Official Cleveland relocation thread (Lakewood, Cleveland Heights: best city, hotels, house prices)

[clemove123]

Originally Posted by citymama

What type of housing/lifestyle do you like? If the lake is important to be closer to, then Westlake and Avon Lake, Bay Village, would be good choices. Westlake is suburban sprawl and has a lot of shopping options. Bay Village has smaller homes and a lovely small town vibe. Avon Lake is in a different county is a bit sprawled with a mix of housing options.

All schools have great reputations.

I live in Rocky River. We have great schools, easy Lake and metropark access and a excellent walkability factor. Housing stock is extremely limited, but with a good realtor, under 400k is doable. Smaller, older homes and small yards are common, but lovely parks and again, the walkability, makes up for it.

Otherwise-- if the lake isn't a must, there are options closer to Independence that hopefully others can help out with. Brecksville and Broadview Heights are two that come to mind.

Thanks citymama- We are coming from the east coast and are used to being close to the water, so it would be nice to have access to the Lake, but not sure it's a must. We could save lake activities for the weekends. I'll check out the areas you mentioned. We are coming from an older town, so smaller older houses with small yards are fine with us. Walkability is something I hadn't realized is important to us until you mentioned it. Our kids walk to school now and I could get by without using my car on a non-workday and I think we could miss that if we ended up in a really spread out town.

[clemove123]

Originally Posted by WRnative

Buy a copy of the Cleveland Magazine "Rating the Suburbs." You have to purchase it.

[url=http://clevelandmagazine.com/at-home/rating-the-suburbs]Rating the Suburbs | Cleveland Magazine[/url]

I would be wary of northwestern suburbs given the I-77 commute to Independence, even though you would be commuting against downtown traffic flows.

Brecksville and Independence are quite good, especially given the proximity to great parks. Check out the Cuyahoga Valley National Parks and Brecksville Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks, just for starters.

Richfield Village is a possibility.

[url=http://clevelandmagazine.com/at-home/rating-the-suburbs/articles/settle-down-in-rocky-river]Advanced Search: Rocky River and Richfield Village Score No. 2 and 3[/url]

Read through this forum.

Check schools at greatschools.org.

Solon, Hudson, and Aurora also would be possibilities given your commuting time preference.

Great suggestions for starting points - thanks!

[kverde18]

My family might be relocating for an opportunity in Strongsville. We'd love to find a walkable neighborhood with good schools that's relatively close to downtown. After 10 years in a cookie cutter DFW suburb filled with chain stores/restaurants we want to be in an area with character! Independent businesses, parks, and fun stuff for our 2 year old. It's a tall order I know, but if anyone can clue me in I know it's y'all Thanks.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by kverde18

My family might be relocating for an opportunity in Strongsville. We'd love to find a walkable neighborhood with good schools that's relatively close to downtown. After 10 years in a cookie cutter DFW suburb filled with chain stores/restaurants we want to be in an area with character! Independent businesses, parks, and fun stuff for our 2 year old. It's a tall order I know, but if anyone can clue me in I know it's y'all Thanks.

Check out Rocky River, if there are no budget constraints. Westlake is a similar possibility, but further from downtown. Obtain the Cleveland Magazine "Rating the Suburbs" issue. These are half hour commutes. Hudson would be another possibility, if you don't mind a longer distance from downtown. The Cleveland Magazine article assesses walkability.

If walkability isn't a definite requirement, nor proximity to downtown, check out Richfield.

Medina has walkable neighborhoods, and perhaps the most charming Public Square in Ohio, but is not as close to downtown. Ditto, Hudson and Richfield.

Strongsville is only a half hour from downtown Cleveland, and has a park-n-ride offering bus service to downtown. I didn't check out the bus schedule (it's not easy to find), and weekend service may not be available (you might have to drive to the Parma Transit Center). Again, Google transit could be used to get more detailed information.

Rocky River has good public transit to downtown.

Check out Google transit, available at the RTA home page, between any prospective residence and downtown. Check out RTA Red Line park-and-ride stations for Westlake and Rocky River.

If interested in parks, check out proximity to Cleveland Metroparks (or other metro (county) nature parks, such as for Medina County), state parks and Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Read through this thread, and the forum, using the search engine to find information about specific suburbs.

Greatschools.org is one method to check school quality.

Strongsville Schools - Strongsville Ohio School Ratings - Public and Private

Rocky River Schools - Rocky River Ohio School Ratings - Public and Private

Check walk scores here:

https://www.walkscore.com/score/4-be...0-strongsville

Strongsville actually has a higher walk score than Rocky River, but I'm not certain that considers mass transit options. Google Transit again shows walk routes, combined with transit, between locations, such as a residence and a school. Check out such routes before buying a house.

