Cleveland/Providence, RI (Columbus, Lorain, Lakewood: 2014, rent, credit)

[tf2014]

As I am contemplating (and after this nor'easter today with both my roof and basement leaking in my overpriced, tiny house in the NY suburbs of CT, it's looking more and more appealing) a move to the Cleveland area, I was wondering if any of you are familiar with Providence, RI and can see any parallels? I went to RISD in Providence, lived there when my kids were born, and like the gritty, down-to-earth, yet VERY quirky aspect of that city. I have been looking at and visited Cleveland a few times, I can see some similarities. I don't want to move back to RI for many reasons. I'm a teacher looking for a fresh start, was looking at Columbus (but finding it too expensive), but something keeps drawing me back to Cleveland. Would you say it's a place where a single mother of adult kids, who is a teacher/artist, not afraid of diversity, likes absurd things, don't care if my neighbors are pierced or tattooed, etc., could be a happy camper? I could have this in RI, but even that is getting too expensive! Yes, I've had a glass of wine as I wrote this!

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by tf2014

As I am contemplating (and after this nor'easter today with both my roof and basement leaking in my overpriced, tiny house in the NY suburbs of CT, it's looking more and more appealing) a move to the Cleveland area, I was wondering if any of you are familiar with Providence, RI and can see any parallels? I went to RISD in Providence, lived there when my kids were born, and like the gritty, down-to-earth, yet VERY quirky aspect of that city. I have been looking at and visited Cleveland a few times, I can see some similarities. I don't want to move back to RI for many reasons. I'm a teacher looking for a fresh start, was looking at Columbus (but finding it too expensive), but something keeps drawing me back to Cleveland. Would you say it's a place where a single mother of adult kids, who is a teacher/artist, not afraid of diversity, likes absurd things, don't care if my neighbors are pierced or tattooed, etc., could be a happy camper? I could have this in RI, but even that is getting too expensive! Yes, I've had a glass of wine as I wrote this!

Yes, you could be very happy in Cleveland IF you could find a good-paying job. If you're a public school teacher, this may be tough as many districts don't like to hire more experienced and therefore more expensive teachers.

[TPH2]

Yes! Move to Cleveland. Where in CT do you currently live? I've spent a lot of time up there for work. I also have spent a decent amount of time in Providence. To be honest, I'm not sure I see a whole lot of similarities between the cities, but there may be more similarities below the surface. I think both might espouse a certain underdog mentality (and both have great Little Italy's). I just moved back to Cleveland from the East Coast, and one thing I miss is the colonial history and the old architecture. But Cleveland is a great place with its own unique history. I think the most attractive thing about the city to me was that it is still a major city with world class amenities, but it is small enough where you as an individual can have a meaningful impact.

[teacherdad]

Most school districts here allow from 3-5 years of experience transfer so 20 year teachers can't really transfer and keep those credits. However, you should have service credits per year with your states' retirement system. For example, if I left CA and taught in Ohio, I'd start WAY over in salary, but my service years for retirement would still be there. Thus, in 10 years in Ohio, I'd retire with 30 years service credit. My retirement here is based on my age and years along with my highest paid year, which would surely be here in CA. However, it would be feasible to teach in Ohio as a 5 year teacher because the cost of living is dramatically less expensive and in 10 years, I'd begin to receive about 5K per month for life and could then work part time. Hope that explains my crazy logic. RI could be different for retirement, but probably not that much.

[lindarogers]

I have a house on Cape Cod and LOVE New England. I live in the Cleveland suburb of Lakewood now (a totally cool neighborhood with awesome schools by the way) and I LOVE it too. I'll be making the opposite move - from Cleveland to Wellfleet, someday when it's time to retire. You could definitely be happy in any number of neighborhoods around Cleveland. Finding a good teaching job is the bigger issue. I think it would be worth looking into though.

[Cleverfield]

Cleveland Heights sounds like it would be right up your alley. Providence definitely has a lot of similarities to Cleveland, though Cleveland is obviously much larger and has a lot more to offer. We don't have as much of the extreme liberal flavor that Brown and RISD students create, but it's definitely not conservative either. Cleveland Heights is a very quirky, diverse, liberal suburb that could definitely appeal to you. The Coventry neighborhood reminds me a lot of Thayer St.

[tf2014]

To Teacherdad: I'm a 'second career' teacher so even though I'm an old fart, I only have ten years under my belt. I'm certified ESL and Reading, so I'm hoping that rings some district's bell.

lindarogers: I love the Cape, too, I just can't afford it. Good luck with your move there...it's great to be near the ocean.

TPH2: I live in Norwalk, CT. Too damned expensive to maintain an itty bitty house! Number 2 kid goes to Ohio State, so getting in-state tuition would also be a bonus. Providence, RI is way cooler than it was 30 years ago, but it's that 'underdog' spirit that I really like.

Cleverfield: Cleveland Heights has been on the short list. So has Lakewood.

Now the job is to...find a job!

Thanks to all

[ECBeastor]

Here's the little I can help on the job front - Lakewood has probably the highest number of ESL per capita of any Cleveland school district. In the past, I've seen ESL job openings posted on the Lakewood Schools website and they're usually one of the most frequently posted for jobs. They usually start posting in May/June for the upcoming school year.

Also, the Birdtown section of Lakewood is the most diverse and gritty part of the city. It's the SE end of Lakewood - Borders are Madison Ave. to the North, Magee to the East, Halstead to the West and Plover to the South.

[WRnative]

I'm not certain what an ESL teacher is, but if it's one who teaches English as a second language, Wikipedia articles often show the percentage of a population which is Hispanic for individual communities.

Affordable communities near ag businesses often have larger Hispanic populations in northern Ohio.

Painesville in Lake County would be one such place. It's the county seat so I'm not certain how "gritty" it is, but it is very affordable, partly because school ratings in Ohio are negatively impacted by large Hispanic populations and due to an older housing stock in much of the city.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painesville,_Ohio

Painesville rebuilt its entire school system in the last five years, meaning that capex should be relatively constrained in coming decades while aging schools are an issue in many northern Ohio districts, creating financial burdens that detract from operating budgets.

Painesville is 30-40 minutes from downtown, depending upon your driving speed. Lake County, where it's located, offers bus service to downtown. Of course, you could live west of Painesville and commute to work daily.

Perhaps check out Lorain and Elyria in Lorain County, both of which may have relatively large Hispanic populations.

If you could get a job in one of these communities, you could rent while trying to find a job in Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland.