Family living in Chagrin Falls vs Solon vs Other East-side locations (Cleveland: appointed, 2015)
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My family and I are relocating to the Cleveland area this summer. We're looking at the East side due to proximity to work. We have a kid going into kindergarten and a almost 3 year old. Hoping to live here a long time and become part of the community. Looking to compare/contrast the family life including schools in these two towns.
My current impressions:
CF: New England feel, hilly, cute downtown, not very racially diverse (which we don't really like), very good schools.
Solon: Suburban feel, flat, lots of shops but no walkable downtown, extremely diverse (which we really like), excellent schools.
Would also consider Beachwood, Pepper Pike, etc.
Any help is greatly appreciated. I'm sure things are more complicated than the general impression we got over a 4 day visit. We're excited about coming to Cleveland whichever town we ultimately choose.
Check commuting times, if that is a concern. Pepper Pike and Beachwood might offer the easiest commutes.
Much depends upon as well on your work location, desired commuting times, housing budget, recreational needs (CF is adjacent to the South Chagrin metroparks reservation). There may be other possibilities if you shared these factors.
Have you checked out the metropark reservations -- Cleveland, as well as Lake and Geauga county systems? E.g., check out Lake Metroparks Farmpark and its Penitentiary Glen Reservation, both in Kirtland and favorites of young kids such as yours.
You've nailed the diversity issue. Beachwood is fairly diverse racially, about 10 percent African American, but is predominately Jewish. The big difference between Beachwood and Solon otherwise is that Solon has a larger Asian population. Read about demographics for both cities in their Wikipedia articles and elsewhere.
Check out each city's recreational facilities, and their municipal income taxes (residential income tax credits).
This thread's discussion of University Circle may be more important as your children grow older. Beachwood offers more convenient mass transit, especially with the Green Road rail rapid station. At Shaker Square, transfers to bus lines provide convenient access to University Circle institutions.
I think the Asian populations for Beachwood and Solon are actually pretty close.
I would put the main difference between the two (outside of commute) is the straight suburban feel of Solon while Beachwood is less commercial in general, but is closer to CH/SH and to a lesser extent, UC, where there are more independent restaurants, shops, etc.
I think the Asian populations for Beachwood and Solon are actually pretty close.
I would put the main difference between the two (outside of commute) is the straight suburban feel of Solon while Beachwood is less commercial in general, but is closer to CH/SH and to a lesser extent, UC, where there are more independent restaurants, shops, etc.
Beachwood is extremely commercial with a massive tax base. It has many office buildings and Beachwood Place mall, the must upscale mall in northeast Ohio.
Solon has some factories, which won't be found in Beachwood, to my knowledge.
The big difference IMO, apart from the dominant Jewish population in Beachwood, is that Beachwood is closer to downtown and University Circle, to Lake Erie attractions, and to Holden Arboretum and Lake Metroparks.
Beachwood's high school is much smaller.
My perception is that traffic also is less congested in Beachwood.
Beachwood's proximity to Beachwood Place and the adjacent Legacy Village, located in Lyndhurst, also may be appealing to some persons.
Beachwood is extremely commercial with a massive tax base. It has many office buildings and Beachwood Place mall, the must upscale mall in northeast Ohio.
Solon has some factories, which won't be found in Beachwood, to my knowledge.
Maybe it's semantics or maybe something else. I don't really consider office buildings along Chagrin or whatever or any of the industrial parks off Green as really commercial. I guess what I mean is retail-dominant or something to that effect? Even the major roads in and around Beachwood (Richmond, Chagrin, Green to a lesser extent) aren't jam-packed with McDonald's/Wal-Mart/Gas Stations/Etc. and the interior of those border-roads is pretty much houses.
My family and I are relocating to the Cleveland area this summer. We're looking at the East side due to proximity to work. We have a kid going into kindergarten and a almost 3 year old. Hoping to live here a long time and become part of the community. Looking to compare/contrast the family life including schools in these two towns.
My current impressions:
CF: New England feel, hilly, cute downtown, not very racially diverse (which we don't really like), very good schools.
Solon: Suburban feel, flat, lots of shops but no walkable downtown, extremely diverse (which we really like), excellent schools.
