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I was pretty active on here a couple years ago (a wannabe Cincinnatian). Well a job opportunity has finally opened up for me in Covington, but before I pull the trigger and apply, I wanted to get an idea of how Cincinnati is progressing, both economically and on the development side. How is the redevelopment of downtown going? What's the crime rate look like these days? Any other relative info we should take into consideration.
My hubby is a former police officer who would like to get back into law enforcement. We understand that he would have to go to school to get certified and then get a job. I think when I was first looking at the area, LEO jobs were at a premium because of hiring freezes. Does anyone know the outlook now?
Other than that, we are in our early 30s. No kids yet but that project is probably eminent. Haha. We're amateur foodies and lovers of craft cocktails (well I am at least). I'm an avid runner, so safe places to run are important to me. I'm also big into animal rescue, so getting involved with a local group is a must. The hubby is into Triumph motorcycles and semi-professional pool.
Do you think the area would be a good fit? We'd probably want to live in Covington since I'd be working in the area. Preferably in something historic that is walkable to Main Strasse. We live in a small, historic area about 10 miles outside of Greenville, SC which is a pretty vibrant scene. Lots of top notch restaurants and a fabulous downtown with year around events (concerts, festivals, etc.) I don't necessarily need all of that, but like I said, we do like to have a good meal now and again, and we do occasionally go to a local concert or festival.
Any thoughts or comments are certainly welcome and appreciated.
I think you would be happier in OTR than in Covington. You can still walk to work from OTR to Covington, but Covington has hillbilly police and a lot of disorderlies close to town. Everything is happening in OTR.
I think you would be happier in OTR than in Covington. You can still walk to work from OTR to Covington, but Covington has hillbilly police and a lot of disorderlies close to town. Everything is happening in OTR.
Has OTR turned the corner? I know when I was originally looking it was up and coming but still very dodgy.
...and, as much as "some people" hate to admit it, there is a streetcar in the works which will whisk you from northern OTR all the way to The Banks (which, as the name implies, is a restaurant/entertainment area alongside the river.)
IIRC I expounded, as I'm wont to do, on other lifestyle aspects such as runner-friendly areas with this very OP - the last time around. Nothing has changed since then; the same parks and hills are still there (LOL.)
Downtown itself is in a somewhat odd situation these days. Night life is doing well thanks to numerous upscale restaurants, the Aronoff Center, the Contemporary Arts Center, et al. With one glaring exception, the old hotels are looking spiffy and new ones are opening. But as a shopping hub it's very much on the ropes. For department stores only Macy's remains. Tiffany's has either fled to one of the suburban mall sprawls or is about to (frankly I don't care!) Saks Fifth Avenue nearly left also, but is staying put on Fifth STREET - for now. More ominously, however, vacant storefronts are far from unusual and even TJ Maxx called it quits. So on the one hand you have streets bursting at the seams with diners and show-goers and folks going to events at Fountain Square (where there seems to always be something going on.) Then on the other you have ghost-town corridors with sidewalks taken only by homeless persons and kids who sure don't seem to be old enough to have finished high school.
IMHO the core of Cincinnati has been stretched about as far as it can go in terms of after-work and weekend spots. The yuppie/hipster/foodie joints of OTR and the more tourist/suburbanite-oriented places of The Banks are on either side of downtown. So you have three adjacent areas vying for your disposable income, not counting Covington and Newport with their many offerings.
For having an address you might want to take a look at the East End. It doesn't get "talked" up much here because it's a compact area smooshed between the river and Columbia Parkway. And also for much of its long life the residents were mostly impoverished Appalachians who didn't move up the economic ladder. To this day one of the main redevelopment successes has been to rename Eastern Ave over its first mile or so, to "Riverside Drive." (Most natives and longtime locals ignore this change.) What I call "White-friendly barbecue" has an almost-new venue called Eli's which is drawing throngs to the neighborhood. Not a few shabby houses have been made over. But the economic slump of the late aughts brought gentrification to a grinding halt otherwise. So we're definitely talking, while not urban pioneering per se, a "challenged and challenging community with potential." For its proximity to downtown - and therefore the bridges - I think it bears a close look regardless.
...and, as much as "some people" hate to admit it, there is a streetcar in the works which will whisk you from northern OTR all the way to The Banks (which, as the name implies, is a restaurant/entertainment area alongside the river.)
IIRC I expounded, as I'm wont to do, on other lifestyle aspects such as runner-friendly areas with this very OP - the last time around. Nothing has changed since then; the same parks and hills are still there (LOL.)
Downtown itself is in a somewhat odd situation these days. Night life is doing well thanks to numerous upscale restaurants, the Aronoff Center, the Contemporary Arts Center, et al. With one glaring exception, the old hotels are looking spiffy and new ones are opening. But as a shopping hub it's very much on the ropes. For department stores only Macy's remains. Tiffany's has either fled to one of the suburban mall sprawls or is about to (frankly I don't care!) Saks Fifth Avenue nearly left also, but is staying put on Fifth STREET - for now. More ominously, however, vacant storefronts are far from unusual and even TJ Maxx called it quits. So on the one hand you have streets bursting at the seams with diners and show-goers and folks going to events at Fountain Square (where there seems to always be something going on.) Then on the other you have ghost-town corridors with sidewalks taken only by homeless persons and kids who sure don't seem to be old enough to have finished high school.
