Possible new job in Wellington. (Lorain, Lakewood: for sale, real estate, rent)

[SLM12345]

My family and I may be moving back home to Ohio! My new job would be in wellington. We are from the SE portion of the state and we currently live in Maryland.

We are very excited about the possibility of moving back, but don't know much about the area. We want to be in a more rural area with good schools being a priority(we have 3 little girls). We would also like a safe area obviously with reasonable housing prices and reasonable taxes. We have been told by a few people to look at wellington, medina, grafton, and Lagrange.

Can anyone tell me about these areas or possibly suggest some other towns to look at?

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by SLM12345

My family and I may be moving back home to Ohio! My new job would be in wellington. We are from the SE portion of the state and we currently live in Maryland.

We are very excited about the possibility of moving back, but don't know much about the area. We want to be in a more rural area with good schools being a priority(we have 3 little girls). We would also like a safe area obviously with reasonable housing prices and reasonable taxes. We have been told by a few people to look at wellington, medina, grafton, and Lagrange.

Can anyone tell me about these areas or possibly suggest some other towns to look at?

Wellington is a small town in the southern portion of Lorain Co. Along with Oberlin, which is about 7 miles north, Wellington was a hotbed of the abolition movement in the 1850s and a stop on the Underground Railroad.

It is a small town and has a reputation for having quality schools You are NOT going to find a large amount of retail in the area as it is pretty small. If you want a rural area, with low crime, and good schools, Wellington is a good choice. You WILL be driving to the grocery and for entertainment.

If you want a more suburban location, most of my coworkers would recommend Amherst. They claim that the schools are the best and housing prices are a bit higher.

Oberlin also is a pretty decent town although the town, like the college, has much different vibe. Think Antioch is SW Ohio, an you will get the idea. There are a lot of cultural activities in and around the college that are worth attending.

As for taxes, the best course is to live and work in the same community or to live in an UNincorporated area. In MANY areas of Ohio, you pay local income taxes in BOTH the city you work in and where you work in. Some cities MIGHT give you credit, some not. Where I lived in NE Ohio, I was paying over 3% in local income taxes. That might not seem a lot to you BUT between the local income taxes and real estate taxes, I moved out of Ohio.

[SLM12345]

Thank you! That's a lot of great information.

[jlawrence01]

One more thing.

The few people that I knew who lived in Wellington were really big into using geothermal energy to heat their homes. I do not know if they were one of few or if that was something big in that area.

[ECBeastor]

Of those 4, wellington would be my choice. I like it's mix of old historical "downtown" with beautiful century + homes on the main street as well as mix of farm properties and newer developments. It's also only about a 30 min drive to shopping mall areas in Elyria, Avon or North Olmsted.

I also like Oberlin, but it probably has the most run down sections of those mentioned and probably has the lowest rated schools of those mentioned, but they're far from bad. Its even closer to the shopping areas mentioned above.

If you're worried about Wellington schools, you could move out to the outskirts to the south and they go to the better rated Black River Schools in Northern Ashland County. Saw an old 19th century Italianate Victorian on 5 acres for sale in this area for under $100K. Needs fixing up (a lot - some brick work is down in the back), but looks like it has potential. 46837 Bursley Rd, Wellington, OH 44090 . Listing says it's an Underground Railroad home.

[SLM12345]

Wow thanks! I'm not worried about wellington schools. Their ratings are high. I'll look at that property you posted!

[bler144]

Oberlin Schools are generally deemed to be not good. On the upside the college offers significant scholarship $$ to any student from the local system who can get admitted, but for a college town, the number who can is surprisingly slim. And personally I think Oberlin as a town has other problems. But their library is quite good and it's a nice town for walking. Plus Oberlin arguably has the best restaurants of those options.

Medina is an interesting mid-sized city, and the commute to Wellington is pretty nice for most of the stretch. Low rolling hills, trees, the occasional flock of sheep. Spent some time there, but can't speak to the schools. But your description of what you want sounds more like Wellington anyway, or perhaps somewhere along the road between. Medina would be your choice if you wanted a small/mid-size city with options for local employment for yourself.

Amherst is more upscale/suburban, and has good access to the major throughways. The only reason I would opt for Lagrange or Grafton would be closer access to the major shopping areas. From Wellington there are a few small grocers, a pretty good local hardware store, and the Walmart up on 20.

The downside of Wellington is that it's farthest from shopping writ large and has the least access to major throughways. (Crocker Park will be about 35 min, and the mall in Elyria just a bit shorter) I think Oberlin has the better dining, but really, it's a 15 min drive if on occasion you do want to drive for food. In Wellington you also have Findley park, where they have a small swimming area and they rent canoes. Short drive out from downtown: http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/findley

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by bler144

Oberlin Schools are generally deemed to be not good. On the upside the college offers significant scholarship $$ to any student from the local system who can get admitted, but for a college town, the number who can is surprisingly slim. And personally I think Oberlin as a town has other problems. But their library is quite good and it's a nice town for walking. Plus Oberlin arguably has the best restaurants of those options.

Let me address the 600 lb gorilla in the room. Oberlin do not do as well as other school districts in the area due to its significant minority population. When I lived in Lorain Co., the Oberlin schools ranked about 4th or 5th in the county (out of 12); however, all I heard was that the schools were bad. I am NOT sure how much was reality and how much was my coworkers steering me away from buying in the community.

If you can get into Oberlin College, you can pretty much expect a significant scholarship at a number of other universities.

I cannot speak for the Oberlin Public Library, but the Oberlin College Library, open to the public, if the best in Lorain County.

If you are looking for a college town that looks like one, Oberlin is probably what you are thinking of. Do remember that the campus is about as politically charged as any in the US. In other words, you will see a protest of some sort several times a year - you can't always tell what it is for/ against. It is a small town version of Madison, WI.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

When I lived in Lorain Co., the Oberlin schools ranked about 4th or 5th in the county (out of 12); however, all I heard was that the schools were bad. I am NOT sure how much was reality and how much was my coworkers steering me away from buying in the community.

5th seems high to me. In any case, the county has several districts that are bad (Lorain, Elyria), a few that are good (Avon Lake, Avon, Amherst), and a cluster of meh in the middle (Oberlin, Vermillion) that is at best not so good.

Oberlin is an interesting town - the college and 'Main Street Oberlin' are the public face, but underneath it you have a pretty deeply segregated town. So I agree that race is very much an issue there, even if it doesn't get talked about much. You're more likely to hear about the college's role in the Underground Railroad and as the first school to admit black students than about current poverty and segregation issues.

But imo the issue with the Oberlin schools isn't race per se, it's poverty. It's a town with a high end (median family income of 60k inflated by the large number of boomers working/teaching at the college), but also 20% of the population under the poverty line.

By comparison in Wellington everything is more to the middle - median family income is only 45k, but poverty only about 8%.

[jlawrence01]

When I moved to Lakewood in 1995, Oberlin was ranked 4th or 5th. There have been a lot of migration into the eastern part of the county as Avon and Avon Lake were developed. We avoided Avon and North Ridgeville as the schools could NOT keep up with the population growth.

Oberlin has more public housing than most town its size in the county.

Do remember that Oberlin has two other major employers - the FAA and a major textbook distributor.