Moving to Cleveland, please help!!!!

[jeank74]

My husband and I are moving to Cleveland, Ohio, in a week or two. We need some information about the area since we are not familiar with Cleveland. Please help!! We really appreciate it!

These are some quesitons for you:
1. How is the morning traffic going out/in of Cleveland Downtown?
2. Any area in Downtoan is rough(dangerous)?
3. How are the neighborhoods in Lakewood and Brooklyn?

Thank you very much!!!

 

[marlasmom]

I can't be of much help but my daughter and SIL live in Cleveland. Actually they live in Lakeland because she tells me that there is a city tax where you work and where you live. Lakeland is considered part of Cleveland so they don't have to pay double tax. Something to watch out for. Her rent is very cheap - at least compared to New England where we are from.

The only other thing I know for sure is that they have a Nordstroms there and REAL kosher corned beef sandwiches (which I could not find in New Hampshire nor in central Florida).

 

[Cindy B]

I used to lilve in Cleveland.

Actually Shaker Heights, and University Heights.

Cleveland is sort of split in two sides East and West Side. I lived in the East. Downtown is sort of like the center.


Lakewood is in the West. If you have ever seen the movie the Christmas story... with the kid and the BB gun.. that was shot in Lakewood. It pretty close to downtown, and all that. I had many friends from church that lived in Lakewood. They liked it.

Brooklyn, I'm not that familiar with... maybe someone else can tell you.

As for Downtown, the actual downtown area is a ghostown after the work day ends. There is a club area called the Flats, but as for safeness... I would say anything PAST the CSU area (30-40th thereabouts) can get interesting. (I used to work at 35th and Euclid).

East Cleveland (near Case Western) can be well, urban. This is also fairly close to the Cleveland Clinic area. I also used to work near this area as well... but on the other side.

Also the Kinsman area (next to Shaker Hts/ is well urban as well) Used to drive thru that area.


I'm used to living in Philly, where the "bad" areas are worse, and bigger area. I never had a problem.

Morning traffic, can't tell you, used to use the train. It wasn't as bad as Philly (13 miles can take you an hour). Depends on where you are living you can take the rapid.

 

[browneyes]

I live near Cleveland, Tennessee, but I guess the advice I have wouldn't be any good for you.

Good luck with the move, Jeank74.

 

[jeank74]

Thank you, Cindy, for the wonderful insight.

We have found a few apartments online. The ones in Downtown are in the Theatre district (on Euclid Ave) and Warehouse District (from 9-12th st). Are these areas safe to live?

Waiting to hear more about Cleveland. Thanks everyone!

 

[damo]

DS is soooooo jealous. You get to live near Cedar Point. The roller coaster capital of the world!

 

[Cindy B]

Ok, here's a few thoughts.

Yes there is a residence tax, called the RITA. All the suburban towns had the tax.. at least the ones I lived in. I'm not sure if the city of Cleveland has the same tax, you should find that out.
The RITA was a percentage of your income, and it was billed quarterly in advance, so it always seemed like we were getting RITA bills.

The rent was low, so I guess it did even out.


We loved living in Shaker. There are a lot of homes to rent which were cheaper than apartments. And more often than not, there were amenities that were included, where they weren't included in apartments, mainly washer/dryer. We got in touch with the Shaker Housing Department, and they toured us around. We found some beautiful homes to rent at a really good price. It was really close to downtown (quickie trolley/train ride).

Although technically in Cleveland, but really near Shaker is called Shaker Square. We had some friends that rented a place in that area, and it was really really nice...

Downtown can be interesting with parking. As with any major city, there isn't much street parking, but garages. Some garages are really expensive.

9th & Euclid is a busy intersection.

 

[EpcotKilterFan]

Hi! Welcome to Cleveland

The Warehouse District is a bit better than the theater district. But both are downtown. Lakewood is very nice. It has older homes and very close to the lake.

Brooklyn is a nice smaller suburb. Just be careful that you are not too close to the airport.

Commute from Lakewood to Dowtown is very short. The rush hour here is not that bad.

Where will your husband or yourself be working? That will help to direct you to a right side of town. The malls are about a 15-20 minute drive from Lakewood and about the same from downtown. Like someone said earlier, Downtown is a ghost town after 6 p.m.

Feel free to e-mail me! And hope to see you at a DIS meet soon!

Debbie

 

[Steve H.]

I assume the apartments in the Theatre District is Reserve Square? If so, those are very nice apartments, but like others have said, downtown is kind of difficult to live in (lack of things like grocery stores, etc.) The warehouse district is pretty nice as well -- the city's really tried to improve that area of downtown by building a lot of apartments and condos.

Where in downtown will you be working? Because if you're planning on walking to work (if you live downtown), because those two areas you've mentioned looking at apartments are considerably far apart (at least in walking distance).

Downtown traffic is not too bad, especially from areas like Lakewood (which is about as close to downtown you can get and still be considered in a "suburb"). I live about 18 miles outside of downtown and it takes me anywhere from 20-30 minutes to drive to work (I work downtown) on average. A lot of it depends on what highway you live closest to. I-90 and I-71 aren't too bad, traffic-wise, while I-77 can be a nightmare.

Lakewood's very nice, but it really depends on the part of Lakewood you're looking at (it's a fairly large suburb, and there's some "rough" sections). Lakewood has a lot of duplexes for rent, which are nice because you get a little more room than an apartment. There's a lot of young professionals that live in the Lakewood area. Brooklyn's pretty nice -- an older community, but there's a lot around it.

I could also recommend a few other areas, maybe a little farther outside of downtown that would be a little farther drive to downtown, but you might find some nicer apartments there.

Oh, forgot to add -- Welcome to Cleveland

 

[Pembo]

jeank74-Welcome to Cleveland! And we'll have a DIS meet soon after you are here to make you feel even more welcome!

 

[newmousecateer]

I live near Cleveland, Tennessee, but I guess the advice I have wouldn't be any good for you

LOL Shannon