Cleveland, Ohio

[monkeybug]

What's it like?
It's getting to be time for us to start making a list of where we want to be stationed next, and my husband mentioned that he is interested in the job that is in Cleveland.
I don't know anything about Cleveland at all!
We would likely not live in the city, probably a suburb would be a good fit for us.
We have to put a number of locations on our list, and we are currently living in #9 out of 9 on our previous list, so putting it down doesn't mean we will be living there, but at the same time I don't want to put places I wouldn't want to live on the list.

 

[emma'smom]

It's cold....and snowy in the winter! Classic mid-western Autumn though (think colorful leaves picking crisp apples in the orchard, pumpkins, etc). We live near Cleveland and we love it! We moved here from NYC (which we loved too). However, this is a great place to raise a family-- cost of living is lower, people are friendly, four seasons....it's classic Americana (but modern).

 

[DrCavin]

Well I would start by asking where will he be working, has a big impact on commute time. There are lots of great suburbs in C-town.

We get some crazy weather here, hot/humid, cold/snow, rain/clouds so if you have to have sun your not going to like it too much. Cost of living is low & housing is plentiful.

 

[monkeybug]

It's cold....and snowy in the winter! Classic mid-western Autumn though (think colorful leaves picking crisp apples in the orchard, pumpkins, etc). We live near Cleveland and we love it! We moved here from NYC (which we loved too). However, this is a great place to raise a family-- cost of living is lower, people are friendly, four seasons....it's classic Americana (but modern).

So good schools? Not a lot of crime? I don't know why I thought of Cleveland had a lot of crime.
It didn't help that my husband told me Cleveland was a little like Pittsburgh. No offense to any one who lives in Pittsburgh (it's where my husband is from) but it looks grimy and dirty to me, and a lot of the people look grumpy. Maybe he just meant it's like Pittsburgh in that it has sky scrapers? Lol! Who knows!
I actually love the snow and cold weather so I'm not too worried about that. How are the Summers? Hot and humid? Are the mosquitoes as big as birds like in Minnesota?

 

[monkeybug]

Well I would start by asking where will he be working, has a big impact on commute time. There are lots of great suburbs in C-town.

We get some crazy weather here, hot/humid, cold/snow, rain/clouds so if you have to have sun your not going to like it too much. Cost of living is low & housing is plentiful.

He is in the Coast Guard. I don't know if there is more than one Coast Guard station there though, so maybe that doesn't help narrow it down much.

 

[monkeybug]

It looks like we would get about $1300 a month for housing. Could you find a decent rental in a decent neighborhood for around that?
We get 2,200 now so that seems low!

 

[KristiMc]

We live in Twinsburg which is about 30 minutes from downtown Cleveland. Cleveland Magazine just voted our town the best suburb for 2010. We have a great school system, close to major highways and nice amenities (great library, fitness center, outdoor pool, parks).

We moved here from the Pittsburgh area a few years ago and while I still miss Pittsburgh I love my new home.

 

[monkeybug]

We live in Twinsburg which is about 30 minutes from downtown Cleveland. Cleveland Magazine just voted our town the best suburb for 2010. We have a great school system, close to major highways and nice amenities (great library, fitness center, outdoor pool, parks).

We moved here from the Pittsburgh area a few years ago and while I still miss Pittsburgh I love my new home.

Thanks! I'll check out Twinsburg, it sounds like a place we would like!

 

[DeluxePrincess]

Cleveland is great if you stay out of the actual city. Some very good school systems in the suburbs.

 

[FireDancer]

Cleveland is a classic sprawl city meaning very few people live downtown. While there are some good neighborhoods in Cleveland proper the best neighborhoods are the suburbs. If you are going to be putting kids in public schools you really don't want to be in Cleveland.

So good schools? Not a lot of crime? I don't know why I thought of Cleveland had a lot of crime.
It didn't help that my husband told me Cleveland was a little like Pittsburgh. No offense to any one who lives in Pittsburgh (it's where my husband is from) but it looks grimy and dirty to me, and a lot of the people look grumpy. Maybe he just meant it's like Pittsburgh in that it has sky scrapers? Lol! Who knows!
I actually love the snow and cold weather so I'm not too worried about that. How are the Summers? Hot and humid? Are the mosquitoes as big as birds like in Minnesota?

We are like Pittsburgh because we are both classic "old economy" cities. Think steel not silicone. Cleveland has it's problems just like any other large cities. There are neighborhoods you don't want to be in but you will find that almost anywhere. Our public transportation is a joke, the riverfront has been waiting for development for a decade, and we haven't had good leadership that wants to actually get things done in a while. There are some great things about the area that most outside people don't know about. We have one of the top parks systems in the entire country (Metroparks), a lot of great restaurants of many different cuisines, 3 of the 4 major sports if you guys are into that, good colleges that range from affordable to top of the line, and we do have a lot to do.

