Northern Kentucky (Covington, Newport, Fort Thomas: low income, fit in, rent)

[nkyhowaboutit]

I'm considering moving to Covington. I love the architecture and there are plenty of jobs in my field in the area even stemming from a very brief search... Any opinions on this town? I'm hoping to invest in some of the older housing stock, maybe purchase multiple properties to fix-up and rent.

[EclecticEars]

It depends on which part of Covington you choose to invest in. Covington is like a smorgasboard of good versus not-so-good. Its higher than normal property taxes for Kentucky and constant drug problems are why people continue to leave Covington. Admittedly, though, property taxes, both rate and raw dollars, are considerably lower than across the river in Cincinnati. For that reason, urban reinvestment has been gradually spreading throughout Covington since the 1980s.

Mainstrasse is also very nice, well-kept and a vibrant, active bar and entertainment district. Yet, the historic character of the neighborhood has been, for the most part, pretty well preserved. Rent a little more expensive than the rest of Covington (except for LR) b/c of its popularity as a place for young professionals and hipsters (bleh!) to live.

Licking Riverside is a nice, small, fairly wealthy neighborhood. Very safe. Not much refurbishment to be had there. If I had to live in Covington, this would be my first place to live.

West Covington, west of I-75, has stable housing stock, great views of the Ohio River and has successfully weathered the urban "renewal" and crime problems that plagued the city from the 1960s through 1990s. It's not very run-down looking at all, but there are still plenty of homes if you look that could use some work. Plus, it places you close to another cute little riverside town, Ludlow.

Peaselburg is a very small enclave around approximately 18th-20th Streets in South Covington. A lot of community pride, although the drug problems of the rest of S. Covington have gradually crept into Peaselburg. However, it's really not enough that Peaselburg has experienced a substantial population loss. Check it out.

South Covington itself runs from approximately 8th Street to 26th Street. Low murder rate, but high rates of drug violations and domestic violence. Choose your blocks wisely, you don't want to be, uhm, the wrong color on some blocks.

Latonia acts, behaves and functions like a totally different city in mindset. Very blue-collar area, blend of old 1900s-1940s urban residential and suburban sprawl/strip mall development. Walkable with its own tiny, cute little downtown. Like S. Covington, choose your blocks wisely; however, most of your neighbors will be "white trash." They'll also respect your privacy as long as you respect theirs, no problems there. Some "diamonds in the rough" as far as housing stock goes.

Find out more for yourself by clicking the "Neighborhoods" tab at the following site: City of Covington, Kentucky

[nkyhowaboutit]

Thanks for the reply! I like what you've got to say... But the things you say about the people worry me. I was there recently and didn't see any of those "white trash" neighborhoods as you call it. I hate to see that kind of thing around as that's usually linked with larger issues.

Can anyone else testify on the people of Covington?

I'm looking for urban living in the Cincinnati area and I liked the feel of all the old rowhouses and lofts in downtown Covington... Hrm... Any other recommendations?

[CarpathianPeasant]

Possibly what you need to check out is the differences between the laws on the two sides of the river, both state law and local law. Federal law is the same anywhere in the country; but, other law and government structure (notably state and county) are very different on the two sides of the river. And, if you don't have a city manager form of government where you are, you will be even more at a loss either place.

Another thing you might consider is things like the fact that the major media is all out of Cincinnati. They nominally have Northern Kentucky divisions, but that doesn't mean the staff members really have a clear idea of Northern Kentucky. In other words, somebody goes and interviews someone in Ohio, they put it on the air, everyone talks as if that's the way things are, only it's not that way in Kentucky.

[EclecticEars]

Originally Posted by nkyhowaboutit

Thanks for the reply! I like what you've got to say... But the things you say about the people worry me. I was there recently and didn't see any of those "white trash" neighborhoods as you call it. I hate to see that kind of thing around as that's usually linked with larger issues.

Can anyone else testify on the people of Covington?

I'm looking for urban living in the Cincinnati area and I liked the feel of all the old rowhouses and lofts in downtown Covington... Hrm... Any other recommendations?

