Great to live downtown. - 4/22/2023

I've lived in Dayton Ohio for over 7 years. I live in a historic district within a short walk to Oregon district and down town. The summer concert series at Levitt pavilion is fantastic. There are great bars, breweries, distilleries and restaurants in the area within a short walk.

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Great Place - 1/4/2018

Spent years assigned at WPAFB (in Mar 90 - Aug 95') and lived in Oakwood for 5 years. We loved it and have nothing negative to say. Locals were friendly and interested in building friends...of which we still have friends there after 20+ years. Lot's of aviation history! Good places to eat and shop and get an education.

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Rundown and culture dictated by WPAFB - 6/7/2017

I spent four and a half miserable years here. Essentially, your only employment opportunities are in healthcare or at the base. I worked at the base; they were the most provincial and uncouth people I ever worked with. It was like a cult or being on another planet. Indeed, the people were weird. A mob psychology abounded there. They didn't want humans there but instead yes men and robots. This is also the only job I've ever worked at where management will actively hold you back without actually knowing you and solely based on whether or not they liked your smell when you first walked in the door. Indeed, even if they don’t like you they will provide a bad job reference to keep you from leaving. Active judgment abounds, and based on the looks of most of them they didn't have any room to judge anybody. Shopping there sucks. The few malls that are there are struggling with limited options. Because it was small and in the shadow of other larger cities, I noted a sense of arrogance among people there as if they had to justify their existence there and prove themselves. It was also very cliquish too. I noted the same thing when I lived in Philadelphia. I was also bullied and threatened by my apartment manager (Ashton Brooke in Beavercreek) over an negative online review. I was also bullied for various comments made while on Facebook by other locals. Indeed, the redneck element abounds there too. The police force are lazy. I had a few issues that occurred where I needed their assistance and got no help. Beavercreek police unnecessarily shooting black people in Walmarts vindicates me. These people worship the cops, and if you criticize them in any way they become very self-righteous.

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Dayton Econom - 11/4/2012

Economy is horrible.

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Dayton from the rear view mirror - 8/28/2011

Roger Clements hall of fame pitcher and scoundrel was born and raised in the Dayton area. He's quoted as saying, "the best thing about Dayton was seeing it in the rear view mirror." I'm about to join Roger. Ranked as one of the most dangerous cities in America with among the highest unemployment, people have been fleeing this armpit like rats from a sinking ship. It's just a bloody shame and tribute to a one party political system with nobody in charge. I was born and raised in Dayton and have watched it deteriorate to about half of it's population and 10% of it's jobs. Unless you are in health care or the Air Force there is zero employment unless you can repeat day in and day out "would you like fries with that?"

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Dying - 8/25/2011

Sadly at this time Dayton seems to be dying.

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Live Here - 1/9/2011

What do I say about Dayton? I've lived here or in one of the suburbs of Dayton my whole life. Dayton should be a great city, it is near a big river, it has lots of underground water access, a big Air Force Base, many famous inventors of the past, and a long and profitable auto industry, but it isn't great. In Dayton proper the crime rate is very high, there are many racial tensions, and infrastructure decay. Most of our Industry has left the State or gone out of the country. The unemployment rate is high. Our cost of living is very low if you can find a job. We had so many Manufacturing jobs here, but most of them are gone, and they've left people with no job prospects. I've heard that we are turning into a service based economy, but you can't make enough money to live on working in service jobs, even with a low cost of living. The winters are cold and wet. The summers are nice for a few days, but it is mostly too humid here. Fall is great, but not very long. Spring has gotten shorter and turns to summer too quickly. We have tornados in the spring especially in the flatter areas like Xenia and Preble County. There are a lot of nice people here, but lots of rednecks! Lots of country music if you like it. Dayton does have some decent sport teams, if you like sports. There are Plays, concerts, museums etc. if you are brave enough to go downtown to see them. I live on the southern outskirts of Dayton and I never go downtown unless I have to. It is just too scary. I shop in Kettering, Oakwood, or Miamisburg. Some of the suburbs of Dayton are very nice, but the crime is starting to creep into them too. The only reason we are still here is because it is familiar and we have family here. Thinking of leaving Ohio this year. I sure wish Dayton could go back to when it was a great place to live and work, but it looks like it will be many years or never before it does.

