Cleveland Ohio? (Update 1st post)

[Cindy B]

Oh yeah and the sun doesn't shine most of the time during the winter so get used to clouds and we can get snow 6 months out of the year; October through April. I hope you like snowy Easters!

Heck with snowy Easters... how about snowy Halloweens!

 

[hpygrll]

I grew up in Mentor - 18 years - loved it. Lots of snow - great schools, great place to live - loved being by the lake. I also lived in Olmsted Township on the west side - liked Mentor better.

And Cool Beans, there is no professional hockey team in Cleveland (have to come to Columbus for that) but lots of great other pro teams.

Jenny

 

[ajk912]

Here is my take: NE Ohio is a Hell hole. I have lived here my whole life and can't wait to get out! Cleveland is dying and there are very few jobs to be had anymore. .

Yeah, I lived in Cleveland area (Thompson, Madison, and Painesville for the locals) for 19 years and I couldn't wait too leave. Even going back to visit for me anymore is wayyy depressing. My family keeps trying to talk us into moving back, but I am not joking (well, kind of) when I say I would need to be on massive antidepressants to live in Ohio again. It's too cold and I need sun to survive. Heck, even VA is a bit too dismal for me sometimes.

Sorry for my hijack..

To the OP though, it's definitely right that Cleveland is a dying city (right now). Hopefully it bounces back! DON'T buy a house there, if you ever need to sell it will be hard, houses sit on the market for years there. You get that everywhere, I know, but it's especially bad there.

 

[popeyeohoh]

Wow! Nothing like scaring a newcomer. If your husband is going to travel to Columbus, I would agree about a southern Suburb. Something closer to I 71. My sil lives in Brecksville off of I 77. Very nice community. Cleveland natives are usually warm and welcoming. There are a lot of newer developments in the southern suburbs. I am sure you could find good neighbors in any of them.

 

[RNMOM]

Wow. I grew up living just south of Youngstown and moved to Cleveland in 75. Compared to Youngstown, Cleveland is heaven. Listen, we moved to Utah, Illinois and then came back to Cleveland area. There is no perfect place to live. Yes, we have long snowy winters but on the whole, we know how to deal with the snow and do so quickly. There are a lot of people who ski, cross country ski, sled and hike all winter. I have never found it to interfere with the business of living. We like the snow and cold. Just imagine how much more we enjoy spring when it comes! Oh yeah, we train a lot of olympic level skaters in our part of the country too.

We have wonderful falls here. The colors are amazing and the smells and textures are mind boggling. I love fall the best. As for the sun, we have had two sunny days just this week. Come on...the weather and cloud cover changes so fast here you often get snippets of sun then back to gloom. Imagine the sun on all that snow, it is blinding.

I have lived on the east side about 20 years and have spent the last 12 on the west side. The Cuyahoga river splits this town in two and there are many differences in the two. The east side is very acedemic and medically oriented as the two major hospitals are both on the near east side, in fact a few blocks from one another. Cool-beans never mentions University Hospitals but it is the on which supports Case Western Reserve Medical school and is our personal favorite. The Cleveland Clinic is very much a doctor's hospital but University is kinda touchy feely. Lots more warm fuzzy doctors there and I like that. I have worked at both and use doctors from both. They are both good hospitals.

Do be aware of taxes and insurance rates if you live in Cuyahoga County vs. Lake, Lorain or Medina counties. When you live in Cuyahoga county you will have higher insurance rates because the large city is factored in. We live in Bay Village and I really do love the west side but be aware we have been getting a lot of snow the past couple years. We went to friends in Richmond Hts. for a party and we had twice as much snow as them. That area is kinda a secondary snow belt too. What causes this is that the fronts have to climb up the large hills. The west side is much flatter but we have more to offer along the lake for activities. We have more access to the water. One of our favorite things is to go to the lake and watch the sunset, have a picnic or anything else. The schools are good here but all schools are having a lot of problems with drugs these days.

If he will have to travel often, you would be best in an area along 71 or 77. Frankly, there isn't much trouble getting around Cleveland and the surrounding area anyway. We have pretty good freeway layouts.

If this is a good opportunity for your husband, I really don't think you can go wrong moving here. If you are adventerous and willing to challenge yourself, you will love the snow. We have glorious springs, summers and fall. We have a wonderful growing season if you like to garden and if not, lots of farm stands. We have apples, peaches, sweet corn to die for. There is very little you can't get here. We are just a couple hours from Pittsburgh and about 6 hours from chicago. You can fish on the lake, sail, travel to the islands and stay in a B and B and visit one of the wineries. You can go to Niagara Falls in less than 3 hours and gamble in the casinos there or several other places. We have the Rock Hall, Science Center and sports teams. The restaurants are good and for that, I vote for the east side for great small non chain restaurants. I live near Crocker Park and love spending weekend evenings shopping and eating there. We have great festivals and fireworks for the holidays. We have the Cleveland Art Museum which is being refurbished but still great. We have the world renouned Cleveland Orchestra who even give free concerts a couple times a year downtown. We have a lot of great people here and would love to welcome a few more. Come on up!

