Moving to Toledo area (Bowling Green, Green: rent, crime, how much)

[Olliebronco]

Hello! We are a lesbian couple with a daughter relocating to Toledo to help care for elderly parents. We plan to keep our home in a different state and rent it out in case we aren’t happy in Toledo following the parents deaths. My partner’s parents live near Wildwood Park. For us, we want a neighborhood that is safe, has good schools, but also isn’t completely cookie cutter new build. Looking at Ottawa Hills and Sylvania at the moment. I am curious about the areas surrounding Toledo where we would have a bit more space and rural environment. If the schools aren’t great we would consider sending our daughter to the Maumee Valley Country Day school.

What areas would anyone recommend?

I grew up in rural Pennsylvania so I know that usually the farther you go outside the city, the more conservative. We are ok with that to an extent. Ideally we would prefer a more liberal, artsy town. Does that exist near Toledo?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[brickpatio2018]

You didn't mention Perrysburg. I checked schooldigger.com, crimegrade.org, bestneighborhood.org, and niche.com and Perrysburg seems to be the shining star in this area.

I haven't been there but if you read the comments in niche.com, it does sound like while it's a bit conservative and upscale, it's also an extremely nice area that is loved by the people living there.

It would be tempting to look for something more rural that is just outside Perrysburg, to avoid going to Stepford while on other hand enjoying the pride and sense of community that is apparently through the roof in this area.

[ferraris]

What sort of budget? How much space is "a bit more space"? Are you talking some breathing room between homes, or acreage?

How close do you want to be to your partner's parents? The difference between a 5-10 minute drive and a 30 minute drive is more than it sounds like on paper.

Bowling Green might be an option if you don't mind the college town vibe, but it's kind of far from her parents.

[SonnyDaze]

Liberally, artsy town

The best examples I can think of are the Old West End, an inner-city neighborhood adjacent to downtown. It's home to the renowned Toledo Museum of Art, Glass Pavilion, Toledo Symphony, and several other arts institutions. It's very LGBTQ friendly. You would need to have a high tolerance for urban environments to live here though as the OWE is surrounded by some high-poverty/high-crime areas and there is spillover crime on occasion. You would also likely need to send your daughter to a private school.

The other best example is Bowling Green, a college town about 30 min south of Toledo. I'm not sure how such a place would fit your needs though.

Otherwise, Ottawa Hills and Sylvania are fine areas with good public schools. Ottawa Hills is small, almost entirely residential, and has an old-money feel in many parts of the neighborhood. Sylvania/Sylvania Township is much larger and considered a pretty standard suburban area with a little more racial/socio-economic diversity.

Perrysburg is the "shining star" suburb of the area and the fastest-growing community in the metro. It features some quaint older areas near its downtown but mostly consists of newish subdivisions in surrounding areas.

[Rebek56]

Old Orchard, the Toledo neighborhood adjoining Ottawa Hills, has some lovely early to mid-twentieth-century homes and lower property taxes than OH. Toledo city schools, though.

[Thursday007]

You want to live in THE OLD WEST END. Beautiful old original mansions and the population is mostly LBGTQ and great.

[Olliebronco]

Thank you, all. We appreciate it.

[dodeca]

Originally Posted by Olliebronco

Thank you, all. We appreciate it.

All good suggestions. In my experience living in both places, Bowling Green has many more lesbian couples; Old West End has many more gay men. Bowling Green to Wildwood area is probably 25 minutes by car; OWE is maybe 8-10. The Toledo School for the Arts, the resident LGBTQ+ friendly school in the region, is a few blocks from the Old West End. OWE is definitely urban, though - big old houses, not great shopping nearby, persistent petty thefts, and recently a significant amount of audible gunfire from surrounding neighborhoods.

Perrysburg schools have had problems with diversity and bullying of students of color; I don't know any LGBTQ folks who live there, unless they are Republicans, for what it's worth. Ottawa Hills has many enormous houses with high property taxes, and the school district is very small and a little too achievement-oriented for my taste -- it's regularly one of the "best" schools in the state, but from a very small, wealthy slice of the population.

Sylvania is a pretty good spot in that immediate area - there are rural areas just outside of town, and the school district is pretty progressive. If you're looking for some land, near Wildwood and good schools, Sylvania might be the best choice.