What's Metro Cleveland like in comparison to Buffalo (wny) (Columbus: 2014, houses)

[theurbanfiles]

All right, well what stuff do you enjoy doing/what interests would you be looking to pursue when you do make this trip? I can start you off with some of the "Biggies", but if you give more specific detail then we can provide you with more assistance.

1. Cleveland Clinic
2. University Hospitals
3. Little Italy/Uptown/Coventry/Shaker Square neighborhoods right near here
4. Cleveland Museum of Art (Among Top 5 in America)
5. Playhouse Square (Largest theater complex apart from the Lincoln Center, NYC)
6. East 4th Street DT (Try the chicken wings confit at Greenhouse Tavern and the new Mabel's BBQ, owned and managed by our Iron Chef and host of The Chew, Michael Symon)
7. Progressive Field (Go Tribe!)
8. West Side Market (and West Side Areas Ohio City, Tremont, Gordon Square, Edgewater Beach)
9. Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and the Emerald Necklace Cleveland Metroparks (around the city)
10. An hour to the west, Put In Bay (most charming island town during the week, party central on weekend evenings downtown) and Cedar Point (best roller coaster park in the world), An hour (or less) to the east, award winning wine country, Amish Country, beautiful parks, kitschy Geneva on the Lake, the quaint bars/breweries of DT Willoughby, and the highly acclaimed Geauga Observatory Park.

I cheated and included way more than 10, but there are still many, many more. Forgot to mention you might find the Dittrick Medical Museum and the Global Center for Health Innovation interesting.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by joefab2015

Ever since me and my family moved here from nearby, Toronto,

Do you have kids? If so, what are there ages and interests? Cleveland, especially the University Circle area, is a great place for kids. We can offer some tips and suggestions if you provide some info.

If you're from Toronto, there's a significant migration to Cleveland from Toronto every summer for Blue Jay games, and even some Raptors fans travel for NBA games in the winter. Less so now than when the loonie was stronger.

[216facts]

When our kids were young, we took them every weekend to the Children's museum in UC. They had great fun, in fact they made friends while the adults talked - and made friends. Great place for young families to get acclimated to the area.
There was talk about an apartment building going up at the site of the Children's museum, I hope they move it and improve it - because it is a great resource - and I think it's free or at least it used to be - or at least a very low cost.
And while I'm on the subject of money, or lack there of, the great thing about Cleveland is you can have world-class fun for free: Cleveland Museum of Art, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, West Side Market, Metroparks - including Lake Erie beaches.

[Cleveland_Collector]

I worked in Buffalo off and on for over 10 years. I grew to like Buffalo quite a bit, but it really doesn't have anything on Cleveland. The cities are similar in economic lineage, demographics, ethnicity, climate and mentality, but that's about where it ends. Cleveland wins in just about every category. This isn't a knock on Buffalo more than it is a credit to Cleveland. Both cities have faced the same decline in manufacturing base and subsequent "blue collar" population, but it seems Cleveland has done much better at maintaining the manufacturing it still does have along with diversifying into different areas.

Arts and Entertainment - Cleveland has one of the best things going outside of New York.

Culinary/breweries/cocktails - There isn't a better food and drink city between New York and Chicago (or Chicago and San Francisco).

Museums, zoos, and parks - Cleveland is loaded with them. I'd put the MetroParks system up against any.

Lake and riverfront - for all the talk of Cleveland's underutilized waterfronts, my experience is that "underutilized" would be a generous term when talking about Buffalo. The NFTA "redevelopment" along NY5 was more a paving project than anything. Outside of a marina and a couple of crappy restaurant/bars, there's not much else. Cleveland has Edgewater, Whiskey Island, Wendy Park, the Stadium and Inner Harbor complex, AND -- there is serious development on the way for the lakefront. The nearly completed Flats East project on the river is a precursor for what we expect to see between W. 3rd and E. 9th in very short order along the lakefront.

Downtown and surrounding neighborhoods - I'd say that Buffalo is about a decade behind Cleveland, but I see some pretty nice development happening there. However, it still seems fairly sparse. Cleveland is hitting critical mass in the downtown area and there is a ton of momentum.