Would also consider Beachwood, Pepper Pike, etc.
Any help is greatly appreciated. I'm sure things are more complicated than the general impression we got over a 4 day visit. We're excited about coming to Cleveland whichever town we ultimately choose.
Thanks!
Welcome to the area. Moved here several years ago and faced similar issues/questions as you did. This post may be lengthy and boring to most. But if I were to be transported back in time 5 yrs ago, I would thank someone who had this type of insight made known to me. Again, these are my insights gleaned from the experiences and information of living here. Other people may have differing insights from similar experiences, so pls take mine with a big grain of salt.
At that time, one of our most important criterion was to live east of I-271 primarily because of the good-to-great school districts. We eventually ended up in Chagrin Falls [actually South Russell, but that's another story]. Looking back at it, it was the right choice, BUT, I would not have been disappointed had we ended up in Solon, Orange, Aurora, Kenston, West G, or Twinsburg school districts.
Solon and CF might be "ranked" way up there, but what's important to me is how the top 10%-25% of kids in these school districts end up. There will always be laggards, outliers, and poor perofrmers in any school - that is a given. but of the school districts that I mentioned, their top 10%-25% are comparable, so I lump these 6 school districts in the same tier.
Some other ramblings before I get to the meat of the discussion:
Hudson school district [just south of Twinsburg] is ranked among the highest in the state, and I consider in the top tier as the 6 school districts that I mentioned.
Gates Mills - arguably the 2nd wealthiest community east of I-271 - falls under the Mayfield CSD, which we consider a tier below our standards. As a result, the vast majority of Gates Mills resident send their kids to private schools, of which there are a handful in Gates Mills alone.
Mayfield CSD's student body diversity is comparable to Solon's - in terms of numbers. And this is where numbers lie.
Dig a little deeper and you'll realize that the simple difference and brutal truth is that the majority of Solon CSD's non-white population have high-achieving Indian and East Asian parents, many with post-grad degrees - M.D., M.B.A., you name it. As in Silicon Valley - where I moved from - there is that clustering effect where successful Indian and East Asian families tend to cluster in neighborhoods where they feel comfortable amongst their peers.
An invaluable resource in working with your realtor. And in figuring out how racially diverse your kids' cohort might be in a few years.
So now - Solon vs. CF
Watch/rent "the Kings of Summer" and fall in love with Chagrin Falls.
Chargrin Falls Exempted Village SD draw from CF village and township, Bentleyville, a sliver of Moreland Hills along Chagrin River Rd., and South Russell, which actually lies in Geauga county. CF should really be called South Russell High, coz even though everyone has the same zip code, the vast majority of kids come from South Russell. CF Village and Township and Bentleyville have older residents whose kids have graduated eons ago. I really don't know why CF doesn't have a more racially-diverse community - it's just the way it is. A trustee told me that eons ago the black community in the triangle formed from Chagrin RD and Franklin St was excluded from CFEVSD and zoned for Kenston SD, even though that community is literally a stone's throw away from the HS. Scuttlebutt or historical fact FWIW.
Solon has a historically black neighborhood - Glenwillow. With the recent influx of Asian immigrants, Solon has become even more diverse.
That's the extent of my discussion into the neighborhoods' racial diversity.
As an aside, Twinsburg SD has a student body as diverse as Solon and they have this outstanding "Circle of Caring" thing where 2nd- and 3rd-grade kids from different classrooms are brought together for lunch and are taught at an early age that diversity is welcome and great for the community. Twinsburg playgrounds have a "I'm lonely" bench and kids are encouraged to make friends with the lonely kid/s as their good deed for the day. Find out if other school districts have similar programs. I find these teaching opportunities fascinating and welcome to stamp out school bullying.
As to family life, one of the important criteria we had was for the kids to have opportunities to play outdoors. And it was a great opportunity to mingle with parents of similarly-aged children. Eventually the family life aspect of CF won out. We signed up the kids to play/programs at South Chagrin Metropark, majority of which is in Bentleyville, but it borders Solon too. The playgrounds we went to were a great opportunity to mingle with families and parents of similarly-aged children. The kids had a great time going to the CF library, River Park, and the Popcorn Shop and Jeni's [before the recall]. Ironically, the playgrounds that the kids loved the most were in Bainbridge/Kenston and in Aurora. So we've made friends with parents of kids who go to Kenston and in Aurora, and these families loved where they were in Bainbridge and in Aurora.
Had we lived in Solon, Bainbridge, or Aurora, we would still have gone to South Chagrin year-round, hiking in the fall and snowshoeing and sledding in the winter. We would still have gone to the Polo grounds every summer for the horse show. We would still hike Forest Ridge. We would still visit River Park every time it didn't rain. We would still scooter at the Aurora skate park. We would still play frisbee golf at Bainbridge's Centerville Mills. Wherever we lived, we would still have found the secret waterfalls in Bainbridge Centerville and Catsden and in South Chagrin and in Jackson Road.
Find out which school district would work best for you. The family life aspect, I think, would be just as great wherever you move to. It was for us. Solon or CF, wherever you end up, I think you'll like it. Moving to OH was a great move for us because the kids are happy with their school and with their community.
Welcome to the area. Moved here several years ago and faced similar issues/questions as you did. This post may be lengthy and boring to most. But if I were to be transported back in time 5 yrs ago, I would thank someone who had this type of insight made known to me. Again, these are my insights gleaned from the experiences and information of living here. Other people may have differing insights from similar experiences, so pls take mine with a big grain of salt.
At that time, one of our most important criterion was to live east of I-271 primarily because of the good-to-great school districts. We eventually ended up in Chagrin Falls [actually South Russell, but that's another story]. Looking back at it, it was the right choice, BUT, I would not have been disappointed had we ended up in Solon, Orange, Aurora, Kenston, West G, or Twinsburg school districts.
Solon and CF might be "ranked" way up there, but what's important to me is how the top 10%-25% of kids in these school districts end up. There will always be laggards, outliers, and poor perofrmers in any school - that is a given. but of the school districts that I mentioned, their top 10%-25% are comparable, so I lump these 6 school districts in the same tier.
Some other ramblings before I get to the meat of the discussion:
Hudson school district [just south of Twinsburg] is ranked among the highest in the state, and I consider in the top tier as the 6 school districts that I mentioned.
Gates Mills - arguably the 2nd wealthiest community east of I-271 - falls under the Mayfield CSD, which we consider a tier below our standards. As a result, the vast majority of Gates Mills resident send their kids to private schools, of which there are a handful in Gates Mills alone.
Mayfield CSD's student body diversity is comparable to Solon's - in terms of numbers. And this is where numbers lie.
Dig a little deeper and you'll realize that the simple difference and brutal truth is that the majority of Solon CSD's non-white population have high-achieving Indian and East Asian parents, many with post-grad degrees - M.D., M.B.A., you name it. As in Silicon Valley - where I moved from - there is that clustering effect where successful Indian and East Asian families tend to cluster in neighborhoods where they feel comfortable amongst their peers.
An invaluable resource in working with your realtor. And in figuring out how racially diverse your kids' cohort might be in a few years.
So now - Solon vs. CF
Watch/rent "the Kings of Summer" and fall in love with Chagrin Falls.
Chargrin Falls Exempted Village SD draw from CF village and township, Bentleyville, a sliver of Moreland Hills along Chagrin River Rd., and South Russell, which actually lies in Geauga county. CF should really be called South Russell High, coz even though everyone has the same zip code, the vast majority of kids come from South Russell. CF Village and Township and Bentleyville have older residents whose kids have graduated eons ago. I really don't know why CF doesn't have a more racially-diverse community - it's just the way it is. A trustee told me that eons ago the black community in the triangle formed from Chagrin RD and Franklin St was excluded from CFEVSD and zoned for Kenston SD, even though that community is literally a stone's throw away from the HS. Scuttlebutt or historical fact FWIW.
Solon has a historically black neighborhood - Glenwillow. With the recent influx of Asian immigrants, Solon has become even more diverse.
That's the extent of my discussion into the neighborhoods' racial diversity.
