What is it like in Dayton Ohio (Columbus, Cincinnati: appointed, transplants)
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I am researching Dayton. I understand that nearby Kettering or Beavercreek are better, safer areas, so I will also keep those areas in mind.
What is the job market like in the Greater Dayton area? I am finding a lot of openings in my field, which looks promising (Bachelor's degree in Business with 20 years experience, in the accounting/finance field).
What are the winters like in the area?
I see housing is oh so lovely and cheap - why is this? It seems too good to be true.
Anything else I should know about the area before I decide if I should move there?
I am not familiar with Dayton, proper, but my daughter raised her family in Centerville, which is adjacent to Kettering and Beavercreek.
You don’t say if you care about the school system. Centerville has a stellar school system, but the property taxes are rather high. There seemed to be parks in every neighborhood and the sports programs for children were very good. If you do not have children in school, you might want to steer clear of the high property tax communities.
Anywhere in the Midwest will probably have less expensive homes that the East and west. Sorry, I can’t tell about the current business climate.
Housing has always been reasonable. I imagine because we are not a major metro or on one of the coasts.
Dayton proper? For the region, property taxes are high and the public schools are among the worst in the state. I don't know what your budget is, but Oakwood is adjacent to Dayton, and Centerville/Washington township is not too far away.
The area has a lively arts scene, a great metro-parks system, and a number of museums nearby. Dayton also has a great minor league ballpark, as well as Univ. of Dayton basketball (and other sports). We are also in close proximity to Cinci and Columbus if you want to expand your arts/museums/sports/restaurant scene.
I am not familiar with Dayton, proper, but my daughter raised her family in Centerville, which is adjacent to Kettering and Beavercreek.
You don’t say if you care about the school system. Centerville has a stellar school system, but the property taxes are rather high. There seemed to be parks in every neighborhood and the sports programs for children were very good. If you do not have children in school, you might want to steer clear of the high property tax communities.
Anywhere in the Midwest will probably have less expensive homes that the East and west. Sorry, I can’t tell about the current business climate.
I haven't heard anything until now about Centerville, I can look into that area as well. I am not concerned with school systems as I am in my mid-forties, an empty nester, and single. I can move anywhere in the country as I am not tied down to anyone or anything. The Greater Dayton area caught my eye due to the extreme level of affordability. As a bonus, I do have some extended family in Cincinnatti that I could visit occasionally.
What I would really like to know is why is the area so affordable? Is is a nice place to live or is it for lack of a better word - a dump? Also wondering what the winter weather is like as I have visited in the summer (Cincinnatti) and it was nice.
First, I guess it depends on what you consider affordable. Reno housing prices tend to be in the high six and even seven figures. I don't know about rent if you are renting in Reno, but it is a much better option to buy and sit on the building equity in a home as you pay it off in the Midwest, especially in the more desirable suburbs. Keep in mind that is different from appreciation. While that has been a factor with the current housing bubble, which will result in some upside down owners when prices cool, the overall meaning of home ownership and building wealth is keeping the home and paying off the mortgage. While depreciation can happen (look at inner cities in the 1970s and 1980s as people fled to the suburbs), most people who sell 10, 20 or 30 years after purchasing can reap their equity. Appreciation is just the icing on the cake and will happen more often than depreciation. But with any large purchase or investment, there is always an inherent risk. As a comparison, if my parents had stayed in our Beavercreek ranch they bought in 1990 for $110K, it would now be paid off and is valued at $230-250K.
As far as the region and its attractiveness, Dayton proper has improved a lot since I grew up there in the 1990s and early/mid-2000s. The downtown area is much more active now and some of the surrounding urban neighborhoods have rebounded. It is a liberal city surrounded by mostly conservative suburbs. So if political leanings matter, keep that in mind.
For a city its size, traffic is very manageable. Living in NKY across from Cincinnati, you don't appreciate being able to drive anywhere in the immediate metro inside 30 minutes with multiple routes available. Speaking of Cincinnati, with Dayton you are close enough to daytrip into Cincinnati and its offerings (about a 1 hour drive) or Columbus (1-2 hour drive).
Back in Dayton proper, there has been a flurry of new builds in both apartments and owner-occupied condos/townhomes in and near downtown proper over the last 5-10 years. If you would rather be in the suburbs, most singles tend to gravitate towards apartments or condos in Austin Landing (south suburbs of Dayton including Washington Township, Springboro and Miami Township) or Beavercreek. Most are YP's out of college into their 30s and 40s but Beavercreek, especially near the Mall at Fairfield Commons, will skew younger (college and graduate students) due to nearby Wright State University.
If you were coming from SF or LA or Seattle, I would say you would be disappointed, as there is stuff to do in Dayton, the Dayton metro and nearby Cincinnati and Columbus on a constant basis, but the breadth just isn't the same as a major metro, which makes sense due to Dayton's smaller size. But Reno probably offers little in culture and entertainment (?) or has similar levels of that as Dayton at best. I don't know much about Reno but know it is not a big city and it is simply casino centered. I could be wrong on those counts, but that is my understanding. You also don't have another major metro until you reach either Vegas on Highway 95 or Sacramento on I-80.
