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Considering an opportunity to move to Cincinnati or Dallas area. As much as i know and have heard about Dallas area, there is virtually nothing i know about Cincinnati. Few questions:
1. How are middle/high schools compared to US average
2. Are people friendly and open to new comers (in general)
3. Are there learning, entertainment, enrichment opportunities for teenagers.
4. How is technology sector jobs in Cincinnati? is the number of hiring companies average or less than in TX?
Considering an opportunity to move to Cincinnati or Dallas area. As much as i know and have heard about Dallas area, there is virtually nothing i know about Cincinnati. Few questions:
1. How are middle/high schools compared to US average
2. Are people friendly and open to new comers (in general)
3. Are there learning, entertainment, enrichment opportunities for teenagers.
4. How is technology sector jobs in Cincinnati? is the number of hiring companies average or less than in TX?
Thank you in advance.
1. As with any metro area it depends where you are. In general, Cincinnati suburban school districts are very good. Several are in the top decile in the state such as Wyoming, Indian Hill, and Sycamore School District. Others that are highly effective include Loveland, Lakota, Mason, Kings, Madeira, Mariemont, Anderson, and generally the northeast corridor. If you prefer private schools, Cincinnati has some very good ones to choose from, particularly parochial schools such as Moeller, Elder, LaSalle, McNicholas, St. Xavier, Mount Notre Dame, Ursuline Academy, and Summit Country Day.
2. Cincinnati is plenty friendly, however don't expect it to be like Nashville or Charlotte where there are so many non-native residents that everyone is looking for a new group of friends. I would say Cincinnati can be somewhat clique-ish in the sense many people do not move away after high school / college and therefore already have an established network of friends. On the other hand, Cincinnati has more Fortune 500 Cos. per capita than many East Coast cities such as Boston (and according to the Mayor, more Fortune 500 Cos. than any city in America). With a disproportionate number of global brands, the City is drawing in global talent. Therefore meeting new people should not be too much of a challenge if you are not shy.
3. Through your choice of schools there are plenty of activities - sports, drama, etc. Cincinnati is not nearly the size of a place like Chicago so do not expect a park on every corner or a museum in every neighborhood. With that being said there is a renowned symphony orchestra, a conservatory, a fantastic zoo and museum center.
4. Not sure about technology specifically. I believe Dallas is a bit of a tech hub and things are going gangbusters down there. As mentioned above, Cincy has more than its share of Fortune 500 companies and they are all going to have technology needs. But I believe if you are looking for a tech firm specifically Dallas might be your better option.
PS: Within the last year I read about rents and home prices going through the roof in Dallas. And from my travels to the city, there is a lot of dough in that town. Home affordability is a different story in Cincy. Home values have increased since the depths of the Great Recession and have stabilized but your cost of living will be lower in Ohio versus Dallas. Something to consider.
Wouldn't differences in the weather be something to consider? One city experiences the four seasons in all their glory (one way to spin it, lol.) The other is in a far milder climate, though with broiling hot summers and - of late - extended dry spells.
For a deeply conservative area rife with megachurches, Dallas does have a leg up on Cincinnati in terms of moving steadily forward to attract businesses and new residents. To name one small example - a relatively short streetcar line in Dallas proved so popular that it's being (maybe has been) extended through a lively rejuvenated city center neighborhood. In Cincinnati there was bickering - complete with ballot items in two separate elections - before construction could even begin for light-rail service. And that route was truncated by more than half thanks to the meddling of Ohio's visionary governor, inexplicably (or perhaps not) re-elected. He turned down a generous aid package from Washington for not only the Cincinnati streetcar but also for the groundwork to establish a high-speed train connection from Cincy to Cleveland.
As for "rejuvenated city center," Cincinnati's downtown is a retail graveyard with Macy's the sole department store and even TJ Maxx gone - yet its focal point, Fountain Square, is still the city's living room. It's thronged with people throughout the daytime and evening, drawn by live music or Jumbotron broadcasts of sports events or you name it. And the restaurant scene is active, helped by having the Contemporary Arts Center and Aronoff (performing arts) Center there. South of downtown along the banks of the Ohio River, a recently opened entertainment district known as...wait for it...The Banks is also drawing crowds even when there's no football or baseball game in town. And in the other direction, a deteriorated historic neighborhood called Over-the-Rhine has made a quantum rebound from being a den of poverty and crime. It's the local version of the gentrified section every city seems to have now.
Dallas has the Mavs. Cincinnati hasn't been home to an NBA team for forty years or so. Reds or Rangers? Cowboys or Bengals? Not my call to make.
I have not spent any time in Dallas so I really can't speak for it. I would like to comment about an over simplification of Downtown Cincinnati and its offerings made in the last post. Cincinnati is currently building a streetcar system that, though shortened, at 3.6 miles is one of the longest initial phases of any modern streetcar systems in America. I googled the Dallas streetcar, and it too has had a very contentious beginning just like most modern rail systems currently being built in the USA. Cincinnati Streetcar's design is to be a circulator loop linking the riverfront, downtown, and the northern stretches called Over The Rhine.
