Milford/Loveland (Cincinnati, Mason, Blue Ash: appointed, rentals, buying a house)

[Caligirl47]

My husband and I, along with our two daughters, are relocating to the Cincy area in early August with his job. We just returned from a 4 day trip house hunting and touring schools with our daughters. Before we left, I thought I had pretty much settled on the city of Mason. Everything looked great on paper. Great schools, homes, etc. When we arrived I was a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong, Mason is a great city with much to offer. It just seems so far from away from everything. Also, the neighborhoods we looked at all looked the same. Everything is flat out there (old farm land) and nothing is unique looking. Just my opinion. We then toured different parts of the Loveland/Milford areas and I found both quite beautiful. Winding, tree-lined, hilly streets. Some with views of the hills.

I have looked up the schools in both Milford and Loveland and they also look good on paper, but not as good as let's say Madeira or Indian Hill. But they are still Excellent schools.

Does anyone have children that go to the elementary and middle schools in these districts? Here in Southern California we have certain schools (maybe one or two) that are good within our districts. I look at the Ohio Dept. of Education web site and the scores for most (almost all) of the Northern suburbs of Cincinnati are Excellent schools.

If anyone can help me with regards to the Milford and Loveland school districts I would appreciate it so much. My husband is going to be there again next week for business and hopes to speak to the schools then. Thanks!

[ram2]

Why don't you look at Anderson Township? Hilly and also very good schools.

[goyguy]

My sis and BIL have lived in Loveland since 1993 and really like it there. They were enthused about the schools at first, but fate does strange things. Their older three sons (college soph, graduating this week, and entering 9th Grade) all will go, or have been, to Cincinnati's top-drawer parochial high school for boys. (We're not Catholic but the guys all love to swim - and "Saint X" is the place for aquanauts.) The youngest wound up attending a Montessori school and will be starting at a local "Christian academy" - no one consulted me lol - this fall. Details on that one are hazy, but evidently an ES teacher in Loveland somehow had a viewpoint on education and learning that wasn't compatible. "Whatever." If nothing else, the Loveland elementary and middle schools did prepare the elder brothers sufficiently that they passed the entrance exam for St X. The school system has broken into the topmost ranks of those subjective "quality" listings this year, and had a few things been different the kids would've undoubtedly gone there for K through 12.
Where neighborhoods are concerned, Loveland is about as "un-unique" as Mason: subdivisions dating back to the '60s and as recent as this past decade with varying degrees of home styles. (McMansions here, split-levels there, a "Dreesville" down the road a piece, etc.) The center of town is the original village, on either side of the Little Miami River, and you might be able to find an older house that has an individual flavor there. Loveland's main selling point is in fact the river, a "national scenic waterway" flanked by a bike trail and with canoe/kayak rentals available in town. With its generic subdivisions, strip malls along Loveland-Madeira Rd, and the retail chaos along Montgomery Rd it's more or less a garden-variety suburb outside of that.
Commuting's relatively easy because there's a 275 interchange at Loveland-Madeira Rd as well as at Montgomery Rd, whence I-71 is close at hand. Being from SoCal you undoubtedly aren't accustomed to good mass transit, so the absence of it in this vicinity shouldn't come as a surprise. Other than a sporadic express bus to downtown Cincinnati you're on your own.
A school system which has stayed in the top rankings longer is Sycamore, which encompasses the towns of Montgomery and Blue Ash. This area is immediately to the southwest of Loveland and might prove to offer appealing home choices.

[Jen35]

I was going to mention Sycamore schools as well. I think you would love Montgomery or Blue Ash if you are looking for a bit more character. Some of Montgomery is older subdivision where, as our realtor put it 6 years ago, the houses seem "tired". Lower ceilings, etc. If you have a decent price range, you should be able to get something with a bit more character (plus the market it signficantly lower than 6 years ago) than we were able to look at during that time. Blue Ash and Montgomery have little shopping districts that have some character, although trafficy. If you want a bit more rural/neighborhoody, also include Symmes Twp in your search as they also go to Sycamore schools.

[kelent]

Hi, we are moving to the area soon from NY. On paper the area that I wanted was New Richmond. (It's south east of the city, along the river). After several house hunting trips there it wasn't working out and we ended up buying a house(in contract now) up in Stonelick Twp. which is a short ride east of Milford.

Don't feel bad about not loving the area that seemed so right when researching I also felt the same way and just a little time wasted is fine when making these big life decisions.

I also saw from the research that theses schools all fare very well, unlike my schools in NY that vary wildly from district to district. I was happy to have such consistency so we could focus more on the house, property an neighborhoods while looking.

We also did not want the flat farmland and we found five acres of very private, wooded land with a small front and backyard. Many of the houses in the hilly areas have no useable land, just a giant ravine. It's hard to tell fro the photos so you may want to have your agent prescreen your list of houses.

Good luck in your search as there seem to be fewer and fewer houses on the market there!!

[flash3780]

Check Mariemont. Great schools and houses with tons of character. Also, it's much closer to downtown. CPS is hit-or-miss, but if you're willing to consider private schools the City of Cincinnati has some great urban neighborhoods (Mt Lookout, Hyde Park, Colombia-Tusculum) which are close to... well, everything.

[Caligirl47]

Thanks for all the input. We have looked into many of the areas suggested. Everyone has said Indian Hill, Madeira, Sycamore, and Mason have great schools. I was just looking for input from anyone that had children in the public schools in Loveland or more specifically Milford. I am not a huge private school fan. With such a great public school system I see no need to spend my girls' college funds, etc. on their elementary/high school education. Just my opinion. Anyone out there in Milford?

[ram2]

Due to budget issues, the Milford school system had to suspend school bus service.

[kjbrill]

Milford is not the first or last to cut severely back on bus service. The current condition with the state continuing to cut school revenue plus the voters turning down school levies is making it tough all around. The latest report that home values may bve hitting their second major dip is also not encouraging. You might want to not just consider the current school status for areas you are considering, but who may be in the best position to survive.

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by flash3780

Check Mariemont. Great schools and houses with tons of character. Also, it's much closer to downtown.

Agree with this. ^^^