Potentially Cleveland Bound - Seeking Guidance (Euclid, Cleveland Heights: houses, neighborhoods, luxury)

[Marcello10]

Hello Everyone, and Happy Holidays to you and your families.

My fiance and I are in the process of comparing potential relocation areas which correspond with newly presented career options. One of these areas which we are considering is Cleveland. As a result, we are looking at certain areas where our budget could go the furthest without compromising the safety and security of our family.

Having visited Cleveland, we find the city to have quite a bit to offer; certainly, it has more than we expected coming from other places we have lived (Boston, New York, Miami). However, as we are not familiar with it intimately, and do not have friends or family there, we thought this forum would be the best way to gain local insights.

Right now we are interested in four areas which we would like to know more about; East Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, South Euclid, and University Heights. We like their proximity to Little Italy, the short commute to downtown, and the neighborhood feel of the communities. We fell that our preferred budget (100K - 150K) could do alright in those areas based on cursory research and a brief conversation with a local realtor (although we did not care for that individual).

We are in our late 20's / early 30's. We have one son (age 8), and are planning on 2 more kids. We are relatively quiet people, and we prefer family neighborhoods. We are Italian-American, and we do enjoy speaking the language if the neighborhood is congruent with such.

Thanks for reading, and any thoughts, opinions, insights, or questions are welcome!!

[L2DB]

I wouldn't recommend any of those options if you're planning to do public schools. You can probably find something at the top of your range in Shaker Heights which has better schools and you won't be sacrificing much of the stuff you're looking for (and it may even be better).

[Marcello10]

Originally Posted by L2DB

I wouldn't recommend any of those options if you're planning to do public schools. You can probably find something at the top of your range in Shaker Heights which has better schools and you won't be sacrificing much of the stuff you're looking for (and it may even be better).

Thank you for such a timely reply.

Yes, public schools would be worth paying for certainly. Moreover, truth be told, we could push our budget up to around 200K if the area was truly desirable and met all of our needs. Thus, I will look into Shaker Heights.

However, would you be willing to share any preferences you may have regarding the areas mentioned? Is any one of those locations (East Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, South Euclid, or University Heights) comparatively better than the others when comparing public schools?

Thanks again.

[jmv]

Of the areas you named, I would focus on University Heights and Cleveland Heights. Several of the elementary schools in those areas are fine, with Roxboro Elementary considered quite good. The other thing about University Heights is that you would have the option of Gesu Catholic School which is right in the neighborhood. There are a range of private schools which are also good options, depending on your budget. East Cleveland, in particular, has some serious problems, particularly financial. I would be very, very reluctant to settle there expecially with kids, given that you have other options. You'd do better in some of the other up and coming Cleveland neighborhoods if you want to be in the City proper. I don't know much about South Euclid. I live in Shaker and have three kids in public school (ranging from elementary to high school). We are so pleased with the education and the close knit community. I'd encourage you to expand your search to include Shaker.

[Marcello10]

Originally Posted by jmv

Of the areas you named, I would focus on University Heights and Cleveland Heights. Several of the elementary schools in those areas are fine, with Roxboro Elementary considered quite good. The other thing about University Heights is that you would have the option of Gesu Catholic School which is right in the neighborhood. There are a range of private schools which are also good options, depending on your budget. East Cleveland, in particular, has some serious problems, particularly financial. I would be very, very reluctant to settle there expecially with kids, given that you have other options. You'd do better in some of the other up and coming Cleveland neighborhoods if you want to be in the City proper. I don't know much about South Euclid. I live in Shaker and have three kids in public school (ranging from elementary to high school). We are so pleased with the education and the close knit community. I'd encourage you to expand your search to include Shaker.

Thank you for such an honest and transparent assessment. Even just the ability to remove East Cleveland from consideration in favor of Shaker benefits us and our search.