Search Wikipedia for individual cities. Check out city recreation facilities and programs for toddlers. Perhaps consider proximity to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo!

BTW, Beachwood (with high school ratings and walk score, great retail, RTA Green rail line at Green Road on its border) and Shaker Heights are just over a half four from Strongsville.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/cleve...cleveland.html

[citymama]

Originally Posted by kverde18

My family might be relocating for an opportunity in Strongsville. We'd love to find a walkable neighborhood with good schools that's relatively close to downtown. After 10 years in a cookie cutter DFW suburb filled with chain stores/restaurants we want to be in an area with character! Independent businesses, parks, and fun stuff for our 2 year old. It's a tall order I know, but if anyone can clue me in I know it's y'all Thanks.

We live in Rocky River and my husband has an easy commute to Strongsville. I think Strongsville will remind you of all that you hate about DFW to be honest. No real unique character, cookie cutter, chain stores. We chose Rocky River to live in an older and extremely walkable neighborhood. We can get to downtown for an Indians game, park and walk to our seats in 20 minutes.

[kverde18]

Originally Posted by citymama

We live in Rocky River and my husband has an easy commute to Strongsville. I think Strongsville will remind you of all that you hate about DFW to be honest. No real unique character, cookie cutter, chain stores. We chose Rocky River to live in an older and extremely walkable neighborhood. We can get to downtown for an Indians game, park and walk to our seats in 20 minutes.

I'll look into Rocky River, thanks. From some research here I'm concerned that it might be out of our price range... we need to be staying under 200K. i understand this might be difficult to do and still stay close to downtown.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by kverde18

I'll look into Rocky River, thanks. From some research here I'm concerned that it might be out of our price range... we need to be staying under 200K. i understand this might be difficult to do and still stay close to downtown.

Lakewood has a few well-rated elementary schools and two highly rated middle schools and a decent walk score. It has good mass transit connections to downtown. Perhaps you can find something in your price range there.

[citymama]

Originally Posted by kverde18

I'll look into Rocky River, thanks. From some research here I'm concerned that it might be out of our price range... we need to be staying under 200K. i understand this might be difficult to do and still stay close to downtown.

There are some in Rocky River for under 200k. The one on Northview looks nice.

[kverde18]

Originally Posted by WRnative

Lakewood has a few well-rated elementary schools and two highly rated middle schools and a decent walk score. It has good mass transit connections to downtown. Perhaps you can find something in your price range there.

Lakewood looks like it's right up our alley. Could you expand on what's meant by decent walk score?

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by kverde18

Lakewood looks like it's right up our alley. Could you expand on what's meant by decent walk score?

I don't know. I just discovered this website and haven't researched it. I would think that Lakewood would have a higher rating than Strongsville, but not on this website. Cleveland Magazine's "Rating the Suburbs," not available online, offers walkability scores for suburbs that always seemed reasonable to me based on my familiarity with individual suburbs. I think the existence of sidewalks is one rating factor.

https://www.walkscore.com/score/hwy-2-lakewood-oh-44107

Better yet, as I suggested earlier, use Google transit to check out routes/times for travel between a residence and any destination (such as a workplace, grocery store, Progressive Field, or the Cleveland Museum of Art). For some destinations, it may be easier to use mass transit to get as near as possible, then use Uber or Lyft, both available in Cleveland.

Google transit offers walk times/routes when mass transit isn't available.

Unlike in many suburbs, RTA buses and the Cleveland State bus rapid in Lakewood have weekend hours as the city is one of the most densely populated in the Midwest and many more residents use mass transit compared to other suburbs.

E.g., check weekday and weekend service for these two main routes serving Lakewood:

26: Detroit | Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

55-A-B-C: Cleveland State Line | Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

Good walkability IMO comprehends the quality of mass transit, but I'm not certain that is the case with all walk scores.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakewood,_Ohio

Lakewood Park, Edgewater Park and the Rocky River Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks are major recreation assets for Lakewood residents.

If you live in one Ohio city, and work in a different Ohio city, definitely understand the cumbersome Ohio municipal income tax system -- tax rates, resident credits, etc. Just do a search for a given city and municipal income tax. CCA is the other major municipal income tax agency. Lakewood apparently is one of the few cities to administer its own tax department.

https://www.ritaohio.com/municipalit.../strongsville/

http://www.onelakewood.com/payment-t...ay-your-taxes/

Hope this helps.