might be moving to Cleveland - advice?

[bthomas]

I might have a job offer to move to Cleveland. I'm not extremely familiar with the immediate Cleveland area, but I am familiar with some of the suburbs (Willoughby Hills, Mentor, etc.)

Any advice on where to live with my wife and two kids?

[Neo]

I don't know much about Cleveland...I've only been there on a layover a couple of times, but I found a list of neighborhoods and a little about them:

Source: http://www.travelcleveland.com

Neighborhoods & Other Areas Of Interest

More and more visitors are discovering that Cleveland

[PghUSA]

lol. This is too easy. lol.

Pittsburgh is only a 2 hour commute or so. Plus we have a better football team! Maybe living in the burgh and working in the cleve would work out for ya.

Joking only joking I love cleveland, i truly do, they are the safest 2 wins of every Steelers season. lol

ok ill stop.

[bthomas]

I didn't say I'd root for the Cleveland teams - just that I might be moving there, lol.

I think we've settled on Mentor if we can find a place to live there. The wife has a lot of family in that area and it would be to our advantage to live there.

[Oldmanladyluck]

Mentor is nice, there's a lot of new restaurants, and they have Great Lakes Mall, which is always a nice place to shop (one of my favorites in the area!!). If you must move to a suburb, Mentor is a nice choice. Since it is in Lake County, you'll have a cheaper sales tax to deal with than Cuyahoga. I would consider Cleveland Heights if you're into arts. The city is very, very walkable and you'll love Coventry (a street in Cleveland Heights). If you can afford it, Shaker Heights is a very nice community as well. It has the rapid going right through it, so if you wanted to you wouldn't even need to take your car to work and could just catch the train. Lakewood is also a nice suburb to live in, and also enjoys being a strong arts community.

As far as neighborhoods in the city go, Tremont and Ohio City are booming. Both are on the west side, and both are enjoying growing populations. Both are also where you can find fine arts. You'll have to go down W. 25th street and visit all the shops and the West Side Market, which you WILL love, trust me. If you ever considered moving into downtown (which is actually the fastest growing downtown population wise in the midwest and 7th fastest in the nation), the Warehouse District is the place to be. Many old buildings have been converted into loft apartments and condos, and you won't find any place like it in the region. Nightlife is also thriving in the district. The Gateway District would be my second choice for downtown living. You would be right by Jacobs Field and Gund Arena, and the district has 40 some restaurants and counting.

I would also check out Edgewater, which is a neighborhood on the west side. Besides Lakewood, the neighborhood has one of the best views of downtown in the area (if you live by the lake, that is!!!). Midtown, on the east side, is also worth checking out.

I hope this will be some help. Good luck!!

[bthomas]

what about crime, schools, etc? I have two young children that I'll have to put through school - one is 2yrs old, the other one is to be born in September...

Also, what are your electric bills from month to month, typically?

Thanks for the info!

[MayDay]

bthomas, Oldmanladyluck has given some good advice but there are some details that need addressed.

First, since you've mentioned that you'll have two children with you when you arrive, I cannot recommend living IN the city of Cleveland if you plan to send them to public schools. The schools have improved somewhat but not to the extent that I'd recommend them.

It would also help if we knew where you'll be working (no need to get specific, but what area/city). If you'll be working in downtown, then Mentor is quite a haul especially during the winter when lake effect snow wallops the eastern 'burbs. And while the Heights (Shaker, Cleveland) are really neat places - they have the highest property taxes in the region.

It really depends on what you're looking for - you'll basically have a trade-off no matter what. Feel free to ask more questions, and I'll be happy to get info.

[Oldmanladyluck]

^^^^^^ You're right about moving to Cleveland with kids right now, which is unfortunate but true. The city still has some work to do with the school system, but it is comming along since Barbara Byrd Bennet is running things. I picked up the Cleveland Magazine issue of "rating the suburbs" last month and the top 10 suburbs to live in (in their opinion using statistics) were:

1: http://www.mayfieldvillage.com/

Mayfield Village had the #2 saftey rating, the #17 education rating, a property tax of $1,480 (per 100,000), and a total population of 3,391.

