West Side of Cleveland, Where to Buy? Walkable, Safe, Affordable? (Lakewood: section 8, houses)

[justine]

We live in the 44111 zip code also. Looked at lots of homes. The eastern part of West Park closer to W.117th is more walkable than some of the areas in West Park. I would think about what it is you would like to walk to, a grocery store?, a Library? a bar? a drug store?, restaurants, a 24 hour bus line, a rapid (rail)?

Then look at housing style and price of homes. You can find many good neighborhoods with intact homes and well cared for properties in West Park. The area is very large though. The area around Lorain and W. 140 has hardware store, two groceries (Giant Eagle and Marcs), CVS Drug Store and the West Park Rapid station as well as major bus on Lorain Ave. The area near W. 117th has library (Eastman Branch, great Mexican restaurant, a Rite Aid grocery, Giant Eagle, Home Depot, Target and many Middle Eastern Grocery stores within walking distance. You can also take the bus on W. 117th and get to the Rapid line at Madison and W. 117th.

I think walk score is a good rescource walkscore.com if you use it to see what is nearby that you are interested in going to.

Personally I prefer to be closer to downtown than further out since this opens up more options of getting to downtown, Ohio City and the East Side (culture) more quickly. Also, I prefer to be near a rapid stop (within half a mile or so for an easy walk) to more quickly go to West Side Market, Tremont, etc.

[TheProf]

Originally Posted by justine

We live in the 44111 zip code also. Looked at lots of homes. The eastern part of West Park closer to W.117th is more walkable than some of the areas in West Park. I would think about what it is you would like to walk to, a grocery store?, a Library? a bar? a drug store?, restaurants, a 24 hour bus line, a rapid (rail)?

Then look at housing style and price of homes. You can find many good neighborhoods with intact homes and well cared for properties in West Park. The area is very large though. The area around Lorain and W. 140 has hardware store, two groceries (Giant Eagle and Marcs), CVS Drug Store and the West Park Rapid station as well as major bus on Lorain Ave. The area near W. 117th has library (Eastman Branch, great Mexican restaurant, a Rite Aid grocery, Giant Eagle, Home Depot, Target and many Middle Eastern Grocery stores within walking distance. You can also take the bus on W. 117th and get to the Rapid line at Madison and W. 117th.

I think walk score is a good rescource walkscore.com if you use it to see what is nearby that you are interested in going to.

Personally I prefer to be closer to downtown than further out since this opens up more options of getting to downtown, Ohio City and the East Side (culture) more quickly. Also, I prefer to be near a rapid stop (within half a mile or so for an easy walk) to more quickly go to West Side Market, Tremont, etc.

Justine, I think Detroit-Shoreway really meets these standards; esp the Gordon Square area. This neighborhood reminds me of a small-scale Chicago neighborhood... It's close to practically all major neighborhoods: Ohio City, downtown, Edgewater/Gold Coast, etc. It's very artsy and walkable, and the Gordon Square area has a lot of shops, restaurants, the 3-screen Capital movie theater and even the Cleve. Public Theatre. It's very old, with a lot of brownstone walkups, even some rowhouses, mixed in with Victorians and WWI era frame homes. And the new townhouses of Battery Park to the North is one of the hottest neighborhoods in NEO.. You can get away without a car -- the No. 26 bus is 24-hours along Detroit, and the No. 45 turns down W. 65. And the Rapid isn't far (about 3/4 mile from Gordon Sq.), or you can connect to airport rapid trains with the No. 26 to the West Blvd station. There's a nice mix of Sec. 8s, urban professionals and students. There are some rough edges, but it's not a big major crime neighborhood by a long shot... Detroit-Shoreway, along with Ohio City and Tremont and University Circle/little italy, are Cleveland's hottest, up 'n coming neighborhoods.

[RioDominicana]

I think Detroit-Shoreway/Gordon Square is a great neighborhood. It's a little edgy and gritty but to me that's a big part of its charm and style. It's very diverse and down to earth, and having lived in Chicago that's a big contrast to trendy neighborhoods there which are overwhelmingly populated by snob-like yuppies and there's a quirky collection of stores, bars and restaurants running all along Detroit Rd. I'd also definitely throw Lakewood into that search too.

[iheartE.C.]

West Park is quite lovely, both north and south of Lorain. We are from Shaker Heights, but fell for the "Detroit-Shoreway Hype" whatever you do, don't buy in detroit shoreway! We lived there 2 years, and couldn't get out fast enough. A prostitute was routinely dropped off in my driveway, my property was constantly stolen or vandalized, gunshots were a regular symphony, panhandlers greet you at the convenience stores, and their development organization is hell-bent on driving away higher income professionals( our experience)- needless to say we quickly, and not a moment too soon moved back to the east side. West park is a great neighborhood though, and I also really like lakewood

[iheartE.C.]

Let me ammend my statement by saying this was my personal experience, and I would imagine that there are plenty of people who haven't had such a horrible experience as mine in Detroit-Shoreway

[tribecavsbrowns]

Originally Posted by iheartE.C.

Let me ammend my statement by saying this was my personal experience, and I would imagine that there are plenty of people who haven't had such a horrible experience as mine in Detroit-Shoreway

What street did you live on?

[Elwerence]

Definitely Lakewood. Although parts of Rocky River is nice too.

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by tribecavsbrowns

I agree 100 percent, Peregrine. All of West Park west of the Red Line is safe, except for the Riverside Park projects, which aren't even that bad. I think the North of Lorain stuff comes not from the people in the suburbs, but from the folks at OLA and St. Mark parishes who strongly prefer their neighborhood to the one to the south.

If you actually look at crime maps, the only problems in western West Park are in the projects and around Kamms Corners itself (Rocky River Drive and Lorain). That's because Kamms is a busy area, lots of stores, lots of people walking around. The rate is still really low.

To the OP, Lakewood is not unsafe, I'd say Lakewood as a whole is roughly as safe as western West Park. That includes a handful of blocks, mostly on the east end of town, that do have some problems, but 95 percent of the city is ridiculously safe.

Umm...OLA parish runs south of Lorain so not sure you know what you're talking about bashing OLA...it's the damnedest thing when people don't know parish boundaries...now St. Mark's is entirely north of Lorain Avenue

[tribecavsbrowns]

Originally Posted by Kamms

Umm...OLA parish runs south of Lorain so not sure you know what you're talking about bashing OLA...it's the damnedest thing when people don't know parish boundaries...now St. Mark's is entirely north of Lorain Avenue

Very true Kamms, that comment I made 2 1/2 months ago was slightly misleading and not completely well-informed. You do know Cleveland well -- how about posting more here and less in the Chicago forum?

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by tribecavsbrowns

Very true Kamms, that comment I made 2 1/2 months ago was slightly misleading and not completely well-informed. You do know Cleveland well -- how about posting more here and less in the Chicago forum?

I know as much, if not more than, about Chicago as Cleveland. Plus I have lots of business ties to Chicago and visit there frequently.