 

[jndb93]

I've had a chance to look at some of recommended cities and almost all would work for us.

To answer a few questions though...

I do not want to live in a rural area. Bears and coyotees? I don't want to see them.

I have lived in the south all of my life so the snow will definitely be a shock to me. In Alabama, everything shuts down for an inch or two of snow that turns to a mushy sludge within a few minutes of hitting the ground. I can't even begin to imagine the snow in Ohio much less driving in it. I'm sure I'll adjust though.

Someone mentioned Wooster and Wadsworth to my husband. I looked on google maps and they appear to be further south of Cleveland than most of the cities mentioned on this thread. Anyone know anything about these cities?

Thanks!

 

[Shutterbug]

Really nothing to worry about concerning bears here. Coyotes have begun to show up in the Cuyahoga Valley National park but are not thought of as a problem yet. Mostly its deer and more deer. As new housing developments take away more their habitat they start moving into other area.

As far as snow, an inch or two are mentioned as just in passing in the weather forecast. Its not until you get over 4 inches that starts to be any kind of concern.

Both those cities you mentioned are even more rural than the previous cities. They are also very far from Cleveland. Your husband would be in for a heck of a long commute each day.

 

[bgirldeb]

I was born in Middleburg Heights and grew up in Berea. My family describes it as "small town living with big city access" since you can drive a little to go to Cleveland for the arts or a football or baseball game. Berea is a little college town. We could walk to school and to the grocery store, ride bikes through the Metroparks, or to the library/ "downtown" area of town.
I don't know how much it has changed over the years, but it was a lot of fun for a kid 24 years ago.

I have family in Independence (Grandparents), Cousins in Brecksville/Broadview Heights, and Cousins in Strongsville and North Royalton. Those are all nice areas. The summer and fall is beautiful there.

Honestly, if the winters were not so harsh, I think it would be a great place to raise a family!

 

[LoraJ]

I loved the winter as a child. We lived on a hill and would ride our plastic toboggans all day. Until those mean neighbors moved in and would *gasp* shovel the sidewalk. We built slides all over the yard and all of the neighborhood kids would come over and play.

Just wondering why snow would make it a bad place to raise a family. I have so many wonderful winter childhood memories. And I say this as a survivor of that huge storm in the 70's. (77? or 78? Can't remember)

 

[bgirldeb]

I loved the winter as a child. We lived on a hill and would ride our plastic toboggans all day. Until those mean neighbors moved in and would *gasp* shovel the sidewalk. We built slides all over the yard and all of the neighborhood kids would come over and play.

Just wondering why snow would make it a bad place to raise a family. I have so many wonderful winter childhood memories.

I LOVED the snow as a kid. I actually cut my post short, sorry- I mean for MY family. I don't think, personally, that I would be as happy with the winters as an adult, I mean. It's hard to move back to the snow after living in Sunny FL

 

[taximomfor4]

Thanks for all of the recommendations.

My husband will not have to commute to work in the traditional sense. His office will be at our house. The company requires him to live within a certain distance from Cleveland because he will need to go there regularly. However, he will also need to go towards Columbus. And, I guess east and west of Cleveland as well.

I am not sure of our housing budget yet. We haven't gotten that far. This opportunity came up yesterday. So, I have just started researching the area.

You might consider western Lake County for affordability, then (Geauga County is more the true snow belt). If your dh will be going to columbus as well, then maybe something along I-271. Good areas I know personally are Mayfield (not as posh as some areas, but absolutely just FINE!), Highland Hts, Beachwood. Also, along I-71 if you prefer west side. Just a warning though -- late winter snowfall sometimes gets the westside MORE than the eastside.

If you have kids you want to put into public schools, avoid Euclid. If you like tiny school districts, Wickliffe is just fine (and has 1 elementary, 1 middle, and 1 high school). It's basic suburb. If you like ENORMOUS schools (sometimes lots of nice programs available that aren't available in smaller districts), maybe Mentor/Concord area.

Sorry I only know east side, grew up near here.

 

[Shutterbug]

I loved the winter as a child. We lived on a hill and would ride our plastic toboggans all day. Until those mean neighbors moved in and would *gasp* shovel the sidewalk. We built slides all over the yard and all of the neighborhood kids would come over and play.

Just wondering why snow would make it a bad place to raise a family. I have so many wonderful winter childhood memories. And I say this as a survivor of that huge storm in the 70's. (77? or 78? Can't remember)

true. I love the snow, skiing, sledding, toboggan chutes in the metroparks.
I believe the white hurricane as it has come to known was in 1978. I remember it too.

