College Hill, Cheviot, Westwood, Madisonville, Oakley? (foreclosures, rent, house)

[StB]

Originally Posted by jondeer78

Generally speaking, those who complain that the "neighborhoods are going down" are those who are unwilling to accept change. I've lived in Westwood for 4 years and never had any issues or problems with crime. I'm proud to live here.

Why do neighborhoods diminish in value? Not because bad people move in, but because good people move out.

WELL SAID.. i couldnt agree more.

[Derrick_TheRiskTaker]

College is a beautiful community. The community is close knit and welcomes new comers. I have lived in this community for awhile and would not trade it for the world. Unlike most communities, it has a lot to offer.

[jsmill]

If you are still even interested in Cincinnati after these mostly negative posts, you should look at Pleasant Ridge, where houses in your price range are going to found. I have family members who live in PR and they've been very happy there. If you want to avoid the city schools, Sycamore Township has excellent schools and you might find a small house in the Rossmoyne area off Plainfield Rd. I think Kenwood, Mariemont or even the smaller houses in Madiera will be outside your price range. I didn't grow up on the west side but Delhi, Bridgetown, Covedale are conservative, monochromatic areas.

[mitchelldawn]

I have lived in Westwood for over 7 years and never had any problems. There is a lot of good people here, neat houses and promise in the way of development. Westwood is Cincinnati Public Schools, but a lot of private schools are also offered for about 3,000 a year. 5 minutes away is Bridgetown and they are similar in pricing but in an excellent rated PUBLIC school district- Oak Hills.

[jersey_too_expensive]

Just an update:
Closed on the house in Westwood last month, been out here about 4 weeks, and so far, so good. We like the mix of people -- neighborhood seems relatively safe -- neighbors on our street & vicinity are super-friendly.

Only time will tell if we make Cinti home for the long-term, but for now -- no regrets. People are nice (and more honest, friendly, and less snobbish than back home in NJ). If we ever get a bit homesick for some NJ attitude, we head over to the east side! ;-)

Just visited the aquarium over the weekend -- and it would've been even nicer if the weather had cooperated. Can't wait to see Cinti in the spring (minus all this crazy rain)!

[Nur Jemal]

What about Covedale?

The elementary school is rated highly by the State of Ohio....

Is it going down the crapper too?

[dnbnv]

I am from Cinti though moved away 15 years ago. As a young adult, Cinti is a fun town with much to do as far as professional sports, festivals, the river, night life, etc. As an adult with children I still go to visit my immediate family and love to go to the Union Terminal (Omni Max Theater, Natural History Museum), the Newport Aquarium which is great, the Cinti Zoo is beautiful, not to mention the museums, downtown, and other places of interest. I moved to Cols and dislike it here. Though many will argue, Cols has less to offer as far as recreation...it is trying but just not there yet.

My opinion of what I have seen and have heard of Cinti is that the crime is getting worse, yes it is like that every where, but Cinti has one major problem that it can't seem to get under control and that is the racial issues. I am glad I don't live there anymore for that reason. There is a lot of hate and prejudice. As far as places to live, go north of 275 up 71 to the Fields Ertel, Mason, Loveland areas etc. Cost of living may be higher, but last I heard, these are nice places to live. My family is in the Cheviot area and although it isn't horrible...it's not the place that I grew up in anymore and is gradually declining. Depending on how long you would stay somewhere, remember that you want to be somewhere safe, especially if you plan to have children, and a place where your home value will go up and turn around fairly easy.

[sandra_m_morrison]

My job is assisting Fortune 100 employees who are relocating internationally to Cincinnati. Where you want to live depends on what type of housing/lifestyle/schools you are interested. In general, the newer the house that you want, the further out you have to live, unless you want to fork over some money to build/buy a new house closer to the city. Many areas of the city are around $100 per square foot. Some areas are closer to $150 per square foot. Hyde Park is close to $200 and Indian Hill is maybe $200-$300 or more.

You can search on www.greatschools.net to compare public schools. There are some excellent public school systems outside of the city of Cincinnati, and some great magnet/charter schools (Montessori/Paideia, etc.) in the city of Cincinnati. If you like older homes (pre-1970) and like to walk to parks and restaurants, you need to be in areas like Madeira/Wyoming/Hyde Park/Fort Mitchell (KY) and Fort Thomas (KY). If you don't mind driving, and you like chain restaurants/big box stores, you want to move further out. I have lived in the newer suburbs but grew up in Hyde Park. I have found I needed to be closer to the city (went form 25000 miles a year on my car down to 15,000..giving me about 2-3 hours a week back to myself). Since it was more expensive and we were interested in small, good schools, we ended up in Fort Thomas, KY in a new house we built although most of the homes are pre-1950. Also check out traffic patterns. If the schools are growing too fast they seem to change them to grade level schooling (Mason) where they change schools every 2-3 years or may have the kids go to school in shifts (6 am -12 noon and 12 noon-6 pm).


Visit the schools (public and private)! That is my best advice. Visit the schools and then choose your home. Check for levy's that have failed (many times they take away bus service. Check how long your kids will be on the bus before getting to school. Sometimes it can be an hour or more even though you only live 2 miles from the school. Check how far you are from the highway, how the traffic looks at rush hour and how much building is going on around you. We built a house in a newer suburb in 1998. We were 3 miles from the highway and it took us 6 minutes. By 2006, due to the 20 new subdivisions going in behind us, it tooks us 13-20 minutes to get down the 3 miles to the highway.

Check for sexual offenders, EPA sites, crime, etc. (You can see an article on msn that gives the websites).

Hope this helps,

[bailey19782000]

can anyone give me some info in park manor apartments on wardall avenue? the aptmt manager says its a nice place and safe but i dont want to live somewhere where the cops are swarming the place and i have to worry about getting mugged in the parking lot

[hheil32587]

Cheviot would be a great option for you two! There a many young couples (including a lot of my friends) moving into the area because of the affordable homes. Westwood has some beautiful historical homes ranging from 80,000 on the low end to 450,000 on the extravagant side. These areas have great pride for their neighborhoods and a great sense of community. I know of some great deals in these neighborhoods. Madisonville and Oakley are quite a bit more expensive and the yuppy types tend to flock there but there is great food, shopping, and entertainment on the east side of town.