Moving from Upstate NY (Lower Adirondacks) to Dayton Ohio area (Columbus: transplants, for sale)

[Marsh27]

Hello,

My husband is considering accepting a job offer in Dayton, Ohio. We have two school age boys, 5th and 2nd grade, so a good school district is a must. We are looking for a family friendly neighborhood that is easy for our boys to meet other children. We currently live in a walking school district; would love to move to something similar. My husband would prefer no more than a hour commute total (to and from work). We are looking to rent while we become assimilated with the area, taking our time to purchase. Our rental budget is 1,000-1,500/month and our home purchase budget will be 200k-300k. Our boys are also hockey players, we'd ideally like to be no more than 15 minutes away from the local youth hockey rink.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Kind Regards,

The Marshs

[SWOH]

Oakwood without a doubt is where you should look. Here's some places:

342 Forrer Blvd, Oakwood, OH 45419 | Zillow
for renting.... street view of it because Zillow has no pictures up:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/34...af2898!6m1!1e1


For buying, a couple options:
125 Greenmount Blvd, Oakwood, OH 45419 | MLS #703234 | Zillow
327 Lonsdale Ave, Oakwood, OH 45419 | MLS #703005 | Zillow
206 Corona Ave, Oakwood, OH 45419 | MLS #703040 | Zillow

Oakwood schools are also the best in the Dayton metro area. And the community is highly walkable, a great local grocery store (Dorothy Lane Market) is in town, and overall a great place for kids. Nearby Kettering would be where you would go for the ice rink, which would require driving but it is quick (10-15 min).


Another decent option for your family would be Troy, but if you go with Troy I would recommend staying within the historic core or just across the river so your kids could walk to school, the ice rink (Hobart Arena), and into town with their friends. When Mumford and Sons were a bit more popular and doing their national 3-4 stop tour in classic small towns around the nation, Troy was picked because it was so... ideal.

Actually, the more I think about it, Troy might be the better option of the two - lots depends on the work location

A couple options there, I'll start with current rentals on the market:
828 E Main St, Troy, OH 45373 | Zillow
125 Jean Cir, Troy, OH 45373 | Zillow
(last one would not be walkable to school/ice rink/town)

And for buying, not a lot of choice at your budget, just because Troy housing prices are low. Here's one house that is somewhat walkable to town and meets your budget:
1010 Westgate Rd, Troy, OH 45373 | MLS #623927 | Zillow
A neat, not walkable mansion on the main drag into the city:
1220 W Main St, Troy, OH 45373 | MLS #702288 | Zillow

But keep checking, houses in that range will come up on the market in Troy, and they are beauties.

Also, some Troy houses comparable to the ones in Oakwood in the $200k-$300k range... but for a lot less:
16 S Short St, Troy, OH 45373 | MLS #703891 | Zillow
419 W Race St, Troy, OH 45373 | Zillow
522 S Market St, Troy, OH 45373 | MLS #587300 | Zillow
353 Lincoln Ave, Troy, OH 45373 | MLS #561992 | Zillow


Good luck! Hope one (or both) of these communities will be a good fit and make the transition out here a little easier.

[dxdtdemon]

Are there any youth hockey rinks in the area other than the Kettering Rec Center and the one in Troy? There have been lots of plans to build one in Greene County but arguments over where it should be have kept it from happening.

[woxyroxme]

Originally Posted by Marsh27

Our boys are also hockey players, we'd ideally like to be no more than 15 minutes away from the local youth hockey rink.

The concept of the "local youth hockey rink" is unheard of in this area in the way you are accustomed to. When I came back to Lebanon in 1973 I was the only kid in school who knew who Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr was and the only kid that had his own ice skates, luckily for me that was the year the Northland Ice Center opened in Evendale but that was a half hour drive away. I have played in leagues at Northland and Sports Plus, also in Evendale but not in any league in the Dayton area. There are some high school teams in the area, I know Springboro and Fairmont have teams, I'm sure there are others, but this is not a good area for hockey but on the plus side when your favorite NHL team comes to Columbus to play the Blue Jackets it is really easy to get good seats.

[RDriesenUD]

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ke...52132e55251068

https://www.google.com/maps/place/J+...ce99d8cca7f6a7

You can walk to school and be really close to the Rec center, The Greene, etc.... if you live in this neighborhood. There are plenty other options in Kettering, Beavercreek, Bellbrook, Sugarcreek Township, and Centerville. Is there anything else you are looking for that could help us narrow your search down.