As an aside, Twinsburg SD has a student body as diverse as Solon and they have this outstanding "Circle of Caring" thing where 2nd- and 3rd-grade kids from different classrooms are brought together for lunch and are taught at an early age that diversity is welcome and great for the community. Twinsburg playgrounds have a "I'm lonely" bench and kids are encouraged to make friends with the lonely kid/s as their good deed for the day. Find out if other school districts have similar programs. I find these teaching opportunities fascinating and welcome to stamp out school bullying.
As to family life, one of the important criteria we had was for the kids to have opportunities to play outdoors. And it was a great opportunity to mingle with parents of similarly-aged children. Eventually the family life aspect of CF won out. We signed up the kids to play/programs at South Chagrin Metropark, majority of which is in Bentleyville, but it borders Solon too. The playgrounds we went to were a great opportunity to mingle with families and parents of similarly-aged children. The kids had a great time going to the CF library, River Park, and the Popcorn Shop and Jeni's [before the recall]. Ironically, the playgrounds that the kids loved the most were in Bainbridge/Kenston and in Aurora. So we've made friends with parents of kids who go to Kenston and in Aurora, and these families loved where they were in Bainbridge and in Aurora.
Had we lived in Solon, Bainbridge, or Aurora, we would still have gone to South Chagrin year-round, hiking in the fall and snowshoeing and sledding in the winter. We would still have gone to the Polo grounds every summer for the horse show. We would still hike Forest Ridge. We would still visit River Park every time it didn't rain. We would still scooter at the Aurora skate park. We would still play frisbee golf at Bainbridge's Centerville Mills. Wherever we lived, we would still have found the secret waterfalls in Bainbridge Centerville and Catsden and in South Chagrin and in Jackson Road.
Find out which school district would work best for you. The family life aspect, I think, would be just as great wherever you move to. It was for us. Solon or CF, wherever you end up, I think you'll like it. Moving to OH was a great move for us because the kids are happy with their school and with their community.
Great post!! Thank you! We moved from the Bay Area as well to Rocky River for my husband's commute to Strongsville. I've been eyeing Chagrin Falls and Kenston for topography. I love living by the lake, but would welcome the change to living with acreage. The commute is the clincher, however, as well as uprooting the kiddos.
Welcome to the area. Moved here several years ago and faced similar issues/questions as you did. This post may be lengthy and boring to most. But if I were to be transported back in time 5 yrs ago, I would thank someone who had this type of insight made known to me. Again, these are my insights gleaned from the experiences and information of living here. Other people may have differing insights from similar experiences, so pls take mine with a big grain of salt.
At that time, one of our most important criterion was to live east of I-271 primarily because of the good-to-great school districts. We eventually ended up in Chagrin Falls [actually South Russell, but that's another story]. Looking back at it, it was the right choice, BUT, I would not have been disappointed had we ended up in Solon, Orange, Aurora, Kenston, West G, or Twinsburg school districts.
Solon and CF might be "ranked" way up there, but what's important to me is how the top 10%-25% of kids in these school districts end up. There will always be laggards, outliers, and poor perofrmers in any school - that is a given. but of the school districts that I mentioned, their top 10%-25% are comparable, so I lump these 6 school districts in the same tier.
Some other ramblings before I get to the meat of the discussion:
Hudson school district [just south of Twinsburg] is ranked among the highest in the state, and I consider in the top tier as the 6 school districts that I mentioned.
Gates Mills - arguably the 2nd wealthiest community east of I-271 - falls under the Mayfield CSD, which we consider a tier below our standards. As a result, the vast majority of Gates Mills resident send their kids to private schools, of which there are a handful in Gates Mills alone.
Mayfield CSD's student body diversity is comparable to Solon's - in terms of numbers. And this is where numbers lie.
Dig a little deeper and you'll realize that the simple difference and brutal truth is that the majority of Solon CSD's non-white population have high-achieving Indian and East Asian parents, many with post-grad degrees - M.D., M.B.A., you name it. As in Silicon Valley - where I moved from - there is that clustering effect where successful Indian and East Asian families tend to cluster in neighborhoods where they feel comfortable amongst their peers.
An invaluable resource in working with your realtor. And in figuring out how racially diverse your kids' cohort might be in a few years.
So now - Solon vs. CF
Watch/rent "the Kings of Summer" and fall in love with Chagrin Falls.
