Another moving thread - quaint NE OH town? (Cleveland, Youngstown: attorney, house)

[SongbirdNW]

Multi posted with the general Ohio board as per someone's suggestion - hope that's not objectionable!

Hi there,

My husband and I currently live in Portland, OR but are planning to move back to NE Ohio to be closer to family. My husband is an attorney, so our location is somewhat flexible, but being within a 30 min. commute (with traffic - is that possible?) from Cleveland wouldn't hurt. We'd like to find a suburb with an active, independent town center that's easily navigable by foot or bicycle. We're looking for an older home with some space around it, and we'd really love to find someplace with a park, perhaps some hiking trails, not too far away. Community events - everything from local arts to farmer's markets - are a huge plus. We'll eventually want a good school system, and are hoping to spend somewhere around $200k.

What we really want to avoid is sprawl - suburban plazaland, if you will, where you feel as though you need a car to get anywhere.

I've been browsing some threads and have turned up Chagrin Falls and Hudson, along with a couple others. If anyone has additional recommendations, comments, or advice, I'd love to hear it!

Thanks for your help.

[OhioNative]

I would echo Chagrin Falls, but I think that 200K might be a stretch there. Willoughby has a cute little downtown with the original buildings from the late 1800's, and has easy access to some of the metro parks with hiking trails (e.g. Strawberry Lane, Squire's castle, etc.), and is more affordable than Chagrin. However, other areas of Willoughby are more "plazaland," and you would still need a car to get around.

[Clevelandgal]

chagrin falls is the only one I see that comes close to meet criteria but again $200,000 may not go far, but who knows in this market? You people from Portland hating sprawl and all (love you for it)

There are also some pretty posh areas of Cleveland Heights that are walkable and meet much of the other criteria, but CH is not nec a little self contained town as Chargin Falls. Shaker Heights is also nice,but really does not have the "town center". CH has many little little walkable areas, and the North Union Farmers market that sets up on close by Shaker Square is great. While the community is more than 30 min Chargin Falls really seems like a good bet for what you seem to want. I think Star Bucks is the only chain in town-and it may have closed down

[SongbirdNW]

Thanks for the advice, both of you. I know, Clevelandgal, we're such treehuggers out here!

Do either of you know approximately how long the commute would be from Cleveland Heights to downtown, and from Chagrin Falls to downtown, in rushhour?

[Clevelandgal]

Depending on where in CH, 15-20. To get you little "town" feel in CH, the Cedar Fairmont district comes to mind (not sure if this will post): The City of Cleveland Heights

There are other little districts, but none quite as compact and with the variety of busniess-grocery, bakery,wine store, gelato, cafes etc. In my opinion this is the better and more charming part of the heights, more insulated to struggles than some of the other areas of the heights. Plus it is closest to downtown. Despite its strong sense of community, CH is still very much in tune with Cleveland and residents enjoy city amenities more than they may in Chargin Falls-which is more self contained. I am unsure of the commute time from Chagrin to downtown . I do not think 30 min would be possible. My guess is about 45, weather permitting.I think people go to 271 to 480 to 176 to get into town. As much as I am a city person, it is hard to not appreciate the charm of Chagrin Falls. If someone told me tomorrow I HAD to leave the city and live that far out, it would take 2 seconds to pick Chagrin Falls-mostly b/c it is walkable place with nice old housing.Lots of great parks around there too.

[Steve36]

The problem you may encounter with Cleveland Heights is that you said you eventually want a good school system. Check out the Cleveland Heights/University Heights school system and the nearby private schools to make sure you are comfortable with that aspect of life in Cleveland Heights. CH/UH is not the worst school system around but it seems like it would be a big drop from either Chagrin Falls or Hudson.

I think if you are willing to settle for a house that isn't great and maybe even needs a little work and put up with a longer than 30 minute commute to downtown then Chagrin Falls would be the place. If your husband doesn't want to deal with the drive everyday he could think about driving to the rapid station at Green and Shaker Blvd in Shaker Heights (probably around 10 miles which might take 20 minutes from the middle of Chagrin Falls weather permitting) then riding the rapid Greenline to downtown (about another 30 minutes and maybe 10 minutes waiting on the train). He might even be able to get a little work done on the train and he wouldn't have to worry about parking downtown or driving 50 miles round trip every day. Of course this would only make sense if he works within easy walking distance of Tower City ;^)

[WeSoHood]

Have you even considering living on the west side of Cleveland. It's such a shame that East siders on this forum practically have a monopoly and other give advice around a certain constrained area.

[Steve36]

Originally Posted by WeSoHood

Have you even considering living on the west side of Cleveland. It's such a shame that East siders on this forum practically have a monopoly and other give advice around a certain constrained area.

How about suggesting some places on the west side then? The west side could provide a shorter commute downtown but which towns would best fit the rest of the criteria? I've lived on the West side (Rocky River) and east side (Shaker Heights) and when some one asks for a quaint town in NE Ohio close to Cleveland, Chagrin Falls is the first to come to mind. Rocky River/NW Lakewood fit a lot of the criteria if the poster doesn't mind a highish population density but that area seems too urban to be qualified as "quaint" in my mind. However, I'm sure others have a different idea of what the word quaint means.
So which quaint towns on the west side offer a 30 minute commute to downtown; an active independent town center that's easily navigable by foot or bicycle; older homes with some space around them for around $200,000; parks and hiking trails not too far away; community events and are not suburban plazaland where you feel as though you need a car to get anywhere? I'm sure there are some but I don't know which would be best to suggest.

[Clevelandgal]

I don't live on the eastside. In fact I prefer Downtown, and the near west side of the city. However I am able to put aside my own values to make a recommendation. I do not think any westside areas within 30-45 minutes of downtown fit what this poster has expressed (a self contained town,a town center). I think Lakewood is great and worth checking out, but like CH, it is very connected to the mothership(sweet cleveland). Just my impression, but many of the smaller westside towns are very sprawly and centered around life in the sub division or strip mall/Walmart and childrens sports. You really cannot walk anywhere but to your car. This may work for many people, but not sure this fits with what the poster wants.

[CortlandGirl79]

I believe the OP said she is also moving home to be closer to family. She said she is originally from Poland (Youngstown area), so i'm assuming her family is still there. If her family does still live in Mahoning Co. the east side would be a lot closer to home.