Loveland....?? (Cincinnati, Lebanon, Montgomery: middle-class, to rent, condo)

[LifesWhatUmakeOfIt]

What could you tell me about Loveland and surrounding areas? Is it safe? Is it a good place for families? How is the weather there?
What do you like the most about Loveland and what do you dislike?

Thanks for your responses!

A clueless mom from Ca.....

[Briolat21]

Loveland has a really cute village-center area, it is a more eclectic looking area of Cincinnati as it is in the heart of the Little Miami River Valley and the area is known for the Little Miami Bike trail. Lots of outdoors-y bike and canoeing enthusiasts in the area. I've only lived here (N. of Loveland about 15-20 miles in an area called Lebanon) for 1 year, and have driven through Loveland/looked at houses there about 10-12 times. To be honest the first time I drove through there I felt like I was in Denver. I used to have friends there and visited them there all the time and there was a very granola-y feel to the Denver area when I visited, and I kind of felt this in Loveland - again due to all the outdoors enthusiasts passing through.

I know NOTHING about schools, we don't have children so schools were not an issue for us. Property values there seemed to be holding/rising steadily in the area, though with the current downturn that could have changed.

It is a very cute area, but there are also many other nice communities in a commutable distance if they suit your needs better.

good luck!!

[goyguy]

My sister and BIL settled in Loveland 15 years ago when they secured employment in Cincinnati and relocated (back, in my sis's case) from the East. Their house was then brand-new, and their family was just getting started. At present, they have four sons, aged 8 to 17. What I have to add to this post should be taken with a grain of salt, since I've remained on the East Coast myself. I make return visits several times a year and am in pretty much constant communication with my folks, less so with the sis and BIL. (Anybody raising four kids knows how not easy it is to stay in regular contact with people!)

The scenario outlined in the previous post is only part of the Loveland picture. Yes, the "Little Miami National Scenic River" winds through the city. Yes, the crunchy-granola folk do flock to its banks to rent canoes or kayaks - or put in their own - as well as wheel along the parallel bike trail. That's like saying Mt Lookout is full of antique-car owners and Ultimate Frisbee players by virtue of Ault Park's being there. Some of the cyclists and paddlers walk home at the end of the day, indeed there are those among them who chose Loveland to live in for this. But most of them load up their roof racks and drive elsewhere at nightfall.

I'd characterize Loveland as "a good place to raise kids," a locale where neighbors know each other and look out for each other. Children can play in their yards and on the street without fear of traffic (with obvious exceptions, like along Lebanon Rd.) Low housing turnover means little "stranger danger" concern. Symmes Park is an excellent rec facility to complement the aforementioned river. Lebanon's Countryside YMCA is state-of-the-art, not something always immediately associated with "the Y," and is minutes away.

As a confessed educational elitist, I perceive the public schools of Loveland as better than average but with room for improvement. Over 90 percent of the high school's graduates continue their formal academic careers, the sports teams do well, and a big-bucks overhaul of the middle school was completed last year. Fiscal improprieties on the part of a former system employee, well documented in the media at the time, were a blip on the financial screen. But with all the physical-plant improvements, and competitive desire where educational quality is concerned, the school board put a tax levy on the ballot - which passed. On the topic of educational quality: drawing comparison to the classic car-rental ad campaign, Loveland is Avis (#2) to the adjoining Sycamore and Indian Hill districts' Hertz (#1.) And they're trying harder. My sis and I and our other sibling were schooled in Wyoming's public system, which is second to none, so have some pretty exacting standards. What she and the BIL decided was that while they were more than satisfied with the community itself, the very best academics weren't within its borders. Consequently, their older two sons took the entrance exams for Cincinnati's parochial high schools and now attend one of those schools. Dissatisfied with how the elementary school of the youngest child handled clear-cut development recommendations, they enrolled him in a Montessori program. So only one of the four boys is still being educated in the Loveland system. But, as I've emphasized, we're educational snobs and make no bones about it. Few would term Loveland's schools as significantly lacking in any areas. By the same token, few would rank them on par with Indian Hill (for those with the earned or inherited wealth) or Sycamore (comparable housing affordability.)

One never has to venture far from Loveland, or even leave that city, for any of life's essentials or most of its non-essentials. There's a huge Meijer supermarket on Montgomery Rd. Kenwood's and Deerfield Township's mall sprawls are a hop skip and jump away; Tri-County and Eastgate are not much farther distant. Downtown Cincinnati is as little as 20 minutes down I-71, at least late at night and on weekends lol.

Outside of the original village center, Loveland is a standard-issue hodgepodge of subdivisions dating as far back as the 1960's and as recently as now. The city's income level is overwhelmingly middle- to upper-middle-class, its demographic makeup overwhelmingly White.

