Cincitucky Bound

October 6, 2007 12:24 PM

CincyFilter: Help me find a guide to Cincinnati's neighborhoods that actually acknowledge Kentucky's existence as part of the metro area.

We're thinking of buying a house in Cincinnati, and want to check out its various neighborhoods. Problem is, the few "guides" I found are thinly-veiled real estate company sites that describe every neighborhood in glowing (i.e., unrealistic) terms.

To top it off, we'll most likely live on the Kentucky side of Cincinnati (though we'd certainly consider Ohio), but none of the sites I've found include the Kentucky side (Covington, Newport, etc.) in their discussions. Being an Ohio native who has visited Cincy several times, I know that contrary to local belief, it's all the same metro area, but you'd never know it from the info I've found so far.

This page (for Milwaukee) is exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. We'll most likely check out the neighborhoods that sound good, compare housing prices and a few other factors, and decide from there. So, guides that describe the neighborhoods in terms of what it's like to live there (as opposed to visit there) would be ideal.

posted by Rykey to grab bag (10 comments total)

I live in Cincy. Email in profile.

That said, Cincinnati Magazine does an annual neighborhoods guide that I'm pretty sure includes N.Ky. I can't seem to find my copy at the moment and also can't find it online (the CM website truly sucks).

And you're right; the locals don't consider N.Ky. the same metro area as the city itself. The little neighborhood pockets in the area (Northside, Westwood, Hyde Park, Oakley, Kenwood, Mariemont, etc.) are all very insular as well. The whole city is very "neighborhood" driven and people tend to grow up here and stay here (we are not locals but we do quite like it here).
posted by cooker girl at 12:47 PM on October 6, 2007

Welcome to the neighborhood. There actually is a comparable list of Cincinnati neighborhoods but it focuses strictly on neighborhoods within the city limits (not sure if that is the same thing for the Milwaukee wikipedia page.

Cincinnati.com does have a list of communities that make up the tri-state and some basic facts about them as well as pointers to get more information. I read a few and they weren't all filled with the prose equivalents of rainbows and candy positive so perhaps this will be a decent starting point for you.

You may also want to check out Cincinnati.com's Data Center which provides an aggregation of local data (crime, real estate prices, education stats, etc.). Its not always completely comprehensive for the entire region due to three different states and a bajillion local jurisdictions but it is pretty good.

And of course, e-mail is in my profile so feel free to ask any questions. In particular I have friends that live in Ft. Thomas and Newport, KY if that helps.
posted by mmascolino at 12:55 PM on October 6, 2007

My cousin lives in Ft Mitchell KY and works in Cincinnati. I did a bit of Googling using some of the neighborhoods near him (Newport and Covington) and came up with this curious page called Cincinnati As Metropolis that has some demographic data that covers the whole area including KY and IN. It's pretty dry but you can get some neat data for a lot of the neighborhoods including how they're changing. You might also get some good atmosphere-type information from Best of Cincinnati which does include the metro areas in the awards it gives out but you have to use Google to search it well. It's definitely fun to poke around in
posted by jessamyn at 12:57 PM on October 6, 2007

Actually, I'll disagree with cooker girl a bit and say that attitudes have changed quite a bit here in respect to Northern KY. I'm a transplant and been here for 9 years and have noticed the shift. When I was first moved here there felt like there was an unspoken stigma about living "over there". Like it was the hinterlands. Now with the revitalization of Covington and Newport there is a whole lot going on over there. Lots of great independent bars and restaurants in these two cities (as well as the big corporate shopping/dining/entertainment complex along the river). I know that my circle of friends feel that Covington and Newport are certainly part of the local Cincinnati proper. Now, the suburbs farther south are still suburbs but then again I feel the same way about Cincinnati's Northern and Eastern suburbs.
posted by mmascolino at 1:04 PM on October 6, 2007

My Aunt lives in Cold Spring, and if I were moving back, I would definitely consider it. Fifteen minutes straight down 471 and you're downtown.

Short of that useless comment, I have no idea where you would find "unbiased" neighborhood info, maybe some of the links mentioned above...
posted by cdmwebs at 1:38 PM on October 6, 2007

Cincy MeFi Meetup!

I've lived here all 31 of my years. The first 27 in the city and now I live up north. Email me if you have any questions.
posted by Mick at 5:02 PM on October 6, 2007

Actually, I'll disagree with cooker girl a bit and say that attitudes have changed quite a bit here in respect to Northern KY.

You're right, mmascolino. I wasn't entirely clear. I should have said that attitudes are changing. However, I do maintain that people in certain neighborhoods (I'm thinking specifically of Mt. Lookout, Hyde Park, Mariemont, Oakley; the city's eastside neighborhoods) do not think of N.Ky. when they think "Cincinnati."
posted by cooker girl at 7:02 PM on October 7, 2007

Actually I'll disagree again but politely. :) I rented in Hyde Park for about 7 years and now have bought a place in Pleasant Ridge. I wanted to seriously look in Newport but it would have been a longer commute for my better two thirds so she wasn't crazy about that.

Most of my friends are in Oakley and they are strongly considering moving to Newport/Covington when the time comes to buy since the prices haven't been run up as much as in the neighborhoods that you have mentioned.
posted by mmascolino at 7:38 AM on October 8, 2007

Perhaps it's a generational thing?
posted by cooker girl at 9:05 AM on October 19, 2007

That very well may be. I do know that the "kids" that are just out of college this work seem to live in and around downtown in far greater numbers than it was when I was their age. These times they are a changin'.
posted by mmascolino at 12:54 PM on October 19, 2007