Buying in Hudson or Shaker: concerns

[chartbury]

Shaker Heights has many more young professionals than Hudson and you are so close to all the goings on in Shaker Square. When/if you have kids you'll meet so many people (Shaker Family Center is fantastic, skating at Thorton Park -- that's for all ages -- and through the schools). Right now, you'll find that the Cleveland Council on World Affairs, the Natural History Museum and possibly the Art Museum host events/mixers for young professionals. Shaker Heights housing has always appreciated nicely and, before this nationwide slowdown, decent Shaker houses used to sell in two weeks or before they even hit the market! There's a lot to choose from in Shaker now, make the most of it! Good luck!

[nlschr0]

Well, as another childless couple about your age, we just moved FROM Hudson to central KY with a job transfer.

I agree with the others about the proximity of Shaker being nice and also about it being a more vibrant and diverse community. In the area you'll find a lot of unique things to do as a couple, and a lot of great services for young families (if that's ever a consideration). The commute will be better, and there is a much stronger "vibe" to the area. When we were still renting, we LOVED living in that area. It was charming and funky, and diverse and urban while still offering peaceful, stately, tree-lined streets. Shaker does offer much more diversity.

But, once we were ready to buy, we decided on Hudson and never regretted it. Why? Personally, we felt that it was a better investment for a home. The homes were appreciating and the area is popular. The schools are top notch. Crime is a non-issue. And honestly, we really appreciated the "quieter" life - as stereotyped as it may sound, we really enjoyed taking a stroll through the quaint downtown and grabbing a cup of coffee. We loved driving through the back roads and out to the Cuyahoga National Park. And for as many "soccer moms" and WASPy families that were there, there were also many interesting people that we met just by going out to local restaurants, independently-owned local stores, etc. And for us, because we were thinking ahead to a family, we really felt like it was a solid place to be. Like I said, we never regretted it once (and we also made quite a profit selling our home after owning it just a few short years).

The commute downtown isn't that bad. I worked right on the Cleveland Heights/East Cleveland border and rarely had any trouble. Since you said that the potential home is near the north end of town, I would assume it is close to 480, and from there you can hit 480 to 77 or up 271.

So, I think it really depends on your preferences. Hudson will be a lot sleepier than Shaker, without a doubt, but for us at that point we were ok with driving out on the weekends to get out to shows, museums, restaurants, etc. At the same time, though, we found ourselves really happy just hanging out around Hudson and going to some local places for a lot of the time. What can I say? We're getting older .

[guccigirl]

We relocated to Hudson from San Diego California for my husbands job. We looked all over north east ohio for our new home. We are young (just turned 30) and dont have any kids. We dont really enjoy the "party" scene, but we do enjoy dining at good restaurants and just hanging out. I absolutely LOVE living in Hudson. I love how safe I feel even if my husband is out of town on a business trip. My neighbors are wonderful and the town is so pretty. It is quiet and there isnt too much going on but we have great restaurants, great shops and great people. As far as resale value is concerned I think you would make more in Hudson. The schools are excellent, even if you dont have children, someone with kids will most likely purchase your home when u are ready to sell. Lots of people move here so their kids can go to Hudson Schools. when the weather is nice, everyone is out gardening or walking, jogging or riding bikes. We have a nice walking trail at Hudson Springs Park. If you have dogs there is an awesome dog beach right next door (in stow).
If you are planning on starting a family in the next couple of years you wont regret moving here. Its such a nice community with lots of activities for kids and we are close to lots of parks. My husband and I enjoy walking our dogs downtown and stopping by the cupcake shop on main street where the owners know our names.

We will relocate for work again withing the next 2-3 years, this place will be hard to beat!

[121804]

Hudson is one of the few cities that is actually seeing an increase in home prices.

[350days]

Originally Posted by brittanylynn

I hear a lot of great things about Shaker and Hudson on these boards. We recently moved to the Cleveland area from the Northern Ky/Cincinnati area. Right now, we are renting a small house on the East side of Shaker Heights on Fairmount Blvd. It is an older, smaller house, but nice. We have the option to buy it for around $120,000. The drawbacks are that there isn't a lot of space (just 0.2 acres, and the upstairs rooms (3 bedrooms and bathroom) all have the sloped ceilings due to it being a cape cod. Also the garage is detached. It is a nice neighborhood though and we've lived there since November (the worst season, I know). We have been looking for houses with decent lot sizes, and ended up finding a nice one in Hudson that we made an offer on, and have received a counteroffer. The house in Hudson is about $100,000 more, but much bigger inside and out. At this point, we are torn between the two. These are my questions:

With Shaker: What will our resale value be in a few years if we want to sell? Would it be possible to rent the house where we are (very close to John Carroll) and make a profit?

With Hudson: Will the drive be terrible into downtown Cleveland for work? (it takes about 30 minutes now from east Shaker at rush hour. The house in Hudson is on the North side--close to I90); Will we be bored in Hudson? (we are a 30 year old couple with no children); How will the resale value of our home be in a few years if we need to move?

Any feedback is very much appreciated! Thank you.

Hi Brittany,
I recently relocated from Shaker to Texas. We were renting a brick colonial on Gridley. You will not find anything bigger on the side of town we rented on in Shaker. The elementary schools are great and if you buy a home in Shaker this I am sure will add to your home value. I really was sorry to leave Shaker because the community was great, people are committed to keeping their property looking nice and the elementary school was great. My 5 year old attended Lomond. I met a few great friends. I am not a native Ohioan but Shaker and the local school was two things I liked about Ohio. I do wish the yards and the houses were bigger.