde Park most of my life. Mt. Lookout is slightly more suburban than Hyde Park. Both are utterly walkable, safe, very low crime, close to transportation and town, an easy commute to town (11 minutes in rush hour). Houses here have good resale value. Kilgour School is 1000 feet from me. And, yet, one can get some creature comforts even in this relatively dense area. There are 62 restaurants that I can walk to. Yoga, health clubs, boutiques, basic services, etc. The oldest Graeters Ice Cream parlor still operating is in the middle of Hyde Park Square. It was there since 1922, Buono Terra Gelato in the middle of Mt. Lookout Square. For comparison, Hyde Park has 10 times the independent neighborhood stores and services that Mariemont has.

To me, I see that most of the attractive amenities, if not in Hyde Park or Mt. Lookout are in a direct line of one or both. This would be the most upscale shopping malls, the best recreational facilities, dog park, public tennis and golf, marinas and river access, private airport, the best city parks.

It is no wonder my parents moved here from Riverside IL when they transferred to Cincinnati half a century or so ago.

[Chicago2Cinci]

Thank you everyone for all your insight! We really do appreciate it. Keep em coming!!!

[t45209]

You haven't said a whole lot about housing preferences, but you are going to have far more choices for more spacious homes in Mt Lookout than Mariemont. Mariemont is charming, but the houses are mostly tiny homes that are like cozy little cottages. You will pay a lot per square foot in both neighborhoods, but I think you'd get more for your money in Mt Lookout.

[SWOH]

^And that feeds into my #1 question - what's your (rough) budget?

So far, narrowing your search down to these two communities has given us an excellent idea of what you desire, but there are a number of differences between the two that leads me at least to think there might be a few other communities that could be a great match.

For instance, as others have mentioned, Hyde Park might be a good fit, especially if you are interested in living near other people close to your age and family situation now. Oakley, Maderia, Norwood, Pleasant Ridge... depending on your criteria they might be good places to look at as well.

[CincyIU29]

Originally Posted by Chicago2Cinci

Good morning, all!

My wife and I are moving in a few months and we're very torn....

Both villages provide a "square" within walking distance, beautiful homes, good neighborhoods, quick commute to work, etc.

What we're having trouble with is this:

Mariemont - will never have to leave the school district K-12, great sense of community, flat terrain (for the most part, on the south side of the square), high taxes

Mt Lookout- we love the hills, would have to move after Kilgour or send our kids to private school (don't have kids just yet, so this is a while down the road), not sure of the community feel?, lower taxes maybe?

Also, any light you can shed on the village pools? This is new to us...we don't all belong to pools in Chicago.

Honestly, any opinions you have of these two towns would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all!!

Kilgour and Hyde Park School are two of the top rated elementary schools in the state by test scores. In fact, Hyde Park School is ranked #1 in the entire state.

Walnut Hills High School is the best high school in the state. Out performs any suburban HS and gets better test scores.

The myth that you can't get a good education in CPS is just that - a myth. People who say you have to send your kids to private school need to educate themselves in regards to WHHS.

OP live in Mt. Lookout. You're close two great squares, one up and coming area (East Walnut Hills), and still minutes away from some Cincinnati's best parks, dining, and nightlife.

[Wilson513]

BTW, Hyde Park has hills too.

[SalamanderSmile]

Mariemont is much more of a community than Mt.L or HP, which are both neighborhoods. AFAIK anyone can write a check and join Mt.L swimclub. You have to live in Mariemont proper to join Mariemont's pool. I don't think either are fancy, Mariemont's being not much more than it was in the 60s when it was built, just a cinderblock shower building and a couple refurbished pools. That said, it is only $2-300 a family for the summer so not a big commitment. Many people also belong to the Cincinnati Sports Club on Red Bank Rd., which also has a small out door and a small indoor pool. It is expensive, IMHO, for what it offers.

When we shopped for our house we looked in Mt.L and HP as well, we almost bought in Mt.L but HATED the hills (lived on a giant one before) and didn't like that all of the kids on the street would be at different schools owing to many parents choosing various catholic schools over CPS even though they lived in the Kilgour zone. So in talking to neighbors in Mt.L we found out that on the street we were considering there were 10 elementary kids at 4 different schools. In Mariemont all the kids go to the same place which ends up cementing people as a community.

[Wilson513]

Well, I guess we have to talk about Mariemont a little.

First thing to do is understand how Mariemont (pronounced Mary-Mont) came to be and why it is so limited as a "community."

Mary Emery, rich know it all, wanted to create a utopian community back in the 1920's for the little people. She had about 600 acres to work with and she platted it all out with little town houses with tiny rooms and alleyways and where the church went and where the schools were to be and just about everything. She had her lawyers make sure there would never be any Catholics or Jews in her little village and set about creating a little shopping area, and Presbyterian Church and schools. The stand alone houses mostly have small yards, were constructed in the 1930-1940 period (not exactly the heyday of great architecture). I have been to the Cotswolds and the old part of town looks just about like the village or Burford in merry old England.

Now, although many years have passed and the Village was expanded a little by the addition of some houses on the southern and eastern edges of the Village, there are still none of those pesky Catholic churches to worry about, and very few black persons (about 25). There is also virtually no shopping or other public services.

There is the swim club a clickish little spot which as has been mentioned, one cannot join unless one lives in the Village. More importantly, the best thing Mariemont has going for it is the garden allotment, very similar to the charming English garden allotments.

Mariemont has good schools, bad traffic (cut in half by an east west thoroughfare) and overpriced homes (recent sales prices for these rather ordinary 1930-1940's homes has been the $300 per square foot range).

Read more here:

Mariemont, Ohio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

People who live in Mariemont love it. Most would not live anywhere else.

[SalamanderSmile]

Originally Posted by Wilson513

People who live in Mariemont love it. Most would not live anywhere else.

What I tell everyone is that Mariemont will make no sense on paper. You either want it or you don't and if you want it you will live small and make sacrifices for it, and if you don't- you just won't pick it. There is no explaining it to people because it is emotional and not rational. I can say that I am glad we made the choice. On paper, at $/sqft. level analysis, you are not capturing the intangible nature of the place.

Different strokes for different folks.

ETA: there is no way that the swim club is clique or snotty in any way, people with money belong to the country clubs or the sports club, not the little cinderblock swim club. It is no different than any other subdivision pool that you need to live in the subdivision to have access to. They have them in the $5 suburbs of Clermont county by the boatload, and they are often nicer and with a clubhouse or fitness amenities of some sort. I think the "controversy" stems from the fact that not everyone that goes to Mariemont Schools can join the little swim club. Hardly a big deal, Fairfax and Terrace Park have their own and Columbia Township has other bigger fish to fry.