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SB has many good points and according to many sites, it's a top location to live in the US.
However, I no longer head to the beach like I did when I was younger. Serious drought, even though we just had rain, you still put a bucket in your shower and turn water off unless rinsing. Many homes are starting to run washer/shower water to a large tank in the backyard and then pump the water in order to water landscaping. A fixer home is 800K. More more humid days and really hot days each year. Nearest professional sports team about 2 hrs. Nearest skiing about 3.5 hrs. Cost of living is very high in comparison from gas to utilities (our electric bill was $140 last month and we rarely run our furnace). Cost of gym membership is $225 per month, while in Lakewood it's probably about $350 for an annual membership.
You can keep yourself very busy around CLE and not go bankrupt doing so.
I grew up in Lakewood. I haven't paid close attention to the rental market there recently, but I watch the sales market casually. Based on sales prices of condos, I am sure a small apartment is available in your price range. Of course, location and condition of building will determine a lot about the size of the apartment for the price.
As for Henderson, parts of it are spectacularly beautiful. It's also one of the safest cities in the U.S. I lived there briefly and loved it. But I would not consider it a public transit friendly city. You really need a car to live there. Also, while parks and walking paths are abundant in Henderson, walking to the library or shopping is generally not so easy (unless you live near The District where you can do your shopping). Nicer places in Henderson are also likely to be a little more expensive than what you would find in Lakewood. In the end, however, comparing Henderson and Lakewood is like considering apples and.....elephants. Nothing alike except for both having very nice places to live.
Apples and elephants! I like that. I think it shows how confused I've been about moving - I latched on to Cleveland for some reason but when I hear about another place I wonder about that too. I'm pretty sure it will be Cleveland and if I don't like it there I will look for another place. Are you in Nevada?
Quote:
Originally Posted by teacherdad
SB has many good points and according to many sites, it's a top location to live in the US.
However, I no longer head to the beach like I did when I was younger. Serious drought, even though we just had rain, you still put a bucket in your shower and turn water off unless rinsing. Many homes are starting to run washer/shower water to a large tank in the backyard and then pump the water in order to water landscaping. A fixer home is 800K. More more humid days and really hot days each year. Nearest professional sports team about 2 hrs. Nearest skiing about 3.5 hrs. Cost of living is very high in comparison from gas to utilities (our electric bill was $140 last month and we rarely run our furnace). Cost of gym membership is $225 per month, while in Lakewood it's probably about $350 for an annual membership.
You can keep yourself very busy around CLE and not go bankrupt doing so.
I hear you...I think California has a lot of troubles and cost of living sky high - as are so many places. Well...thanks again for your perspective and info. I'm getting anxious about moving but know I want out of WA.
Are you retired? Working from home? Just curious how you are moving and starting up somewhere else at 60. I'm 47, but with 3 older kids (12, 17, 19), it's just a bit too soon. I can rent this house here for about 4k per month and then at age 55, start collecting my retirement. If I work until 62, retirement almost doubles, but that is A LOT of missed games in CLE and who knows what can happen? My dad and his dad passed in their 50's (mostly from drinking and smoking) and I do not do either.
Are you retired? Working from home? Just curious how you are moving and starting up somewhere else at 60. I'm 47, but with 3 older kids (12, 17, 19), it's just a bit too soon. I can rent this house here for about 4k per month and then at age 55, start collecting my retirement. If I work until 62, retirement almost doubles, but that is A LOT of missed games in CLE and who knows what can happen? My dad and his dad passed in their 50's (mostly from drinking and smoking) and I do not do either.
I own my apt. outright here so monthly expenses are low and I've been able to get by on pt work. I hope to find somewhere affordable in Ohio but will need to find pt work (I also have been selling on eBay). I want to rent at first since I don't know if I want to stay and probably not smart to buy something unless I'm sure.
Sounds like you have a sense of urgency to get to CLE although your healthier lifestyle should get you a longer life than your father and g-father.
I meant to ask you what made you decide on CLE? I am originally from MA and miss New England but it's so expensive so am trying to find somewhere closer to the east but more affordable.
