advice for move from Derby (rural suburb of Buffalo) NY to possibly Ross or West Chester

[wastina]

I used to camp in Ross, and it sounds like the rural wonderland you seek. However, I believe that there was a nuclear clean up activity out there a while back. You would definitely want to know about that before buying and buidling.

[ohartist]

There is now a park where the nuclear clean up took place. The camp, Fort Scott is now a new housing develoment. Its very close to a large Hamilton County Park.

[Rossonian]

Ross is the best. Close to shopping, 30 minutes to downtown Cincinnati, rural, and the top rated schools (Rated "Excellent" by the State). Not crowded. I think it sounds like where you would like to be. Some of the other places suggested are too crowded.

[sandasene]

Ross schools are good. I know a few families who attend there. Definately the mix of kids you speak of.

There is camping at Winton Woods and Miami Whitewater Parks, part of the Hamilton County Parks system.
Hamilton County Park District - It's Great Outdoors! ®

You may also want to check the Colerain West area. The northern sections above I-275 are rural although close to the local landfill. We were driving those backroads last weekend and came across a flock of wild turkeys, about 25 of them.

[Bhiggins]

You'll love it here but please... Don't go anywhere south of 275 and west of 75 in ohio, most of the westside is done for. doesn't matter, you are looking for an urban feel, not the have to look back every 5 seconds for street trash following you down the street feel right?

[Briolat21]

As far as commute times go -- I live in TurtleCreek Twp (less than 1 mile from Lebanon, in Lebanon SD) -- I can hop on I-71 South to I-275 West and be in Sharonville in about 27 minutes. My husband used to work in Sharonville, and I currently work in the edges of WestChester.

Lebanon is a small town, a bit too rural for me, actually!! But Mason/Deerfield Twp and Kenwood Mall are short commutes (10 mins - 20 mins, respectively) and going North you have Centerville, Kettering, and even BeaverCreek (all Dayton suburbs).

To commute into downtown Cinci, its about 35 minutes when the roads are clear, which means not rush hour M-F. However, if your husband isn't working downtown, then you wouldn't be dealing with rush hour anyway. Easy to get downtown to all the arenas, museums, etc..

Again, I-71 is a straight shot.

TurtleCreek is a pretty huge township and while we only have 1 acre, there are a lot of 5 acre tracts. Do city income tax in our township (due to the fact its not a city), though you may pay school taxes of course.

Lots of horses, pretty easy access to the little Miami bike trail. A big YMCA camp called "Camp Kern" with a ZipLine through the Miami River gorge. (Haven't been that adventurous yet). Fort Ancient (one of the Mound Builder sites, haven't gotten there yet either)...

A decent place to live, and if you like rural, it seems to fit that...
(4H is very active)...

We don't have kids, but the schools have been very highly rated, though they missed "excellent" by one number this last year which annoyed everyone. School system seems a good socio-economic mix.

Keep in mind in the Cincy area a rather large number of people send their children to parochial schools. Way larger than I'm used to coming from the Detroit suburbs.. So, there's a mix in the Lebanon schools, but a lot of people bypass and go right to St. Susanna (Mason), St Francis (Lebanon), etc...

Good luck with your move, the area around Cinci really is still VERY rural.. so you shouldn't have any trouble at all finding something appropriate. Also, the commuting times (if you are already used to commuting) really aren't that bad. Very comparable to what I saw in Detroit/Chicago.

[Sarah Perry]

I'm probably getting a name for myself around here as being anti-commute, but the notion of someone living in Ross and working in Sharonville doesn't make sense to me. Ross is lovely; I grew up in the general vicinity and still drive through parts of it pretty often. And I have the impression the school system is not as affected by some of the negative societal trends as some of the more urban areas.

I don't know the more rural areas on the Sharonville side of town, so have nothing specific to offer in terms of advice. But surely the OP can find an appropriate place to live closer to work. Isn't this what realtors are for?

Even if the commute "isn't so bad" compared to a long commute in another city, or "not so bad" in terms of time assuming there's not an interstate tieup, who even wants to spend all that money in gas and mileage on a car?

[progmac]

Originally Posted by Bhiggins

You'll love it here but please... Don't go anywhere south of 275 and west of 75 in ohio, most of the westside is done for. doesn't matter, you are looking for an urban feel, not the have to look back every 5 seconds for street trash following you down the street feel right?

And people wonder why some posters get so down on the suburbs. You don't hear nonsense like that coming from people who live in the city about the outer 'burbs.

[kjbrill]

My suggestion is consider your desires first and foremost relative to your husband's job location. If Sharonville, I would be looking immediately north and then east/west off of I-75 towards Lebanon and Monroe.

Relative to your expertise, we have lawyers up the ying-yang on the north side of Cincy, since that is where most of the new money is.

If you decide to go West, with the intent you work downtown, then both of you will be saddled with long commutes. The West is nice, and I would like to live there, but only if I also worked there.