I am traveling to Cincinnati for the Weekend of September 23 and 24 for the Downtown Tour of Living. I have a couple of question about specific neighborhoods and about the tour.  I want to move to Cincinnati after I graduate college in December.

 

1) What is the tour like?  Are there usually alot of people that take the tour? 

 

2) Ok, I have looked at some of the specific neighborhoods on this site and in passing through the Cincy over that past year.  This next trip, I am hoping to explore a couple of neighborhoods that seem interesting to me that I have driven through or seen on this website. I am hoping that someone can tell me what to expect (and what I should see) in these neighborhoods as far as proximity to grocery shopping, parks (preferably with tennis courts), and personal safety.  I have never been worried about crime per se, but my fiance will be moving with me too, and I worry about her because she has never lived in a large city, it will be a culture shock to her, I just want her to feel safe walking outside at night.  Any way, the neighborhoods I am wondering about are:

 

Mt. Lookout

Oakley

Pleasant Ridge

Northside (I really like what I have seen of northside, but I do not think she felt safe enough to live there when we drove through)

Clifton

Columbia-Tusculum

 

 

Perhaps Mt. Adams or Over-the-Rhine, but I have explored those neighborhoods and think I have a fairly good handle on those neighborhoods as well as too a lesser extent Downtown.

If you're looking for safety AND affordability, Oakley is a great neighborhood to go with. Oakley also has tons of grocery stores nearby; Sams Club, Target, Wild Oats, WalMart, Meijer, Kroger, Home Depot, Biggs, all within a 2 mile radius. Pleasant Ridge is about on the same level as far as affordability but it's not as safe as Oakley (this coming from someone whos house in P-Ridge was broken into, plus I've been assaulted once there so my experience isn't the same as someone else's). Northside is my favorite inner city gritty type of neighborhood, it's got a lot of interesting shops and restaurants but it might be too much of a "culture shock" for your wife. Columbia Tusculum is really nice but it's starting to be extremely pricey..then again, what on the east side isn't? Mt. Lookout has a country feel and the houses are nice but it's also more pricey. Clifton is the neighborhood near campus so you'll see a lot of young people. Ludlow Ave. is a very vibrant corridor in Clifton and the houses in that area are very interesting and well kept. That part of Clifton is pretty safe and the people are really friendly. Mt. Adams is all row housing, very yuppified and restored and St. Gregory street has a lot of nice bars and restaurants. Mt. Adams has the absolute best views of Cincinnati, the river, and northern Kentucky so that area has seen a lot of investment.

Drew, me and a few people are meeting up to go on the tour. This will be my 3rd year and one of the guys that will be there has previously worked at this tour, not sure which year. Anyway, we should be meeting up probably somewhere near Piatt Park. So, if you are wanting meet up with us - let me know!

 

The tour is very cool and you will be very sick with envy, trust me! It's very, very, cool and well worth the $10.

The neighborhood designation can be misleading. The neighborhoods havbe neighborhoods.

I live in north Northside & life there is vastly different than in south Northside.

Oakley,  Mt Lookout & Columbia-Tusculum are all nice. Unless you are rich, Clifton is probably gonna be kinda crowded.

Cincinnati just has a small town feel overall, in my estimation.

I think that is one of the reasons people are so concerned with crime issues.

I highly recommend the Downtown Tour of Living.  It's worth the $10.  I'm volunteering on the tour for the first three hours.  You will see neat living spaces along with decorating ideas for your own place.

 

My husband and I just sold our home in Pleasant Ridge so that we can move downtown.  I felt safe.  We did not have any issues. 

 

Oakley is very nice, but it is pricier.

Depending on your interest in improving a home or just living in it, I wouldn't rule out Madisonville either.  Small homes, great starter home kind of place, in a neighborhood some folks are frightened of because of the name, but that's smack between Oakley, Mariemont, Indian Hill/Madiera, Kennedy Heights...

 

For handy tennis courts, the Cincinnati Tennis Club is right at the East Walnut Hills/Evanston border - you could walk there from a lot of very affordable homes in Evanston (personally, I love that section of residential Evanston bordered by Fairfax/Evanston/Duck Creek/Woodburn - very neighborhoody feel to it, nice kept lawns, single family places, nice housing stock) or from $500K+ homes in East Walnut Hills.

 

There are also public tennis courts on Paxton in Oakley, with tons of homes all around nearby.  Definitely more pricey area, but if you can afford it, it'll certainly be a good investment...

 

I'd also commend my neighborhood, Walnut Hills, to anyone and everyone!  Diverse, convenient, great housing stock, the crown jewel of the park system (Eden Park), affordable homes - we've got everything!

 

Really, I don't think you can go wrong in Cincinnati - it's just a question of matching your preferences to what's available.  I'd highly recommend taking Cincy-Rise up on his offer - he'll definitely be able to show you everything you're interested in and answer all your questions!

 

I think I know where Eden Park is, but I could be wrong.  Is Walnut hills east of downtown, sort of along US 50 before Mariemont?

 

I have seen the Target and Meijer off I-71, that is in Oakley?  Are those clean stores?  I have been meaning to stop, but I always forget. Always.

 

Are there any good local restaurants in Oakley?  I guess another question I have, is what does the mid-20's crowd do for fun in Cincinnati?

 

Cincy-rise, I will think about perhaps meeting up, if that is ok. My sister might be meeting me, and if she does, we will probably head out on our own. I will let you know, though. Thanks for the offer. Thaks all for the help.

Oh damn ... I forgot about the Bengals playing in Pittsburgh this Sunday. Ouch, why would they plan this on this day!?

Hyde Park/Oakley has a lot of good restaurants both chain and non-chain. For upscale there is Boca and Pho-Paris in Oakley or Tellers in Hyde Park. for more affordable there is PF CHangs or Arthurs in Hyde Park.

 

Plus conveinence to the city is great in that area. it is 10 mins from downtown, there are a lot of bars and 20 somethings living in the area. There are a lot of runners and parks nearby too which draw a lot of people.