What's the deal with West Chester? (Cincinnati, Dayton: rent, condo, houses)

[gobelles95]

This is my first post, and I would love your input on a few Cincinnati suburbs, particularly West Chester. Here are my answers to the sticky post.

Have you searched this forum for answers to your questions before posting a new inquiry? Yes.
. What specific topic have you not found answers to? The stigma attached to West Chester.

. Where is you current location and environment? We moved from Chicago in December 2017 after being in the city for 10-11 years. My husband is working in Middletown at a new job, and I am staying with our 3 kids under the age of 3 in Westerville (outside columbus) with my parents while my husband is in temp housing in Cincinnati.
. Are you looking for similar in Cincinnati or a change? We are looking for a change, which is why we decided to leave Chicago. My husband grew up on, and currently owns, a 200-acre farm outside springfield, IL, so he would like an ample yard (preferably over an acre, but he is trying to be open-minded by looking at half-acre properties).

. Where will your work location be? Middletown
. Maximum commute time desired? He says 40 minutes, I say under 30

. What is you budget for housing? Max of $320k (somewhat depends on property taxes as well)
. Rent or buy? Buy
. Type (Apt., Condo, Single Family) Single family home with all bedrooms on the same floor
. Size (Approx. Sq. Ft., # Bedrooms & Baths) Minimum 2400 sf, 4 bedrooms, 2.5+ baths.
. Other specifics? Preferably a larger, somewhat private yard

. Neighborhood environment? We would like a larger yard, a stable investment, family-friendly, but prefer not suburban sprawl. It has been difficult to say the least.

. Schools?
. High Ranked Public schools Yes
. Small or large district? Small is preferable but we'll take whatever
. Diverse student body? Doesn't matter
. Strong athletics? Doesn't matter
. Consider Private schools? Yes
. Special considerations? No

For community amenities, I would love to be in a neighborhood that I can walk the kids in as opposed to a rural route.

Our realtor has shown us quite a few houses in West Chester (Beckett Ridge, etc). The houses seem lovely, and affordable, although the lots are on the smaller side. But the whole area is very sprawl-ish with no downtown and that feels a bit odd to us after being in such a walkable city like Chicago. Whenever we mention that we are looking at West Chester, people have an odd reaction. I have heard Lakota schools are bad (which does not appear to be true), and my husband gets the impression from his co-workers who live in WC that it's not a desirable place to be. They kind of shrug apologetically when they mention that they live there. We are confused by this because the communities appear to be nice (aside from the sprawl issue). We are not wild about the area by any means, but would consider it for a few years while we continue to look for a larger property. But people's reactions scare us away from even considering it as an option. Can someone explain to me what the deal is with West Chester?

We are looking at about 9 other school districts but of course, in our price range, a lot of the houses that pop up are in WC or Liberty Township.

Thanks in advance!
Colleen

[ms12345]

There is no stigma attached to West Chester. It's a very nice and desirable community with plenty of new upscale housing. I'd would guess there is not a lot of walkable areas but anything you need would be only a few minutes by car.

[SWOH]

Welcome!

West Chester has had some issues in the past, and they going to be issues they will continue to fight for a while. They include:
- Problems passing school levies. This correlates directly to school quality.
- Extreme right-wing ideology in curriculum in schools (like Springboro, I believe more sensible minds were able to have it shot down and taken out. No more war of Northern Aggression, creationism, etc.)
- School overcrowding
- Overtaxed roads, bridges, and other infrastructure. This leads to congestion, lacking maintenance, etc.
- Poor maintenance of major roadways (when I say that I mean drive down Tylersville Rd. west of Cincinnati-Dayton or any other major roads without sidewalks/curbs and you'll see mounds of trash strewn through & under overgrown honeysuckle bushes. You would never see anything like that in Mason).
- Low quality housing stock. There were good homebuilders and there were REALLY BAD homebuilders. If you buy there go with a Drees home if you can. Or maybe M/I (check to make sure its 2x6 construction).


Regardless, West Chester sounds like a horrendous fit given your interests. I'd look elsewhere.

Specifically, if you are looking for a development I'd check out Shaker Run in Lebanon. You can get an excellent house for your price range by a good builder in a golf course community with some land (as in up to an acre). Even if you're not keen on the golf course, Lebanon has a lot of great housing options with more land but you'd sacrifice the "walkability" you'd have at a place like Shaker Run.

Because having land and walkability is counter-intuitive, you'll probably have to choose one or the other.

If you want land and your husband works in Middletown, I would most highly recommend looking into Waynesville, followed by Lebanon, Springboro, Germantown and anything in Talawanda Schools. Good second place recommendations include Bellbrook, Madison Twp. Butler Co, Edgewood (Trenton), and Miami Twp. Avoid anything in New Miami.

If you want walkability, Mason and Centerville would be my first recommendations, and check the map carefully. Runner ups would include Miamisburg, downtown Germantown, German Village in Hamilton (do private schools), Glendale & Sharonville (same as Hamilton on schools). I'd avoid anything in Little Miami Schools, and Kings or Sycamore would be a miserable commute to Middletown.

