FEATURES

The Myth: Folks are fatter.
The Reality: The percentage of overweight adults in Hamilton County is 32.2 percent and 34.2 percent in Clermont County, while Warren County weighs in slightly heavier at 34.6 percent, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Children in the exurbs, however, are noticeably thinner than their urban counterparts. The most recent ODH survey shows that 13.6 percent of third graders in Warren County and 17.3 percent in Clermont County are overweight, compared to 21.8 percent in Hamilton County. Gov. Ted Strickland, meanwhile, is worried that all Ohioans are too fat. His administration’s “Ohio Obesity Prevention Plan,” published this spring, outlines steps for cutting our collective waistline through better school nutrition programs and increased physical activity for state government employees.

The Myth: They aren’t walkable.
The Reality: Many studies have been done in recent years on walkability, but surveys focus on urban and suburban areas, not the exurbs. Why? Because there’s no point, explains Menelaos Triantafillou, an associate professor of planning at the University of Cincinnati, adding: “If you did a walkability test on the exurbs, you would really flunk it!” Walkability measures the connectivity of a community—how quickly and safely residents can walk between their homes and other services such as churches, schools, a grocery store, or local library. If it takes more than 10 minutes by foot, forget it. In the exurbs, few, if any, sidewalks or pedestrian right-of-ways exist because the distance between developments is so great. Residents have little choice but to rely on cars to get from point A to point B.

The Myth: They are full of Republicans.
The Reality: Nationally, the suburbs, exurbs, and other areas outside of urban centers are considered Republican Party base areas, which continue to grow as population and development increase. How do we compare? Well, the Boards of Elections for Warren, Clermont, and Dearborn counties all report more registered Republicans than Democrats. And even though Butler County has 54,287 registered Democrats and 53,141 registered Republicans, more than 60 percent of voters still picked the Republican candidate in both the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections. Campbell County has more registered Democrats (28,178) than Republicans (26,332), but McCain still won there by nearly 10,000 votes. No matter what the registration records show, the exurbs are indeed Republican Country.

The Myth: There’s no racial diversity.
The Reality: While populations of non-whites living outside of Hamilton County have increased over the years, comparatively speaking, the numbers are still miniscule. In 2007, the percentage of African-Americans living in Clermont County was 1.5, though they put up higher numbers in Butler and Warren counties with 6.9 and 3.5 percent, respectively. Nevertheless, they make up less than 5 percent in Kenton, Boone, and Campbell counties. And Asians and Hispanics make up less than 3 percent of the population in Butler, Warren, and Clermont counties (the same holds true for the Kentucky counties). Of course, big businesses in the area, such as Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America and Procter & Gamble, help boost diversity by bringing in foreign workers, but Eric Ellis, president/CEO of Integrity Development, a diversity consulting firm in West Chester, says that true diversity isn’t just about the numbers. “In general, I think that people underestimate the time and investment they have to make to create a truly inclusive community,” he notes. “It brings enthusiasm and excitement, but it also brings challenges. You don’t ever just get there and you’re done.”

The Myth: Everyone’s Christian.
The Reality: According to the Association of Religion Data Archives, 1.2 percent of the Cincinnati/Hamilton metropolitan region is Jewish and two-tenths of a percent are Muslim. While those figures are lower than the national averages (1.77 and 1.58 percent, respectively), there’s still a diversity of faith here, and it extends to the exurbs. The 2008 Jewish Community Study of Greater Cincinnati found that 20 percent of the Jewish population is exurban, residing in Loveland, Mason, West Chester, and beyond. The Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati sits along I-75 in West Chester and the Hindu Temple of Greater Cincinnati is just inside I-275 in Summerside. “It’s a perception,” says Rabbi Robert Barr of Congregation Beth Adam in Loveland, which has members who live as far away as Oxford. But, Barr points out, the myth persists, “not just in the suburbs, but across our nation. We think, ‘Oh, everybody is like me.’ ” As a nation, we’re more than 82 percent Christian—so there are a lot of me’s out there.

