Moving to Cleveland. Advise needed.

[Kriket]

Check out Chagrin Falls, You'll fall in love. Where exactly are you coming from? Do you like more country,Chardon might be for you.Chagrin on upscale end. Need more info about family,as far as hobbies and stuff.

[ottomobeale]

Westlake Avon and Avon Lake all have very good schools.
200K is doable for a decent 3/2.

Westlake is almost built out but has many 5ish year old homes.
Avon and Avon lake have more raw land for building.

Strongsville has good schools but its a "cant get there from here" place if you are working in the northwest corner of the county. It just takes longer to drive. If working downtown disregard.

Lakewood is between the above descriptions IMHO. Of course you can get into Lakewood for 125K and there are some gorgeous old neighborhoods. Lakewood has alot of activity you dont see in the bedroom suburbs above. Its home of much of the local gay population. The clubs are more active etc. Its a bit more for the younger scene.

***I DO NOT FEAR FOR MY SAFETY IN LAKEWOOD*** Crime is a bit higher than Westlake but really its a density thing. Lakewood has more renters living closer together. Smaller lots + more doubles = more density.

[igorvin]

I Have recently moved from Lakewood(east side closer to 140th) to the Brunswick area(south of Strongsville) mostly due to all the lowlifes moving into Lakewood thanks to the increase of Section 8 housing and affirmative action programs.Since the move my children's(ages 9 and 10) attitude and school performance had improved 100%. As far as the Lakewood police, they do a very good job of enforcing the law and literally harassing non-residents, but do very little to enforce the law for residents, which is great for all the "white trash" living in the city.
Westlake is a nice city, but I haven't seen any signs of developing. I would suggest Strongsville, they have very nice neighborhoods and have been constantly developing ie: Southpark mall (Middlefield), numerous new businesses, widening of streets and ever growing Industrial parkways.The commercial property has probably grown 10x in the last 10 yrs. and is still on the rise.They also have access to the Metroparks which is always nice for jogging,bike riding,fishing,picnics etc.....The commute to downtown Cleveland by way of I-71 is ~15 to 20 miles.

P.S. I'm not sure if it still exists but there used to be a bus, the 51F that was a straight shot no stops from strongsville to downtown Cleveland if you're interested in public transportation? There is also a "park n' ride" located in Strongsville. It used to take me an extra 15-20minutes to find parking when I worked downtown

[WHISPERGIRL]

Lakewood is far from being a BAD area, please inquirer do a google search of the area(s) of choice and then you can personally determine what is best for you and your family. Lakewood is a very affluent,well-maintained,somewhat diverse area,and have a charm feel in the downtown section. Shaker,Solon,Cleveland hts,richmond,euclid,beachwood,warrensville,twinsbu rg,parma hts,and soem of the downtown areas are equally comparable. Always do your own research because other ppl experiences can actually led you astray!

[WHISPERGIRL]

typos-solon,twinsburg