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Relocating from NY - help please!
Hi ladies.
I
know I can find some good answers here. We are moving from Syracuse,
NY to Cincinnati area withing a few months. We are in our late 30s and
have an infant. My husband will work in West Chester and we are looking
for the best suburbs outside the city. Let me describe our wishes and
hopefully we'll find a good match....
School districts are not that important with such a young baby, but I imagine the better districts are also in the nicer areas.
We don't want a fixer upper but I just don't like the newer houses in new
developments where there are no trees, all the houses are similar and
backyards connect, no character, oak kitchen cabinets, banisters and trim, ridiculously
large great rooms with high ceilings, etc. We currently live in a
stone-front cape cod (1940), very cute with great curb appeal, character
galore, very cottagey/pottery barn look, and with a good size backyard.
Any chance of finding something similar? It doesn't have to be an old house, just feel like one 
We think $350,000 will be our max budget and would like to live in a
nice area with amenities nearby, maybe an established, slightly more
affluent area.
My husband wants no more than a 30 minute commute to work. I will be
staying at home so I do not want to be isolated without any neighbors,
stores, interesting places to walk, intellectual stimulation, or good "mommy" opportunities.
Thank you all for any help and patience with my follow up questions. I
truly appreciate any suggestions and advice. This is my first major
move ever and I am really nervous!
I am going to cross-post this on thebump.com as well.
C
Re: Relocating from NY - help please!
west chester and neighboring mason are great areas with good schools, but the majority of the homes are in newer neighborhoods with cookie cutter style homes. if you can find the house you want in either of these cities though you'd definitely be in a great part of the city.
i also really recommend you check out the city of wyoming. about 1/2 way btwn downtown and west chester right off of i-75... very safe area, houses are unique with great tree lined streets, downtown area is super cute and walkable and as a bonus, schools are top notch.
Jenn & Jason
September 27, 2008
Most of the areas near his work are newer developments. You can absolutly find a 20-30 yera old house in Mason, West Chester, & other nearby areas. Most of them will be in developments but at least they'll have trees & some character. I grew up on the west side of Cincy. Neighborhoods with in the city limits will have houses from the 40s or earlier but I would not advise buying there. The subburbs might work but your husband would have a long commute. I'm not very familiar with the east side of town but I think you might like Blue Ash or Kenwood (but again, longer commute). I don't think you'll have to spend anywhere near your top budget either.
By the house style you are describing Mariemont/ Terrace Park is the first thing that comes to mind. Very cute houses and most are not cookie cutter. Not sure how long the commute would be with traffic, but I think it could be done in 30 minutes. You could also check out Madeira and Kenwood. All of these areas have good, but small, school districts. Everyone knows everyone. That may or may not be your thing.
From what I know of Lakota, Mason, West Chester and Sycamore- most of the houses are developments and cookie cutter. They are all places that have grown greatly over the past 10-15 years so the majority is new development.
As a pp mentioned, Wyoming does also have some really unique houses and an amazing school district. I don't know anymore about that area, though.
Driving from Mariemont to West Chester is a total pain in the butt. I only do it a few times a year for a few specific restaurants but I would never want to do it twice a day.
Another area/school district that comes to mind is the Princeton City Schools district, which serves areas like Sharonville, Evendale, and Glendale. All three areas are close to shopping, restaurants, etc. Glendale has a story-book feel to it, with beautiful homes and lots of trees. It's very close to I-75, so it would probably be 15-20 minutes to commute to work.
I did a search for you on sibcycline.com, and found these listings. (Hopefully the link works).
GL, and welcome!
For your budget, I would say: Loveland, Madeira, Indian Hill (pricey!), Sycamore, Blue Ash, Kenwood, and Possibly Mason. Mariemont, Mt. Lookout and Hyde Park sound like areas you would like as well, but a bit further than you would probably like.
I do not recommend living in West Chester- the schools are having tough budget problems right now, they just cut their transportation (they used to be excellent in education not sure about now though). It is booming with people and new development, and has been so in the past almost 10 years. The schools are HUGE. I know some parents who have young children who are considering private schools who live in this area.
www.sibcy.com will help you in your search. GL!