Higher education - Buffalo has Buff State, UB, Canisius, Medaille and a few other small colleges. Cleveland has CWRU, CSU, CCC, BW, John Carroll and probably a dozen more colleges within an hour drive of the city. CWRU and CSU probably put us ahead in availability and quality within the city limits and Cleveland definitely wins in sheer volume. However, I don't feel Buffalo is really lacking either.

[captainclipper]

I wouldn't be so quick to discount Columbus as many here have been suggesting. Maybe start a thread in their forum as well for a better perspective, or investigate a bit on your own.

Check out columbusunderground.com to get a good idea of what's currently going on in the city. Good luck with the move!

[theurbanfiles]

Columbus has many fantastic things to be sure. But being biased, I do think Cleveland has more though I thoroughly enjoy visiting Columbus. I think the separating factor here is that he is pursuing healthcare.

[Clevelandsrocks]

Cleveland > Cowtown and it's not even close...

[cbusflyer]

Originally Posted by Clevelandsrocks

Cleveland > Cowtown and it's not even close...

If it's not even close, then why is Cleveland losing so many people? Sure Columbus does not offer the level of amenities that Cleveland does but to say it is not even close is not quite true for everyone. Columbus is a totally different city and offers a different style of living vs Cleveland. Columbus is a new era city and Cleveland is old school. Some people love one or the other or some love both. I love both and hate all the bias in Ohio. We should be supporting one another and promoting all Ohio cities.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by cbusflyer

If it's not even close, then why is Cleveland losing so many people? Sure Columbus does not offer the level of amenities that Cleveland does but to say it is not even close is not quite true for everyone. Columbus is a totally different city and offers a different style of living vs Cleveland. Columbus is a new era city and Cleveland is old school. Some people love one or the other or some love both. I love both and hate all the bias in Ohio. We should be supporting one another and promoting all Ohio cities.

Cleveland's industrial economy has been slaughtered by poor federal and state policies.

E.g., in recent years Republicans in Indiana and Ohio have taken actions that have raised tolls on I-80/I-90 to finance non-related highway projects. The toll on trucks from Akron to Chicago already is over $75 and increasing at the rate of inflation.

Meanwhile, the I-70/I-65 corridor is free.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by clevelander1991

Cleveland's Metro is technically listed at 2.2 million. But, you added in Akron (which sort of has a relationship to the city like Minneapolis does to St. Paul or Dallas does to Fort Worth), then the population would be about 3.5 million, still in a smaller area square mileage wise than many metro areas (e.g. Atlanta). Although Niagara of course may not be factored into the Buffalo numbers and it does have Toronto somewhat close at hand.

I would say that in some ways they have similar personalities. Both have terrific arts and culture scenes, though Cleveland may have somewhat of an edge here just on the basis of being bigger. Cleveland's park system within the metro and the amount of tree cover is almost unparalleled, however, as a "Buffalonian" you do have closer access to the awe-inspiring Letchworth State Park and of course Niagara. I would say they're probably different enough that it would be a unique change for you. Cleveland may even have more of an East Coast vibe than Buffalo within the neighborhoods in and around University Circle, due to the fact that Cleveland was originally settled as the Connecticut Western Reserve.

Columbus does have the James, which I have seen advertising as far south as West Virginia as being the World's Best Cancer Hospital. While that may not be true, Columbus does still have a good healthcare scene. Cleveland's healthcare system with the combination of Cleveland Clinic/University Hospital/Innovations taking place at the Medical Mart may be the best in a US metro outside of Boston. It is truly fantastic.

Pretty sure that Cleveland has lower taxes but can't verify. As the previous poster said, taxes in SH are quite high so it may be best to look elsewhere if that is a concern.

Columbus is a very nice city but probably has fewer assets overall than Cleveland, however it is more of a "City of Suburbs" if that is your thing.

Ummm, no......Akron to Cleveland is not St. Paul to Minneapolis -- not even close. But I think the DFW analogy was much closer. This is coming from a Cleveland resident who grew up in MSP.