Over The Rhine is an area build by German immigrants during the mid 1800's that fell on hard times which is going through a current renaissance in an area that some consider the largest continuous historic district in the United States. At one point, Cincinnati was the sixth most populous city in the United States so this is where a lot of people lived. To call it the "local version of the gentrified section every city seems to have" is a snarky and gross understatement made by a former resident who haunts this site using every opportunity to belittle our city in order to justify his move away from here. On the contrary, Over The Rhine is what separates us from most places. It is said that Over The Rhine is also home to more Italianette architecture than anywhere else in the country. Along the northern edges of Over The Rhine is the Brewery district where you will find more pre-prohibition beer brewing structures than anywhere else in the country. Also interesting is that underneath the streets is a maze of interconnected underground tunnels and chambers that at one time were the lagering cellars for the breweries. All of this plus a historic market, a world renowned concert hall, a beautiful newly restored Washington park and countless old churches with their steeples dotting the skyline make Over The Rhine a true national treasure. My family and I often venture into Over The Rhine to regularly shop at Findlay Market, visit Washington Park, eat in one of the many new and different restaurants, grab a beer at a microbrewery, or just wonder around taking in all of the excitement from the transformation happening right before our eyes.
Wonderful and very helpful reviews for me who is trying to make a choice. One more question:
For teenagers(youth under 18) living where we live now there seem to be only two choices for hanging out: mall or walmart parking lots. Does Cincinnati have good options for this age groups? is it safe?
Zen_master, i don't look for tech firm specifically, but rather need to know whether or not i can find a sys admin (or such) job if working remotely arrangement does not work out. Thank you very much for detailed answers.
Would West Chester fall in a good schools category?
Wonderful and very helpful reviews for me who is trying to make a choice. One more question:
For teenagers(youth under 18) living where we live now there seem to be only two choices for hanging out: mall or walmart parking lots. Does Cincinnati have good options for this age groups? is it safe?
Most teenagers that I know are heavily involved with school & organized activities (sports, arts, clubs) and have a limited amount of time to hang out unsupervised. It will very much depend on where you chose to live and what your teenagers interests are.
Zen_master, i don't look for tech firm specifically, but rather need to know whether or not i can find a sys admin (or such) job if working remotely arrangement does not work out. Thank you very much for detailed answers.
Would West Chester fall in a good schools category?
A good portion of West Chester Twp. is covered by Lakota Local Schools, which also covers a good portion of Liberty Twp., both in Butler Co. Lakota Local is one of the largest school districts in the state of Ohio, which is why there are literally two sets of schools, Lakota East and West for coverage. Lakota has had a high ranking for years. Look at the overall pricing of the housing there and you will see why. Families paying those prices and taxes will tolerate nothing other than good schools.
Immediately adjacent across the Warren Co. line is Mason City Schools, also ranked very high. Mason schools also extend down into Deerfield Twp. to the south of Mason. I live in and am partial to Mason or one particular reason, the City in the name, which I believe brings a cohesiveness which townships are hard pressed to match.
A little to the east is Kings Local School District, basically east of I-71 and extending to Loveland. Kings is much smaller than Mason and Lakota, but enjoys a good reputation. In the latest rankings released, they are rated 23 out of almost 700 school districts in the state. Kings Mills itself is an unincorporated community as are several others such as Landen which make up much of the school district. Landen is one of those census designated places created as a large residential development after the construction of Kings Island. Every once in a while the idea of city incorporation occurs, but has not happened. The last time, Kings Island asked for annexation to Mason which they were adjacent to. Why? Large businesses like the stability of a City which has been around for awhile compared to a brand new city with unknown development costs.
I heartily recommend, Lakota Local, Mason City, and Kings Local as school districts which deliver and the best in the northeastern region of Cincinnati. I don't mean to fault Lebanon which is also good but I consider the 8 miles between downtown Mason and Lebanon to indicate not yet quite on top of each other.
As you go south into Hamilton Co., districts such as Sycamore Community come to light. Montgomery and Blue Ash are both in Sycamore Community. I love the term Community to distinguish the schools from a Plain Jane Local designation. Sycamore has one of the highest rankings in the Cincinnati area. But as others are finding out, the number of desirable housing units available on the market is very small. Considering the relatively good commute distance to jobs in the Cincy Core, they are very desirable places to live.
As my brother pointed out to me during a recent drive through, look at the number of teardowns going on. Some perfectly nice houses in other parts of the city are being bought and torn down to provide building space for much larger homes. Montgomery is a prime location for this, as the city expansion years ago was on much larger lots in comparison. Buy a 3 bedroom ranch and tear it down to build a 4-5 bedroom large home, including the underground Media and sports (pool, table tennis, etc) facilities.
In comparison, Madeira still has high rated schools. Frankly I do not know why. When I was young and most of what is now Madeira was farm fields it was understandable. After WWII the expansion of GE Evendale created a large demand for housing. As I said, Madeira was primarily a farming community, but the commute to Evendale was reasonable. Some enterprising developers went to Madeira, bought a TON of land, and built tons of basic housing. Many GE Evendale employees moved there, and Madeira prospered.
I grew up in a 6-room Cape Cod on a 50x150' lot in Madeira, which my father built for a total of &8,200 in 1947. I can't believe the last time it sold or the current evaluation. I/we brother sold the house several years ago and were amazed at the price. In MYHO Madeira is one of the most overpriced suburbs in eastern Cincy. I grew up there and gained the proceeds from all of the GE employees moving to Cincy. But there is a point in time when the initial influx ends. And Madeira has seen its end several times over.
Mimi in Cinci, is West Chester a good place for teens?
West Chester is a typical American modern suburb...it has the Lakota Schools which are very good. It has plenty of a shopping and chain restaurants.
There are some parks and I'm sure plenty of recreational activities.
West Chester is also a good location to get to most of the regions attractions being right on 75 just north of 275.
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One city experiences the four seasons in all their glory (one way to spin it, lol.) The other is in a far milder climate, though with broiling hot summers and - of late - extended dry spells.
governor, inexplicably (or perhaps not) re-elected. He turned down a generous aid package from Washington for not only the Cincinnati streetcar but also for the groundwork to establish a high-speed train connection from Cincy to Cleveland.
