Relocation advice Cleveland to Cincinnati (Hamilton, Warren: sale, foreclosure, houses)

[cgregory67]

We are moving to Cincinnati in July from NE Ohio. We have 6 children, 2 toddlers, 2 middle school, and 2 high school aged. We live in a rural setting here and enjoy the privacy. Looking for a community that offers nice size lots, bike trails, parks, and a community center would be so nice. Shopping shouldn't be too far away and approximately 40 min. max drive from downtown Cincinnati. Housing should be in the 170-220 range. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Cincy Rider]

There are so many threads with the same questions, I recommend a search for "relocation" "moving" or "considering Cincinnati"

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by cgregory67

Looking for a community that offers nice size lots, bike trails, parks, and a community center would be so nice.

One the east side, try Miami Township in Clermont County.

Where exactly are you living now? That might help some of us that are familiar with NE Ohio with ideas for you.

[progmac]

check out harrison ohio. you get a lot of privacy on the west side, with all the hills and trees. i think it is about 40 minutes from downtown.

[kjbrill]

With the 6 kids apparently spread over an age range this may be a challenge in the indicated price range. Not impossible, but a challenge. I plugged the basic criteria of 5 bedrooms and 3 baths in the indicated price range into one of our MLS sites, and to me surprisingly got the most hits in western Hamilton Co. Took a look at several, and they appeared pretty decent to me, although in the 35-50 year age range. Houses were still built reasonably decent back then, and they were on larger lots which might be expected.

BTW ... I live where I live because my wife demanded a 5-bedroom home with our 2nd round of kids, 13 year age spread. So I went out into what was the country then to afford one. Got so sick of looking at so-called 5-bedrooms, a 4-bedroom home with one carved up into 2 closet sizes, or a 3-bedroom ranch with two added in a dank and dark basement with no natural light, I became frustrated. First actual 5-bedroom on a 1-acre lot I bought.

BTW .. If you want to start searching some MLS sites in the Cincy area, here is a word of advice. Go to the Co. website, usually under the auditor, and look the property up. You can at least typically get Last Sale amount, tax evaluation, property taxes, and a lot of other pertinent information. Some of them now even indicate whether the property has gone through foreclosure. Many of them have mapping tools so you can see aerial photographs of the actual property and the surroundings. The internet is a great tool, use it. Beats spending time and money chasing all over the area.

The way shopping centers are spread all over greater Cincinnati, I would not be too concerned.

I could give you a vote for Mason, great schools, biking trails, a tremendous cummunity center, and more shopping than you need. But on the other score, the neighborhood I live in is 38 years old. 1/2 to 1 acre lots, nothing spectacular in architecture, but most For-Sale signs do not last long. If you can find a good deal, buy it, a great place to raise kids.

[cgregory67]

Thank you everyone for your comments, I think I did a Google drive by in every county in Cinci. Someone asked where I currently lived and that is Valley View Ohio. Valley View village borders the Cuyahoga Valley National park and close to the City but village size population.

Now back to Cinci, some areas that seem really nice are Anderson, Newtown, Loveland within our price range. Although I don't see very large lots and that is discouraging. Mason also seems very nice, didn't know they had a community center and will dig into that area more. Very informative Kjbrill and thank you so much for your time. Its pretty scary making a big move like this for our family.

I think we want to find a place on the east side or even NE side of Cinci. We will be commuting back and forth between Cleveland to visit family so the less driving the better.

[Ohiogirl81]

Try the areas around Maineville (Warren County) and Loveland (Warren/Clermont counties). There's still plenty of open space and trees, and you'll be close to the Little Miami bike trails, recreation, shopping ... and I-71 north.

[cgregory67]

Cool, will check those out. Thank you

[kjbrill]

I believe Miamiville (unincorporated) is in Miami Township in Clermont County. It is south of Loveland. Both the Miamiville and Loveland areas are a mixture of old and new. The older areas, built when it was more country, tend to have much larger lots, though more dated homes (a lot of ranches). The problem is finding a home in an area which has been kept up. The newer subdivisions have nice homes, but on much smaller lots, as the developers want to maximize yield.

A confusing factor around here are two areas with very similar names - Miamiville and Maineville. Maineville is further north in Hamilton Township in Warren County. Maineville has had explosive growth in the last few years, but concentrated in medium priced subdivisions with small lots, a developers haven. A problem here is the expansion has been all suburban sprawl, very little business or industry. They currently have a problem that the school district (Little Miami) has had multiple tax levy rejections and is currently going under state control. I can't fault the residents for rejecting the rapidly escalating taxes. But it is an area I would avoid.

You may want to consider Lebanon, in Warren County. It is the county seat and has a rich history. It is also a mix of old and new. It is convenient to I-71, as far as making trips back to Cleveland, but may be a little long on commute to Cincy depending on where you have to go. Again, older areas will have nice lot sizes, newer ones much less.

I would like to put in a vote for Mason, where I live, but hesitate. We do have great schools, city services and amenites (the Community Center is fantastic). But as one of the fastest growing communities in sourthern Ohio, the recent development tends to be very nice houses on small lots. In recent years Lebanon has been bent out of shape as Mason has exceeded their population and is now the political powerhouse in the county.

It all depends on what you are looking for. In my immediate neighborhood, in recent years several families have moved in and immediately put major additions on their houses. While the neighborhood is 35-40 years old, the the 2/3 -1 acre lots were the attraction. We are sitting virtually smack in the middle of downtown Mason. What are the economics? Pay $150,00 for a reasonable house on a 1 acre lot, and then expand/remodel it by 50% at a cost of $150,000, a total of $300,000. Then look around at the new subdivisions (pre-depression), where they want $100,000 for a 1/3 acre lot before you build anything on it.

My vote is look at Lebanon. A large area with a lot of diverse offerings. Once we get past this current blip, it will be again on the rise. For all of those who say the suburbs are going to die, and the inner city is the wave of the future, I say good luck.

If I am coming to Cincy, particularly with a family, I will choose the suburbs every time.

Good luck to you, and I hope to hear back about your eventual decision.

[gman5431]

Well look forward to longer summers and a lot less snow!

G Man