It's not so much that the overall crime rate is higher than other urban cities in America, it's that there's a lot of very low income, homeless and government-dependent residents in Covington. When you have that, often times people turn to vices they shouldn't in order to either "fit in" with their surroundings or to "get over" their situation temporarily. South Covington and downtown, in particular, have a slew of problems and Latonia is a (dis)honorable mention. There are also a lot of teen pregnancies, even domestic underage living situations, as well as families with multiple children attributed to multiple parents; this is the same type of stuff you see in most low income and inner city neighborhoods. Still, it doesn't make for a positive social environment.

I would call the people of Covington "white trash" overall--at least the ones I've interacted with--which sounds like a terrible indictment, but spend some time there and you'll see. More like the cast of the Jerry Springer show rather than people who will hold you at knifepoint at 3am (although you need to keep your wits about you in South Covington and downtown).

I personally like East Row in Newport as well as Bellevue and Fort Thomas. East Row and Bellevue, in particular, are quite nice. Although I would avoid much of Newport as the west end has the same problems as much of Covington and the south end, while decent, is more suburban than you're looking for. Fort Thomas is one of the nicest communities in the state, hands down, but its specialty is more cute 1910s-1940s bungalows than rowhouses.

Originally Posted by CarpathianPeasant

Possibly what you need to check out is the differences between the laws on the two sides of the river, both state law and local law. Federal law is the same anywhere in the country; but, other law and government structure (notably state and county) are very different on the two sides of the river. And, if you don't have a city manager form of government where you are, you will be even more at a loss either place.

Another thing you might consider is things like the fact that the major media is all out of Cincinnati. They nominally have Northern Kentucky divisions, but that doesn't mean the staff members really have a clear idea of Northern Kentucky. In other words, somebody goes and interviews someone in Ohio, they put it on the air, everyone talks as if that's the way things are, only it's not that way in Kentucky.

All true.

[triciashawn]

I would say that those posting here in the negative about Latonia and its residents have a limited knowledge of the area. I have lived here and several other communities in NKY, including what many think of as the most upscale nieghborhood - Fort Mitchell.

Latonia is a broad mixture of both housing stock and people. Homes range from the 50,000 to about 300,000 and include everything from cottages to grand Victorians. The housing stock is old so there are varying states of repair but there is a recent insurgence of young couples who are snapping up inexpensive properties and doing some nice restorations.

Pros: inexpensive and beautiful historic homes, strong neighborhood associations, safe (it's the safest neighborhood in Covington - including the South Covington area which is mostly 1970s split levels), close to everything, friendly people, relatively quiet, nice grocery store and an abundance of churches.

Cons - slum lords who have snapped up the inexpensive properties and let them deteriorate, expensive tax base, a school which has excellent advanced programs but the general population performs poorly on state tests.

Overall you will find a mix of nice retirees and young couples. Some are blue collar, some are well educated. It has a reputation of being a city within a city even though it was annexed by in 1909. People jokingly refer to it as Mayberry. Nothing fancy but generally a nice sleepy town.

As for those who are telling you it is blue collar, white trash, Springer-esque - hardly. There's an element of poverty but mostly it's just an older neighborhood. I bought my first home here as a single woman, and I happily still live here with my family. I've never felt unsafe but then I'm involved with the neighborhood associations andI know the reality of the crime statistics. For the record, I and many of my neighbors have advanced degrees and manage to wear shoes - most of the time.

[boilereric]

If you're not familiar with the Cincinnati area in general, one thing to know is that there are very distinct and sudden boundaries between nieghborhoods in the urban core - that is Cincinnati, Covington, Newport and some of the other close in suburbs. Case in point - the Cincinnati neighborhood of Hyde Park, one of the most "desirable" neighborhoods in Cincy, is adjacent to Evanston, a neighborhood with a wide variety of income levels. Similarly the Mt Adams - one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Cincy, is adjacent to Walnut Hills, which is one of the rougher neighborhoods. The street and block you live on can be very, very different from the one just a block away. I had a friend who lived in a high-end 3CDC condo in OTR and lived next door to doctors, lawyers, etc, just two blocks from the homeless shelter and some drug trade hot spots.

The bottom line is you can find great homes, great blocks, great neighbors in the areas others have declared horrible neighborhoods, and you can find bad blocks in the desireable neighborhoods. Investigate the homes and blocks you are looking to buy on.

Covington is quite friendly to people looking to rehab old homes too. Check out their Investment Tax Credit for Historic Preservation program.