 

[smi727]

Wow! I'm hoping my fellow Clevelanders are all just cranky since it's been a very long, cold winter. Bagging on your home town is not such a great way to welcome a new person to the area.

Anyway, I grew up in Euclid so I used to bag on Cleveland too. Until I went to Mount Union College (yes - the one with the good football team) and the closest mall was 30 minutes away in Canton (and no - I don't consider Carnation Mall a "mall").

I live in Wickliffe (Lake County) now and I love it. We have a great house that we bought at a great price. There are 3 golf courses within just 5 miles of my house and many, many more if you extend that radius to 20 miles. I have my choice of multiple malls, shopping centers, etc within 10 minutes of my house. I even got a snow day from work a couple weeks ago. My plow guy didn't show up until 1pm so I couldn't get my car out of my driveway! And as another poster said we have sports, museums, theaters, whatever you want.

I think we all just get spoiled by what we have here in Cleveland and the snow makes our brains fuzzy. There are lots of great school districts and communities. Just take your time and pick the right area for you!

 

[DrCavin]

Wadsworth is a pretty nice area. That would be easy access to Columbus & Cleveland.

I live in Jackson Twp, in Stark County. I was at an event Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena, it is 54 miles from house to Arena. Took us about 45 minutes on Saturday w/no traffic. Jackson has great schools as well as North Canton I would not hesitate to move in either disctrict.

Good luck with your move!

 

[taximomfor4]

don't forget Mentor Headlands Beach!! this is kind of long, but some of the best pictures come in the second half, IMO. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCknR_bkBXw

 

[Cool-Beans]

I know Cleveland, but nothing about Wooster and Wadsworth. I went to Wooster a total of one time, I think. Rubbermaid had a big store there. I learned that the "oo" in "Wooster" is pronounced as the "oo" in book.

In Downtown Cleveland, there is a street called "Carnegie." Most of the people in the world pronounce it the way you would. But long-time Clevelanders all pronounce it carNAYgee. Don't ask me why. I do not know. That is just how we roll.

Out east is a city called Mantua. Unitl I was 14 years of age I thought that this was one city and the place we called Man-uh-way was another. They are one in the same.

"Cuyahoga" is pronounced two ways around here. (long i either way) Ki-uh-hoe-ga or Ki-uh-hog-uh. I say the "hog" one. I don't know which is preferred. It's a pretty 50/50 split among people.

I have a very close friend who spends five (sometimes 6 or 7) days a week driving around Ohio. She's in Cleveland, Columbus, Toledo and Dayton all the flippin time. Sometimes Cincinnati. If you have questions about travel times to/from, she'd know. She knows all the highways and interstates and what times are better to travel, etc. And not just one spot. She's all over all of those cities.

Pick a city. If you want to know how long it would take to get from Mentor to Columbus if you leave at 7:00, or Broadview Heights to Perrysburg (near Toledo) if you leave at 9:00, etc., she could tell you. And would be happy to do it.

 

[Snoopymom]

I just have to recommend that you visit first. I grew up there, moved South 25 years ago and there's not a job that pays enough money in the world for me to move back.

It was a good place to grow up, love the salt of the earth hard working people and they have the best food, but the weather will be a huge shock, not just the snow, that area has the most overcast days in the country.

I hate to sound so harsh, but I really think it can have an influence on your attitude and happiness.

It reminds me of a couple from Florida that lived down the street from us, the wife especially hated it, complained all the time, and everyone gossiped about her..."what is her problem, what could be so great about living in Florida?" I think about her sometimes and crack up, because I know that would be me now.

Good Luck.

 

[Snoopymom]

deleted double post

 

[waltsgirl]

If you left your door unlocked anywhere inside the Canton city limits at night, you wouldn't have any money or prescription meds left in your house the next morning. I have never seen a city drop off the map as quickly as that one. We moved 5 years ago and cringe when we have to go back to visit family. At least they have good pizza in town.

There are nice areas. I always liked the area between Akron and Canton (Green, Jackson, etc). There are many nice areas between Akron and Cleveland too. Amish country is real nice too. If travel to Columbus is needed, find a town along the I71 corridor.

But please, please, please stay out of the city limits of Canton like the plague. There are many other areas to consider.

Unless your family lives right in the middle of downtown Canton you are nuts. My husband and I both grew up in Canton and my Mom still lives there. I am not frighten to go to her house and she has never been robbed.

 

[ajk912]

don't forget Mentor Headlands Beach!! this is kind of long, but some of the best pictures come in the second half, IMO. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCknR_bkBXw

Is this beach safe to go to? We were thinking of taking a beach day this summer when we are up in Cleveland visiting family (if we don't make it to VA Beach this year) and this is always our go-to beach. But someone was saying it's not a safe beach anymore because of lake scum/bacteria/whatever?