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I am looking for information about relocating to the Lima area for a job transfer. I have three children ages 13,11 & 8. Finding the right area for the neighborhood and schooling is my biggest concern. I'm moving from a city with about 28,000 people. We have bad areas of town and they are known. We do lock our cars and doors in the last few years, but thats everywhere. Friends here tell me not to live in Lima its high crime and their friends live outside the city. I like the sidewalks and street lights in city living. Anyone with any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
There are a lot of great little communities outside of Lima that offer a quaint, small-town, life with the amenities of a small city like Lima. If you google Allen County, or towns in Allen County, you'll get a good idea for what it has to offer. Lima is somewhat centrally located in the county, so you can get there in about 20 minutes from many places. Honestly, not to knock Lima, I know it has its' good qualities, but the small towns nearby have a great deal of charm, safety, and better public schools (generally) in comparison to Lima.
I am looking for information about relocating to the Lima area for a job transfer. I have three children ages 13,11 & 8. Finding the right area for the neighborhood and schooling is my biggest concern. I'm moving from a city with about 28,000 people. We have bad areas of town and they are known. We do lock our cars and doors in the last few years, but thats everywhere. Friends here tell me not to live in Lima its high crime and their friends live outside the city. I like the sidewalks and street lights in city living. Anyone with any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Grew in up Lima. Lived there for 23 years (now 31 and haven't lived there since 2004 so going off what relatives, friends, news tells me and some entertaining past experiences). So here goes...
Delphos - redneck (only good thing about delphos is seeing in your rear view mirror)
Beaverdam - redneck (cheap gas though)
Bluffton - college town (town is the type though where you can literally park your car, leave the keys in the ignition, run inside a store for a while, come back out and your car will actually still be there).
Spencerville - redneck (more appropriate term growing up was SpencerTUCKY)
Harrod / Lafayette - redneck
Elida - redneck + $$$$
Fort Shawnee - redneck + $$$$
Wapak (not in allen county) - littered with trailer parks and meth labs. you've been warned. just type in meth labs + wapakoneta into google and see how many news hits come back. it's scary. again you've been warned. a buddy of mine and his wife live in st. marys and refuse to stop for food or gas in wapak if they're on 33.
Schools
DJ - refer back to description of town
DSJ - rednecks who attend mass
Bluffton HS - good but not what it was. enrollment has declined A LOT over the last decade.
Allen East - good school system IMO. one of the few school districts growing in Allen County.
Bath HS - everyone I knew from Bath growing up was either a.) really good at sports b.) a christian fanatic c.) both. these days from what i'm told they're not as athletic, school has gotten much smaller. typical rural school with some suburbanites.
Perry HS - smallest school in the county other than Temple Christian. they bus kids out of Lima's DEEP south end for diversity purposes if you get my drift. Never before seen a small rural white school with an all black basketball team. not joking either.
Shawnee HS - lot of friends attended this school due to where I lived in Lima City. LOTS of drug dealing back in the 90s. There is something hilarious however about kids who keep folgers cans full of pot in their benz.
Elida - obnoxious, some good people though. lots of politics though in the school system. just make sure your kids don't pull any Home Alone pranks.
Lima Central Catholic - if your kids don't fit into the status quo of the average suburban white teenager they will feel left out. when i was in high school back in the 90s we use to get 4 or 5 LCC transfers a year. Good school but not worth paying private school money for. I will say though i had MANY friends who went to LCC and they were all good people so the blanket statement may not be warranted...not all the time at least.
Spencerville - so so. typical small rural town school. just like the other 500 in Ohio.
Lima Senior (the alma mater) - good school until the last decade. started going down hill 10 years ago academically, athletically, arts, music you name it. academics have picked back up in the last 4 - 5 years but athletics have become more or less a joke. i'm not even sure they have a marching band anymore which is sad. when i graduated the school had roughly 1,400 kids give or take. now they struggle to stay between 1,000-1,100. not what it once was certainly, does still offer A LOT of academic opps for kids who are ambitious.
I'm not going to fully disagree with the above post as I believe some of them are accurate. What are your kids involved in? Many of those small schools above have proud athletic tradtions, excellent music programs, and all around good people.
As far as schools go, look on the ODE website, search Allen County, and I believe, when looking at performance, you'll find the one you want your children to attend. I would argue (and be willing to bet based on testing results) that your top performers will be Bluffton, Allen East, Shawnee, Bath, and maybe Spencerville--though I'm not 100% on the last one. The nice thing about these schools is that they are small. Your children will graduate with a class size of 90-120 (est. of course), have teachers who are supportive; meaning they attend athletic and music events, help with clubs and organizations, and genuinely care about their students. Not that larger schools don't, because they do, it's just different in a small town. I know, I grew up in one of them.
Is there a specific price range you want to stick to for purchasing/renting a house? What "feel" do you want? Each of these areas have something to offer everyone, and I really think if we have a little more information as to what you are looking for, we could help you out a little more. I would venture that since you have kids, schools are a priority, which is why a few of us have given you information regarding them.
But, if you want a small, safe, town that has walkable streets and a little downtown that provides basic necessities, good schools that your kids can walk to and from, I'd go with Bluffton. The schools are generally one of the best performing in the county, and for a small school have many programs for students to participate in. There is a rec center, a public pool, easy access to I75 (Lima is about 15 minutes away), a few small local restaurants, and a movie theater whose prices can't be beat. I know there are parades in the fall (Homecoming), winter (Blaize of Lights), and late spring for Memorial Day. There is a craft show every spring, and a classic car show in early summer. The college, while small is building a brand new athletic complex for basketball, puts on musicals in the spring, and hosts other events which would provide some inexpensive family activities.