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Named a dieing city and little Detroit - 11/25/2009

I live in Dayton I was born and raised in and around the city and I know a great deal about it.First of all the two largest negatives of this city are crime rate and unemployment.Bacicly anywhere within the city limits is dangerous crime wise.Poverty and drugs are huge problems for the city unfortunatly as with alot of cities but with Dayton its self fluxuates between 18th most dangerous city and 8th most dangerous city in america depending on diffrent sources.The west side is the most dangerous of all.There is virtually no segragation there and you can likely be targeted if not of that paticular race unfortunatly.The locals here nicknamed our city little detroit because of the crime,ethnic backgrounds and the automotive industries. The major employer of this city was of the automotive industry,theres only one plant not shut down as of now out of about 15 large plants. On a more positive note most of the suburbs are not to bad and there are actually very nice neighborhoods outside the inner city. If for some reason you have to move here(why I'm not sure because theres not many jobs to be transfering to here)you might want to keep these things in mind

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What can I say, I live here - 11/3/2009

Dayton is a mixed bag. Winters are long and depressing. Summers can be hot, humid, rainy and unbearable or somewhat nice. Spring tends not to happen, we'll go from highs in the 50s straight to highs in the 90s with 100% humidity. One place to enjoy is Fraze Pavilion with lots of summer concerts, usually stars from the 70s or 80s. If you don't have a ticket, you can pull up a lawn chair and listen for free. Dayton depended for years on old-line manufacturing and hasn't quite figured out how to replace those jobs. Wright Patterson Air Force Base is the major employer. Wright State, the University of Dayton, and Sinclair Community College are good educational institutions. You can pretty much get anywhere in the area in about 20 minutes. Cinncinati and Columbus are easy drives. If you are moving here, I would stay out of the city limits. Kettering is a nice inner ring suburb, then there is Beavercreek, Centerville, and others. You can live in a bedroom community like Xenia (heads up for tornados) or Troy. Just my take, thanks for reading

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Dayton Lifestyle - 9/18/2009

In general, Dayton has a slow paced lifestyle. It does not take long to get anywhere, except when roads are under construction, and most people are pretty easy going. There is a great arts community in Dayton, both visual and performing arts. It could be the low cost of living allows for more artistic expression. However, many artists complain about not being able to make a living at their art, because there is not a large enough community to support the number of artists in the area.

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Dayton Ohio - 8/23/2009

In Dayton, crime is at an all time high. The police cannot control the crime and drugs that has turned this city and the surrounding suburbs into a crappy place to live. People are getting shot at local malls and Wal-Marts. Drug dealers can sell on the streets and in parking lots but the cops will blatantly ignore this and go after the buyer. There are numerous "known" drug houses but nothing is done. Instead the focus is on speeders and traffic violations. The police around the area are jokes and could care less about it because they tend to live outside the area in very well communities. The schools are crappy, except in a few outer areas that can afford to spend over $500,000.00 on a fake football field when there are homeless women and children just a mile away. (Oakwood) They should be ashamed of theirselves! If you are planning on moving here, take my advice "DON'T!" The first chance I get I will be out of here and wont miss it a bit.

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Dayton... - 6/13/2009

Are you kidding me... Dayton is about as exciting as a rock. It's crime ridden, run-down, old economy (NCR just packed up for Atlanta) do nothing downtown unless you want some drugs and just plain depressing. Ya'all should come on over to Big "C" where everything is happening! Just behave yourself.

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Not so great but I wish it was. - 3/1/2009