The Myth: They’re more expensive.
The Reality: That does seem to be the case. Housing, food, utilities, health, transportation...those are the wallet-drainers that the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks to determine the “cost of living index.” The bureau considers the national cost of living index to be 100. According to www.city-data.com, Hamilton County has the lowest cost of living index in the region (81); Warren County, the highest (82.6). Some of the difference might be due to transportation (see “The commute is long”). But much of it probably can be attributed to housing: compare, for example, the average home price in Warren County—$237,618—to Hamilton County’s modest $160,249. Whatever the difference in the cost of living, Pamela Kurtz, an exclusive buyer’s agent with Team Chabris of Keller Williams Advisors, finds that it’s seldom the make-or-break factor. “People see themselves in a setting: they’re city people, or urban people, or suburban people,” she says. “I rarely have people who are looking at Mason and Hyde Park at the same time.”

The Myth: The commute is long.
The Reality: In February, Forbes rated the Cincinnati/Middletown area as 31st on a list of the nation’s 100 most congested cities. But since Forbes was rating the whole region, it means we’re all in a jam. To get a more nuanced picture, we turned to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2005–2007 American Community Survey Three-Year Estimates, which indicated that the average work commute for a Hamilton County resident is 22 minutes—about the same as Kenton and Campbell residents (21.3 and 21.4 minutes, respectively). But wage slaves out in Clermont County have it bad: 27.4 minutes each way. (Kinda makes you wish light rail hadn’t been voted down a few years ago, eh?) The researchers at Forbes also determined—we’re not making this up—that the absolute worst traffic snarls in southwestern Ohio occur Thursdays at 5 p.m. Consider yourself warned.

The Myth: There’s more green space.
The Reality: “It’s yes, but...” says Menelaos Triantafillou, an associate professor of planning at UC. Of course, there is more green space per acre in the exurbs because there is less commercial and residential development—and consequently less trash, graffiti, etc. But many people consider the quality of available green space superior in urban and suburban areas because it is often dedicated to parks or other preserved natural areas, Triantafillou explains, whereas in the exurbs, most green space is privately owned farm and forest land that could eventually be developed. Hamilton County, for example, boasts by far the largest park district in Greater Cincinnati with 17 developed parks and four conservation areas spanning more than 16,000 acres. Warren County is next biggest with a mere one-tenth the green space—1,600 acres of parks and natural areas. Boone County in Northern Kentucky has 17 parks and nearly 1,200 acres of green space, and Clermont County has five parks, two preserves, and two green spaces spanning just over 400 acres.

The Myth: The nuclear family is still intact.
The Reality: The census calls households headed by people who are hitched “married-couple families,” no matter how many remarriages and stepchildren are involved. And they do seem more prevalent in the exurbs. In Hamilton County, only 69 percent of families are married-couple families, while in Campbell and Kenton it’s 75 percent, in Butler and Boone it’s 77 percent, and in Clermont 80 percent. Therapist Laura Sage, owner of Mason Family Counseling, says that in her experience, “What’s telling about the suburbs is that these people have more resources—more time, more everything. And they don’t have the stressors,” of low-income families. If more money and less stress help keep families together, it shouldn’t be a surprise that in Warren County—the most affluent area—a whopping 83 percent of families are headed by married couples. Looking for connubial bliss? Go forth (beyond I-275) and multiply.

The Myth: They’re safer.
The Reality: Crime happens everywhere. However, when compared to the city and its first-ring suburbs, the numbers in Butler, Warren, and Clermont counties are dramatically lower. In the major crime areas tallied by Ohio’s Office of Criminal Justice Services for 2007 (murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, car theft, and arson), the outlying counties didn’t come close to Hamilton County’s numbers. For example, the murder cases in all three counties for that year came to a grand total of 11; that’s 64 bodies shy of Hamilton County’s 75. In Alexandria, Independence, and Florence, the murder rate was zero.

The Myth: The schools are better.
The Reality: Five of Hamilton County’s 22 public school districts are ranked Excellent with Distinction, the highest ranking on Ohio’s six-tiered system. Of the 27 public school districts combined in Clermont, Warren, and Butler counties, seven are ranked Excellent with Distinction. Kentucky doesn’t rank their schools the same way that Ohio does, but compared to the state’s average graduation rate (83.8 percent), Campbell County School District’s 89.3 percent graduation rate is firmly above the state average, while Kenton and Boone County Schools’ rates are both well above—90.4 percent and 90.5 percent respectively. But, cautions education consultant Roger Effron, “The thing about statistics is that it’s not a win/loss record. If you’re using statistics as a measurement, they would point to exurban schools being better—game over. The guts of the school aren’t measurable. There are too many factors at play.”

