possible relocation to Cleveland, looking for housing location advice (Shaker Heights: house, neighborhood) - Ohio (OH) - City-Data Forum

lifeinlimbo · 07-31-2013, 04:15 AM

I apologize if answering this is like beating a dead horse. My husband is in Cleveland now actually interviewing for a position there. We are from south central PA. He is also interviewing for positions in Atlanta and Asheville NC. The position in Cleveland is a front runner so I am trying to gather information about the area.

We have two girls (10 and 12). Good schools are most important. One daughter is on the swim team the other competes nationally for USA diving so we would near to find a new coach.

Looking for a single family home 4 bed 2.5 bath looking to spend about $250,000. Want a family friendly neighborhood. A safe place with kids to play with. Rec centers and pools would be nice. What areas would you recommend?

a half hour commute would be nice.

Please ask questions if I am missing something. Thanks so much for your help.

L2DB · 07-31-2013, 06:23 AM

I don't know enough about how diving works... is the diving coach just the school diving coach or a seperate person that could be anywhere? And if it's the former (where the diving coach is attached to the school), is that more important than great schools, housing stock, commute, etc?

ehfp · 07-31-2013, 07:55 AM

Have you already found the Cleveland Area Diving website? It looks like their facility is close to downtown, so that might help narrow your search a little bit. Would your husband be working downtown or out in a suburb?

aewenger · 07-31-2013, 09:32 AM

Good questions. It seems to be off broadway ave (43) near mill creek. Is that helpful? I am not familiar at all with Cleveland.

Diving: USA diving is a club and independent of any school. So a coach could be anywhere. We drive an hour now each way everyday. Not easy to find a local coach. Maybe (hopefully) cleveland would be different. Thanks so much for the link. I am going to check it out now.

ehfp · 07-31-2013, 10:01 AM

Well, I know finding the right part of town is such a personal decision, but I'll put in a plug for Shaker Heights. It would fall within a 30 minute commute, and you could find a 4-bed, 2.5 bath in your price range (though you might choose to inch up a little more to find one that's more updated.) I live in the Fernway neighborhood, which we've found to be welcoming and full of families, and my kids are thriving in the Shaker schools. We wanted an older house, strong public facilities in a walkable city, a connection to Cleveland, and economic, racial, and ethnic diversity, and Shaker's been a perfect fit for us.

As far as swimming, we have lots of friends who participate through the Shaker Sharks, and the local country club and skating club have teams as well.

ess.ess.ess.esq. · 08-01-2013, 04:25 PM

Consider Lake County, 25 minutes to Public Square, safe, lots of open green space and parks---Willoughby is a quaint old Western Reserve town where $250,000 will get you a nice 4 bedroom colonial with all the trimmings. Solon another possibility. Rocky River. Best of luck!

lifeinlimbo · 08-01-2013, 07:37 PM

Thank you everyone! My husband just got the offer today so we will be moving within the month! We have never relocated before so we are a little overwhelmed. One day at a time

Thanks for giving me a starting point. Hopefully we can get to the area in the next week or so and check everything out more closely in person.

A friend of mine who grew up in Cleveland is scaring me with stories or winter snow. I live in PA we have snow. I actually enjoy it. I may be being naive

Peregrine · 08-02-2013, 08:07 AM

If you are used to PA Snow, then Cleveland will be a walk in the park. We may get a little more then what you are used to (Thank you, Lake Erie) but not THAT much more... Clevelanders do like to exaggerate a bit.

lifeinlimbo · 08-02-2013, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peregrine

If you are used to PA Snow, then Cleveland will be a walk in the park. We may get a little more then what you are used to (Thank you, Lake Erie) but not THAT much more... Clevelanders do like to exaggerate a bit.

Thank you! I am feeling very discouraged with all the negative comments. Every place has good and bad qualities. It seems there is a lot to do in the area. We will just need to learn to ski

Also, could you tell me a bit about the cleveland rec centers? Do you need to live in a particular city/town to use it or can you use any? Seems like a nice amenity. My kids love to swim and that would help pass the winter time.

citymama · 08-02-2013, 08:56 AM

Hello and Congrats on the job offer. We have relocated 3 times with kids so I completely understand your trepidation. We accidentally landed in Rocky River when we first relocated out here from CA. We had a 2 year old and baby on the way. We really fell in love with the walk ability, city services (rec center, amenities, etc,) and small town feel. It's right on the lake so it was a nice transition to move from living in the Bay Area to still having a large body of water right near by. We then moved to Nashville and after 2 years, accepted our old job and moved back to Rocky River. The biggest factor in pulling us back was the schools. I ended up homeschooling my oldest in the South because the schools were questionable and now that we are back we are enrolling him in the local public school. He will be able to walk to all of his schools all the way through high school if we stay in the house we are in now.

Anyway, I wish I could help diving, but I don't know anything about it. We have a really easy commute into downtown-~20 minutes so if that's where the practices will be it's totally doable.

If you have any other questions about relocating a family feel free to reach out to me! Good luck!