Is The West Side Doing Better Than The East Side? (Cleveland: safe neighborhood, good schools)

[Cleveland_Collector]

Originally Posted by reretarff

Oh so if there's one idiot on the west side then that automatically makes the whole west side bad...

Oh, I will guarantee you there's more than one. Go hang in Cudell for a minute.

According to Google Maps, John Carroll is about 15 minutes to University Circle. With traffic it's probably 20-30. University Heights does not have a lot of homes from the 1920's. According to my wife's father who moved to University Heights in the 1940's, people started to move there in the 1940's.

It takes you 20-30 minutes to go less than 4 miles? It also still hasn't penetrated your cranium that the area is immediately serviced by the rapid, has it?

What do you mean by ¨Solon is not a real place¨? Solon has modern style houses. Back in the 1940's, the houses in University Heights were what was new and modern, but people who preferred older houses back then didn't like University Heights. It's always been the same. Some people want a new big house and some people want an old small house. Quite frankly, I would want a newer bigger house because I would want more space and a house that is clean with no problems. Older houses tend to have asbestos problems and problems with the foundation and the siding and the plumbing and a bunch of other headaches. Would I live in an older house that looks nice? Yes. But remember, most people move to the suburbs for the schools and safety. It's just a plus that the suburbs have new huge houses.

Solon is anytown, USA. It has zero history, culture or character.

I don't want to rain on your new house parade but most of the "new huge houses" built today will last 1/2 as long as ones built 100 years ago. Most 'new' construction is garbage -- it's all gingerbread with OSB subfloors and plastic water lines.

[SquareBetterThanAll]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

MY panities are in a bunch?

Yes, I mean literally that Solon isn't real. It's a figment of your imagination. That's exactly what I meant. You're not putting words in my mouth at all.

For the rational out there, my point was Solon is lame and cookie cutter. UH has some lame parts, but overall it's more intertwined into the urban area than Solon. Do you actually disagree with me? I'm allowed to have this opinion.

I guarentee you've never been to University Heights or Solon.

I disputed the terminology, not the aesthetics. It was meant to be derogatory. You know that, I know that.

Ok, let me flat out say it to you: I have been to University Heights. And Solon. Both of them. Multiple times. Why that would be surprising in the slightest to you is beyond me. You act as if we're talking about the suburbs of Albuquerque, not somewhere that is a little more than half a tank of gas from my home. Whoaaaaaaaa

[averysgore]

Originally Posted by Cleverfield

I don't really feel that Cleveland has a "southside". I define everything according to the river. Slavic Village to me is 100% Eastside, old Brooklyn and Tremont are 100% Westside. I agree with reretarff that downtown is neither East Norwest, it is the center is that unifies the two sides. Where downtown stops and the "east side" begins, however, is contentious.

My grandparents grew up near West 25th/Clark and went to the Polish catholic church in Tremont. They always referred to the area as the South Side, and at least once he said, "that also includes southeast, like Fleet Ave." It was very poor, ethnic, and in his own words, "notorious" back in the day. (Late 30's, early 40's?)

These days the phrase "south side" has more or less disappeared, but historically it was used a lot.

I'll vote for CSU being on the east side. But that doesn't change the fact that outside the band between Payne/Wade Park and Carnegie, the rest of the east side (and there's a lot of it left over) isn't getting much positive development. Larchmere and Waterloo, sure, but that still leaves a big area.

[1watertiger]

Ok, lets go visit csu, playhouse, etc. downtown. oh excuse me, I meant the east side. . do you know how stupid that sounds?? and it's a good thing it's called downtown, because all of us lame Westsiders would be afraid to go to the east side..

[deskjockey]

Originally Posted by Cleveland_Collector

Solon is anytown, USA. It has zero history, culture or character.

I don't want to rain on your new house parade but most of the "new huge houses" built today will last 1/2 as long as ones built 100 years ago. Most 'new' construction is garbage -- it's all gingerbread with OSB subfloors and plastic water lines.

Are you saying that Solon housing that has been built to code is not quality housing. Obviously you don't know anything about political correctedness. Its not garbage construction, its starter housing, my friend.

[Cleveland_Collector]

Originally Posted by 1watertiger

Ok, lets go visit csu, playhouse, etc. downtown. oh excuse me, I meant the east side. . do you know how stupid that sounds??

It sounds as stupid as you want it to sound, I guess. My thought is that you're frantically searching for a way to not have the "E" in "E. 14th" mean "east" and that this is the best you can do.

and it's a good thing it's called downtown, because all of us lame Westsiders would be afraid to go to the east side..

I wouldn't doubt that for a minute. You probably start quaking like a Strongsvillian the second you step across W. Roadway.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by SquareBetterThanAll

I disputed the terminology, not the aesthetics. It was meant to be derogatory. You know that, I know that.