For us, we've moved around a lot in our lives. This move, at least in initial appearance, should be for the long term. Thus, we are being excessively deliberate this time around. Also, we really want to be budget conscience which obviously limits options to a certain extent. We did the "luxury living thing" in Miami for a number of years previously, and it was nice certainly, but it's no longer a priority.

At this point, it's affordability, safety, and community. Whether it is a city neighborhood or a nearby suburb is fine with us. We enjoy facets of both lifestyles (urban and suburban). So, really, we're pretty open to suggestions. We simply started our searches in those four areas based on proximity, price, and cursory appearance.

Thanks again.

[jprice15]

You should stay out of East Cleveland, particularly with children. The other areas are all nice-Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights both have financial and safety extremes present within the city. There are parts in both cities that are not the safest, poorly educated residents, etc.; then there are parts where preeminent doctors, consultants, and ivy league educated professionals, etc. live. University Heights is a nice area, John Carroll University is located there.

There are also several very good private schools, if you are worried about the public ones.

[Cleverfield]

The only exception to the stay out of East Cleveland rule is the Forest Hills neighborhood. That area is fantastic. Everything else is pretty awful.

[WRnative]

Where would you work? What are your family's interests -- culture, parks, beaches, etc.?

There's a part of Cleveland around Shaker Square where houses are cheaper but you are in the Shaker Heights school system.

Check out elementary schools at greatschools.org.

Mayfield, Mayfield Hts. , Wickliffe and possibly Highland Hts. may be options with strong Italian influences. I'm not certain how many Italian speakers there are these days in Cleveland. If your Italian heritage is important to you, perhaps check with Italian ethnic clubs for suggestions.

http://ech.case.edu/cgi/article.pl?id=I7

http://www.wickliffeianda.com/

http://www.italianamericanbrotherhoodclub.com/

http://www.clevelandpeople.com/group...an/italian.htm

This is a dated history, but you may find it interesting.

http://www.clevelandmemory.org/italians/table.html

[Marcello10]

Originally Posted by WRnative

Where would you work? What are your family's interests -- culture, parks, beaches, etc.?

There's a part of Cleveland around Shaker Square where houses are cheaper but you are in the Shaker Heights school system.

Check out elementary schools at greatschools.org.

Mayfield, Mayfield Hts. , Wickliffe and possibly Highland Hts. may be options with strong Italian influences. I'm not certain how many Italian speakers there are these days in Cleveland. If your Italian heritage is important to you, perhaps check with Italian ethnic clubs for suggestions.

As it stands currently, our work would be centered around Downtown Cleveland, most notably near Tower City Center. So, we would have to get there on a daily basis. Although, opportunities for working in different offices in other parts of the city have already been presented.

As to our interests, quite honestly, they are diverse. We do enjoy the outdoors, such as parks for running and any waterfront. We also harbor a passion for history, and therefore love museums and art. However, in terms of day in and day out life, we really simply enjoy cooking, reading, and quiet time. I guess that would be what we seek most really - a clean and quiet community with easy access to more lively urban options such as museums and other cultural landmarks.

As to Mayfield Heights, that seems interesting to us as well based on a cursory review. However, we have never been there specifically, so we would look forward to actually visiting that area in the near future.

Yes, our Italian heritage is quite important to us, and we will look into those social groups you provided.

Lastly, if I could also focus on one other objective, it would be this; privacy. We are very private people. We are happy to be active in our community, and we are good neighbors, but we are very private. We savor our privacy. So, we do like communities which are, perhaps, more reserved and more respectful of individual household's privacy.

[Cleverfield]

Shaker Heights sounds like it would be great for you. Easy train ride to Tower City, easy access to culture and nice restaurants, beautiful parks, and beautiful architecture. The only drawbacks (and they're relatively small) are: it's not easy to access the freeway, and it's not close to the Lake. With your budget, you're probably going to be looking in the Lomond, Sussex, or Fernway areas, which are a bit denser, with smaller lots, and less private than some of the wealthier areas, but still should provide you with enough privacy, and you can probably find a house with a nice privacy fence in the back yard, if that's what you like.