Another small town, while not in Allen County, but very close to it is Ada. Ada is another small town, home of Ohio Norther, another college. I would say it's somewhat comparable to Bluffton. I believe their schools are good, with home prices being less expensive. It is also not far from Lima. I believe you could be there in about 20 minutes or so. I'm not as familiar with Ada and activities they may have, but having a university, I believe they would offer many of the same things as Bluffton University.
Just a little information about a few places that might appeal to you.
I moved here to Lima from Chillicothe (Really great schools there I may say for city schools) before that I was in Washington State out in the middle of no where... Soo On this note, the lima city schools I very much dislike, I dont advise north, and west is ok but still need communication from the teachers and staff... My son has special needs and I had better city schools in Chillicothe.. I just dont like them.. Now, depending on where you work best side of town would be Elida or Shawnee for Schools and close to the mall and shopping centers. I can say RENT if below 500 is not a good place to move. That being said I live near Freedom elementary and having kids walk by my house every single morning gets annoying, and the kids can be disrespectful to your property unless you step out and tell them to "pick up the garbage they tossed on your neighbors lawn". The people here are really nice, mixed culture.. Bi, straight, gay, you name it its here so keep an open mind. Now if you want a job I can say I started at the mall, there are plenty of positions, its just are you willing to show up for your job, and not call in all the time.. I dont know enough about the area to help you any further but for the places ive gone please check them out: Wynnona lake, its a water park - durring the summer.. there is also a edgewood roller skating, there is regis movie theater, and the lima mall! there is alot to do here if your not used to "big city" easy to get around...
METCALF or ELM Street - Not a place for kids (drive through at night you will understand why!)
My family and I will be moving to Lima in June from a small suburb of Atlanta,GA. I am a teacher, my husband has a criminal justice /security background. We have 3 children ages 16,14 and 13. I spent my childhood summers in Lima with my grandparents and have very fond memories. Now I am looking forward to making memories of my own. I have applied to teach at Bath, Elida and Shawnee. We will have to rent a home. Can anyone tell me where to start looking? We need at least. 3 bed and 2 bathrooms. We will be visiting for our Spring Break the first week in April. Also, what kinds of things are there for the children to get involved in? I have heard too much negativity and need to hear the good things about my beloved Lima. I love small towns and pray that the community will embrace us! Any insight you can offer would be greatly appreciated!
I live in the heart of St. Marys Ohio. I never really got to see all of Lima but there are some nice towns of Lima, but if you get to Lima from I 75 before the mall it is bad ghetto there I would say east Lima is from I 75. But Shawnee and western part of Lima is pretty nice. Only living in the State of Ohio and in St. Marys for 6 months and have driven through Spencerville, Dephos, Celina, Clearwater, New Bremen, Fort. Loramie, Minster, Lima, Shawnee and Wapak. Wapak is nice but like some said above I heard stories there.
If you don't mind driving a bit, you can try St. Marys or towns off of Rt. 66 to Rt. 81. I wish I could be more of a helper here but there are plenty of people who can help. Wish you the best.
I live in the heart of St. Marys Ohio. I never really got to see all of Lima but there are some nice towns of Lima, but if you get to Lima from I 75 before the mall it is bad ghetto there I would say east Lima is from I 75. But Shawnee and western part of Lima is pretty nice. Only living in the State of Ohio and in St. Marys for 6 months and have driven through Spencerville, Dephos, Celina, Clearwater, New Bremen, Fort. Loramie, Minster, Lima, Shawnee and Wapak. Wapak is nice but like some said above I heard stories there.
If you don't mind driving a bit, you can try St. Marys or towns off of Rt. 66 to Rt. 81. I wish I could be more of a helper here but there are plenty of people who can help. Wish you the best.
you do realize that you have to drive through the entire city of Lima to get to the Lima Mall from I-75 right? that would conclude that the entire city is ghetto?
I'll make it simple for ya since i was born and went to school IN Lima.
St. Johns Ave - stay away from
any street that has a number like "3rd street" stay away from even in the daylight.
anything west of Woodlawn is perfectly fine.
the northwest and southwest portion of the city especially those by faurot park are very nice.
the North end is nice
the northeast end as you get closer to Bath township gets very industrial and somewhat dirty
the east end is 50/50 some would say. i had friends in high school who lived on the east side who lived in some pretty decent homes and their parents were graduate school educated. the eastside gets knocked because of its proximity to the deep south end that leads into perry township.
I moved here to Lima from Chillicothe (Really great schools there I may say for city schools) before that I was in Washington State out in the middle of no where... Soo On this note, the lima city schools I very much dislike, I dont advise north, and west is ok but still need communication from the teachers and staff... My son has special needs and I had better city schools in Chillicothe.. I just dont like them.. Now, depending on where you work best side of town would be Elida or Shawnee for Schools and close to the mall and shopping centers. I can say RENT if below 500 is not a good place to move. That being said I live near Freedom elementary and having kids walk by my house every single morning gets annoying, and the kids can be disrespectful to your property unless you step out and tell them to "pick up the garbage they tossed on your neighbors lawn". The people here are really nice, mixed culture.. Bi, straight, gay, you name it its here so keep an open mind. Now if you want a job I can say I started at the mall, there are plenty of positions, its just are you willing to show up for your job, and not call in all the time.. I dont know enough about the area to help you any further but for the places ive gone please check them out: Wynnona lake, its a water park - durring the summer.. there is also a edgewood roller skating, there is regis movie theater, and the lima mall! there is alot to do here if your not used to "big city" easy to get around...
METCALF or ELM Street - Not a place for kids (drive through at night you will understand why!)
if you mean the cornoer of metcalf and elm then yes. if you mean elm street period then you are way off base. in fact that corner of metcalf and elm while sketchy does have a few houses on the one side where some pretty prominent or once prominent people still reside.
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