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Old 03-13-2014, 08:02 PM
 
15 posts, read 48,589 times
Reputation: 10

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Hello! My husband, 18-month old daughter and I will be moving to the Akron area shortly. We are both 32 years old.

We've explored online and think the Copley, Fairlawn area seems like a good fit, but we don't know for sure. We plan to buy a house - and all of this is happening very quickly!

I was hoping some of you could offer some perspective if I share the types of things we're looking for.

Must have:
- about 30 minute drive to Orrville, and no more than that to Akron if possible (I think living in Akron is really too far though)
- suitable for young families
- newish homes
- great schools
- safe
- relatively accessible to stores (not too far out from civilization)

Nice to have:
- We enjoy CSAs, farmers markets, stores like Whole Foods (though I know there isn't one nearby)
- We love eclectic restaurants....not quite foodies but probably share some food interests with them
- We like the feeling of places like Seattle, Williamsburg in Brooklyn...I guess you could call these neighborhoods hipsterish
- I'd like to be able to go on walks and maybe even have a coffeeshop or other shops in walking distance - that much be too much to ask!

Would love any perspective you can offer on city, neighborhood, places to steer clear of...anything!. Thanks!
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Old 03-14-2014, 02:13 PM
 
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Thumbs up Medina - Medina - Medina -

Definitely check into Medina - Great Location - Great Neighborhoods - Great Schools - Great Historic Square with lots of nice coffee shops/eateries, etc.... plenty of shopping and within 10 miles to two great malls (Fairlawn and Strongsville)

What price range are you looking in?

Medina is only 30 minutes to Orriville, and less than that to Akron.
much better than Copley and Fairlawn - much better location, very safe, and very nice community.
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Old 03-14-2014, 08:51 PM
 
Location: Ak-Rowdy, OH
1,522 posts, read 2,987,065 times
Reputation: 1152
Quote:
Originally Posted by voncobra View Post
much better than Copley and Fairlawn - much better location, very safe, and very nice community.
Not trying to down Medina at all but that is as subjective of an evaluation as they come. I would counter that Fairlawn's location is significantly better than Medina, which is largely surrounded by cornfields and you can't even get on an expressway within the city limits. Fairlawn has substantially more commerce and much better access to expressways, transit, metroparks, National Park, Downtown, arts, sports, jobs, University, dining, etc. etc. I guess I'm a little bewildered as to what makes it a better location other than maybe if you like hunting or offroading or something.

But Medina does have a nice town square and is pretty safe. I would choose Medina over any other community in Medina County.
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Old 03-14-2014, 09:11 PM
 
Location: Ak-Rowdy, OH
1,522 posts, read 2,987,065 times
Reputation: 1152
Quote:
Originally Posted by OHIOtoPENNSYLVANIA View Post
Hello! My husband, 18-month old daughter and I will be moving to the Akron area shortly. We are both 32 years old.

We've explored online and think the Copley, Fairlawn area seems like a good fit, but we don't know for sure. We plan to buy a house - and all of this is happening very quickly!

I was hoping some of you could offer some perspective if I share the types of things we're looking for.

Must have:
- about 30 minute drive to Orrville, and no more than that to Akron if possible (I think living in Akron is really too far though)
- suitable for young families
- newish homes
- great schools
- safe
- relatively accessible to stores (not too far out from civilization)

Nice to have:
- We enjoy CSAs, farmers markets, stores like Whole Foods (though I know there isn't one nearby)
- We love eclectic restaurants....not quite foodies but probably share some food interests with them
- We like the feeling of places like Seattle, Williamsburg in Brooklyn...I guess you could call these neighborhoods hipsterish
- I'd like to be able to go on walks and maybe even have a coffeeshop or other shops in walking distance - that much be too much to ask!

Would love any perspective you can offer on city, neighborhood, places to steer clear of...anything!. Thanks!
I'm a little confused in that you want new-ish housing but want a "hipster" neighborhood. That seems to be almost completely mutually exclusive - Williamsburg is definitely not new-ish housing friendly for the most part.

If you want newish homes, Copley would be your best bet. Fairlawn has some but most of its development was about mid-century plus or minus a decade or two. Copley-Fairlawn School District serves both and is excellent, the area is generally safe (most crime is related to theft, property crimes, car theft), and the heart of suburban-style shopping for the West Side. Although true that there is no Whole Foods, there is local chain Mustard Seed and Earth Fare in Montrose (shopping area where Copley, Fairlawn, and Bath meet).

If you would like a hipster-ish neighborhood Highland Square would be a better fit. Lots of historic homes, kind of funky, lots of independent restaurants (and Chipotle also), local schools are pretty good (i.e. King School is excellent - our competitor hipster neighborhoods in the area can't say that). The north side is very family friendly and there are lots of neighborhood activities like 4th of July parade, Easter egg hunt, etc. They are currently building a 2 story Mustard Seed in the neighborhood which will approximate some of the Whole Foods-ish stuff you are looking for, and there is also a farmers market every Thursday throughout the summer in the middle of the neighborhood. There is also the Highland Theater in the middle of the neighborhood which generally runs family friendly-ish fare, library, etc. As a bonus a lot of young professionals in your age bracket - with and without families - live in the neighborhood (myself included). It's very walkable as that is how the neighborhood was designed in the teens/20s. Also there is a coffee shop, local pharmacist, dance school, music school, Walgreens, local pet store, fair trade store, and Aladdin's (mediterranean/vegetarian food) on top of other stuff... all within 3-4 blocks. Akron also has some completely awesome magnet schools once kids hit about 4th grade including focusing on performing arts, Science/Engineering, etc. The Towpath trail is in the neighborhood which is sweet, and the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad runs right through as well.