The Myth: There’s nothing to do.
The Reality: Who says the exurbs are boring? Warren County is home to Kings Island, Great Wolf Lodge indoor water park, The Beach Waterpark, and the new Ozone Zipline Adventures, where riders fly 10,000 feet through the canopy over the Little Miami River in Oregonia. You can’t gamble in the city, but Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, is just 45 minutes away, and when you crap out, you can hit the slopes at Perfect North. Historic Waynesville and downtown Lebanon boast more than 70 boutiques and antiques shops. The Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women’s tennis tournament, as well as the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour, are waiting for you in Mason when you’re tired of watching the Reds and Bengals lose. Outdoorsy types love to canoe and kayak down the Whitewater River in Brookville, Indiana, camp and hike in Big Bone Lick State Park in Boone County, play a round of disc golf at Lincoln Ridge Park in Independence, and wakeboard at Fairfield’s Wake Nation. Skateboarders might have difficulty finding places to legally ride and practice tricks in the city, but in the exurbs there’s a handful of skate parks, including Baker Bowl Skatepark in Middletown and the Hamilton-Fairfield Skate Park, with more than 8,000 square feet of skate-friendly surfaces. The city has, and probably will always have, a leg up on the museum front, but the ’burbs have unique specialty museums, like Batavia’s Tri-State Warbird Museum (a fleet of operational and restored fighter planes!) and Williamsburg’s Harmony Hill dairy house and museum. Boone County Arboretum in Union is actually the nation’s first arboretum (and Northern Kentucky’s only one) with 121 acres and more than 2,700 trees and shrubs. Tired yet? Well, rest up. That’s just a trifle of what the outer limits has to offer.

The Myth: They’re wealthier.
The Reality: Well, yes and no. The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2005–2007 American Community Survey Three-Year Estimates indicate that the deepest pockets around here are in Warren County, with a mean household income of $84,015, followed by Boone County at $73,342. But Hamilton County’s mean household income of $66,785 isn’t so different from the counties of Kenton ($65,322), Campbell ($64,549), Clermont ($68,756), or Butler ($65,753).

The Myth: Everyone owns a gun
The Reality: It’s unlikely everyone outside the I-275 loop is packing heat, but there is no way to prove or disprove the myth. That’s because there are no federal, state, or local requirements to register most guns, says Joe Eaton with the pro-gun lobbying group Buckeye Firearms Association (BFA). According to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives the federal government requires a criminal background check on anyone who purchases a gun from a licensed dealer, but personal information is used to initiate the search and isn’t kept in a national or state registry. Certain firearms, such as machine guns and short-barreled shotguns, must be registered with the feds, but a registrant’s information is protected from general disclosure similar to that of taxpayer records. While you might assume that more people in the exurbs and rural areas hunt compared to denizens of the inner city and suburbs, a surprising number of suburbanites like to take a shot at Bambi, says Collin Rink, the BFA’s Cincinnati region leader. He notes that Madeira has a deer-check station—where hunters must register their kill. “A lot of people are shocked to find out there’s one less than five minutes from the Kenwood mall,” he says.

The Myth: They’re sexually repressed.
The Reality: Uh, think again. It’s amazing what kind of openness you encounter in some exurban areas. There are several clubs, groups, and nights in the sticks dedicated to serve the pleasures of those who describe themselves as “open-minded,” including the members-only Club 440 in Milford; and Middletown’s hilariously named Club Freaky Friends, which offers annual spring break–like vacations for swingers. A quick search of craigslist.org’s “casual encounters” section for Cincinnati will yield several listings for exurban swingers, like the “4:20” (code for marijuana use) couple in Alexandria who profess that they’re into “kinky but nothing gross or painful.” For the less, er, adventurous, there’s a nudist camp in Colerain Township, which has 210 members and has been around for 28 years. Not to be confused with swingers clubs, Paradise Gardens Resort isn’t about sex; it simply tries to promote a healthy attitude about bare flesh. “A lot of people that come up here for the first time say, ‘I always heard about this place, but I never believed it!’ ” says Lori Coleman, who owns Paradise Gardens with her husband, Ron. “Sometimes I wonder if they think it’s illegal to be naked.” Illegal? No. Uncomfortable for some folks? Probably.

Originally published in the August 2009 issue.