Akron Advice where to live (Fairlawn, West Hill: for sale, apartments, to rent)

[vumagic]

Hi! Moving to Akron area, and i'm currently trying to find a place to live. I'm looking for a nice place to live, but also a community where I can meet new people so I can make new friends quickly. I keep hearing about Eastern cleveland and the coventry area, and it seems like that would be ideal, except it would just be too far of a drive for me everyday for work. So ideally, i'd like to live near the akron area that exudes life and fun, while being safe at the same time....any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks.

[andrew61]

Check out the Highland Square section of Akron... it's on the west side of town and is the neighborhood around the intersection of Market Street and Portage Path. It's a pretty cool area with good restaurants, bars, coffee shops, an "indie" movie theater, boutiques, record stores, nice, affordable older homes and apartments, etc. Relatively "hip" for Akron... probably the closest you'll get to a Coventry-like feel.

The area is generally pretty safe... things start getting sketchier as you travel east towards downtown from there, however.

[htlong]

i agree highland square is what you are looking for , i had a auto that needed a starter in my garage for four years that i never fixed account of i needed not to go elsewhere for food, finance, medicine, and fun!
the entire north side of the square has been torn down and rebuilt with a chipotles going in and waiting for more stores to open
however the grocery has closed with one in the planning stages..... maybe

[vumagic]

Thanks for advice! I'll check it out!

[newmex]

Highland Square is nice, having lived EAST of there hasn't been a problem.

Kind of crazy and lazy to pay a premium to walk or drive just a few blocks less.

You can get a house for a reasonable price east of Highland Square.

Oakdale Ave. is dedicated as a Historic District. Go past Tangier's Club, it's off Market between the Baho and Holland Oil station. Go back in there and look. Crestwood Ave. off Oakdale has some really nice homes, 1 or 2 are for sale.

You are closer to downtown, walking distance to a lot of places. We used to walk downtown on Exchange, walk back at night with no problem, same for Market Street. You can walk to a prime spot to see the 4th of July fireworks.
Jazz at Glendale Cemetery, The Library, walk to Downtown at Dusk to see live music, closer to the Canal Towpath that cuts through downtown.


People watch the neighborhood very well there. It's one of the better kept secrets in as far as a quiet neighborhood. There is a West Hill organization there to keep tabs on all the upcoming events.

I live in New Mexico now for work, I do miss the Akron area, coming back this summer to visit

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by newmex

Highland Square is nice, having lived EAST of there hasn't been a problem.

Well, maybe not immediately east... I was thinking of some friends of mine who live on Crosby about a mile east of the Highland Square area, and much nearer downtown.

I've always felt OK there when I visited, even spent the night once and thought it was pretty quiet, but they told me of a number of incidents that occurred where they lived that sounded pretty scary.

My friend did get his house dirt cheap -- $30K back in 1990 -- the house was four bedrooms, needed some work, but was mostly pretty solid.

[CityGrrl77]

vumagic - are you looking to purchase a home or rent an apartment?

[ottokell]

The Wallhaven area is pretty nice too (that's right around South Hawkins/W. Market/W. Exchange). I'd say Wallhaven or Highland Square are certainly two of the nicest areas to live in Akron.

[vumagic]

City girl, sorry for the long wait in response. I have been busy. I'm not sure whether I want to rent or buy. I was hoping to look for some condos in the area, but I guess it all depends....

[gentlearts]

If you get an apt. along West Market from Highland Sq west to Fairlawn, it would be a good area to get your bearings and see where you might like to settle.