I could live in many parts of the area if I so chose - Copley, Fairlawn, Medina, etc. - but I live here because I love being able to walk with my family to so many things and be in a safe city neighborhood where my kids can play outside without concern. It's been great.

So I guess I'm as biased as the Medina guy, what can I say. But if you would like the tour let me know.

As far as distance, looks like it's 28 miles from here to Orrville. From here you hit the Innerbelt to 76 West so you bypass the central interchange so the commute shouldn't be too bad. I know a couple of people who commute from out this way to Orrville to work (ex. Smucker's) and haven't heard any out of the ordinary complaints.
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Old 03-15-2014, 12:50 PM
 
15 posts, read 48,589 times
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I never thought of hipsterish being mutually exclusive from newer homes.
I guess what I mean, is I want a house that's newer. - open floor plan, blah blah, want a little bit of land, want to be in a quiet residential neighborhood....
BUT, I don't want to have to go far to find these types of things (and I know not all of this is realistic).....great locally owned restaurants, locally owned shops, independent breweries, independent bookstores / movie theater, natural food stores, comfortable walking-friendly area - (walk around and not look like my car broke down because no one does it)

Akron feels a bit far. Are Copley and Fairlawn basically the same? Or...what is the difference, "vibe" wise? When I look up "living in copley, oh" or something, a LOT of assisted living facilities came up!

Thanks in advance!
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Old 03-15-2014, 03:50 PM
 
Location: Ak-Rowdy, OH
1,522 posts, read 2,987,065 times
Reputation: 1152
Quote:
Originally Posted by OHIOtoPENNSYLVANIA View Post
I never thought of hipsterish being mutually exclusive from newer homes.
I guess what I mean, is I want a house that's newer. - open floor plan, blah blah, want a little bit of land, want to be in a quiet residential neighborhood....
BUT, I don't want to have to go far to find these types of things (and I know not all of this is realistic).....great locally owned restaurants, locally owned shops, independent breweries, independent bookstores / movie theater, natural food stores, comfortable walking-friendly area - (walk around and not look like my car broke down because no one does it)

Akron feels a bit far. Are Copley and Fairlawn basically the same? Or...what is the difference, "vibe" wise? When I look up "living in copley, oh" or something, a LOT of assisted living facilities came up!

Thanks in advance!
Fairlawn is actually a city that has developed since the 1950s. Most of the area within the city limits is filled in with housing or commercial property. W. Market St is the main road and has a lot of shopping and includes Summit Mall.

Copley is a township that surrounds Fairlawn and abuts West Akron. It is much larger in area and varies from being dense with shopping (next to Fairlawn, in Montrose), has some mid-century ranch house type of developments, and also has the newer McMansion developments.

If you drive closer to the edges there is still lower density parts and occasional people with horses and things like that before you break out into Medina County or south into Norton. "Vibe"-wise, though, they are both more or less suburban in form and fashion. Schools are good and have some diversity to them which is nice.

If you want a what I would consider "a little bit of land" and a newer house Copley is probably your better bet than West Akron or Fairlawn. The assisted living facilities are because there are a bunch of them inbetween the expressway and where most of the shopping is in Montrose. Not really indicative of the larger area.

Fairlawn to Highland Square is 10, maybe 15 minutes, and depending on where in Copley you are it could be up to 20 minutes. That's going to be your walking to stores area, aside from the south and north ends of Downtown. Fairlawn, Copley, Montrose are all big box stores in seas of asphalt and caters to driving.

You can also do some walking/biking in Merriman Valley. The retail development is all small plazas from the 50s-60s but the Towpath Trail runs directly through it (literally through the commercial strip) and it is next to the metropark. There are a lot of people biking and walking through there all of the time. It also has a bunch of local restaurants, bars, microbrewery, local grocery store, local Asian grocery store, local bike sales/service/rental store, etc. Again most of the housing in this area is more dense, although if you head up closer to the Falls there are newer houses on larger lots. It just wouldn't put you any closer to Orrville unfortunately.

So what is the age of houses you're thinking of? When I think new-ish I'm thinking 90s-up, maybe 80s-up. Also, what are you looking to spend?

I plotted the locations I've been talking about (the Copley points are just representative). Maybe this will help some.

http://multiplottr.com/?map_id=48242&

Last edited by SquareBetterThanAll; 03-15-2014 at 04:45 PM..
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Old 03-20-2014, 06:10 PM
 
15 posts, read 48,589 times
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Thanks for all of the advice! And for plotting these areas. Very generous of you!
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Old 03-27-2014, 11:04 AM
 
12 posts, read 45,418 times
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I would recommend Highland Square/Merriman Hills except that highway access isn't great for getting to Orrville.
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Old 03-27-2014, 11:08 AM
 
12 posts, read 45,418 times
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for example, here's an open floor plan house (i've toured it actually) in a safe neighborhood, good elementary school down the street, walkable to coffee shop, local stores, restuarants...


but it would probably take 40 minutes to get to orrville
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Old 03-28-2014, 07:15 PM
 
15 posts, read 48,589 times
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Oh! Thanks for the link. We'll probably be aiming for right around 30 minutes to/from Orrville...that's why the Copley area seems appealing. I'd imagine we'll spend some time in Highland Square, though - seems like our kind of neighborhood! If only it was a litttttllle closer!
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