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I grew up in Cleveland, actually Pepper Pike. I now live in a inner-ring suburb of Chicago called Evanston. It is similar to Cleveland Heights-Shaker Heights. Cost-of-Living is not that much of a difference. The expensive suburbs of Chicago are no more that the expensive suburbs of Cleveland. Like Cleveland, most of the population is suburban. Gas is more expensive, and maybe a little more in terms of real estate. Cleveland is probably a better quality of life. I would definitely recommend both. Cleveland also has a much better job market. Cleveland has a whole lot more educational and medical jobs.
i lived in chicago for 21 years, all around the US for 10 years, and here in cleveland for last 5. if you are going to work a minimum-wage job or thereabouts; want to live in the suburbs and dont mind driving your car everywhere; or desire to be involved with Case Western, go to Cleveland.
On the other hand, there are some par excellance neighborhoods on the north-side of chicago, in terms of safty, resturants (cleveland dives suck), ethnic diversity (cleveland has 2 races for the most part: white and black - the city is black; the near-suburbs are black and white; the far suburbs are white); beautiful housing options (but costly)(clevland area is mostly full of cheap A-frame houses); convienant public transportation and always a cab within sight (cannot flag cabs in cleveland area which i was surprised to find out and there is only one main train line going east to west with not many stops); and quality of life (cleveland area is only getting worse, despite limited regentrification efforts).
i do not mean to be disrespectful to clevelanders; there are great people here and cleveland has been good to me; and a great life can be made here; but if you have the luxury of choice - there is no question, imho. btw, i am from chicago , so i may be biased.
Cleveland is not as bustling as Chicago, but has many great amenities probably already mentioned:restaurants, art scene, professional sports and great parks. I do wish the pedestrian traffic was heavier. People will get out in the summer, but don't get out and about on foot as much year round like you see in Chicago. Unlike Tampa, you can get around car free, especially if you suppliment with a bike or other alternative transportation (such car sharing services and of course RTA). The best thing is you can afford to live right in the heart of the city. Really nice flats are not just for the really high earners as in most other cities. We love walking to dinner and being close to so many great neighborhoods. If we lived in Chicago we would have to either live in a shoebox or some place far from the city. If you like urban living, Cleveland is a diamond in the rough. I think Shaker Square, Tremont and Ohio City are other great neighborhoods. Coming from out of the area, downtown might be the easiest bet b/c figuring out the best areas of OC and Tremont take some familiarity with the area IMO.
We rarely go to the suburbs-in fact we have been out of state/the country more this year than in the suburbs of Cleveland. There is plenty to do here. I think cab service needs much improvement compared to Chicago. We are much smaller of course, but the customer service needs work, regardless of size. From what I understand late nightlife can be sleepy around here.
Functionally Cle can also be backwards compared to Chicago, and even Tampa (I know, the horror). Tampa and Chicago seem to have larger proportions of residents and tourists from all over the country or world, whereas the Cleveland area has a lot of people stuck in their old way thinking and they are threatened by change. It is not really a progressive city. Although if you work in healthcare you may meet people that have more diversity in mind and spirit.
I gave a mixed review, but that is the scoop. Depending on your mindset you can eek out a pretty good life here.
I'm a Cleveland to Chicago transplant, and I just don't think it's fair to compare. I grew up in Parma, but spent a lot of time in Lakewood, University Circle, and Downtown trying to find the culture I craved. After my move, I realized Chicago was amazing because it has so many people and resources behind it. I live in Lakeview/Wrigleyville and couldn't have better access to shopping, dining, and transit.
I don't drive here and that's fine, but BOY am I glad to have my Nissan back when I go home to Cleveland. I tried to take the bus a few times around Parmatown and it took 45 minutes to over an hour EVERY TIME. The most I've ever waited for a bus in Chicago is 20 minutes, and that's when the bus had broken down. I work on Michigan avenue and there are 4 different routes I can take home, including an express bus that goes from the front of my office to the Belmont/Sheridan intersection 3 blocks from my apartment. Transit time: 15 minutes/$2 a pop.
