Cleveland seriously interests me now (Columbus, Akron: homes, buy, tornadoes)

[theurbanfiles]

Yeah, I would say that Cleveland is a pretty good balance then. There is a decent sized concentration of every group you mentioned.

[WRnative]

Personally, I think there are at least five major factors contributing to the revitalization of downtown Cleveland.

1) The building of three major sports venues within close proximity downtown. Few metropolitan areas in the U.S. have this concentration of pro sports venues.

2) The incredible and miraculous "save" of PlayhouseSquare and its evolution into a major entertainment center.

Cleveland: PlayhouseSquare - TripAdvisor

3) The continued evolution of Cleveland State University, which has anchored the eastern flank of downtown.

4) The significant ascendancy of University Circle and its cultural institutions. University Circle is far, far superior to what existed there four decades ago, although it was impressive four decades ago. Case Western has greatly enhanced its posture and reputation, the Cleveland Museum of Art and Severance Hall have experienced tremendous and very well executed upgrades (unleashing their full potential such as gallery space for the CMA's renown Asian and textiles collections and the superb integration and reconstruction of Severance Hall's superb Norton Memorial Organ).

Norton Memorial Organ

5) The construction of the 24/7 Healthline bus rapid, directly integrating Public Square and University Circle. Both the downtown core and the cultural center will be further integrated with the relocation of the University Circle Red Line rail rapid station to Uptown/Little Italy. In coming decades, Euclid Ave. will fill-in, regaining much of the vitality which characterized it in the early 20th century, when Cleveland's "second downtown" was one of the nation's great entertainment centers. Unfortunately, unlike PlayhouseSquare, this gem of an entertainment district was leveled.

In Cleveland's 'second downtown,' jazz once filled the air: Elegant Cleveland | cleveland.com

Certainly all of this has made possible the emergence of East 4th St., the Warehouse District and the Market District.

The Rock Hall has greatly enhanced Cleveland as a tourist destination.

As evidenced by the coming Republican National Convention, the new convention center and the unique Global Center for Medical Innovation will play key roles in the downtown's vitality.

The Global Center | Home

My memories of downtown reach back over half a century. Downtown as an entertainment destination is night-and-day better than in the 1960s. I suspect downtown commercial employment is much lower, and Cleveland no longer is one of the nation's great retail districts. Cleveland a half century ago was one of the nation's top corporate headquarters centers. Ernst & Whinney actually had its national headquarters in Cleveland. This no longer is the case, largely due to mismanagement by the executives of leading Cleveland businesses, most recently National City and now Cliff Natural Resources. Cleveland IMO has been greatly victimized, with the exception of Sherwin Williams management, by amazingly greedy and incompetent corporate managements in too many cases.

The old Standard Oil of Ohio was purchased by BP, then BP moved its corporate headquarters to Chicago when it merged with Amoco. Once the center of the world oil industry, Cleveland effectively no longer had a major presence in the global petroleum industry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil_of_Ohio

Also, as already discussed, the downtown residential district probably hasn't been this robust in over a century.

Sherwin Williams and KeyCorp probably are the two key anchors of the downtown economy. Clevelanders should cross their fingers that these two champions survive intact in coming decades.

[theurbanfiles]

Yes. I really hope those two will do well, and will not move. We want companies moving here, not the other way around. I wonder is perhaps Progressive would ever move their corporate operations to the current BP space, that would be less costly than building a new high rise for them.

I agree with everything you mentioned, the only one I'm not positive on is the Browns stadium. With only about ten games per year , perhaps they would be better suited in Richfield, and then that space over there could be used for waterfront residential they're planning on adding in.

[jprice15]

Originally Posted by nep321

Can someone show me proof that Cleveland is going through a renaissance? Or is this something that people just "sense" is going on right now? In any case, can the renaissance be "felt" among those currently living there? Is there a vibe of optimism right now?

http://www.downtowncleveland.com/med...spreads-2-.pdf

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by clevelander1991

Yes. I really hope those two will do well, and will not move. We want companies moving here, not the other way around. I wonder is perhaps Progressive would ever move their corporate operations to the current BP space, that would be less costly than building a new high rise for them.

I agree with everything you mentioned, the only one I'm not positive on is the Browns stadium. With only about ten games per year , perhaps they would be better suited in Richfield, and then that space over there could be used for waterfront residential they're planning on adding in.

Keep in mind Econ. 101 about the importance of marginal demand. Those Browns home games fill up a lot of hotel rooms and restaurant seats on likely normally slow weekends outside the peak summer travel season.

