might make move to Akron/canton area with family

[Leighangela]

I moved to the Tallmadge area from Chicago in '98 and have lived in many towns around Akron and Cleveland since then. I really like it here and will defend this area to anyone :-) Right now I live in Stow and I love it because everything you need is close and most of the residential neighborhoods are quiet and clean. It's very middle class. They have great schools from what I hear, but I don't have kids If you have horses, perhaps something like Wadsworth or Medina. Bath is a gorgeous area in the national park. The homes are more secluded. Hudson is the type of place my mother would love to live in: old homes and a charming shopping square. For the most part it's more upscale; I couldn't afford to live there. I loved living in Mogadore because of the very small town feel. Peninsula is the same way. If like you like small town charm, they are two good choices. Peninsula has more charm than Mogadore, but I loved Mogadore. I always kept my door unlocked and felt safe. I lived in Tallmadge for a few years. It's nice but not very residential friendly. To me it doesn't feel as homey as Stow or Hudson. But nice area, nice homes just the same.

[Porkchopper]

Originally Posted by SquareBetterThanAll

Lemons for breakfast anyone?

He may be sour but he speaks the truth. NE Ohio is miserable. Any who's lived in the south will be shocked by how rude Ohioans are (comparatively speaking). Hudson is the very definition of pretentiousness.

[Clevelander17]

Originally Posted by Porkchopper

He may be sour but he speaks the truth. NE Ohio is miserable. Any who's lived in the south will be shocked by how rude Ohioans are (comparatively speaking). Hudson is the very definition of pretentiousness.

Maybe all Northerners are rude compared to Southerners.

[haineko]

Actually, the schools in Canton are far better than the schools in Akron. Akron, for some reason, has combined a lot of schools. A lot of schools are standing empty these days. I graduated from Central Hower in 99. Things went downhill in Akron, education-wise, after that. They put middle school kids in with high school kids at Butchel, which was a huge mistake. I live in Canton now and they rebuilt all the schools there and they are nice and clean. They get even nicer in North Canton. I would described Canton City Schools as decent to good. I couldn't send my kid to Akron City Schools the way they are now. But the city of Akron is nice, cheap and nothing much happens there, imo.

Akron does have its downfalls but I have never noticed any rudeness from strangers unless I was directly in the projects where it is dog eat dog. I feel Akron area people are way nicer than other places Ive lived.

Heh! Why do people try to make Akron or Canton more dangerous than it actually is? This is not LA, Miami or Cleveland, for that matter.

[apple8]

We moved to Cuyahoga Falls from Europe on August. I have never lived in another place in the USA before and can not compare. But I have got feelings that Cuyahoga Falls, Tallmadge, Stow, Munroe Falls and Hudson are friendly places for living. I do not know anything about schools. I have two preschool daughters and we enjoy beautifull metro parks with playgrounds here, especially Munroe Falls, Sand Run Metro Parks and Watter Works Park.

[Clevelander17]

There are some very solid school districts in suburban Akron and suburban Canton. I think you'd be better of going that route than dealing with Canton City or Akron City schools.

[Porkchopper]

Akron and points North (Stow, Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson, et al...) are NOT Stark County and are in a wholly different league than Canton / Massillon. Massillon is about as close to Appalachia as you will find in NE Ohio. Canton has a much different personality. Canton's main problem is that it is a blue-collar industrial town that is in a perpetual state of denial. The heavy manufacturing jobs left for the Southern US, Mexico, and China decades ago, and rather than embracing reality, and learning to do something different, Canton's unionized workforce has done nothing beyond waiting for these jobs to return (which they never will). Canton's political leadership falls somewhere between inept, and non-existent. The current mayor is, by his own party's admission, the worst Canton has seen in 50 years. The public school system is broken and insolvent, with a focus on preparing students for standardized testing vs. providing them with an education. Timken High School leads the nation in unwed teenage pregnancies. As bad as Canton is, Massillon is exponentially worse.

If I were forced to live in Stark County, I would probably choose the Jackson Twp / Green areas. Their schools are some of the best in the state. Still, you have the problem of no jobs, bad weather, and not much to to.

As for the people, Northerners are, generally, more rude than Southerners. Anyone who's lived in both parts of the US can attest to this.

I spent thirty odd years in the NE Ohio area, and ten or so in the Southeast US. Many of the jobs that the North lost moved here. There is MUCH more going on economically here, the weather is better, and the people are friendlier. The downside is, traffic is insane, the summers are incredibly hot and humid, the insects are Jurassic, and the suburbs have no soul or character (endless strip malls, and chain stores). There are many things that I miss about NE Ohio, but in the end, the economy and the weather will keep me from ever returning.

[Wired nut]

Originally Posted by kanati

lived in NE Ohio. Miserable area, miserable weather, miserable people. Your walking down the street in downtown passing people and you make eye contact and nod your head and they just look at you with a stupid look on their face like - what the f are you looking at. If it's not raining, it's cloudy enough to look like it's going to at any time. Blue sky days are rare. There's nothing left to the economy there. Depressing. Why anyone would want to live there is beyond me. Hudson is full of fake people all trying to one up the other.

kanati your quote is 100% true. I used to live outside of Canton but moved out of state for those reasons and the fact my wife and I didn't want to live on anti-depressants like everyone else has to up there. We would never move back unless we had to.