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Working hard to make it easy for you! |
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"Most Livable Neighborhoods" |
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-CINCINNATI Magazine, August 1994, By Felix Winternitz |
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Sure, Places Rated says Cincinnati is the most livable city in America. But let's get specific - which are the most desirable communities around? Nope, Indian Hill isn't No. 1. Hyde Park barely edges in the Top 20. And you'll never guess who came in first... the most livable neighborhood in Greater Cincinnati isn't even in the state of Ohio. It's across the river on the so-called "south side of Cincinnati." |
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#1 Most Livable Neighborhood - Villa Hills, KY By Todd Breitenstein |
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"A special place to live" is the motto adopted by the 8,000 residents of Villa Hills to describe thier environs. "A very family oriented city with a relatively young population" is how Mayor Jerry Stein tags it. Populated by Reds and Bengals players as well as the odd television news personality, Villa Hills is a five square mile community on the western fringe of Kenton County. Its one edge is defined by the Ohio River, another by Interstate 275. Both the airport and downtown are, as the Realtors like to tell you, minutes away without being too close. The neighborhood boasts the absolute lowest violent crime rate of any community in the tristate (zero murders, zero rapes, zero robberies, zero assaults), although the single auto theft last year no doubt sent the city fathers into quite a tizzy. The local government also maintains its own roadways (thee central avenues are Amsterdam, Collinds, and Highwater) as well as running a substantial recreation program. This riverside community is home to the newest school in Kenton County, River Ridge Elementary. Principal Joe Kiger brags his students have achieved the highest math scores in the school district, and readers of this magazine may remember when we profiled the elementary's unique features, including the six miles of computer cable leading to every single classroom, the Storer Cable Television studio, and old-fashioned cloakrooms in the place of lockers. The average home in Villa Hills sells for $110,287, quite reasonable considering that our second place contender, Fort Mitchell, averages a heftier $150,113. Favorable transit as well as property tax ratings also helped propel Villa Hills into the top spot. (Indeed, the Anderson Ferry offers a unique alternative to the Interstate for downtown commuting.) About the only negative: Villa Hills scored the worst possible in the dining category. Don't take a prom date here. Now, before you pack all your belongings into the U-Haul, Mayor Stein drops this hint: You may not find a lot of "For Sale" signs on the streets of Villa Hills. "People don't want to leave," claims Stein, and even when they do finally outgrow their homes, they still opt to remain in the neighborhood. "They trade up to get bigger houses." This notwithstanding, others assure us that Mr. Drees, Mr. Fischer, and Mr. Zaring are doing all they can to make sure there's a Tudor-style waiting for you. |
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