There's nothing to recommend against Loveland and much to recommend for it, but the "for" recommendations also apply to other places which are close by and at least slightly superior. Keep it on your list of communities to consider but broaden the scope of your search.

[Briolat21]

Hope I didn't offend with my picture of the downtown as "granola-y". For me, i kind of meant it as a complement, as it had a feeling I haven't seen anywhere else in my travels in the area. It was unique. Montogomery has a similar downtown boutique-y area, but with a very different (very nice) feeling. Lebanon (where I live) has its own downtown (vintage/antique-y) feel. Lovelands was just very different - very not what I expected in Cincinnati. I liked it! Alas - homes I wanted were just too expensive there!

Seems like you have a much more complete picture of the living situation there Goyguy than my admittedly tourist (house shopping tourist) picture of the area. Still - if one was interested in nature and liked that granola-y feel, I would think Loveland would be a great place to recommend.

[goyguy]

No offense taken or intended
The contrast between Loveland and neighboring Montgomery and Lebanon was well-drawn, thanks for that! If I had the choice between the three, I'd go with Lebanon - more selection of "vintage" houses, and a small-town downtown which has stayed pretty true to its origins in spite of all the big-box store competition and encroaching cutesiness. With any luck, the latest owners of the Golden Lamb can do something about reversing the downward quality trend of the restaurant there. It used to be one of my family's favorite "occasion" spots.
Another sign of housing developments' having become the cash crop of the area is the recent closing of Loveland's long-established feed and grain store. So as to throw this thread off track entirely, LOL, does anybody else here recall Kash's Bargain Barn? Those TV ads from the '60s are permanently branded on my brain. "Take I-71, exit at Highway 48, and follow the signs, follow the cars, to South Llllebbanunn Ohio, where you save cash with Kash!" RIP Kash Amburgy.

[musincy]

I absolutely love Loveland (I grew up in a neighboring town). Like everyone said before, the old downtown area is great for families, as is the whole city. They have a lot of parks, and the bike trail is a nice perk. The schools are very good (I'm sure you could read the Ohio school report cards somewhere online about them) and the area is very safe. It's a great Cincinnati suburb.

Weather is pretty typical Cincinnati weather- humid in the summers and mild in the winters. There are usually a couple snow storms a year which will close schools for a day, but usually nothing too horrible.

[Ohiogirl81]

I like Loveland. Despite its growth and the growth of the encroaching suburbs, the city has managed to maintain a small-town feel.

Originally Posted by goyguy

With any luck, the latest owners of the Golden Lamb can do something about reversing the downward quality trend of the restaurant there.

Wouldn't that be nice. I used to hang out at the restaurant's bar quite frequently but used only the back entrance at dinnertime because of the smell of the food. Bleah! My boss would think he was doing me a favor when he'd send me to a chamber dinner or whatever at the Golden Lamb. Gimme McDonald's any day ...

does anybody else here recall Kash's Bargain Barn?

Kash Amburgy was such a nice guy ... a total cheeseball, but a big ol' sweetheart of a cheeseball!

[Briolat21]

Haven't been to the Lamb yet .. all the locals at work I've spoken to seem to share your opinion of the food. Lebanon is a great little town - but an awesome restaurant does seem to be lacking. We've been to Doc's (like it!) but something a little less JimmyBuffet does Lebanon would be nice.

Perhaps with the new developments/businesses we'll get some more restaurants out this way..

[goyguy]

I wouldn't bank on that since it's a "family" area, LOL! But maybe the indefatigable Sturkeys will heed your call. Their new "Mesh" in West Chester is getting good press, and terming them ambitious is putting it mildly. Consider the time frame within which they not only established and sold their enormously successful namesake restaurant in Wyoming, but also launched three "Encore" locations that also took off. (Only to crash land earlier in '08 under the new ownership, along with the "rebranded"-to-Encore original.)
Starting an upscale Lebanese place would only seem fitting also, don'cha think? But it'd have to be Lebbanunnese, lol.
Don't forget about Brandywine, just up Route 63 a piece in Monroe. Having a limited but always changing menu is a great idea - 'tis easy to get on their mailing list to know what they're serving and when. It's kind of a chancy proposition to eat there, since the quality veers from mediocre to superb and often lands squarely in between. 'tain't cheap either. The owners are hands-on managers, always a plus at a dining establishment, and are quick and eager to strike up a personal acquaintanceship with repeat customers. So I'm happy to put in a word for 'em. Leave the pre-teens at home, though.

[Briolat21]

I'll check out brandywine - thanks! I rented a condo in Monroe while waiting for the house to be built in Lebaon - I drove by the Brandywine but couldn't figure out when they were open / what they were like..

now that I've got a reccommendation I'll make sure my husband and i check it out!