As a pp stated, we have 4 seasons. The summers are hot and humid but not unbearable, the falls are gorgeous with the trees changing colors and cool but not cold weather. Winters can be rough because of lake effect snow. The eastern suburbs get much more snow then the western or southern most years so keep that in mind when you select housing. Springs are a bit different from year to year. Sometimes they start in April, sometimes in May, and they are usually wet but it doesn't rain every day.

Because of our parks system (the Metroparks and Cuyahoga Valley National Park) we have a lot of activities year round. Those parks have great trail systems that are good for hiking or running in the spring and summer or snowshoeing in the winter. There is cross country skiing in the parks and in the fall there are all kinds of festivals, demonstrations (maple syrup hikes for example), and other things to do.

The thing I like best about living here is that for me (in Strongsville which is a southwestern suburb) I am 20 minutes from downtown in one direction and about 30 minutes from farming areas and small towns in the other.

He is in the Coast Guard. I don't know if there is more than one Coast Guard station there though, so maybe that doesn't help narrow it down much.

There is only one station in Cleveland proper but there is also one in Lorain county that is about 30 minutes (depending on when you drive I-90) to the west.

 

[monkeybug]

Thanks everyone for all the replies!!
I think we would definitely stick with a suburb, and my husband doesn't mind a commute. He is stationed in Baltimore now, but we live in Annapolis. He has a commute, but having the kids in a nice neighborhood and good schools makes up for that. Some of the places we know are going on our list (Seattle Wa, and Alameda, Ca) will require a commute.
I would prefer public schools over private, so good schools are important to us.
All the outdoor stuff to do sounds awesome and right up our alley, that is also an important thing for us!
The only thing I'm trying to figure out is how much rental we could get for 1,300 a month (or a little more)? It's hard to tell from Craigslist, and when I searched Twinsburg there didn't seem to be much listed. I'm just trying to get an idea. I don't know if they have military housing there, but we prefer not to live in military housing if we can help it.
Does that part of Cleveland get many tornadoes? I sort of have a tornado phobia.

 

[FireDancer]

Thanks everyone for all the replies!!
I think we would definitely stick with a suburb, and my husband doesn't mind a commute. He is stationed in Baltimore now, but we live in Annapolis. He has a commute, but having the kids in a nice neighborhood and good schools makes up for that. Some of the places we know are going on our list (Seattle Wa, and Alameda, Ca) will require a commute.
I would prefer public schools over private, so good schools are important to us.
All the outdoor stuff to do sounds awesome and right up our alley, that is also an important thing for us!
The only thing I'm trying to figure out is how much rental we could get for 1,300 a month (or a little more)? It's hard to tell from Craigslist, and when I searched Twinsburg there didn't seem to be much listed. I'm just trying to get an idea. I don't know if they have military housing there, but we prefer not to live in military housing if we can help it.
Does that part of Cleveland get many tornadoes? I sort of have a tornado phobia.

We don't get many tornadoes but they do happen from time to time. I have been here 30 of my 32 years and have never seen a tornado personally or know a single person who has. They occur more in central and southern Ohio but even there it isn't like tornado alley.

From 2005-2007 I lived in a 3 bedroom house with friends that cost us $850 a month. It was in Berea, OH (close to Baldwin-Wallace College), had a once car garage, no basement, and a pretty decent sized yard.

 

[dawson5]

If you end up in the Lorain County one, let me know. That is the area we were from, still have family there. I can give you some ideas of where to stay away from, what's good, etc.

You can see waterspouts on the lake. Very easy to confuse with a tornado.

 

[monkeybug]

If you end up in the Lorain County one, let me know. That is the area we were from, still have family there. I can give you some ideas of where to stay away from, what's good, etc.

You can see waterspouts on the lake. Very easy to confuse with a tornado.

I'll ask my husband today which one he would be at.
We won't find out where we are going until next spring (and then we move a few months after that). I just like to research all the places we put on our list so that I know I'll be OK with what ever we end up with.
Last time we moved my husband was a priority 2, which means that after the priority 1's got their picks, he was part of the next group in line. Even at priority 2 we still ended up with #9 on our list, this time we are priority 5 .
I'm happy to hear that Cleveland isn't as tornado prone as I thought it was!
I'll have to do more research, but as of right now it sounds like it might end up on our list!!

 

[monkeybug]

We don't get many tornadoes but they do happen from time to time. I have been here 30 of my 32 years and have never seen a tornado personally or know a single person who has. They occur more in central and southern Ohio but even there it isn't like tornado alley.

From 2005-2007 I lived in a 3 bedroom house with friends that cost us $850 a month. It was in Berea, OH (close to Baldwin-Wallace College), had a once car garage, no basement, and a pretty decent sized yard.

$850 for a three bedroom sounds good to me!!! The places I saw were 1,400 - 1,600 so I was a bit worried, but maybe they were in fancy pants neighborhoods or something.