However, outdoor activity wise, hiking and boating won't compare to the Lake Tahoe area or access to National Parks in California and other western sites, but with wildfires threatening the Lake Tahoe area (and much of the West's lands), who knows its viability. Regardless, it just isn't the same. But we do have great metro parks for simple hikes. South of the Ohio River, Kentucky and Tennessee offer great hiking and boating opportunities, though they would be weekend trips from the Dayton area. Everything is much, much more green here than even relatively arid California (outside the northern redwood reaches and some coastal areas of course).
Finally, keep in mind humidity levels are much higher here than in Reno, which is very dry and a desert climate. Summers aren't horrible in Dayton and it can be tolerated and adapted to. We probably have 14-21 days of high humidity and oppressive 95-105 Heat Index days. This year has not been as bad. Keep in mind that while our high may be 85-95, the humidity makes it feel much hotter. Dangerous, but not as dangerous as the dry heat in Vegas or Phoenix. But it also isn't as soupy feeling as the deep south, Florida or Houston. Those locations are unbearably hot and humid solid from June well into September. Snow can be a problem but if you are south of I-70, it tends to be only 3-4 storms a year if that. As mentioned up-thread, it has not been too terrible the last few years. I think last winter was a little harsher with snow. But when it reaches wind chills between 20 and -10, those are maybe account for 20-25 days a year in all reality. Most winter days are wind chills between 20 and 30 to 35 degrees. Still cold, but much more tolerable. Personally, I'll take the 2-3 months of cold over 3-4 months of constant heat and humidity.
Business climate wise, a lot of the business/accounting/finance jobs will be government, especially defense, in nature. With US Air Force Material Command being as large as it is, you don't necessarily need a security clearance but one is certainly a plus when applying. Besides the USAF and DOD, there are TONS of defense contractors on and around the base, especially in Beavercreek and Fairborn. So, if you have government experience and have or even held a prior security clearance, you should be golden. But even then, there are likely still opportunities to find something. Just don't expect Fortune 500 level corporate campuses in the metro.
I haven't heard anything until now about Centerville, I can look into that area as well. I am not concerned with school systems as I am in my mid-forties, an empty nester, and single. I can move anywhere in the country as I am not tied down to anyone or anything. The Greater Dayton area caught my eye due to the extreme level of affordability. As a bonus, I do have some extended family in Cincinnatti that I could visit occasionally.
What I would really like to know is why is the area so affordable? Is is a nice place to live or is it for lack of a better word - a dump? Also wondering what the winter weather is like as I have visited in the summer (Cincinnatti) and it was nice.
It's not a major metro, hot all year around, or near a major body of water, which are what most people seem to want these days. It's a former industrial/manufacturing area (still is, to some extent), which like the others took a major hit during the Great Recession. That's why it's cheap.
It's improved majorly, especially over the past five years, and downtown (+adjacent neighborhoods) is as popular for non-families to live as the suburbs, which never used to be the case. A lot of restaurants, Brewpubs and distilleries have opened up in the past few years, especially in the city itself. The Greene is a popular outdoor-mall destination in the Beavercreek/Kettering area and you can find a lot of great grocery stores in the southern 'burbs as well. It's not the most exciting place to live, but there's enough to keep a person happy and, yes, the low COL definitely helps with that.
Housing prices are low in Dayton because of a high vacancy rate in a lot of areas, neighborhoods that people have given up on, it would not be a fair assessment to drive down E. 3rd St. and assume the whole neighborhood looks that way when a few blocks to the south it has a much better appearance.
I would have to say the best area close to downtown is Grafton Hill although a few other areas are quite livable. There is a lot of investment and revitalization taking place downtown in the fireblocks area and new townhouse apartments going in on Monument Avenue which were probably rented out faster than they could finish building them.
Much of this depends on what you are looking for specifically, some people just can’t live in the city while others can’t stand having a long commute every day.
Dayton is not unusual in its housing prices, relative to the broader Midwest and South, excluding the largest cities. Thus between the PA-OH border, heading west along I-70, until approaching the Denver suburbs, the situation isn't much variegated (except of course for Chicago). Neither is the climate unusual, good or bad... across central Ohio, Indiana, downstate Illinois, into Missouri and beyond.
Unlike most midsized/smaller cities, Dayton has a storied past. It isn't particularly backward or ill-favored relative to its various peers, but because it was much more prominent and prosperous 100 years ago, it feels as if it's fallen further.
Pondering the OP's situation, I would do the exact opposite: stay in Reno. It's hard to beat Nevada's overall low tax burden, anywhere in the Midwest. Winters in Dayton are comparable to those in Reno... a bit cooler, definitely more humid and much more overcast. Dayton-proper isn't much larger than Reno-proper (and may actually be smaller?), but the Dayton metro area is larger.
Indeed, the two cities actually have much in common. Personally I prefer the lower taxes of Reno, and the weather and topography.
Those who relocate to the Dayton region tend to gravitate towards the East and South of the city-proper. These tend be the safer, more suburban-type of neighborhoods that a lot of transplants crave. Having recently left Dayton, if for some reason I had to return, I would choose Washington Township or Sugarcreek Township.
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