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LOL what's funny is that I just googled drives from Sacramento to LA and Cleveland to DC.
- Sacramento to LA: 386 miles
- Cleveland to DC: 373 miles
Sure, San Francisco is closer to Sacramento than Cleveland and NY.
I give a pretty big edge to Cleveland. But then again, I don't really like California in general, so not really fair.
Ahhh but did you look at the time it takes? Interstate 5 is a straight shot to LA, you'll get there faster than Cleveland to DC. Not that that pairing matters for comparing either city.
You are the only person in recorded history to utter the words "I'll take Cleveland's climate"....
Wrong. There are many persons who enjoy Cleveland's four seasons of weather, especially when combined with the city's great parks and Lake Erie (e.g., there are downhill ski slopes in Greater Cleveland and many cross country ski trails, but also good beaches and a robust boating scene in the summer to supplement excellent hiking and biking opportunities). Autumns in Greater Cleveland, benefiting from the great natural heater of Lake Erie, and especially with Leaf Turn, are great.
I give a slight edge to Sacramento based on personal preferences. I feel Cleveland wins in most objective categories (transit, entertainment, culture, COL) but Sacramento wins out in two key areas for me: asian influence and proximity to LA and SF. NYC and DC are the nearest important cities to Cleveland and obviously not as accessible.
But Cleveland is within a 5 1/2 hour drive from a number of large cities (although they may not be "important"): Chicago, Toronto, Detroit, Cincinnati, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Indianapolis, and Louisville.
Within the metro it is about 700-800ft, by Roseville at the eastern end, you are already beginning to climb out of the Valley into the foothills of the Sierras, and Auburn is at 1,000ft and could be considered a exurb of Sacramento possibly since it's in the same county as Roseville (Placer County)
Ahhh but did you look at the time it takes? Interstate 5 is a straight shot to LA, you'll get there faster than Cleveland to DC. Not that that pairing matters for comparing either city.
Kind of a toss up. I prefer the Cleveland Metro over Sacramento. It just feels more urban and more like a stand along big city. Sacramento is large by population, but it just doesn't do much for me.
However, I think I would much rather live in California than Ohio. Either one works, but when just looking at the cities, I think Cleveland has more to offer and is must more my thing.
While I like the four seasons you find in places like Ohio and enjoy winters, I'm getting tired of long cold winters of the midwest and northeast and could use a break from them.
Kind of a toss up. I prefer the Cleveland Metro over Sacramento. It just feels more urban and more like a stand along big city. Sacramento is large by population, but it just doesn't do much for me.
However, I think I would much rather live in California than Ohio. Either one works, but when just looking at the cities, I think Cleveland has more to offer and is must more my thing.
While I like the four seasons you find in places like Ohio and enjoy winters, I'm getting tired of long cold winters of the midwest and northeast and could use a break from them.
It's just a matter of age and type. Cleveland is more typical of Industrial Age cities that grew up in the late 19th and early-to-mid 20th centuries. It and its suburbs tend to by tighter with more walking districts and were originally built around streetcar or interurban rail routes.
Sacramento, Denver and other Western and/or Sunbelt cities not named San Francisco saw most of their growth after World War II during the explosion of car culture and Eisenhower's interstates and freeways. As a results, there are more single-use residential districts, like cul de sacs, gated communities, strip shopping, parking lots etc. Sacramento, Denver, Dallas and others, however, have demonstrated that even in this type of city, residents can alter their commuting habits, lifestyles and building development for the good imho when modern rapid transit is introduced.
I actually thoroughly enjoy Cleveland's weather for 8 months out of the year.
May-September is spectacular, and I think very few people would argue that. Yes, Sacramento has lower dew point when temperature is the exact same, but when was the last time Cleveland had a 95 degree day? It might happen once or twice in an entire summer. No reasonable person would complain about Cleveland's weather during that 5 month stretch. Then you get 1 month where it's gradually warming up and signs of spring (Maple, Tulips, Baseball, Waterfalls Peaking etc.) in April, and you get the gorgeous oranges/browns/yellows on the trees in October. December is actually quite gorgeous also, since the cold of winter hasn't gotten too annoying, and everything has a fresh white coating that is quite beautiful, and there are so many unique outdoor winter activities and landscapes. November and March are not great, but they are tolerable temperature wise (highs in the low 50s/upper 40s respectively). So, out of the entire year, January and February are the only months that truly SUCK, IMO, weatherwise. Don't get me wrong, Sacramento's climate is truly fantastic, but you can't just sit here and say that Cleveland's weather sucks, when that hardly reflects reality for everyone, at least not for most of the year.
I actually thoroughly enjoy Cleveland's weather for 8 months out of the year.
November and March are not great,
I greatly enjoy late February and March. They are maple sugar season, especially in northeastern Ohio, and a great excuse to get out into the woods. Newborns abound at Lake Metroparks Farmpark, one of the best of its kind in the U.S.
In really cold winters, around President's Day, the ice is spectacular. I've even recently been able to hike out on a frozen Lake Erie, likely an opportunity that soon will be gone with our warming world, which BTW, will make life much more miserable in much of CA, which will experience ever more limited water supplies and much more environmental degradation.
Greater Cleveland's many gorges, preserved in a robust series of nature preserves, largely "metro" (county) parks, offer great hiking/snowshoeing/cross country opportunities in winter.
Novembers generally are now very mild, with Leaf Turn often stretching into early November. Every few years we'll get a "lake effect" snow storm in northeastern Ohio in November. Such a storm can be miserable for a half a day, until the region's robust snow-clearing and road treatment capabilities rapidly deal with any aftermath, but the beauty that is left behind for a few days before the inevitable thaw is astounding.
Cleveland also has tubing slopes, and small snowboarding and downhill ski slopes, and even toboggans:
Larger slopes are a couple hours to the east in western NY.
Lake Erie is an astounding recreational asset in the summer, for boating (several large marinas are in close proximity to even downtown Cleveland), beach lovers, kayaking, fishing, etc. Ice fishing also is popular, sadly now often using air boats (gone are the days when most years you could drive pick-ups out on the ice to ice fishing shanties).
Cleveland's renown theater, orchestra and art museum are stellar during the winter, so even those adverse to the outdoors can be well entertained during winter months. A holiday event at Severance Hall has few equals in the U.S. (it's not a Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular, but brilliant in its own way).
There good reasons for many Clevelanders to enjoy the city's winters.
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