Moving to Akron soon, please help (Springfield, Cuyahoga Falls: cul-de-sac, buying a house, neighborhoods)

[mc3]

My family and I are moving to Akron soon. I have 3 small children the oldest is 5 and youngest is 2. Please advise where is a good place to live (buying a house) within 15 miles radius of Akron. Where housing is affortable, good neighborhood and good school district.

Thank you.

[CityGrrl77]

Hi there!
If you are looking to stay within the city limits, I would say Northwest Akron is your best bet. This would include parts of Highland Square, Wallhaven neighborhood and the areas around Merriman Rd. & North Portage Path. I've never heard any complaints about the elementary schools in these areas (i.e. King Elementary and Case Elementary). They just rebuilt Fairlawn Elementary - it is now called the Judith A. Resnick Community Learning Center. I don't know the track record of this school particularly, but it is on the Fairlawn/Akron line - Im guessing its decent.
You can search these schools and their information at this site based on name or cluster (the ones listed above are considered in the 'Firestone cluster': Akron Public Schools Buildings

If you are looking to go right outside Akron city limits, I would highly recommend the cities of Fairlawn and Cuyahoga Falls. These are between a 10-15 minute drive from the downtown Akron area (depending on the traffic you may hit). You can research Fairlawn schools here: Fair Lawn Public Schools
and Cuyahoga Falls schools here: Cuyahoga Falls City School District

Hopefully all of these links will work for you! Let me know if you have any more questions - I would be glad to help

[CityGrrl77]

BTW, if you don't mind me asking, what is the price range you are looking to spend on a home?

[yagisenin]

The neighborhoods that CityGrrl77 mentioned, and MOST of the schools, I would recommend. I would take exception to Cuyahoga Falls Schools, though. They might have been better a few years ago, but I have heard much differently recently. Firestone cluster isn't bad, and I have heard good things coming from Copley.

Price range is a good question. There are very good deals in town and you will pay far lower taxes than in the suburbs. You definitely don't have to go broke to live in Akron.

[JamesAbilene]

When I lived in Akron, the Firestone High School cluster was excellent. My daughter went to Case elementary and on through that cluster, and we were quite pleased. I also thought the Copley/Fairlawn schools were excellent.

[livebyoptimism]

I've lived in Green (about 15 minutes south of Akron on the highway) all my life & love it. The schools are excellent & Green has been on a list of the best places to send your kids to school last year; it was #1. You can find affordable housing, lots of parks, lots of places to eat & things to do, & Akron is literally right down the road.

[ILOVEOHIO]

Originally Posted by livebyoptimism

I've lived in Green (about 15 minutes south of Akron on the highway) all my life & love it. The schools are excellent & Green has been on a list of the best places to send your kids to school last year; it was #1. You can find affordable housing, lots of parks, lots of places to eat & things to do, & Akron is literally right down the road.

I agree. The great thing about Green is that they are building it up. I disagree with the previous post recommending the Firestone cluster. Akron Public Schools aren't what they used to be. As good as Firestone is its still an APS and it seems like they are closing schools too fast, I mean when they close a school those kids have to go somewhere and they distribute them among the other districts and that's NEVER a good situation. Green is great. If you're looking for something less expensive, Green can be up there, you could look into Norton, Springfield Twp., Manchester (New Franklin) or Barberton (which is actually becoming a nice area.)

Good Luck.

[dmsd212]

mc3 if you want the best school system go to Manchester...we have the best schools around our students all get the highest and best education, we are south of Akron, west of Green, south of Coventry, east of Norton and north of Northwest....these are all good schools but i think our is the BEST....we also have a nice ranch house on a cul-de-sac great neighborhood that we must sell ASAP....for health and finacial reasons....but hope to stay here in the Manchester area...contact me if you're interested...good luck