Ok, let me flat out say it to you: I have been to University Heights. And Solon. Both of them. Multiple times. Why that would be surprising in the slightest to you is beyond me. You act as if we're talking about the suburbs of Albuquerque, not somewhere that is a little more than half a tank of gas from my home. Whoaaaaaaaa

It's surprising because there is no obvious reason for someone not from either to go to either. I don't bother with the suburbs of Akron at all. Or really Akron at all in general. Good for you for taking the time out of your life to visit Solon. I'm sure it was awesome.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by reretarff

Oh so if there's one idiot on the west side then that automatically makes the whole west side bad...

No. There's a truck load of more criminals (Burglars, Rapists, Killers, ETC.) on the east side. That's where the name ghetto comes from. On top of all the crime, there's more abandoned houses and worse schools. The west side is a million times better than most areas on the east side. The houses are worth more, there's more restaurants and stores, there's more tourists, there's less crime and there's better schools.

According to Google Maps, John Carroll is about 15 minutes to University Circle. With traffic it's probably 20-30. University Heights does not have a lot of homes from the 1920's. According to my wife's father who moved to University Heights in the 1940's, people started to move there in the 1940's.


What do you mean by ¨Solon is not a real place¨? Solon has modern style houses. Back in the 1940's, the houses in University Heights were what was new and modern, but people who preferred older houses back then didn't like University Heights. It's always been the same. Some people want a new big house and some people want an old small house. Quite frankly, I would want a newer bigger house because I would want more space and a house that is clean with no problems. Older houses tend to have asbestos problems and problems with the foundation and the siding and the plumbing and a bunch of other headaches. Would I live in an older house that looks nice? Yes. But remember, most people move to the suburbs for the schools and safety. It's just a plus that the suburbs have new huge houses.

You're talking to someone who lived in a 1933 home in University Heights not far from Cedar-Lee, but what do I know? Your wife's father is wrong. There you go again relying on bad information. I wouldn't rely on someone who moved anywhere in the 1940s to have a good recollection of much. I mean, you're not even almost right. JCU relocated there in 1925. 1925. Not 1945. 1925. THat's when they renamed it University Heights from Idlewood Village. The Van Sweringens set up the Fairmount Circle area in '25- the same people that gave us the rapid and Terminal Tower. Basic research, bro. Basic freaking research. The houses in UH are pretty cool, they are all different and have quirky features. Beautiful brick homes there.

30 minutes to University Circle? Maybe in the horse and buggy days, sure. Lol traffic? Where? What traffic? There's no freeway anywhere close. All traffic in the Heights is pretty much local stuff. Take Fairmount and turn onto North Park and go down the hill- you're at UC in 10 minutes.

[reretarff]

Originally Posted by Cleveland_Collector

Fair enough. Then, so are Ohio City and Tremont. Depending where you are, Downtown ends to the east between E.30th and E. 49th. Ohio City ends to the east at about W. 44th. The median avenue is Ontario. Tremont is clearly dead south of downtown, so it must be also be central when labeling east and west.



Gnats fart = short distance. Get it? As BJimmy has already pointed out, one can take the rapid to John Carroll. Again, if Ohio City is the west side, CSU is the east side.



You insinuated that Fairfax and Hough are complete disasters. This is clearly not the case as the multi-billion dollar CCF central campus is smack in the middle of both of them. Also, how does the founding year of the CCF make any difference? The majority of the CCF development in the Hough/Fairfax area has taken place over the past 20 years. Do you discount the impact of the WSM on Ohio City simply because it's over 100 years old?

Just because Ohio City is in the same longitude as downtown, doesn't mean that everywhere on the longitude is downtown. Don't make it more complicated.

CSU is technically downtown. Check on Google.

Hough and Fairfax are pretty much complete disasters, except for the area around Euclid Avenue. Cleveland Clinic is right by University Circle and because the main hospital has been in the same spot for over a hundred years, means that Cleveland Clinic can't really move. And besides, the multi billion dollars didn't just come from the Hough-Fairfax location (Which people from the surrounding areas go to) but the money also comes from other locations, so it does not rely 100% on the main campus.

[Marty711]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

It's surprising because there is no obvious reason for someone not from either to go to either. I don't bother with the suburbs of Akron at all. Or really Akron at all in general. Good for you for taking the time out of your life to visit Solon. I'm sure it was awesome.

Nobody from the Heights goes to Mustard Seed or Miles Farmer Market? Nobody eats at Saaj, Burntwood Tavern, Shinano, Organic Energy or Harvest Kitchen? Seriously? Let's not carried away here. Solon might not be the most exciting or trendy place but it's not exactly a backwater place either. All the places I listed are very popular and draw people from around the area and there's plenty of inner ring people like myself who visit those establishments.

I'm not sure when this forum became so divisive but it doesn't exactly paint a pretty picture of NEO to outsiders. Urbanites don't like when their cities are viewed as dirty and unsafe. Why should suburbanites be ridiculed as people with no taste? Seems just as hypocritical. Honestly, this forum's goal should be to promote the region, not to tear it apart.