Moving this summer to Xenia,

My family and I are moving this summer to Xenia. Where is the best place to live? Places I may want to avoid? Renting until we know where we want to be.

Poor thing! Be prepared to be bored out of your mind! I grew up there and the city has always been against anything for the youth to do for entertainment. There is no movie theatre, no bowling alley, no skating rink, no longer a community pool and they're getting ready to move a GREAT dog park to another location that will only decrease the enjoyment factor. Honestly, I've lived alot of places after leaving Xenia, and even returned for a while due to some family issues, and I have never seen a place so negative about providing activities for the youth. There has never been anything that lasted due to the lack of support by community leaders. Oh and by the way, the hospital will be closing within the next couple of years, although the administration will deny it to keep down community outrage. They already stopped all maternity services June 1st and will no longer deliver babies there. The tornado was not the thing that destroyed our town, it was the sorry leadership and narrow minded council that refuses to move forward. My sympathies on your move.

xxxxx wrote:

My family and I are moving this summer to Xenia. Where is the best place to live? Places I may want to avoid? Renting until we know where we want to be.

The only place I can tell you to avoid is......XENIA !!!!

I third the other two posts. This town is going nowhere thanks to a worthless council and manager. There is nothing here but low income projects, fast food, and drug dealers. After the hosptial leaves, the biggest employer will be wal mart! I would look elsewhere if its not too late!

Thanks for your comments. We were in Xenia last week to find a house. I must say I was not very impressed. Way over priced for what was offered and the rudest people in food service and grocery store(wal mart) that i have met in a long time. I have to say I hope things go better and it was just a bad week, (i can dream).

Please do not move to Xenia! Or Ohio! We moved here because my dad worked at WPAFB. At least we live in Beavercreek where there is some progress and intelligence. Yes, people in this state are rude and negative. Can't wait to move in a year or so.......even if it means leaving my grown kids, who can come and visit us elsewhere.
Good luck to you.

Yes, soon there won't even be a hospital in the town. Its ridiculous! The property taxes continue to go up disproportionately for absolutely no good reason. People there are rude and yes some of the rudest I've ever met too. I lived there most of my life and haven't liked it there for a long time. The tornado not only physically destroyed the town in 1974 but after that there has been nothing but stagnation in growth although the council and leadership would call it progress. Its turned into a backward town with no future. Sad but true!

The city manager Jim Percival was forced out several years ago under very shady circumstances. Last year the city council hired him back! Can anyone say "buddy system?"

Wow, what a bunch of whiney haters! I love living in Xenia. It is a nice, quiet, sleepy little town. If that's not your "cup-of-tea" leave or don't come. I will admit that the youth have nothing here to entertain them. But, if that bothers you so much get out and vote for fresh faces or start a youth oriented business. Last statistics I saw, voter turn-out in Xenia was less than 15% for city council seats. This is America there is a place and opportunity for everyone.

been gone from xenia for 16 yrs and when i left their was nothing going on there and still is not. i was born and raised in xenia and sorry to say they are a small town with small town minds no one wants to put forth any effort to help themselves do better and if you want better they will shun you or find a way to rob you beware if u are a boy u will either sell drugs be someone's baby daddy or live with a girl with lots of children on welfare and if your a girl you will be the one every guy will try to talk to just to c how far they can go before they pass you along to one their homies and all girls and women will hate you just because you are new and might take their man which has been passed around 1000xs already . i got out young and yes i still go back because lots of my fam lives there but im not in town linger than 2 days ive seen life outside of xenia as where others have not

We moved to Xenia five years ago and while the locals leave a lot to be desired in terms of friendliness -- something I've found pretty much true of the whole Dayton area -- we've found a good core of fellow transplants that make living here just fine. Dayton/Xenia is one of those areas that has some good stuff to offer but they do a lousy job of making it known. You really have to live here and get to know the place to find the gold beneath the sludge. In that way, Xenia is a lot like any small Midwestern town.

But there's definitely some pleasant aspects to living in Xenia. The bike trails are amazing. It's lovely to ride up to Yellow Springs or down to Corwin for lunch and cruise back. The Y has tons of kids programs and after-school programs that are really low cost. There's a new local community theater that's doing some neat stuff. Music in Shawnee Park on Sunday nights in the summer. And the schools are one of the very few that actually moved up an entire level in the quality rankings under No Child Left Behind. That is not easy to do and is a good sign that there's some good stuff going on there.

If you do end up moving here, and are interested in an older home, the South Detroit area is a good up and coming area. The historic districts (Carnegie and Water St.) and the neighborhood behind the KMart are also good. These have the advantage of having a lot of amenities within walking distance -- I can walk to the post office, library, park, bike path, fairgrounds, used book store, coffee shop, grocery, pharmacy and (best of all) Acapulco Mexican restaurant for margaritas. There's some newer developments around but the homes are pricier and you need a car to do anything. While you'll need to leave Xenia for serious shopping, there's two malls within a 20-minute drive and along the way to them are any number of other stores. Go the other direction and you're less than 20 miles from the big outlet mall at Jeffersonville.