I guess my biggest gripe about Cleveland is that everyone seems to have given up there. There are few pedestrians, and everyone I see driving around looks depressed. Many neighborhoods are run down, and some of them I would be nervous to walk my dog in at night. In Lakeview I can walk around at 1 a.m. and there are crowds EVERYWHERE. The streets and businesses are well lit. I don't see that in Cleveland. I think everyone is just doing what they need to do to survive, and nobody has the time/energy to hope or dream. Cleveland has so much potential. Maybe we need to burn it down and build it up again like they did in Chicago?
Summary:
Transit: Chicago>Cleveland only for efficiency. Cleveland does a lot better than other cities its size.
Culture: Chicago>Cleveland because bars/shops/museums/restaurants are frequent enough where I can walk half a mile a BE somewhere cool. My apartment is surrounded by 3 Thai restaurants, 4 Mexican, 3 diners, 5 cafes, an ice cream shop, and 1 Italian bistro. I don't have to hop in my car and plan this huge trip just to go somewhere interesting to eat that's not the Olive Garden. We've got the lake, beach, Lincoln Park, harbor, Nature Museum, art galleries, vintage stores, and several theaters all within walking distance. Navy Pier and the "big" museums are all a short ride away.
Cost of Living: Cleveland>Chicago. Cle really trumps this one. Chicago has it all, but damn do I pay for it. My 500 sq. ft. studio costs almost $700 a month, and my family rents our whole house out in Parma for $850.
ethnic diversity (cleveland has 2 races for the most part: white and black - the city is black; the near-suburbs are black and white; the far suburbs are white);
I don't like this notion that a city isn't a real city unless it has X people of Y race. OK, so Cleveland doesn't have Mexicans. So what? Neither does Paris. Cleveland is actually one of the most ETHNICALLY diverse cities in the United States. I believe it has more Hungarian-Americans than any other city. There are sizeable Palestinian, Croatian, Russian, and Ukrainian communities, among others. Yeah, if you look at people as black, white, or brown, you're going to be disappointed, but is that any way to look at people?
I am staying with my sister in Cleveland (Olmsted Falls) and have visited a good deal. I've been to Westside Market and Lakewood a fair bit. I just left Chicago after living there for 7 years. I LOVE Chicago, but would consider moving to CLE to be near my sister. I think Cleveland can offer some of the things Chicago offers, but on a much smaller scale.
You cannot get around Cleveland like you can get around Chicago on public transportation. Cabs, trains, busses, car sharing (Zipcar) are far superior in Chicago. The lake front and parks in Chicago are amazing, although metro parks in Cleveland seem cool. Others are right that the beaches in Chicago cannot be matched in CLE.
Also, Chicago's energy is pretty different. It is hard to quantify, but in CHI you are in a big city and after 7 years I felt like I had only begun to experience what the city has to offer. Chicago has so many neighborhoods with different vibes, there really is something for everyone, every family, every lifestyle. Cleveland will not offer the same. If you want to buy a house on a limited budget, you're probably better off in Cleveland, but overall the cost of living didn't seem wildly different (e.g., a decent beer is gonna cost you $5 in both places). I'm looking at DC and Seattle and both are higher than Chicago.
Also, I'm just discovering that airfare from Chicago to many destinations is cheaper than airfare from Cleveland. A consideration if you like to travel or visit family or friends often.
Location: Cleveland, OH USA / formerly Chicago for 20 years
4,069 posts, read 7,313,636 times
Reputation: 3062
Quote:
Originally Posted by missmeli0501
I'm a Cleveland to Chicago transplant, and I just don't think it's fair to compare. I grew up in Parma, but spent a lot of time in Lakewood, University Circle, and Downtown trying to find the culture I craved. After my move, I realized Chicago was amazing because it has so many people and resources behind it. I live in Lakeview/Wrigleyville and couldn't have better access to shopping, dining, and transit.