IMHO the core of Cincinnati has been stretched about as far as it can go in terms of after-work and weekend spots. The yuppie/hipster/foodie joints of OTR and the more tourist/suburbanite-oriented places of The Banks are on either side of downtown. So you have three adjacent areas vying for your disposable income, not counting Covington and Newport with their many offerings.
For having an address you might want to take a look at the East End. It doesn't get "talked" up much here because it's a compact area smooshed between the river and Columbia Parkway. And also for much of its long life the residents were mostly impoverished Appalachians who didn't move up the economic ladder. To this day one of the main redevelopment successes has been to rename Eastern Ave over its first mile or so, to "Riverside Drive." (Most natives and longtime locals ignore this change.) What I call "White-friendly barbecue" has an almost-new venue called Eli's which is drawing throngs to the neighborhood. Not a few shabby houses have been made over. But the economic slump of the late aughts brought gentrification to a grinding halt otherwise. So we're definitely talking, while not urban pioneering per se, a "challenged and challenging community with potential." For its proximity to downtown - and therefore the bridges - I think it bears a close look regardless.
Thanks GoyGuy. I remember our lively discourse from the past time. I just couldn't the exact topics covered. So OTR has turned the corner for the most part? My hubby abhors hipsters (though I'm a borderline one...he loves me anyway apparently) for their pretensions, so I don't think he'd be very happy there. We're also challenged by needing somewhere to garage his Triumph.
Though the East End sounds promising, I'm still a bit leery of urban pioneering or anything close to it, unfortunately. We've been living in a stable neighborhood for some years now and I like being able to sleep without one eye open. Or worrying that someone will kick in the door. And being able to run at night. I imagine you remember my story from before. :-)
Thanks for chiming in once more. I guess I need to dig up my old threads and go back over the comments.
If you are an "old house junkie" OTR is not going to fit the bill, most are nothing but blown out HGTV lofts with exposed brick and selling at 200-350 a sq ft...and you wont sleep at night between the bars and drunks .
Covington is fine maybe look at Wallace Woods or the Mansions over on Levasser. You 'might' find a house in Pendleton.
You might want to check out Dayton St in West End, they had a great well attended home tour last year and an active neighborhood group now and you are minutes to OTR and Covington. Also (though people will be instantly screaming the minute I say this) check out Incline District. there are some good homes on the market and that area is changing pretty fast.
The Dayton St neighborhood had its latest murder last week, which is a way of saying that homicide isn't exactly uncommon around there. As for Price Hill (in this instance, "East Price Hill" if you must; no one says "Incline District" except developer types)? It's probably at the same stage as the East End if not a step or more behind. A "casual eat-in/carry-out" seafood place opened and closed. The only place to go out at night aside from chili parlors is the Italian restaurant on the first floor of the neighborhood's lone high-rise. Various varieties of "those people" - from Appalachians to Hispanics - have been encouraging the "flight" of better-off and more stable residents for a half century or so, which gave rise to the arbitrary "east/west" designations. One informal but foolproof way to take the temperature of a community's well-being is to find out the dog of choice for those who live there. In Price Hill the controversial pit bull breeds probably take the prize. (Then again, Fifi the poodle or Taquito the chihuahua can bite someone without the incident's making headlines.)
For someone averse to being part of the early waves of people moving in somewhere hoping it will positively change, advocating the West End or Price Hill over the East End is like saying "If the frying pan doesn't suit you, here's some fire." A viable close-in alternative could be Fairview Heights, the southwest corner of Clifton on maps and usually - these days - lumped in as part of "CUF." Though situated not far from UC it's comparatively free of students with their transient ways, rowdy parties, and targeted property crimes. By going DOWN Ravine St (one of the steeper hills in a city full of them) to Central Parkway you're downtown "just like that," yet in quiet safe surroundings with a view that's better than fair.
I think you would be happier in OTR than in Covington. You can still walk to work from OTR to Covington, but Covington has hillbilly police and a lot of disorderlies close to town. Everything is happening in OTR.
The EMTs that took me to the hospital a couple of months ago were quite professional. Ditto for the fire lieutenant that came on the first truck (God, what a man!). Since it's run by the same city, on the whole the police department can't be too far behind. As one cop described the attitude to me one time: the traffic lights turn red, than green just like they do in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
I think you would be happier in OTR than in Covington. You can still walk to work from OTR to Covington, but Covington has hillbilly police and a lot of disorderlies close to town. Everything is happening in OTR.
I used to own rental property in the Mainstrasse area. It's a perfectly good place for a younger, middle-class couple to live, assuming you want an urban environment and don't mind somewhat of a mix of people. Some residential streets are a lot better than others. The riverfront area of Covington is quite a bit more upscale. Neither will cost you what a decent place in OTR will, so from a pricing standpoint you should look around. As someone else mentioned, the Wallace Woods area of Covington is also an option, farther south from the river but still a quick drive to downtown Cincinnati.
I don't know a lot about the Covington police department--but if you're comparing to Cincinnati probably neither one would really win any national awards. I doubt if Covington's is enough worse to merit crossing it off you list of places to live.
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