 

[FireDancer]

$850 for a three bedroom sounds good to me!!! The places I saw were 1,400 - 1,600 so I was a bit worried, but maybe they were in fancy pants neighborhoods or something.

I found the place in Berea through Cleveland.com. They have a rental section that was pretty good.

Generally speaking the east side will be a bit more then the west side. Are you looking for a house or condo? Over by me Strongsville and North Royalton are two cities with good public schools where you can probably get a rate close to what I paid in Berea. Rocky River, Avon/Avon Lake, and Westlake are all suburbs on the westside (Strongsville and Royalton are southwest) with good schools. I know the west side a lot more then the east so I would let someone with more knowledge give you good east side cities.

Some of those cities would also be doable if it is the Lorain station. You'd be heading (or your husband would be heading) against rush hour. If I were working in Lorain I would try to stick a little east of the county to give you better access to the Cleveland area stuff.

Oh, I forgot to mention earlier, we have a lot of good farmer's markets selling locally grown produce. It is an advantage of having farming so close to our cities.

If you have any specific questions you don't want to post feel free to PM me.

 

[emma'smom]

If you husband was willing to do a Baltimore/Annapolis commute, consider going out even further for an even better cost of living.

We live in Wooster (which is a small college town about 45-55 minutes south of Cleveland). We have a lot of folks who live here and commute to Cleveland daily. For 1300.00 you could buy/rent a modern 2000+ SF home in a very nice neighborhood!

Our schools are great, the presence of a college makes it a unique mix of locals and folks from all over the country. As for raising a family, the activities are all very reasonable (sports fees, gymnastics, pool membership, etc). The crime rate is extremely low and the violent crime rate is even lower.

You are further out....so you get a bit more small town feel/charm....but easy access to more metropolitan areas. After living in NYC, our move to Wooster was a big change...but we love it!

 

[monkeybug]

I found the place in Berea through Cleveland.com. They have a rental section that was pretty good.

Generally speaking the east side will be a bit more then the west side. Are you looking for a house or condo? Over by me Strongsville and North Royalton are two cities with good public schools where you can probably get a rate close to what I paid in Berea. Rocky River, Avon/Avon Lake, and Westlake are all suburbs on the westside (Strongsville and Royalton are southwest) with good schools. I know the west side a lot more then the east so I would let someone with more knowledge give you good east side cities.

Some of those cities would also be doable if it is the Lorain station. You'd be heading (or your husband would be heading) against rush hour. If I were working in Lorain I would try to stick a little east of the county to give you better access to the Cleveland area stuff.

Oh, I forgot to mention earlier, we have a lot of good farmer's markets selling locally grown produce. It is an advantage of having farming so close to our cities.

If you have any specific questions you don't want to post feel free to PM me.

Thanks!!
I'm sure I'll have lots more questions the more research I do!
The other places we are putting on our list (so far, we won't know all of our options until September) are places I'm familiar with, but Ohio is completely foreign territory, so I really appreciate the help!
Farmers markets are good! We actually are thinking of joining a CSA farm when we move, so it's a definite positive to be near farm country!
I know that out of the jobs available so far, the Cleveland job is the one my husband is most interested in.

 

[monkeybug]

If you husband was willing to do a Baltimore/Annapolis commute, consider going out even further for an even better cost of living.

We live in Wooster (which is a small college town about 45-55 minutes south of Cleveland). We have a lot of folks who live here and commute to Cleveland daily. For 1300.00 you could buy/rent a modern 2000+ SF home in a very nice neighborhood!

Our schools are great, the presence of a college makes it a unique mix of locals and folks from all over the country. As for raising a family, the activities are all very reasonable (sports fees, gymnastics, pool membership, etc). The crime rate is extremely low and the violent crime rate is even lower.

You are further out....so you get a bit more small town feel/charm....but easy access to more metropolitan areas. After living in NYC, our move to Wooster was a big change...but we love it!

I would love a larger house, so that is certainly something to consider!! Newer bigger house is high on the priority list!! Right now we have a teensy tiny thing, with appliances from the dark ages, but that's because we are paying for the neighborhood we are in.
I know my husband doesn't mind a 45 minute commute. In CA it was a 45 minute commute just to go 5 miles, so if 45 minutes meant a bigger house and a small town feel, I'm sure he would go for that!

 

[ibelieveinmagic]

Hi, im from cleveland, lived here all my life,Some beautiful suburbs with great schools are aurora ohio and, chargrin falls ohio, you can find a very nice place for 1300.00 anywhere. On the west side i would look into Brecksville, and independance, north royalton/. we have the lake which is huge ( out of towners say it looks like the ocean] playhouse sqaure downtown with lots of plays, the mertoparks, sports teams, museums, and a very diverse population with diverse restaraunts ie, greek, polish. german ,italain puetra rican etc..... Its not a bad place to live, but the winters are tough- alot of snow and very grey for months. but summer and fall are great!