Vent: The only thing I don't like about Cleveland (Euclid: construction, private schools)

[tom11011]

We Clevelanders' have been beaten up pretty badly in the press for the last few years. Yes the Plain Dealer has alot to do with this as well but so does other media such as Forbes. Forbes really has it in for Cleveland, one article after another. We continually rank at the bottom of the scale in nearly every Forbes comparison. You might say "well the data is skewed here" but even if it is true, that doesn't exactly vault us to the top after making your own personal adjustment. Also, we are continually embarassed on national TV with sporting events.

What drives all this negativity is really worth a research paper by someone but it is very clear, many Clevelanders are negative people, maybe proportionally more than anywhere else in the US, I don't know but you see it every day. It might be a simple joke about the weather or something more serious such as a conversation with a peer re County corruption.

Maybe the negativity really does stem from bad weather. How many of us have SAD Seasonal Affective Disorder? This place has clouds in the sky approximately 270 days per year if I recall correctly. It makes me wonder how we compare on the negativity scale with cities such as Seattle and London with all the rain.

One thing is clear- and I mean this in a factual way and not a negative way- there are plenty of websites out there that help rank a city by any criteria imaginable. Cleveland doesn't rank #1 in any major criteria. It seems the best you can hope for to make Cleveland #1 on these websites is the following: If you are a person who likes cloudy days, long and cold winters, declining schools, reasonably priced housing, plenty of places to eat, disappointing sports teams, pure democrat leadership, and high crime than this is your place.

[grexley]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I believe he is saying he knew that your "one thing I hate about Cleveland" would be the negative people.

I am tired of it, too.

I just overheard this on this very morning the hall at work, and of course had to say something.

Person #1 "Man, can you believe how nice it was on Saturday and then got bitter cold and crappy again the very next day???"
Person #2 "Yea, only in Cleveland, right?"

So I stepped in right there:
"Really guys? Cuz, y'know the same thing happened in: Green Bay, Miwaukee, Detroit, Chicage, Columbus, Fort Wayne, Buffalo, Albany.... it's not 'just Cleveland' it was the entire mid-west...."

I can't take it anymore. Some friends of mine call me the "Cleveland Cheerleader"... yknow why? Because I DON'T put this city down every chance I get!

Keep it up. Its the only way things are going to change here. The reason people can be irrationally negative is because there is always. someone to agree with them. Its like a city wide brainwashing.

[Cleveland_Collector]

Originally Posted by tom11011

One thing is clear- and I mean this in a factual way and not a negative way- there are plenty of websites out there that help rank a city by any criteria imaginable. Cleveland doesn't rank #1 in any major criteria. It seems the best you can hope for to make Cleveland #1 on these websites is the following: If you are a person who likes cloudy days, long and cold winters, declining schools, reasonably priced housing, plenty of places to eat, disappointing sports teams, pure democrat leadership, and high crime than this is your place.

The problem with your '#1' list is that, when compared with the rest of the nation:

• We're no cloudier than most of the midwest, the east, or the northwest. And, the 270 number is pure BS.
• The winters are not appreciably longer or colder than any city above the Mason-Dixon line.
• Our schools aren't anywhere near the worst and most of the suburbs have good to great schools.
• The cost of living makes living here relatively easy.
• The sheer amount of things to do rivals most places on a per capita basis.
• Most mid/small market sports teams are disappointing
• Pure republican leadership is no better. Just go to the deep south and see for yourself.
• Area crime is actually low and the highest-crime areas are both small and manageable.

When considering all of that, the only valid reason for it is the ignorance of the perpetually negative being fed by the media (both local and national).

[hipp]

Originally Posted by Cleveland_Collector

We're no cloudier than most of the midwest, the east, or the northwest. And, the 270 number is pure BS.

If the op was counting both cloudy and partly cloudy days, 270 is actually too low.

According to NOAA (Cloudiness - Mean Number of Days), based on 54 years of data collected through 2002, Cleveland had a mean number of 299 days annually that were not 'clear'.

[Cleveland_Collector]

It is a completely misleading number set. What it insinuates is that, for 202 days a year in Cleveland, it is completely overcast. That is simply idiotic.

Also, if it's cloudy from 10pm to 10am, does anyone even care? How about a meaningful set of statistics that includes the % of cloud cover during daylight hours? All this tells you is that there was some amount of clouds in the sky during a 24 hour period. No s**t, really?

[tom11011]

Originally Posted by Cleveland_Collector

The problem with your '#1' list is that, when compared with the rest of the nation:

• We're no cloudier than most of the midwest, the east, or the northwest. And, the 270 number is pure BS.
• The winters are not appreciably longer or colder than any city above the Mason-Dixon line.
• Our schools aren't anywhere near the worst and most of the suburbs have good to great schools.
• The cost of living makes living here relatively easy.
• The sheer amount of things to do rivals most places on a per capita basis.
• Most mid/small market sports teams are disappointing
• Pure republican leadership is no better. Just go to the deep south and see for yourself.
• Area crime is actually low and the highest-crime areas are both small and manageable.

When considering all of that, the only valid reason for it is the ignorance of the perpetually negative being fed by the media (both local and national).

That's not my point. The items mentioned are just some of the selection criteria you find on those websites that help you choose a place to live. IE- saying republicans are no better than dems may be true, but it's not a criteria available for selection when deciding what is important to you in choosing a city. You simply choose democrat or republican, you don't input your opinion that one is no better than the other.

[hipp]

In my opinion the statistics NOAA publishes are 'meaningful' for people doing what the op described -- looking at how one city stacks up against another.

I am mildly curious about how the NOAA folks decided what counted as 'cloudy', 'partly cloudy', and 'clear', but even without knowing that, I can use their data to get an overall picture of the weather in various cities.

[ZnGuy]

Originally Posted by hipp

In my opinion the statistics NOAA publishes are 'meaningful' for people doing what the op described -- looking at how one city stacks up against another.

I am mildly curious about how the NOAA folks decided what counted as 'cloudy', 'partly cloudy', and 'clear', but even without knowing that, I can use their data to get an overall picture of the weather in various cities.

makes sense to me.

[citydudeallover]

Well just little positive talk . I will try not to make this sound as
a blog entry , here it goes . I had an appointment at Metro Health today, thing is car is broken down . Logged on to Riderta.com , got the time schedule , planned my route , Not to happy it is cold outside . But the sun is shining , so much for partly couldy skies. To be on time had to leave early . Spent the free time at the Westside Market , hopped back on the bus , appointment finished . On the bus back to West 25th and Lorain
I walked the block just amazed of the construction , the stores , the place to grab a bite .ect. Sun is still shining Walked Down to West 25th and
Detroit , Caught the # 26 bus to West 65th and Detroit to The Gordon Square Arts District , spent time at a local Pub , Oh hell this is Cleve
I mean bar , I got a beer & a hotdog , many topping to choice from
I was so Happy .Now its time to go home , Waiting to catch # 45 bus south bound I am cold and wishing to be home . Made it home , nice and warm now , no place like home , but it was nice to pound the Pavement
Of our dear City of Cleveland.
P.S. blog I know sorry , Anyone out thier going to share Sunny Day Out
In Cleveland ?

[tom11011]

I was very happy to see this last heavy snow fall melt so fast. Hopefully spring is around the corner soon.