Am I crazy? I'm thinking about coming back (Park Layne, Grafton: apartments, lawyers)

[AndyMac1407]

Originally Posted by hensleya1

I have voiced my low opinion of Kettering Fairmont here on multiple occasions, and that is because of the people I've met who go there. My opinion is completely unconnected with the greatschools.com rankings, and I've never pretended otherwise.

Hanging out with the AP students who play a sport and also an instrument?

[SWOH]

Originally Posted by hensleya1

And I certainly don't say all public schools are horrible.

But I would endorse plenty of public school districts, and I still do. I have no issues with sending a child to Centerville, Bellbrook, Beavercreek, Oakwood, or Springboro. Why? Because not only do they have a good ranking, they have good test scores, and I've heard good things about them.

Is it unfortunate that none of those districts (except Oakwood) are inside I-675? Possibly.

I see. Thanks for the clarification. Sorry about the earlier accusation.

I should point out a good chunk of Centerville SD is "inside" I-675, as the district also covers Washington Twp. If one considers I-70 to be the "top" of a beltway that artificially encloses the Dayton region, I should also mention that Vandalia-Butler and Northmont Schools, both of which are rated Excellent by the state, reside on the inside of the beltway.

[hensleya1]

Point taken and to be fair I have almost no opinion of any school district north of Dayton - I have no opinion on Huber, or as you mention, Vandalia and Northmont.

The curious part to me is I know there's a substantial amount of development there such as the retail strip in Butler Township. And there's a decent population base up there (around 100,000?).

But to someone who lives in say, Sugarcreek Township, anything north of downtown might as well be on Mars. Even though it's only 20 minutes away, there's no discernible reason to go there (except the airport?). Even I, living downtown, have only found myself in Huber Heights two or three times... in three years of living here.

[SWOH]

^Ah, you should come up here to the north sometime! It's a nice place.

Tipp/Troy are around 40,000 people together (including nearby outlying areas), Huber Heights is about 40,000, Northmont is about 40,000, Vandaila-Butler is about 20,000, Brookville and New Carlisle are about 10,000 as is West Milton / Union Twp, so total including other outlying townships you have about 200,000 people that are living in northern Dayton outer suburbia (I've excluded Northridge, northwest Dayton, Trotwood, Pheasant Ridge, and northern Riverside).


The main reasons to go north of town would be to visit Tipp City and Troy. They are cute small towns with a number of tourist attractions. West Milton also has a nice downtown. When Huber is done building its music center, that should be a draw too, as is the stuff on Miller Lane (for locals, probably only Scene 75 would be a reason to go up there). The three metroparks up this way (Taylorsville, Englewood, and Carriage Hill) are nice too.

[ohio_peasant]

My belief is that it's easier and more satisfying to move from a smaller town to a larger city, from more rural to more urban circumstances. If the OP is from rural Miami County, Dayton City (and its immediate suburbs) will feel cosmopolitan and grand. It would probably feel quite sophisticated and urbane compared to many places in the American South and Plains. It will feel parochial and benighted if you moved here from New York City or Los Angeles.

Dayton is an entirely reasonable place to raise a family, city schools notwithstanding. It's perfectly fine for the prototypical mainstream American family. It's far less satisfying for child-free couples, and even less so for child-free singles.

Imagine a child-free single atheist who moved here from Los Angeles. It's not going to be particularly wonderful. But that's almost the exact opposite of the OP. The OP should do just fine, especially given his relatively local roots and the proximity of family.

[curzon_dax]

So I thought I would update you all since you took the time to respond to me initially. I also want to reiterate that I know my way around Dayton pretty well and have spent time in bigger cities and I'm far removed from growing up in the country at this point. Sorry if that sounds unappreciative.

Anyways, my wife and I spent some time over this weekend back in Dayton. We hung out at Milano's and Blind Bob's, strolled Garden Station, and looked at some houses. UD's alumni reunion was this weekend so that provided some entertainment throughout our Friday night. I also rode out on my bicycle with some friends and covered maybe 20 miles. I'm very impressed with the cycling culture in Dayton - it's light years ahead of what I currently have access to. My wife has made it clear that Linden Heights is outside of her comfort zone as is pretty much all of Dayton. She seems to be ok with the Northern edge of Kettering though, so I should be able to accomplish what I want in being able to easily ride into the city and not be on a suburb island.

I can't quite explain my fondness for the aesthetic of Dayton. But I love it and I miss it. If we can get all the pragmatics such as work, housing, school, etc settled then I do think we're going to make the move. Thanks again to everybody for their responses.

[curzon_dax]

We're close to being ready to move now and we're thinking about renting somewhere as a trial period. Does anybody have a thought on apartments in Kettering? I've looked at the Landing in Dayton which we would probably go with if money were no issue at all, but the price tag is just a bit steep for me. Pretty open to suggestions at this point.

[SWOH]

The Residenz in Kettering or apartments near there might be a good choice.

The Residenz Luxury Apartments and Townhomes in Kettering Ohio

Never heard anything bad about them. Plus they are right next to Fraze Pavilion, and walkable to both DLM / Oakwood and Town and Country (which has Trader Joe's, Kroger, 2nd and Charles Books, etc.) From an amenity perspective it's a solid choice. Don't know how much they cost.


Otherwise Park Layne in Grafton Hill is really nice for the price (and the neighborhood is nice too - longer walk to stuff than the Landing though)
Park Layne | Apartments in Dayton, OH

And if you're still considering Linden Heights, nearby Woodman Park apartments might be worth a shot:
Woodman Park Apartments


But yeah, a quick look at Google apartment reviews shows it's a seller's market. Dayton's real estate market is kinda weird because of the high demand for rentals with the base, so rental prices in general are high, and rental companies feel able to get away with more crap. The Connor Group, which has its HQ near Austin Landing and owns many of Dayton's complexes, doesn't help. They are notorious for providing the worst possible service (so I've heard from nearly everyone on here and Reddit at least).

[hensleya1]

Originally Posted by curzon_dax

We're close to being ready to move now and we're thinking about renting somewhere as a trial period. Does anybody have a thought on apartments in Kettering? I've looked at the Landing in Dayton which we would probably go with if money were no issue at all, but the price tag is just a bit steep for me. Pretty open to suggestions at this point.

I don't have any specific names but I do know there's a number of smaller apartment complexes on the Kettering side of Smithville Road, just south of Patterson, that might be at your price point.

You could try the Residenz, but you won't save much money there vs. the Landing (maybe $100/month at best)

[curzon_dax]

I've been looking at some of those, Hensleya. Pretty run of the mill so far, could be doable if we can't justify the expense of being smack in the middle of downtown.

What do you guys think about the safety factor of the Park Layne apartments on Belmonte Park? I know it gets sketchy real quick as you move further out from there, but it seems like being right behind the art museum should mean there would be police presence. They claim to have secure parking and facilities, but I wonder how secure?