Needing some insight around the Cleveland area. (Akron, Mentor: apartment, rentals)

[gjs]

I'm looking to relocate for a position in Middlefield.
So I am wondering about an affordable place to rent.....1 or 2 bedroom for around $500 a month that is in a nice area, don't want to be too far from Middlefield. I think I would like to live just outside the city in a reasonably quiet area but within an hours drive to sporting events etc....

Any and all responses are welcome.
Thanks,

[costello_musicman]

So you're not in the complete boonies, I would recommend looking at Chagrin Falls, Beachwood, or Mentor.

Chagrin Falls is 30 min to Middlefield, 40 minutes to Downtown Cleveland.

Beachwood is 40 min to Middlefield, 25 minutes to Downtown Cleveland.

Mentor is 35 min to Middlefield, and 35 min to Downtown Cleveland.


Chesterland may be another option, although it is pretty small. It would be about 20 min to Middlefield, and about 45 min to Downtown Cleveland.

[costello_musicman]

As for apartment rents, it should be fairly easy to find something under $600.

[Peregrine]

You want to live outside the city of Middlefield?

My wife grew up there. In-laws still live there. There really is no reason to not live IN Middlefield. But any area around there is just fine .
We live on the westside of Cleveland and it's just about 1 hour from us.

[CortlandGirl79]

Cortland is also 30-35 minutes from Middlefield. We are an hour from Cleveland, Akron, and a little over an hour to Pittsburgh. Apartment rentals are generally between $400-$550. We're 10-15 minutes from Niles where there are plenty of restaurants, minor league baseball, big box stores, etc. I know a lot of people that live in Cortland that work at places like Masco (Kraftmaid) and many other companies in the Middlefield area. Housing is very affordable here as well. Good luck.

[gjs]

Thanks a bunch for your replies. I haven't been to the area yet but when I get there I can check out a lot of these places that you have mentioned, so I now have somewhat of an idea of where to look thanks to your replies. Mentor and Cortland look doable as it looks like they have a little more to offer than some of the smaller towns in the things to do area. Actually there seems to be a lot of really nice areas in this region, I like the rolling hills and plenty of trees. I live in Athens,GA right now, decent area but I really just can't stand the heat.......91 F today. Seems like all summer long the heat index is always around 100 F or better. I guess the drawback would be ALL THAT SNOW in this region of Ohio, guess i'll have to break out the snow boots and mittens. Is there a large Amish presence in this part of Ohio? How much snow did this area get last year?
Ohio weather is similar to Toronto weather i noticed, and parts of Canada like Toronto is ranked in the top places to live in the world, so adjusting to Ohio will be worth the little bit of extra effort...... The nice summers and falls will make up for it compared to down here in the HEAT BELT.

Thanks,
George

[CortlandGirl79]

Yes, lots of Amish, Middlefield is full of them! Here in Cortland we only see Amish at garage sales, Walmart and Sam's Club. A lot of them live in the rural areas of northern trumbull county, and a ton live in geauga county.

This area of Ohio can get anywhere from 50 to 120 inches of snow a year. Cortland usually gets no more than 100 and typically averages somewhere around 50 or 60. We at the southern edge of the secondary snow belt, so it's no where near as bad as Middlefield, Chardon, etc.

One thing you have to realize about Ne Ohio snow is that it doesn't stick around all winter like many people think. We are constantly hovering between 20 and 35 degrees in the winter. So we'll have 2 or 3 inches of snow, it sticks around for a few days or a week and then it melts. Then we may have an inch, a week later 2 inches, then it melts. It's a cycle all winter with periods of no snow on the ground, an dusting, an inch or two, a couple of big snows where there are 6-10 inches and then nothing.

Oh yeah, and you're very right about the rolling hills and lots of trees. Cortland also sits on the shores of Mosquito Lake (don't judge by the name), which is nice and it's very walkable with great schools.

I don't know a whole lot about mentor, but if i remember right it's pretty sprawly and the school system is huge!

[Peregrine]

Snow data:
Cleveland snowfall totals year by year | cleveland.com

As you can see it varies a lot.
2004-2005 was a bad one. But we did break the record that year.