I'm certain those home games are very profitable for downtown service providers, helping to make up for slow periods of operation.

[nep321]

Originally Posted by jprice15

http://www.downtowncleveland.com/med...spreads-2-.pdf

That is very, very promising.

Cleveland is one of the 7 metro areas remaining on my list of places to relocate to in May/June. Everything in this thread has made me much, much more excited, if I do choose it. Of course, the real test will be a visit, since I've never been there.

Another thing I like is that, in addition to having 90-minute flights for under $300 from CLE to BDL to visit family, the drive would be about 8 hours, which isn't THAT bad. At least the option is there! I could leave at 7 am and be at my parent's house by 4 pm, including break time, lunch, gas, etc!

The other cities on my list are as follows:

Trenton
Tampa
Louisville
St. Louis
Tulsa
Greeley

[theurbanfiles]

What are like the 7-8 things your looking for in a community to help you decide? Cleveland is considered the only Beta World City out of that group I believe, whatever that's worth.

I can say that when I was in Trenton, it felt quite unsafe even downtown right by the state Capitol building, so I'm not sure what kind of economy you'll find there. I have to say this is quite the random hodge podge of cities.

The only one I actually know quite well is Tampa, but I don't know what factors you are looking to compare the cities on.

[nep321]

Originally Posted by clevelander1991

What are like the 7-8 things your looking for in a community to help you decide? Cleveland is considered the only Beta World City out of that group I believe, whatever that's worth.

I can say that when I was in Trenton, it felt quite unsafe even downtown right by the state Capitol building, so I'm not sure what kind of economy you'll find there. I have to say this is quite the random hodge podge of cities.

The only one I actually know quite well is Tampa, but I don't know what factors you are looking to compare the cities on.

Well keep in mind, I'm talking about metro areas, not cities themselves. I am not really a city person at all. I prefer suburbs or quiet, sleepy neighborhoods within a city.

Anyway, I can't stand crowds and traffic in general. I like laid back lifestyle. I prefer places that lean liberal, but it's not a deal breaker. I prefer four seasons, for the most part. I do not like soulless plastic places that are generic. I would prefer to have a decent sized gay population, but not huge. I am educated/intellectual, so it would be favorable to have like minded people around. I prefer places with some varied terrain. I'm not a fan of places that are totally flat. I love the outdoors and enjoy hiking, taking walks and exploring. I don't care for the beach at all. I don't like places that are too family oriented and focused on kids or church or things like that. I can't stand college towns or places that are overloaded with yuppies. I do not like country music or hillbillies. And I can't stand places that are superficial, materialistic, money-focused or snooty. Also, I would go crazy if it was sunny all the time or cloudy all the time. I like changing weather, but as long as I get a good 4-6 months of heat. Oh, and preferably not high obesity rates.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by clevelander1991

What are like the 7-8 things your looking for in a community to help you decide? Cleveland is considered the only Beta World City out of that group I believe, whatever that's worth.

I can say that when I was in Trenton, it felt quite unsafe even downtown right by the state Capitol building, so I'm not sure what kind of economy you'll find there. I have to say this is quite the random hodge podge of cities.

The only one I actually know quite well is Tampa, but I don't know what factors you are looking to compare the cities on.

I wouldn't play the crime angle as an argument for Cleveland. Cleveland needs to clean up its streets, pronto.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by nep321

Well keep in mind, I'm talking about metro areas, not cities themselves. I am not really a city person at all. I prefer suburbs or quiet, sleepy neighborhoods within a city.

Anyway, I can't stand crowds and traffic in general. I like laid back lifestyle. I prefer places that lean liberal, but it's not a deal breaker. I prefer four seasons, for the most part. I do not like soulless plastic places that are generic. I would prefer to have a decent sized gay population, but not huge. I am educated/intellectual, so it would be favorable to have like minded people around. I prefer places with some varied terrain. I'm not a fan of places that are totally flat. I love the outdoors and enjoy hiking, taking walks and exploring. I don't care for the beach at all. I don't like places that are too family oriented and focused on kids or church or things like that. I can't stand college towns or places that are overloaded with yuppies. I do not like country music or hillbillies. And I can't stand places that are superficial, materialistic, money-focused or snooty. Also, I would go crazy if it was sunny all the time or cloudy all the time. I like changing weather, but as long as I get a good 4-6 months of heat. Oh, and preferably not high obesity rates.

Aren't they just the worst?!