Relocating to Cleveland area... need "heights" advice (Lakewood: middle-class, for sale) - Ohio (OH) - City-Data Forum

wosmama · 01-02-2014, 04:15 PM

Hi everyone, I've read several older threads but thought I'd go ahead and ask more specifically...
We are moving to the area in May/June of 2014, we being my husband, my 7 mo old and my two large dogs. We are hoping to buy a home since no one wants to rent to people with multiple large pets. My husband will be working at Cleveland Clinic, and long hours, so we want to stay within 15-20 mins driving distance. I work from home. We came up in Sept. and LOVED the West Side (mainly Lakewood and the proximity to the beaches) but were told over and over again that the commute is just too far. So we narrowed our search to Cleveland Heights, University Heights and Shaker Heights, which seem to be beautiful communities. We'd go out to Beachwood for the schools, but can't afford it. For rentals, we're also including Lyndhurst and S. Euclid and maybe even Mayfield Heights.

Any thoughts? We love the homes in University Heights; we could get a great place for our money, but we will be in the area for 5 years, can't afford private school (and when you're paying such high taxes, why the heck can't you send your kids to public school?!), and are worried about the schools. I know Roxboro in CH is good, Fernway and Onaway in SH, but we kind of can't afford those neighborhoods, or the houses we can't afford don't have what we need. We are looking at houses in the Canterbury, Lomond and Fairfax elem districts.

Right now we live in Durham, NC, so we're no stranger to property crime and late night gunfire... and we want OUT of that. And we've lived in Minnesota, so the winters aren't scary.

I'd love to be able to walk my son to the library or park or something. I'd love to walk to the coffee shop to work with my lap top. I'd love to know and like my neighbors.

I really appreciate any suggestions you can offer. Thanks.

Clevelander17 · 01-02-2014, 04:32 PM

The East Fairfax/Clarendon Road area of Cleveland Heights right off of Lee Road seems like a decent option. The CH-UH district is rezoning the schools and Fairfax Elementary School is closing, but you'd still probably be zoned into Canterbury or Roxboro, which you discussed above as being more desirable (and I agree). That area is also a short walk to the main library and other amenities offered along Lee Road, including coffee and nice dining establishments.

Clevelander17 · 01-02-2014, 04:34 PM

Actually any of those streets running west-east between Lee Road and Taylor Road south of Meadowbrook but north of Fairmount sound like they'd be right up your alley. Nearby you'll also find the streets around Canterbury Elementary School also fairly attractive, but they're a little bit further from the library and maybe slightly out of walking distance to the library like you said you prefer.

wosmama · 01-02-2014, 06:46 PM

Thanks, Clevelander17!!

The homes in our price range in the E Fairfax neighborhood leave a bit to be desired... the houses we're looking at are on and around Fenwick S of Silsby and N of Fairmont. The neighborhood safety ratings are high but Canterbury elem seems like a nightmare. Then again, we'll only be in the house until he's done kindergarten... Basically, I'm getting that U Heights is walkable but not to as much commerce as C Heights, is that right?

And Shaker seems hit or miss... I have friends living in Lomond but the safety rating there is almost as bad as our current neighborhood in Durham (from neighborhoodscout.com) but they love it and feel safe. All friends living in CH and UH don't have kids.

Cleverfield · 01-02-2014, 08:22 PM

Those "safety rating" things can be misleading. Lomond is a fine neighborhood, with lots of families, and the benefits of Shaker Schools which are among the best in the region. You might also want to check out the Mercer neighborhood of Shaker, another fine middle-class neighborhood. Nowhere in Shaker will you hear gunfire, ever. There is very little crime in Shaker in general, in part because of a very well-funded police service. One time I was inspecting a vacant house for my job, and thought a homeless person might be living there, so I called the police. Practically an entire swat team showed up; 10 or more officers, dogs, people with shields and pepper spray. That should tell you something about how crime is treated in Shaker Heights. There is a reason that while home values in most of the surrounding suburbs have dropped dramatically, but Shaker's continue to stay very high.

L2DB · 01-03-2014, 07:35 AM

What's your price range and what exactly do you need in the house you buy?

L2DB · 01-03-2014, 07:42 AM

Personally, I'd look out by Noble Elementary. The neighborhoods either side of Noble (and at least a few streets south of Monticello) are nice, IMO. Library and school playground are right there and Euclid Creek Metropark is only a short drive.

Something like this house, IMO:

3828 Kirkwood Rd, Cleveland Heights, OH 44121 - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - realtor.com®

wosmama · 01-03-2014, 07:54 AM

I get you... but who do I trust? and with the changes in CHUH schools, who knows? I'm personally inclined to go safety over schools since we will be there mostly for day care and preschool but it's so hard to tell. We will be visiting cleveland in a couple of weeks to view the houses and scope out the neighborhoods.

There's a great house for sale in Mercer, but I got suspicious about so many houses for sale on one st (Halworth Rd), looked at the safety ratings and the property crime is really, really high there.

wosmama · 01-03-2014, 07:57 AM

We are looking under $180k and need 3 br + an office, at least 2 full baths and a fenced or easily fenced backyard. We're really hoping for a mud/laundry room for our dogs. I live in a "walkable" neighborhood, at least in daylight, but I can walk to Taco Bell, a car wash and a Firestone tires. So I'm hoping for some charm.

wosmama · 01-03-2014, 08:02 AM

Our top picks right now are:
2479 Fenwick Rd, East Cleveland, OH 44118 is For Sale - Zillow
2874 Corydon Rd, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118 is For Sale - Zillow
3319 Aberdeen Rd, Shaker Heights, OH 44120 is For Sale - Zillow

For the first one, we worry about school quality. The second we like and hope will be rezoned into Roxboro Elem. The third we aren't crazy ab but the neighborhood is supposed to be great and that's pretty much it in our price range.