New to Cincinnati, with 3 kids, need rental home (Mason, Norwood: hardwood floors, real estate)

[zaza67401]

Hoping to gain some perspective and advise on how to find a rental home in a great cincinnati neighborhood for a young family. We are moving from Arizona with a 4 yo, 2 yo, and newborn and need to find a comfortable rental home. Will be working at Cincinnati Childrens. Currently we have looked at Wyoming, Anderson township, oakley, blue ash, and entertained the possibility of Northern KY.

Main Questions are what are the nice suburbs of northern KY, what is the best way to find rental in cincinnati & northern KY? Ault park seems like it has great neighborhoods nearby and would be centrally located...any suggestions on how to find a rental home in that area? I like wyoming cause it seems more centrally located with nice homes, quaint community and would be family oriented. Any other particular neighborhoods like that I should know about? Northern Ky seems appealing since less commute to childrens hospital but people have mentioned that the interstate coming over the bridge could get icy in the winter and traffic congestion?
Where do most young families migrate to in cincinnati? Schools not so important since our kids are not old enough yet, although the family oriented communities probably have the better school districts I would imagine.

Right now we live in the city and frequently take the kids to lots of downtown activities (ie. zoo, children's museum, parks, libraries). So ideally we would like to replicate that too in cincinnati. We usually shop at costco and trader joes.

Budget for housing would be like up to 2000/month, but ideally around 1500. Ideally a 3 bedroom 2 bath with hardwood floors, clean, and newer/updated home. No pets, but would be nice to have a yard for the kids in a quaint neighborhood. Nice to be around other similar families.

Thanks for any help & suggestions/advice.

[goyguy]

Since even with a 4-year-old you're not concerned about schools yet, throw Clifton into the mix for sure. Also Pleasant Ridge.

[SalamanderSmile]

Frankly moving with 3 kids across the country stinks and you won't want to move again in a year because you rented in a cruddy school district, so think about schools now. Three kids also means you need more space than most so renting a SFH would be appropriate. Skip NKY and look into Wyoming (maybe contact local realtor, there is one lady at Sibcy Cline that lists all of Wyoming but I forget her name, "sue" maybe?, look at the real estate listings.). Towns will often have academics going on sabbatical and renting out their homes. A friend in Mariemont will be going for a year and they rent their little house out fully furnished for $2000, but Wyoming is closer to Childrens and has better schools. I imagine also the "Nextdoor" app for local communities would put you in touch with residents, I know their is a Nextdoor Mariemont you can look for others. And the perennial favorite Craigslist, of course.

I think "olde" Montgomery would be a decent commute to Childrens with good schools as well.

[mimi in cinci]

I agree with goyguy, give gaslight Clifton a hard look. It's minutes from the Zoo and the Museum Center- both were hot spots when my kids were 2-4. They have great educational programs for the preschool set. In the summer the Cincinnati Park Board runs day camps in Clifton.

Within a year or two you'd be close to a good public school, Fairview German and near several private schools.

Wyoming is a beautiful community also.

[cincydave8]

NKY has some really nice areas with good schools. Fort Thomas, Fort Wright, Park Hills and Villa Hills just to name a few. Fort Thomas has 2 nice little biz districts. 471 in NKY is much much easier than 71/75, but yes if one bridge gets backed up then all the bridges do. If you live in Anderson, though, you'll most likely take 471 into downtown and Childrens.

I think Oakley, Blue Ash and Pleasant Ridge could fit well. There's a Trader Joe's in Kenwood, which is basically between Oakley and Blue Ash. Oakley also has a Fresh Market and Fresh Thyme with Whole Foods just down the road. The only Costco I know of is up at Tri-County which would make Wyoming close. There is a Sam's Club in Oakley, but I realize some people have disagreements with Sams/Walmart. Almost every part of town has a library branch and plenty of great parks spread all over.

[kjbrill]

As you get to the northern suburbs, the I-71 exit at Fields Ertel is infamous for congestion. But also right there is Mason Montgomery, a main artery through Deerfield Twp. and north to Mason. They are currently constructing a new exit ramp and bridge which should alleviate the Fields Ertel congestion considerably. Right in that area is a Costco, Sam's Club, and enough other big box stores there is no reason to go any place else. The school districts are Mason and Kings primarily, two of our better respected ones. If you can find a SFH large enough to fill your needs, would be a great place to live. I moved out here 40 years ago when our 4th was on the way and have never regretted it.

We have an older daughter living with us who works over near Eastgate Mall. She makes that commute around I-275 in nothing flat, allows a 1/2 hour.

I have a niece who also lives out here, unfortunately recently divorced. She has a young daughter and is considering day care places. Believe me there are a ton of them, due to the number of young people with kids who live here. Unless you have a live-in who will move with you to take care of those 3 young kids another consideration.

Just another comment before I hang up. This past week I have been contacting people from my HS graduating class - 57 in 1957 from a small school in Eastern Cincy - Madeira. In 1957 it was a great school, still has a good rating. I had 3 classmates who lived on the same small street, and believe me it was short. A couple of parallel streets away I had a lot more classmates. We may have comprised 50% of the class from just a few streets away.

My objective is this. I found one girl, who frankly was my first love interest, who stayed on the same street I grew up on. I knew her husband very well since we were in the same class together, and his sister was a great looker. But she tells me, Ken you can't believe what is happening here. Developers are buying these houses for ridiculous prices, tearing them down, and building huge homes on the same lots we grew up on. Of course they have no lot left, lucky if they have a driveway to get a vehicle in and out of.

[goyguy]

The OP was "one and done" nearly two weeks ago, Ken. But thanks for playing. LOL

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by goyguy

The OP was "one and done" nearly two weeks ago, Ken. But thanks for playing. LOL

I will keep playing long as there are others in Cincinnati who play. I believe Cincy is one of the best places to live in the country and will keep expounding on it.

[zaza67401]

On another note, Our oldest child will be turning 4 and we hoping to enroll her in pre-school. Does anyone know anything about Pre-K education in the public school system? I saw from another post the Hyde park has a pre-K program that is subsidized based on your income/sliding scale. Do all the school systems have similar programs? Which areas have good programs? I guess I will have to figure out what common core, magnet schools, etc all mean too...

Also what is the impression of Norwood, Maderia, Mt Washington, and Reading neighborhoods. Most of the rentals that I have seen posted are in these areas & they tend to be lower proced, but I am unsure why its lower priced and if these are good places and just not rentable properties.

[mimi in cinci]

Due to increasing enrollment, Hyde Park School will be discontinuing their preschool program after this year. It is a Head Start Program. This is the link to the CPS Head Start program. Preschool Qualifications | Cincinnati Public Schools