And yes, you'll find the salespeople seem much ruder here than in Georgia. I'm from Alabama and still can't get used to how sales people treat customers up here. I once tested if it was me or if they really were that sullen and it's true. They're that sullen.-- I once did a whole day of shopping where I decided to wait and let the clerk speak first. In most of the transactions, they didn't even say anything to me. A few others asked if I wanted to open a credit card. Sigh. Not a lot of that basic interest and curiosity in one's fellow man you see in the South. Again, find the transplants (there's a lot of us because of the Air Force base), understand that you'll need to take the initiative to find something and some people you love about the place and you'll survive.

I think most people that have anything positive to say are transplants. They haven't endured the small mindedness to the degree those of us who grew up there did (before we escaped). Prior to the tornado of 1974, it was a sleepy little town that was GREAT! The tornado not only took away most of the town, it dropped money into the pockets of the big-wigs who didn't do much to improve the quality of life. And as far as opening a business, don't get your hopes up. More businesses have come and gone than you can imagine. Ask anyone who's lived in Xenia for years and they'll be able to rattle off dozens that have failed. Its no longer a sleepy bedroom community that it was when I was a kid (1960's), its a dying cess pool of drugs, welfare, crime, and elected officials who are way too big for their britches!

Home Again hit a home run on his description of Xenia!The only business that survives are those geared toward social programs and welfare hand outs! As long as they have James Percival at the helm with the incopetent hillbily council, it will remain the cess pool that it has become!

BTW, you better not speed through Xenia. The police have quotas to enforce. They would rather bust your balls over speeding than close down a drug house.

James Percival isn't the head of city council. He's not even on it. In the past few years, there's been a big shake-up on city council and the city has finally been able to do things like force downtown businesses to bring their storefronts up to code -- stuff that under the old regime could be avoided merely by a phone call to the owner's fave city councilmen. They've also hired a development director who's been doing some good stuff.

If you've followed the local news at all, you'd know that there's been some of the biggest drug busts in Greene County history this year.

home again has it right in that it seems the only folks with anything positive to say about Xenia are the transplants. The natives all seem stuck in a rut where all they do is bitch about the past instead of encouraging and participating in positive change. If you don't want to live here, fine. But please do those of us who do the favor of seeing both sides of the story. Yea, Xenia has its problems. But it's got its strengths too. In other words, it's a lot like any other small midwestern city.

There are a lot of people in Xenia working hard to make it a better place. Change doesn't happen fast. But it is happening. It would be a lot easier if former residents didn't make it their business to badmouth us every chance they get without ever mentioning that there's more to the story.

xeniac, you've gotta be a transplant!

Because natives of Xenia have beaten their heads against walls until their energy is gone. Stuck in a rut? Nope, just tired of trying to push a chain! Its not likely to happen. We've been down this "change is coming" road more times than you can imagine. The excitement and motivation for change comes on like crazy and then it peters out. Stay tuned.....you'll see what I'm talking about!

look people that say xenia is nice are a bunch of transformer brains not transplants.xenia is no good.it is boring for kids like me. xenia is satintown. the tornado was bad but hey it,s xenia. xenia is the worst city in history!it is a dunder tornado place people call a town.

just kidding about xenia. it is not the worst town in history.just give the poor small town a chace would ya. it is only a little town. my parents sometimes look on the bright side of xenia and they are not transplants or transformer brains.not even close to the worst town in history.xenia has a lot to offer like fairs and restrnts and low cost of liveing a small airport and nice teams.i am no transplant just want to get to know a small town.

yeah i was pretty misable in xenia to. it is just as bad as cincenati. xenia looks like hell.but just becuse xenia is hell dose not mean go on and feel sorry.but lets face it the two of them are not good at being county seats.it is a horrible town. people that say xenia or cincenati are nice need to see a docter . but don,t encourge them they will never leave this dump.it,s hell. xenia is hell. it is just so sad i heard xenia was a nice town long ago. something bad happen to this town long ago before going down hill can you tell me what it was.xenia is poor beyound poor. dayton is far better and is no dump. sorry about your luck. and acording to me xenia is not a city it is a dump in hell that gose to far and will not keep a thing and xenia is dead or at least going to be dead. wake up ohio. xenia one big mistake ohio.but all of you who say xenia is no good are right. xenia dose not desver to be the county seat of any county high on crime and tornados is the type of city xenia is. your life may move on.

Thanks for all the feedback. Did not choose Xenia and am very happy about it. Things may be slower in the south, but have noticed that people are so much nicer. Am happy where we settled but even went to a couple of local churches while we were looking and not ONE person spoke to me after mass. Three different churches, 2 Sundays in a row each. Thought is was just salespeople and service people but it seems to be just about everyone EXCEPT for one salesperson in Fairborn Mall, but come to find out she was from North Carolina. LOL