1. It’s a great place to live. I guess if you are used to the big city life, maybe not so much. But if you are looking for a close knit community, a place with top-rated schools of excellence, and a place close to conveniences but still off the beaten path, then Preble County is the place for you!
2. We have our own gated community. I have found, over the years, that most people in general have a love-it or hate-it view of our local gated community-Lakengren. I have lived in Lakengren for ten years now and overall…LOVE IT! The annual dues are about $680.00. Ok, some people balk at annual dues. Break it down…that’s about $56.00 dollars per month. We don’t pay City of Eaton tax you know…In addition, I get access to the community pool, as does my family, without having to spring for a yearly YMCA pass or pool pass. And I don’t know if you can put a price on living by a lake. I DON’T, by the way, live on the lake. But I hear the boats and sky-jets in the summer. I watch the geese and cranes fly over my house on a daily basis. I see the colors of the seasons change and reflect off of the lake. I take advantage of all that Lakengren has to offer in the way of events at the Lodge, classes offered at the pool, and clubs you can belong to. I don’t think you can put a price on that.
3. Close to the action. Well, maybe not as close as you would prefer. I grew up near the Salem Mall in Dayton. A now defunct area, it was once the hub of shopping for the Dayton area. And I lived about 5 minutes from the action. I LOVED that. Preble County was a bit of an adjustment for me. But honestly, as seen by the amount of traffic that goes thru our rural area on a daily basis, we’ve still got it going on. Only 30-45 minutes to Cincinnati. 30 minutes to Dayton. 15 minutes to Oxford and Hueston Woods State Park. 10 minutes to Richmond Indiana which is growing in leaps and bounds. 2 hours to Indianapolis. I miss the 5-minute drive to the mall, but would I want all that traffic and the trash and pollution that comes with it right in my backyard? Heck no! I’ll drive the 10-30 minutes.
4. Agriculture. At the risk of really being made fun of, I’ll keep this one short as I don’t know that much about agriculture or farming. In fact, I complemented someone once on his bean field and he says “Uh, that’s corn”! In my defense, it was early, EARLY in the season! Regardless, we have an amazing farming community here. 4-H is an important part of many children’s lives around here. I still meet kids in the city who have never even SEEN a pig in real life, let alone petted one. There’s something to be said about growing up in a community where you actually see the farmer’s out there working the fields, see the animals raised for food, SEE where the food and sustenance is coming from.
5. Low cost of living. I love to watch House Hunters on HGTV. What never ceases to amaze me is the price people are willing to pay for a home in some areas of the country. Or just for land. The average sales price of a home here in Preble County is about $130,000. Farm land, good farm land, about 4000-4500 an acre. Plus we have low taxes compared to our neighboring counties of Butler and Montgomery. Facts are that the cost of housing in Preble County is less than 1/3 of the National Average. Want a LOT of bang for your buck? Look no further than Preble County!
6. Country Mile Realtors. Yeah…did you really think I would do a blog and NOT put in my own company, the hands-down BEST real estate brokerage in the County? Ok, some people would beg to differ. But from a factual stand point: We have more agents than any office currently in the county. Not just agents, but TOP-PRODUCING agents. We have gorgeous signs. Funny I know, but do you know how many times a week I hear someone comment on seeing our signs everywhere? They are colorful and yes, everywhere! We also are the only company in the county to still do home tours. What’s this you ask? Whenever I, or any agent in my office, puts a new home on the market, all of the agents pile in the car and go take a look. The benefit? Anythime this phone rings here at Country Mile, any one of us can answer questions about any given house, because we have seen them all. How can you justifiably sell a house or paint a picture to a person on the phone, when you’ve never even seen the thing?
7. Higher Education. Not only do we have several schools rated as “School of Excellence” in our area, we also are located close to many University’s and other schools of higher education. Miami University is 15-20 minutes away. Not to mention the satellite schools of Miami University in Hamilton and Middletown. We also have Sinclair Community College in Dayton with a satellite branch right here in Eaton. The Ohio State University is less than 2 hours away. Earlham College, Ivy Tech, and IU East are just over in Indiana. University of Cincinnati is less than an hour away. Wright State College is in Dayton as well as several other smaller trade schools and community colleges.
8. You want festivals? We got ‘em. How about the Preble County Pork Festival? There’s also the Black Walnut Festival, Apple Butter Festival, Oktoberfest, Antique Festival, Derby Days, Barn Tours, Downtown Music on Main, The Herbe Faire, Arts and Crafts Fair, Bridges, Bikes and Blues Event, The Whispering Christmas, the Christmas in the Village and The White Christmas Celebration. Don’t forget The Downtown Car Show, The Apple Butter Festival, the Preble County Fair, The Buckeye Bridge Bicycle ride, the Arts and Crafts Show at Hueston Woods, the YMCA Triathlon and the Fireworks Extravaganza. Whew…I’m worn out just typing them all!
9. Haunted History. Did you know Preble County has been mentioned several times in the “Haunted Ohio” series of books written by Chris Woodyard? The Devils Backbone area located in Camden OH is a gorge said to be haunted by Indians who once lived there. Eaton has the historical Fort Saint Clair and the Bell Bridge, both places with reported hauntings, noises and sightings. Gratis offers Brubaker Bridge and Fudge Road, both with spooky stories. And the old Lanier school, located in West Alexandria, has its own tale to tell.
10. Local gems. Probably the most important of all of the ten items on this list, are the many small business being run by hard-working people all over this county. I’m afaid I will forget someone here so I hesitate to make a long list. Suffice it to say, many locally owned and operated business, both new and old, make their existence here in Preble County. I don’t think you will come across better service, better prices or a better overall shopping or dining experience than you will in many of these local shops. A far cry better from the face in the crowd experience you seem to get anymore at the big business palces. It’s so refreshing in this day and age to walk into a store or restaurant whre they actually know your name, your needs, and what your favorite drink or food is. Give it a try…support local business!
