So, when it comes to quality of life, safety, meeting people, and being a newcomer to the city, what side is better? This is an age old questions that really comes down to what area you like the best. I live in NKY and love it. However I grew up in Cincy. What I like about NKY:
1.) I like the proximity of the city (cincy). I can leave my house and be downtown in 15 min. Also, I take 17( which goes over the suspension bridge) so I can drive straight into the city without having to get on the expressway. I LOVE that part, because their is no traffic, and I am more pleasant then wht my old commute used to make me!LOL!
2.) I like the fact that home proces are cheaper here then in Ohio. When we bought our house, we were able to get about $40,000. more home then what we looking at in West Chester, Loveland areas. If you are not looking to buy a home then this may not matter to you.
3.) NKY is very safe, with the exception of a few rough areas in Covington and Newport there is little crime. However, that does make for bored idle cops who look out for traffic violators, so beware! LOL!
4.) NKY in the burbs is pretty much just like Ohio in the burbs. Meeting new single people can be a challenge. Mainstrasse village in Covington is almost all single people, so that is an area worth checking out. It is a quaint little districts with awesome resturants and a great night life. Age range is 21-34 professional type of people or students. If you chose to live in an areas fuch as Ft. Thomas you could be downtown in five minutes and could hit Mt. Adams or Cadillac Ranch downtown, which is quickly becoming a singles type of place.
5.) Quality of life is really nice in NKY. NKY is more compact then the burbs in Cincy so you can easily get to one burb to the other faster then in Ohio. We have the airport, which is very nice if you travel a lot. Also, we have Turfway Park and the STRONG possibility of getting a casino soon. In fact, the Jillians complex is where they are looking to put the casino, if they can pass the bill. Also, that will allow Turfway to have slot machines in it. We have great golf courses, lots of festivals in the summer and great shopping. Crestview Hills Towne Center is very nice. Florence Mall is okay but they have made some improvements to it over the past couple years and are still working on it. Newpot of the Leveee is a neat place to go. It has shopping, night life and resturants. Also, if you like sushi NKY has the best sushi restirants in the area due to the Toyota plants.
6.) The bad news, vehicle plates are expensive and go by the value of your car. If you have an older car, not so bad, but a newer car will cost you. However, you do get to write this off on your state taxes. this at least helps. Sales tax is a little cheaper here, but property tax can be higher depending upon the area you live in.
Good luck to you on your decision. I would drive around to the parts you are intrested in and see what fits your lifestyle, no matter which part of the river you choose! Kentucky! I live there. 15 miles from Cincinnati. Good location. I've always been told the Northern KY side is nicer and safer. Ky if you want to live closer to the city...but if you want to live a little farther away then ohio is good KENTUCKY You do get more for your house if you buy in Northern Kentucky. My parents live in Hebron which is where the airport is located. The area is really nice.
I live in West Chester which is about 45 minutes north of the airport. The area is really nice (IKEA opening up 3/12). The school system is pretty good as well. West Chester is really starting to expand. They are opening up 2 new hospitals in the spring of 2009 and with land becoming more scarce, property values should start to go up. A lot of businesses are also moving into West Chester. Mason is also a really nice place though the homes are more expensive. Both West Chester and Mason are very safe places to live and are mostly for those with family.
If you want to meet people, it really depends on what activities you like to do. I am sure any club or organization is happy to accept new members. You should visit both sides and talk to real estate agents who can give you a better layout of the area as well as some things you can do and where the best places are to meet new people. |