Chargrin Falls Exempted Village SD draw from CF village and township, Bentleyville, a sliver of Moreland Hills along Chagrin River Rd., and South Russell, which actually lies in Geauga county. CF should really be called South Russell High, coz even though everyone has the same zip code, the vast majority of kids come from South Russell. CF Village and Township and Bentleyville have older residents whose kids have graduated eons ago. I really don't know why CF doesn't have a more racially-diverse community - it's just the way it is. A trustee told me that eons ago the black community in the triangle formed from Chagrin RD and Franklin St was excluded from CFEVSD and zoned for Kenston SD, even though that community is literally a stone's throw away from the HS. Scuttlebutt or historical fact FWIW.
Solon has a historically black neighborhood - Glenwillow. With the recent influx of Asian immigrants, Solon has become even more diverse.
That's the extent of my discussion into the neighborhoods' racial diversity.
As an aside, Twinsburg SD has a student body as diverse as Solon and they have this outstanding "Circle of Caring" thing where 2nd- and 3rd-grade kids from different classrooms are brought together for lunch and are taught at an early age that diversity is welcome and great for the community. Twinsburg playgrounds have a "I'm lonely" bench and kids are encouraged to make friends with the lonely kid/s as their good deed for the day. Find out if other school districts have similar programs. I find these teaching opportunities fascinating and welcome to stamp out school bullying.
As to family life, one of the important criteria we had was for the kids to have opportunities to play outdoors. And it was a great opportunity to mingle with parents of similarly-aged children. Eventually the family life aspect of CF won out. We signed up the kids to play/programs at South Chagrin Metropark, majority of which is in Bentleyville, but it borders Solon too. The playgrounds we went to were a great opportunity to mingle with families and parents of similarly-aged children. The kids had a great time going to the CF library, River Park, and the Popcorn Shop and Jeni's [before the recall]. Ironically, the playgrounds that the kids loved the most were in Bainbridge/Kenston and in Aurora. So we've made friends with parents of kids who go to Kenston and in Aurora, and these families loved where they were in Bainbridge and in Aurora.
Had we lived in Solon, Bainbridge, or Aurora, we would still have gone to South Chagrin year-round, hiking in the fall and snowshoeing and sledding in the winter. We would still have gone to the Polo grounds every summer for the horse show. We would still hike Forest Ridge. We would still visit River Park every time it didn't rain. We would still scooter at the Aurora skate park. We would still play frisbee golf at Bainbridge's Centerville Mills. Wherever we lived, we would still have found the secret waterfalls in Bainbridge Centerville and Catsden and in South Chagrin and in Jackson Road.
Find out which school district would work best for you. The family life aspect, I think, would be just as great wherever you move to. It was for us. Solon or CF, wherever you end up, I think you'll like it. Moving to OH was a great move for us because the kids are happy with their school and with their community.
Thanks for sharing your many experiences and your perspective. I'm curious how often you used other nearby amenities.
Didn't you frequent Holden Arboretum? What about Lake Metroparks Farmpark and Penitentiary Glen (with wildlife center and animal ambassadors), especially when your children were younger? Did you ever go to Lake Erie beaches? Did you ever sled at Punderson State Park with its long, lighted sled hill?
How often did you visit University Circle cultural institutions?
I would note that Mayfield H.S. had two SF, the same as Aurora, Kenston (listed under Chagrin Falls), and Beachwood, and apparently more than Twinsburg and West Geauga. I didn't see any SFs for the latter two. Shaker Heights HS had four, much below its typical haul, while Solon continues to dominate the list among public high schools, but consider the larger size of Solon HS.
Orange High School (see Pepper Pike) had six SFs, and I believe it has a somewhat diverse student body. It's certainly one of the better public high schools in Greater Cleveland. This SF haul is extremely impressive given the moderate size of the school. Note that Orange serves Hunting Valley, the most wealthy suburb in Greater Cleveland but with a small population, in addition to the very affluent communities of Pepper Pike and Moreland Hills.
I don't know where your job is, but Richfield is considered one of the best Cleveland suburbs. It's very close to Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Note that its Revere HS has five SFs.
BTW, I know a doctor whose children attend Mayfield High School and he's very pleased with the school. Highland Heights also is a very well regarded suburb.
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