I don't drive here and that's fine, but BOY am I glad to have my Nissan back when I go home to Cleveland. I tried to take the bus a few times around Parmatown and it took 45 minutes to over an hour EVERY TIME. The most I've ever waited for a bus in Chicago is 20 minutes, and that's when the bus had broken down. I work on Michigan avenue and there are 4 different routes I can take home, including an express bus that goes from the front of my office to the Belmont/Sheridan intersection 3 blocks from my apartment. Transit time: 15 minutes/$2 a pop.
I guess my biggest gripe about Cleveland is that everyone seems to have given up there. There are few pedestrians, and everyone I see driving around looks depressed. Many neighborhoods are run down, and some of them I would be nervous to walk my dog in at night. In Lakeview I can walk around at 1 a.m. and there are crowds EVERYWHERE. The streets and businesses are well lit. I don't see that in Cleveland. I think everyone is just doing what they need to do to survive, and nobody has the time/energy to hope or dream. Cleveland has so much potential. Maybe we need to burn it down and build it up again like they did in Chicago?
Summary:
Transit: Chicago>Cleveland only for efficiency. Cleveland does a lot better than other cities its size.
Culture: Chicago>Cleveland because bars/shops/museums/restaurants are frequent enough where I can walk half a mile a BE somewhere cool. My apartment is surrounded by 3 Thai restaurants, 4 Mexican, 3 diners, 5 cafes, an ice cream shop, and 1 Italian bistro. I don't have to hop in my car and plan this huge trip just to go somewhere interesting to eat that's not the Olive Garden. We've got the lake, beach, Lincoln Park, harbor, Nature Museum, art galleries, vintage stores, and several theaters all within walking distance. Navy Pier and the "big" museums are all a short ride away.
Cost of Living: Cleveland>Chicago. Cle really trumps this one. Chicago has it all, but damn do I pay for it. My 500 sq. ft. studio costs almost $700 a month, and my family rents our whole house out in Parma for $850.
Great post! I'm also a Cleveland to Chicago transplant living in Lakeview/Wrigleyville (in my case I'm up by LSD/Irving Park), and I'd say you nailed it.
Location: Cleveland, OH USA / formerly Chicago for 20 years
4,069 posts, read 7,313,636 times
Reputation: 3062
Quote:
Originally Posted by kellynchi
If you want to buy a house on a limited budget, you're probably better off in Cleveland, but overall the cost of living didn't seem wildly different (e.g., a decent beer is gonna cost you $5 in both places).
Very true. And, my experience has been that dining in little ethnic restaurants is actually cheaper in Chicago than in Cleveland, probably because we have so many of them everywhere that they have to stay competitive.
So housing is the only thing that's much more expensive in Chicago vs. Cleveland. When I first moved here, it seemed like grocery prices were a lot higher in Chicago, but on recent visits to Cleveland it seemed like Cleveland was catching up in that department.
Well, gas prices are appreciably higher here too, but if you pick a neighborhood where you don't have to drive all the time, you won't notice.
And, sales tax is higher here, but that's more than offset by state/local income taxes that are much lower than in Cleveland. In fact, Chicago doesn't even have a city income tax.
Chicago is the obvious answer because it is larger and has more things to do there. But Cleveland is less expensive and has everything Chicago has just on a smaller scale. The weathers basically the same, Chicago is a few degrees cooler but the East and NE areas of the Cleveland area get more snow than the Chicago area. Chicago has a better lakefront and a lot better beaches, but Cleveland has a few decent ones. They both have a lot of popular major league sports teams, Both have great parks, but I think Cleveland has a lot more land in the metro area thats parks. The public transportation in both the cities is pretty good. Cleveland's RTA was rated best in America (thats arguable though). The crime rate is much higher in the city of Cleveland than Chicago, but Chicagos larger and has dangerous areas, especially parts of the southside and part of the westside. The suburbs for both the cities are for the most part pretty safe.
Basically- they are both great cities, it all depends on what they want. They both have the same things, but Cleveland just has them on a smaller scale. However, Cleveland is a lot less expensive so that might make it attractive to a lot of people.
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