Moving back to cleveland...not sure what areas to consider (Lakewood: apartments, rentals)

[ArmyMO0205]

Hello everyone,
I moved away from the Cleveland area in 2006 once i was getting ready to leave for the army. I resided in Mayfield Heights (graduated from Mayfield High School),in which at the time I really loved living there. I will be possibly moving back to the area if a job comes through. It will just be myself and my four year old daughter. I heard things changed a lot since I left almost 10 years ago,but what areas are good to stay in with children? I have considered Shaker Heights or moving back to Mayfield Heights. Some people told me it got bad in both areas, but i need more opinions. My price range is $600-$890 for a 2 bedroom.Any information would be helpful.Thanks!

[Cleverfield]

Don't listen to the people telling you "it got bad". Both areas are still fine, and great places to raise a family. Of course, certain neighborhoods in both cities are better than others. I could give you more options, but it would help to know specifically what you're looking for in a place to live (e.g. inner ring vs. outer ring, older vs. newer, schools, access to public transit, entertainment, restaurants, etc).

[ArmyMO0205]

Top things I am looking for:
-Near public transportation
-Easy access to restaurants,grocery stores,and shopping centers
-As far as schools, my daughter will be turning 5 years old next fall and is able to start kindergarten at that depending on the school district policy. So her getting a good education is a PLUS.
-I want to be in a neighborhood where I don't have to worry about constant crime happening on a daily basis

I have seen a few rentals between 2830-2890 Van Aken Blvd in Shaker heights. Is the area okay to reside in? As far as Mayfield Heights, have you heard anything about Gates Mills Place Towers or Arbor Court?

[Clevelander17]

Originally Posted by ArmyMO0205

Top things I am looking for:
-Near public transportation
-Easy access to restaurants,grocery stores,and shopping centers
-As far as schools, my daughter will be turning 5 years old next fall and is able to start kindergarten at that depending on the school district policy. So her getting a good education is a PLUS.
-I want to be in a neighborhood where I don't have to worry about constant crime happening on a daily basis

I have seen a few rentals between 2830-2890 Van Aken Blvd in Shaker heights. Is the area okay to reside in? As far as Mayfield Heights, have you heard anything about Gates Mills Place Towers or Arbor Court?

Van Aken is okay, but you might want to look a bit further down the road closer towards the Lee-Van Aken or Warrensville-Van Aken intersections. In general, though, I do think that Shaker Heights sounds like a good fit for what you're looking for.

I would not live at Gates Mills Towers, but that's just me. Way too tall and in my opinion not very well-kept.

[Cleverfield]

Originally Posted by ArmyMO0205

Top things I am looking for:
-Near public transportation
-Easy access to restaurants,grocery stores,and shopping centers
-As far as schools, my daughter will be turning 5 years old next fall and is able to start kindergarten at that depending on the school district policy. So her getting a good education is a PLUS.
-I want to be in a neighborhood where I don't have to worry about constant crime happening on a daily basis

I have seen a few rentals between 2830-2890 Van Aken Blvd in Shaker heights. Is the area okay to reside in? As far as Mayfield Heights, have you heard anything about Gates Mills Place Towers or Arbor Court?

That part of Van Aken, especially the West side of the street, is getting a little too close to Ludlow/Buckeye for my liking. The East Side of the street would be okay IMO, but I would not want to be on the West side if I had kids. The rapid tracks really do act as a dividing line on the part of Van Aken West of Lee Rd. You might also want to check out the Lomond area, lots of nice 2 family rentals in your price range in that area.

I'm not familiar with those apartments, but another good option might be Lakewood, if you're willing to go West, or Cuyahoga Heights, 7-hills, or Independence if you want to look South.

[ehfp]

I moved to Shaker a few years ago (and chose Shaker over the other east side burbs because the schools were a better fit for my family), and my children have been thriving in the schools. I have heard very nice things about Mayfield as well - I don't think either is a bad choice. I agree with Cleverfield's advice to check out the Lomond area of Shaker, and I'd suggest checking in Sussex, east of Lomond, as well. Both are very family-friendly with lots of kids and a nice neighborhood feel.

I'm not sure what sort of experience clevelandontop has in the Shaker schools, but as a parent who's lived in several states and very well-regarded districts, I can attest that they're far more than "decent." Again, though, not every district is a good match for every family. This one is great for mine.

[teacherdad]

Some view schools via their test scores. Test scores do not indicate that kids have any reasoning skills. They just mean they know how to take tests. Check out what Forbes put out about who gets hired these days....it's not test takers.

Value a school on its ability to get kids thinking and being creative.

Our school is always looked upon as "the" school in our area. Kids go on to IVY and all that stuff. We just gave a new 6th grade class this question:

A shepherd has 128 sheet and 5 dogs in its flock. How old is the shepherd?
8 kids stated, "You can't solve this."
19 gave an age for the shepherd!

Kids are taught to answer, but not taught to reason. We are doing an entire year of reasoning skills!

[Carole Cohen]

Shaker does sound good, as does the Cleveland City portion that abuts Shaker (utilizes the shaker school system). Good access to Shaker Rapid and Shaker Square, all the stuff everyone else has already said.

[Clevelander17]

Originally Posted by teacherdad

Some view schools via their test scores. Test scores do not indicate that kids have any reasoning skills. They just mean they know how to take tests. Check out what Forbes put out about who gets hired these days....it's not test takers.

Value a school on its ability to get kids thinking and being creative.

Our school is always looked upon as "the" school in our area. Kids go on to IVY and all that stuff. We just gave a new 6th grade class this question:

A shepherd has 128 sheet and 5 dogs in its flock. How old is the shepherd?
8 kids stated, "You can't solve this."
19 gave an age for the shepherd!

Kids are taught to answer, but not taught to reason. We are doing an entire year of reasoning skills!

Test scores (and the schools ratings systems based on these scores) correlate very closely with the socioeconomic status of the students in the schools. In the case of the Shaker, there are a lot of students from wealthy, successful families, and a larger portion from poor, struggling families. The ratings and test scores reflect this reality, as one might expect. The schools themselves, however, are jam-packed with highly-qualified teachers and probably more academic and extracurricular offerings than any school district in the state.