I lived south of Dayton as a child. I was lucky enough to move to Colorado for several years. Then I decided the cost of living was too high and moved back to the Dayton area 16 years ago. It is a fine place to live if you are content with going to work(if you can find a job), coming home and watching T.V., and spending the weekend shopping at the typical chain stores and eating at the usual chain restaurants. There are a couple of very good restaurants and shops here and there in the surrounding area, but you really have to poke around. There is a handful of interesting places to go check out as well. Unfortunately, once you've gone to those places, that's about it. Getting to them can be a little bit questionable at times because of the parts of town you have to go through to get to them, especially at night. Occasionally, well known bands come to a small venue in Kettering(suburb) which is very nice. Otherwise, everything good usually passes right by. The city itself is quite polluted and gray. As for the public transit, my son and I were watching the local news when they did a story on how great the RTA bus system was. Later in the same broadcast(literally), there was a bit on a missing man who was last seen riding the RTA. I've never had the nerve to ride it myself. The cost of living is fairly proportionate to the quality of life. If safety or security are not a priority, housing is cheap. The price goes up considerably if these things are important. Jobs pay as little as possible and are very scarce. The attitude of the people generally reflects the atmosphere of the location. There is a huge Air Force base just north of Dayton which greatly influences the area as well. If you like outdoor activities or anything like that, about the only thing in or near the city is probably the bike path by the river. It is pretty, especially on the right day. There is the metropark system, with the usual picnic tables, grills, and grassy areas with the occasional playset. With little to choose from, healthy active lifestyles aren't that common. As for the weather, the winters are long and dreary. They are either bitter cold without the glory of lots of snow to play in, or soppy wet gray cold or a mix of the two. The spring has great moments, but is too short. As soon as it stops raining from spring, Summer hits and is hot and humid with lots of mosquitoes and no clean water to swim in anywhere. Lots of ozone alert days. Fall is nice, but also brief and not many fall colors when July and August suffer long droughts as has been the case recently. I appreciate those who try to focus on the good points of Dayton. It was once a thriving community of innovation and maybe it could be once again someday. It's a real shame things have gone the way they have. Nevertheless, it is currently split by racial tensions. The crime rates in and around the city continue to rise along with unemployment and homelessness. The murder rate per capita is consistently extremely high. I would like to say better things about the area, but we are not very happy here. We have stayed to be near family. We are fortunate enough to live outside of Dayton in a nearby town, which is much better and therefore more costly than the city itself, but very small and isolated. We are actively seeking relocation options. We would appreciate any suggestions of a better place to live which has not been spoiled by greed and/or crime as it seems all of the desirable locations of the country have been. We have children and giving them a healthy, safe environment is very important to us. We would like to get closer to nature, but not in the middle of nowhere. Someplace with an appreciation of the arts, hopefully with a good university. Probably too much to ask without a life-crushing price tag, but we'd love to hear feedback about ideas if anyone has any because we do not have the luxury of travel in our budget.

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It depends! - 2/15/2009

I've always liked the weather in the area because we have four defined seasons, and it's rarely extremely hot or extremely cold. The springs and autumns are long and beautiful. The summer is warm, but rarely extremely hot, and the winters are cold, but rarely freezing. Having said that, it does get cold and it does snow. Just not for very long.

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Culture and Recreation - 11/6/2008

I am disappointed in the lack of culture and recreation in a city this size. What is available is usually so expensive that the normal person can't afford to participate.

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Dayton, Oh has lakes, great parks, museums,ann mor - 7/8/2008

Summers are wonderful in Dayton - museums, many different cultural festivals, lakes, car shows almost anything you might want. The summer draw backs are that heat and humidity most of the time. Since Dayton is in the Miami Valley, it is a little more shielded from the worst of the snows (most of the time). But, you do have to like a longer winter. Fall season seems so short. At one time, Dayton had a VERY large base for manufacturing plants for a variety of cars, car parts, etc. Most of that is gone now. This seems to be so much of our country today.

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Dayton Schools - 6/26/2008

Struggling with high drop out rates and poor test scores

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It's Great in Dayton - 5/7/2008

Have lived in Dayton all my life and have had the opportunity to travel around the country. We could live anywhere and we choose Dayton, Ohio - four seasons, on the edge of the eastern time zone so the summer days are long, great people, great work ethic, great cost of living. There is something for everyone here - except for traffic. If you can't find what you need here - Cincinnati & Columbus are within an hour's drive. We have access to 'major' city attractions - without the day to day hassles. We're the birthplace of aviation, the future of aerospace and the cradle of innovation.

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Not the place to be - 3/22/2008

This may be "piling on," but the last three or four comments are spot on. Cost of living is cheap, but you get what you pay for.

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Don't move here. Trust me. - 3/21/2008

I've lived in Dayton for over 10 years. The only reason my family and I moved here was because of Wright Patt Air Force Base and both parents were in the military at the time. After graduating from High School I wanted to move away for college, but starting dating someone, which is the only reason I did not move. I'm almost a grad from Wright State University and as they say "Right state, wrong school". It really is. Dayton is full of abandoned stores of a once thriving city, only a handful of restaurants that are worth visiting, and the saddest nightlife around. Downtown offers zero jobs for those wanting employment. I'm moving as soon as I graduate from WSU b/c of the poor job opportunity and of course the weather in ridiculous. Dayton is just a very poor city. The only good things are the Oregon District located on Fifth St. and that says something. It has about three bars on this strip, four good restaurants, and a record shop with good used and new cds. Dayton is just not a thriving community and none of the school systems are worth it if you have children and are considering this place. I would definetely consider Columbus as an alternative. Much nicer, better schools, and much better job opportunity. The nightlife is great there, as well!

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