[Marsh27]

Thank you for the great information! When I began doing my "homework" Oakwood looked to be a great option! My husband and I will be taking a trip to Ohio towards the end of April to make final decisions. I am a teacher, so I will be taking at least the next school year off to transition my boys. Are there many teaching opportunities in Ohio or is the market pretty saturated like NY?

Again thank you!

[RDriesenUD]

It's not bad. I mean, it's probably not great anywhere right now, but you should be able to get a job.

[RDriesenUD]

Here some houses in the area I posted about.

4534 Parklawn Dr, Kettering, OH 45440 - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - realtor.com®

3111 Santa Rosa Dr, Kettering, OH 45440 - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - realtor.com®

2525 Timber Oak Cir, Kettering, OH 45440 - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - realtor.com®

3058 Meadow Park Dr, Dayton, OH 45440 - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - realtor.com®

2488 Santa Rosa Dr, Kettering, OH 45440 - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - realtor.com®

2425 Westlawn Dr, Kettering, OH 45440 - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - realtor.com®

2633 Meadow Park Dr, Kettering, OH 45440 - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - realtor.com®

The inside of that last house isn't exactly my style .

Here are some houses in other parts of Kettering. Some of these might not be in Kettering. A lot of cities come together in this area and I always forget which city some of these places are in.

632 W Stroop Rd, Dayton, OH 45429 | MLS #702710 | Zillow

3312 Lenox Dr, Dayton, OH 45429 | MLS #702088 | Zillow

2936 S Patterson Blvd, Dayton, OH 45419 | MLS #620763 | Zillow

132 Strathmoor Xing, Kettering, OH 45429 | MLS #620375 | Zillow

3225 Marshall Rd, Dayton, OH 45429 | MLS #618747 | Zillow

3233 Atherton Rd, Dayton, OH 45409 | MLS #614147 | Zillow

4533 Wing View Ln, Dayton, OH 45429 | MLS #626211 | Zillow

3357 Witherspoon Dr, Dayton, OH 45440 | Zillow

3223 Montpelier Dr, Dayton, OH 45440 | MLS #623135 | Zillow

312 Deer Park Cir, Dayton, OH 45429 | MLS #703826 | Zillow

2566 Dunwoody Ct, Kettering, OH 45420 | MLS #704012 | Zillow

This is just to give you an idea of houses in your price range. I am sure a lot of houses that are for sale aren't online. The one problem with Kettering is they don't have as many new/big houses as other cities do. I wish they did, because I love all the other things about the city.

[CarpathianPeasant]

Originally Posted by RDriesenUD

This is just to give you an idea of houses in your price range. I am sure a lot of houses that are for sale aren't online. The one problem with Kettering is they don't have as many new/big houses as other cities do. I wish they did, because I love all the other things about the city.

...But, but, I thought "Dayton" moved to Englewood.

.

[SWOH]

Originally Posted by Marsh27

Thank you for the great information! When I began doing my "homework" Oakwood looked to be a great option! My husband and I will be taking a trip to Ohio towards the end of April to make final decisions. I am a teacher, so I will be taking at least the next school year off to transition my boys. Are there many teaching opportunities in Ohio or is the market pretty saturated like NY?

Again thank you!

That's good! Oakwood is a pretty ideal community for you IMO, but I would definitely take the opportunity to do a visit and check it out in person. Western Kettering might be a good option too, many of Oakwood's streets bleed into Kettering seamlessly and the city enjoys some advantages that Oakwood does not, like an IB program in HS.

Also, if the commute isn't prohibitively long, I would definitely visit Troy (and Tipp City, which I should have mentioned earlier) too. The reason I say that is because Troy itself is highly walkable and very family oriented. Also it has a nice ice rink haha. Tipp is good too, overall there would be more transplants in Tipp than Troy, but fewer housing options and the city itself offers less "practical" amenities within walking distance than Troy (upside would be a walkable grocery store, which Troy does not offer. Would not compare to Oakwood's Dorothy Lane Market though).


As far as I know, the market was fairly saturated but more opportunities were opening up. I've heard that Lakota Schools needed to hire a ton of teachers (like 100) recently. Then again, I've heard first hand from teachers that the environment there is brutal, funding is declining, and school quality as a result is tanking so probably not the best place to work, but the need for teachers there might free up opportunities in other places closer to Dayton. Bellbrook and Beavercreek seem to be the fastest growing communities locally so those might be good places to look, same goes for Bethel Schools but it's a very small district so I'm not sure how many new teachers they actually are bringing in.