Is Cleveland like Buffalo? (Mentor, Shaker Heights: transplants, amusement park, homes)

[unbeliever]

Greetings

I've been to Cleveland, but not in 20-something years. We currently live in Northern VA, just outside Washington DC, and we're looking to move somewhere slower to raise our 3 year old daughter. This area is too much of a rat race (it takes my wife 1-2 hours to commute 11 miles one way) and the summer is too hot, humid, endless. Cheaper would be nice too....

I grew up in NYC, went to college in Buffalo, and spent 10 years in San Francisco before moving to VA. I know the challenges that Cleveland is trying to overcome, but I kind of like the idea of flying under the radar. We went to Pittsburgh to have a look around, and it was ok, but just ok. I've been reading everything that I can about Cleveland on this forum and others, and we're going to visit next month. I definitely want to drive around places like Shaker Heights, take the Rapid, and generally get a feel for the area. I'd like to make one more move and stay somewhere for good. Between my wife and I, we've moved way too much, lived in 5 countries, and the thought of another move is pretty stressful. However, the quality of life in the DC area is pretty low. This definitely isn't my idea of paradise.

So, it's been a while, but I really liked Buffalo, the City of Good Neighbors. I really experienced that, seeing people come out of their homes at midnight to help a driver free his car that was stuck in the snow. Are Clevelanders like that at all? Probably not, but again, I'm from NY and I was born in the middle east, so I'm not very sensitive. I'm more concerned with raising my daughter somewhere nice, and I like the idea of a city on the rebound.

How are Cleveland summers? Like Buffalo? I know about the winters. Stats from weather sites don't mean that much; statistics being the worst kind of lies.

Thanks for any advice that you can offer.

[CLEJoe]

Greetings!

I've been to Buffalo several times, most recently in October of 2009. I really did have a great time and enjoyed it more than some other cities, but I would say Cleveland has a lot more going on downtown. (Bias - I fought hard to move back to Cleveland from Chicago!).

Granted we still have some work to do ourselves to build an even more vibrant downtown, I didn't get the sense that Buffalo had anything like our E. 4th or Warehouse District. I didn't see any construction projects like what we have going up all around town. In fact, we took the Bills bus to go to the Browns vs. Bills game that year (it was the 6-3 nail biter...), and Buffalonians on the bus kept telling us how lucky we were to live in Cleveland and how nice it is.

Ultimately you'll be happy with either choice, but I know I speak for everyone here when I say Cleveland would love to have you. We definitely have plenty of folks who would be more than willing to help you get your car out of the snow .

Let me know if you have any other questions and/or need a tour!

Cheers,
Joe

[RioDominicana]

Cleveland is definitely a place where your neighbors help you out. In fact Clevelanders apparently have a national reputation for being friendly and generous. Almost every person who visits here comments on how nice the people are so that shouldn't be a problem.

Cleveland has one of the lowest traffic rates and one of the most affordable housing markets in the country, your quality of life should go up immensely compared to D.C.

Cleveland is great during the summers. There's always something to do in Asiatown, Tremont, Ohio City, Downtown, Little Italy and University Circle. There's always free cultural/ethnic events going on, just last Saturday there were 5 free festivals going on in different parts of the city on the same day and time and I couldn't decide which one to go to. E.4th has all of the best restaurants, Warehouse District has the best clubs and lounges, Playhouse Square has cheap Broadway shows. The orchestra (ranks with NYC's) gives free concerts outdoors at night. Cedar Point is the world's best amusement park on Lake Erie's shoreline, a lot of families go there. A lot of people also take ferries from Cedar Point out to the Lake Erie Islands (resort islands). There's three main beaches people go to, Edgewater on the city's west side, Huntington in a west side suburb and Mentor in an east side suburb. Many people bike in the Metroparks all around the city or hike down in the Cuyahoga National Park and some people just take a drive out to Amish country. Oh and the sports games downtown are great. There's really lots of things to do here in the summer.

Hope that helps.

[UKUKUK]

Cleveland offers an incredible quality of life, even in the city. I've met people in the "dangerous" parts of town that were far more friendly than those here in KY, a place apparently famous for southern hospitality. With the population dwindling, people are proud of their city and want to make others feel as home as they do.

[lisa12230]

I just came back after being gone on the west coast for about 10 and a half years,and all I can say is Why did I wait so long to come back, lol.....There is no other town like Cleveland and the state of Ohio is one of a kind.....After living else where and being away for so long, never again will I leave cleveland..

[YaFace]

Buffalo is like a slightly smaller Cleveland with Niagara Falls. Both awesome towns.

[unbeliever]

Thanks everyone. Now I'm really excited to go check out Cleveland for myself. The DC area is such a letdown. There's no southern feel whatsoever to this part of VA; it's much more like NJ with all of the transplants, and the people are no nicer than anywhere else. It's awash with carpet baggers and military folks, and I can't say that I'll miss a single thing when we leave.

Weatherwise, are Cleveland summers like Buffalo, not that hot? Or is it more like Chicago? I'm not too worried, but my wife is pre menopausal and really suffers in the heat and humidity. We had 75 days over 90 last year (and the rest not much cooler) , with the humidity always 70% and above. They forecast lows of 70, but I'm an insomniac and it's regularly 80 at 3 a.m. If nothing else, I'm sure that Cleveland's summers are shorter than Virginia's.

Again, thanks for the kind words. Joe, I just might take you up on that offer of a tour!

jb

[Clevelander17]

I think you'll find that Cleveland's summers are pretty mild compared to many other Midwestern cities. Chicago's going to be a few degrees warmer on average, and Buffalo a few degrees cooler. As far as summer heat goes, I don't know of many places I'd rather be. Winter, on the other hand, well, is a lot like Buffalo--it can be a challenge, though our winters aren't as bad as theirs. As long as winter isn't a surprise for you, and summer is truly your biggest concern, I think you'll be happy here.

Beyond climate, I do think Buffalo and Cleveland have a lot of similarities, except that Cleveland is bigger and you can actually feel that difference.

[CLEJoe]

Only other thing I'd add to Clevelander17's post is that although winter can be a challenge, it can also be fun! We have an awesome parks system (Metro Park/Cuyahoga Valley National Park), so if you're ready to embrace winter, it can be fun!

Feel free to DM me anytime for a tour or any other questions!

Cheers,
Joe

[LIS123]

Originally Posted by CLEJoe

Only other thing I'd add to Clevelander17's post is that although winter can be a challenge, it can also be fun! We have an awesome parks system (Metro Park/Cuyahoga Valley National Park), so if you're ready to embrace winter, it can be fun!

Feel free to DM me anytime for a tour or any other questions!

Cheers,
Joe

Joe,

Can you give us the inside scoop about the Cleveland winters? Particularly on the East side, where they say it snows more than the West side.

When is the snow season? How bad is it? Can people still get around and do what they need to do? Thanks for the info!