How's the city of Milford? (Cincinnati, Dayton: middle-class, apartment complexes, to rent)

[hs101]

Hello everyone. I recently accepted a job offer in the Cincinnati area with TCS and I'm currently looking for apartments to rent. The company is located in Milford and I noticed that there are a lot of cheap, good looking apartments over there. What are your opinions of the area? I'm a 21 year old male moving from Chicago if that means anything.

[SWOH]

This is an interesting question, as I am a current college student and will be graduating in the next year or two. I'm currently looking into companies in the Milford/eastern Cincy area as well.

Being from Dayton, I understand Cincinnati fairly well - OTR, Mt. Adams, Hyde Park, Downtown, Clifton, etc. will be the suggested locales for a single young professional. Especially if the young professional is looking for a good place to build community with other young professionals through community events, cultural attractions, and of course the bar & nightlife scene. However, what does a young professional do that moves to a suburb like Milford?

From what I know of Milford, it appears to be a fairly traditional suburb with a solid downtown core surrounded by sprawl and a power-center style shopping area at its eastern reaches along I-275. Its schools are good, and primarily it is a family-friendly community - not someplace where I can envision a thriving young professional scene by any stretch of the imagination nor is it a community which I can imagine would want one either. In a place like this, what is there for a young professional to do? Do a lot of Total Quality Logistics employees live in nearby apartments and "frat it up" or what? Or does everybody live in the city?

Again, let me say that I understand all people are different and have different desires in their early to mid 20's. Some are already preoccupied with getting married and having families, some are choosing jobs which demand 80-90 hours of week of labor with lots of travel and little time to care about the community, some are working in a trade in the same community in which they grew up and have kept close ties with their high school friends, and some are taking less desirable paths. What I'm wondering is what happens to the fresh-out-of-college grad who takes a job in a suburb like Milford - what do they do, where are their friends, and how do they build community?

[Curlygurl]

Milford is a traditional middle-class suburb that began as its own town (historic downtown Milford) and grew outwards. It is conveniently located to Cincinnati via I-275, a highway that circles around Cincinnati, connecting I-71, I75, and some major state highways. 275 travels through Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.

There is some sprawl to Milford, as it seems to have 2 loci of shopping (strip malls). The first is the rt. 28 exit off of 275. This is where you will find most of the fast food places, family oriented neighborhoods and some apartment buildings, Lowe's, Home Depot, Kohl's, and Kroger (grocery store). The second is the rt. 50 exit where you will find family restaurants along the line of Cracker Barrel, Red Robin, etc., along with Walmart and Target.

Milford has several ethnic restaurants with good food. Here are my faves:
Mexican--Cazadores
Chinese--China City Buffet
Italian--Demeo's in Old Milford (may not be there any longer)

There are also some sports bars: Greenie's comes to mind.

There are other bars, too, but I'm too into that scene. Maybe another contributor can offer more info on that.

There are churches, schools, a career center if you want to take some classes like foreign language, art, etc. The thing about Milford is that it's pretty close to Cincinnati. It's easily driveable if you want access to city-centric activities, museums, the university, arts and music, etc.

I'm not sure about the arts and live music in Milford. Again, hopefully another contributor can comment.

Milford is also close to several nice outdoor parks, biking and hiking trails, the Little Miami and Ohio rivers for canoeing and boating.

Milford is the suburbs, to be sure, but it is easy enough to get into the city or out into the country. It is near the quickly developing Miami Township suburban area, as well. It's not a bad place to live, perhaps not super exciting, though. It's safe and friendly and continues to grow.

Hope that helps somewhat :-)

[kjbrill]

^ You gave a very good description of Milford. It is about as suburban and family oriented as you can get. I am sure there young professionals living in the newer apartment complexes which have been built in the vicinity for convenience to work, but it can hardly be called a hotbed for young singles.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

^ You gave a very good description of Milford. It is about as suburban and family oriented as you can get. I am sure there young professionals living in the newer apartment complexes which have been built in the vicinity for convenience to work, but it can hardly be called a hotbed for young singles.

It's not so much suburban (in terms of suburban development) as it is a quaint, small town. Not to mince words, because obviously it's a suburb of Cincinnati, but that's just my impression from going through there a few times on the way to Shaw Farms. It's a big time speed trap, so when the sign says 25mph, they have little else to do but enforce it. Milford seemed sleepy to me. That appeals to a lot of people, so if that's what your after, it likely would fit the bill.

[JustinBucks]

Quaint, small town? I live here, and I wouldn't consider it a quaint, small, town. Sure the actual town itself is nice, but it's pretty busy on Rt 28. Many restaurants, stores, and businesses. Then go down to River's Edge and you have a hotel, more restaurants, a Wal Mart, Target, and cinema.

But that's what I love about Milford. There's so many parts to it. There's the nice little town area with awesome restaurants (Padrino, 20 Brix, MJ's On Main, Big Poppa Slim's), shops (Coolest Toys on Earth, Main Cup Coffee, etc.). Then there's the business 28, with every fast food chain you can think of (besides Chick Fil A ), Kohl's, Meijer, Kroger, Home Depot, Lowe's....

All in all, it's a very nice city. Not too nice looking (at least not over by 131), but I still don't have a problem living here.

And, yes, the schools are very good with every elementary school getting rated Excellent and the high school rated Excellent as well.

The city grows all the time, and there's even some really nice apartments being built on the Little Miami in Historic Milford.

If you have any other questions, ask me!

^Also, Tom, you were going to Shaw Farms. That is the more rural area of town.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by JustinBucks

Quaint, small town? I live here, and I wouldn't consider it a quaint, small, town.

Hope I didn't strike a nerve. If it's any merit to you, Cincinnati is small compared to what I am used to.

[JustinBucks]

Originally Posted by TomJones123

Hope I didn't strike a nerve. If it's any merit to you, Cincinnati is small compared to what I am used to.

No, not at all. There's nothing wrong with being a quaint, small town.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by JustinBucks

No, not at all. There's nothing wrong with being a quaint, small town.

I agree. I've lived in several, very small towns, in both Ohio and Colorado. I was in Gunnison and Crested Butte CO for around 2.5 years. Very cool experience. Also lived in New Bremen, OH. I have a lot of respect for rural life. And, by comparison, Milford is not rural. It's a cool spot that offers a lot.

[venusubramani]

hi hs101 i also got job near tcs , milford. i am also moving from chicago to ohio. If you know any appartment let me know.