Congratulations on your recent move into the area! Nestled north of Dayton, the Upper Miami Valley is full of vibrant yet diverse landscapes great for spending time in the great outdoors or taking a peaceful drive in the countryside. From the abundance of outdoor recreation to culture, art, and history; you are going to love it here!

Whether you traveled from a town nearby or another state or country, this new chapter in your book might be a little daunting and overwhelming at first. I totally get it! The Airforce brought my family to the Upper Miami Valley almost 12 years ago where we decided to hang up our hats for good. Throughout our time here, we lived in three different houses, purchasing two of them. With every move, we kept running into the same challenges: where do we go to have fun and who are the most trustworthy businesses to use and help us make our new home our own? In those moving moments, I knew I couldn’t be the only one running into the same obstacles and I knew I had to do something about it!

This BeLocal guide was created and designed to help you transition into your new community and settle into your new home much easier. It will take some time to get unpacked and settled into your new home, establish new routines, and find all the new services you need. No worries, I’m here to help! I spent years sitting down with locals and participating in community activities to learn about all the secret gems and where to find them. 

Within these pages, you’ll find the locals’ insights on their favorite hot spots of the Upper Miami Valley and their word of mouth recommendations on who provides the best services within a vast array of industries. Most of the businesses listed in here are locally owned and not only provide the best services and products, but they truly care about their community. I encourage you to give these businesses the opportunity to earn your business. Supporting local means supporting local jobs, local families, and the local community. 

We hope this guide helps you settle in and serves as a valuable coffee table book to refer to throughout the year. We also invite you to follow our companion social media pages @belocal_upper_miami_valley on Instagram and Facebook, where we will share more about the Upper Miami Valley’s events, businesses, residents, stories, host giveaways, and much more. Be sure to bookmark our digital page for when you are on the go and to stay updated on our future issues of BeLocal Upper Miami Valley. 

Enjoy this guide, get on out there and explore the Upper Miami Valley, and reach out to me with any questions or concerns that you might have!

Welcome Home.

Tanya Burkhardt

937-239-0366

As, a welcome to the area, we’d like to help you settle in by giving you a gift card to use at a local establishment. Be one of the first three to email us this month and let us know how you’ve been using your BeLocal Upper Miami Valley (places you’ve visited and/or businesses you contacted).

Reach out to Tanya at tanya.burkhardt@belocalpub.com or text (937) 239-0366. Please include your comments and feedback, along with your full name and address. Good Luck!