Thoughts on Oxford, OH?

[ljt2r]

I might be moving to Oxford or nearby this summer as DH is mulling an offer from Miami of Ohio. Anybody have any thoughts on Oxford--where to live, where to eat, where to shop, etc etc? I already know about Jungle Jim's--the people in DH's (potential) dept heard I was a foodie of sorts so they took us there as part of their "Recruit the wife to convince the husband" weekend we had recently. It alone nearly sold me. :p Other than that I have only driven around the surrounding area--mostly going toward Cincy. I am from Columbus and yet totally unfamiliar with that part of Ohio!

TIA, Laura

[Kyra]

I did my undergrad degree at Miami, and have a cousin who is just finishing up his degree. I like Oxford very much, but obviously, I'm biased.

As far as where to live, a realtor will be able to steer you away from the sections of town which are heavily student rentals. You might even want to live further away from campus; the outlying areas are still (mostly) rural. As far as what's nearby, well, not much. Would you want to PM me and I'll see if I can answer some of your questions? I live in Columbus, but am from Cincinnati, and would be happy to help you as much as I can!

[Beth H]

Some good friends of mine live in Oxford (her DH also is a professor there). I have visited them there several times -

Pros (aside from the fact that Miami is a great school): A beautiful area; relatively low housing costs; safe; good atmosphere in which to raise a family
Cons: Small, somewhat isolated in that you have to drive 30 minutes or more to go to Target, etc., some good restaurants (as mentioned), but limited choices; town is totally about Miami so it might be hard to get away from that

You can PM me if you'd like - I'm actually going to see these friends tonight as they are on spring break.

[ljt2r]

I will PM both of you as I have more specific questions. I am fairly certain we will not live IN Oxford--we have 3 dogs, a cat, 2 kids, and I want a large yard for dogs and a garden. I am hoping that a drive to "civilization" might be more like 15 mins--both to work for DH and to the shops the other direction. We'll see though--despite the low housing costs I was pretty discouraged by what we looked at. DH is talking to a mortgage broker soon, hopefully we can afford more and hopefully more stuff will go on the market soon.

The warm weather was certainly enticing, I will say that. I think it is 2 growing zones south of us! :D :D