Good luck!

[Ohiogirl81]

That's the first I've ever heard of "stigma" attached to West Chester - other than the stigma of McMansion suburbia. If you don't want suburban sprawl, West Chester is the last place you should be looking; it is the poster child for suburban sprawl.

On the other hand, if you're looking for a 4 bedroom. 2.5-bath house with a big yard, suburban sprawl is where it's at. Anyplace with a walkable downtown is going to have mostly older houses with city-sized lots.

Seriously look at Lebanon, in the city - the newer, larger houses will not be as connected or walkable as the older houses in the center of town, but Lebanon is a quick jaunt to Middletown.

[flashes1]

If working in Middletown then the Dayton suburbs make a lot of sense. I don't know a lot about Dayton, but I've heard good things about Centerville, Springboro, Kettering and Bellbrook.

[bigdipper80]

I can't speak for the quality of the schools, but the historic downtown portion of Miamisburg (a Dayton suburb) may be a good tradeoff between suburban-but-not-too-suburban. The downtown is walkable and nice, and you still have quick access to I-75 for getting to Middletown. Springboro and Centerville both have good school districts but are pretty much your typical sprawl suburbs. Oakwood, an inner-ring suburb of Dayton, might also be worth a look. It's got great old architecture, is walkable, and has really great accessibility to the cultural amenities of Dayton (the orchestra/ballet, art museum, traveling Broadway productions, etc). Think of it as a more affordable Oak Park Illinois (not because it's any "less" of place, it's just that things are cheap in Dayton relative to Chicago!) Any of these suburbs will be about a half hour or less down to Middletown. Very easy commute.

[Misfit Toy]

You can certainly find the type of house you're looking for in West Chester. But I do not know of many places in West Chester where you can reasonably walk to very much of anything. Odds are really good you'll be dependent on your car to get anywhere.

I agree with others who said to check out Lebanon or maybe Mason. Your money won't go as far in Mason, but it's more walkable than most places in the northern 'burbs.

[wrightflyer]

My recommended order would be 1) Lebanon and its township, Turtle Creek Township, 2) Waynesville and Wayne Township, Tied-3) Germantown (German Township?) and Miamisburg and Miami Township, especially west of the river if you want land.

Lebanon will have the best options in both large lot, exurban developments (may or may not have sidewalks, homes may have mini-farms if enough land, non-busy side streets). Central, downtown Lebanon will have older housing stock, but the more suburban and township parts of its schools will likely have what you are looking for. Just be aware there is a prison between the nice outlet mall and the Lebanon town line along OH-63. So, the more desirable areas of Turtlecreek Township (where the prison is), would likely be north, south or east of central Lebanon.

Waynesville offers smaller and probably slightly higher caliber schools than Lebanon, more large lot developments but a longer commute (but not by much). The scenery around the Little Miami River is gorgeous here for western Ohio. Just be aware the river can easily flood low-lying lands around Corwin, Bellbrook and Spring Valley, so check floodplain maps if buying near the river. There is a smaller downtown drag in Waynesville which is always well kept. There are many antique stores here, and a major regional festival is held along Main Street, if I believe correctly.

Germantown and its surrounding township will offer good land and a smaller school district. Its biggest challenge would be the distance to amenities, likely having to drive OH-725 through downtown Miamisburg (over the Great Miami River) to reach the Dayton Mall and OH-741/OH-725 shopping corridors. Schools will be smaller though. Miamisburg offers a good deal of affordable homes with decent, if slightly larger schools. Miami Township and Miamisburg (outside its core downtown) can be sprawl-y in a sense east of the Great Miami River, but once west of it, it opens into some pretty farmland and homes with larger lots.

I would skip Centerville and Washington Township, unless you want a .5 acre lot. Anything bigger might be outside your price range. However, if you can do .5, I recommend it for the schools, though rather large, are very good. Most of the city is sprawl oriented, with only a small portion close to downtown Centerville being truly "walkable."

Oakwood would be out since I think anything meeting your criteria in a home's physical sense and space will be outside your price range. And it will be an older home. And it will be a home on .25 acres (or less). The homes are beautiful though. And the schools some of the best in the state.

[SWOH]

gobelles95, if you are still out there, I'm curious if you are still considering West Chester after our comments.

[gobelles95]

I'm sorry for my late reply! I have been a little overwhelmed. I keep going back to this thread and reading through all of your helpful comments. My husband and I are a bit concerned about the possible "downturn" of West Chester. We would prefer other areas at this point. We have seen a couple houses in Lebanon and Mason; I am hoping to find something in either one soon. My husband is averse to being "too far" north. He does not want to be north of Middletown, so we are limited in what we can look for with 1) a decent yard, 2) good schools, 3) decent commute, 4) kinda close to Cincinnati. I feel like we are looking for a unicorn. We did put an offer in on a house in Mason with a small-ish yard but someone beat us to it. The inventory is so low right now that it seems like you have to make a decision *right then* if you are going to put an offer on something. Fingers crossed. Thank you again for all of your thoughtful responses.