2: http://www.chardon.cc/

Chardon had a #safety rating, #12 educational rating, property tax of $1,459 per $100,000, and 5,183 population wise.

The rest from their top 15 are:

3: http://www.solonohio.org/

4: www.brecksville.oh.us/

5: www.pepperpike.org/

6: www.beachwoodohio.com/

7: www.rrcity.com/ ( Rocky River)

8: www.morelandhills.com/

9: www.cityofwestlake.org/

10: www.broadview-heights.org/

11: www.independenceohio.org/

12: www.strongsville.org/

13: www.chagrin-falls.org/

14: www.macedonia.oh.us/

15: www.cityofbayvillage.com/

top 15 school districts:

1: Solon

2: Chagrin Falls

3: Bay village

4: Hudson

5: Beachwood

6: Rocky River

7: Brecksville-Broadview Heights

8: Orange

9: Westlake

10: Aurora

11: Olmstead Falls

12: Chardon

13: Independence

14: Strongsville

15: Mentor

Top 15 safety ratings (again, using statistics)

1: Pepper Pike

2: Mayfield Village

3: Sagamore Hills Township

4: Willoughby

5: Seven Hills

6: Chardon

7: Highland Heights

8: Medina

9: Moreland Hills

10: Bay Village

11: Strongsville

12: Brecksville

13: Fairview Park

14: Westlake

15: Cleveland Heights

15 Lowest Property taxes (per $100,000 Valuation)

1: Mentor $1,286

2: Macedonia 1,316

3: Independence !,330

4: Elyria 1,350

5: Brunswick 1,358

6: Willoughby 1,365

7: Wickliffe 1,382

9: Willoughby Hills 1,440

10: Twinsburg 1,451

11: Sagamore Hills Township 1,453

12: Chardon 1,459

13: Eastlake 1,479

14: Highland Heights 1,480

15: Painesville 1,481

So, here's even MORE info!!! Try doing a google or yahoo search on any cities I didn't list in the top 15 using the city name and then "ohio" in the search.

[bthomas]

I'd be working downtown in Gund Arena for the cleveland cavaliers.

[tonybologna]

bthomas, Oldmanladyluck has given some good advice but there are some details that need addressed.

First, since you've mentioned that you'll have two children with you when you arrive, I cannot recommend living IN the city of Cleveland if you plan to send them to public schools. The schools have improved somewhat but not to the extent that I'd recommend them.

It would also help if we knew where you'll be working (no need to get specific, but what area/city). If you'll be working in downtown, then Mentor is quite a haul especially during the winter when lake effect snow wallops the eastern 'burbs. And while the Heights (Shaker, Cleveland) are really neat places - they have the highest property taxes in the region. 

It really depends on what you're looking for - you'll basically have a trade-off no matter what. Feel free to ask more questions, and I'll be happy to get info.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Are there any public schools within the city limits that you would send your kids to? Looking at at least national average for SAT scores. If not, which suburbs have the easiest access to downtown where your kids could also get a decent education?

[netagurion]

Are there any public schools within the city limits that you would send your kids to? Looking at at least national average for SAT scores.  If not, which suburbs have the easiest access to downtown where your kids could also get a decent education?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hey! I live in Lakewood, OH thats about 5 minutes from downtown on the west side. I see that you only really mention east side of Cleveland cities in your first post, any reason for that?

I am partial to the west side, it is not as crazy as the east side, however if you like the hustle and bustle of the traditional bedroom communities than the east side is for you (Mentor, Euclid Heights, Shaker Heights) However if you want to be close to downtown and still feel safe at night (without the ghetto knocking at your door) I suggest moving to the west side. Try Lakewood, Rocky River, Westlake, Fairview Park, Avon, and Avon Lake.

Oh yea and about the quote, DON'T send your kids to cleveland city schools!!! a school system that is 3 billion dollars in debt and is continually shutting schools down is not a good one to send your kids to. Also, in most of the east side suburbs the school systems are connected to Clevelnad city schools and not their own city school. Bad news if you ask me.

If you have any more questions let me know.