You might also look at the apartments near Coventry Road and Euclid Heights Blvd - in Cleveland Heights. This is a walkable neighborhood with pretty much everything you need, and has good bus transportation down to University Circle if you want access to medical care, CASE Western University, or cultural activities. I also like Lakewood. good luck
I would generally support the suggestions directing the OP to Lakewood.
That being said, what exactly is the threshold for what qualifies as an urban neighborhood?
The neighborhoods surrounding Cleveland's downtown are pretty different from the geographically equivalent ones in Seattle. For example, the type of density and urbanisation of neighborhoods like Ballard, South Lake Union, Capitol Hill, First Hill, etc. are not shared by the Cleveland neighborhoods immediately surrounding downtown. Ohio City would be more comparable to Fremont and some of the more commercial parts of Green Lake, despite being immediately next to downtown CLE.
Therefore, I would say if there is nothing too fitting in Lakewood, some of the near west neighborhoods might be fine to investigate as well.
In terms of public transit, Cleveland's isn't the best but they do admirable work for the limited resources. The state of Ohio has some of the worst public transit funding in the nation, so Cleveland suffers in line with that reality. That being said, living car-free is doable. There are some inconveniences and the biggest one I've noticed when comparing Seattle to Cleveland is that Cleveland RTA does not have anything like the Orca card. You can buy monthly passes, but there just is no card you can pre-load and use.
I would generally support the suggestions directing the OP to Lakewood.
That being said, what exactly is the threshold for what qualifies as an urban neighborhood?
The neighborhoods surrounding Cleveland's downtown are pretty different from the geographically equivalent ones in Seattle. For example, the type of density and urbanisation of neighborhoods like Ballard, South Lake Union, Capitol Hill, First Hill, etc. are not shared by the Cleveland neighborhoods immediately surrounding downtown. Ohio City would be more comparable to Fremont and some of the more commercial parts of Green Lake, despite being immediately next to downtown CLE.
Therefore, I would say if there is nothing too fitting in Lakewood, some of the near west neighborhoods might be fine to investigate as well.
In terms of public transit, Cleveland's isn't the best but they do admirable work for the limited resources. The state of Ohio has some of the worst public transit funding in the nation, so Cleveland suffers in line with that reality. That being said, living car-free is doable. There are some inconveniences and the biggest one I've noticed when comparing Seattle to Cleveland is that Cleveland RTA does not have anything like the Orca card. You can buy monthly passes, but there just is no card you can pre-load and use.
Thank you j_ws! I see you know Seattle...I live in lower Queen Anne and I'm finding that is getting too urban for me. Too much density and it's losing its appeal for other reasons. I am looking for something that approximates a small town, in feel I guess. I'd like trees and grass and a branch library to visit. I'd like to walk to grocery store, cafes etc. I was originally thinking Shaker Heights...any opinion of that? Where do you live?
An important difference to note between Seattle and Cleveland is that Cleveland is not seeing anything nearing the degree of housing demand that exists in Seattle. Furthermore, I don't really foresee that happening anytime soon. That is not a dig at Cleveland - this city is rapidly evolving, reestablishing itself, and growing in other ways - but unless a few hundred thousand people show up, Cleveland is not going to run out of housing stock and begin changing the way Lower Queen Anne or Ballard are. To put things into perspective, it's still a really big deal in Cleveland when someone proposes a five story apartment building.
Most of Cleveland's neighborhoods are comprised of wood-frame houses and duplexes with some apartment buildings mixed in. A lot of them will date to when the city started booming in the first half of the twentieth century. Therefore, you don't tend to find a lot of the postwar apartments and ranch houses that Seattle has and that are now being replaced with much higher-density structures. I would say the general architecture of Cleveland is far more interesting than Seattle's, so you can at least expect some nice woodwork wherever you end up! Furthermore, there is more of a push to preserve this architecture, so it's less likely you'll encounter a ten story condo popping up in place of a single house or three-story apartment building.
I live in Cudell which is a pretty suburban-style city neighborhood. It's located between the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood of Detroit-Shoreway and the more established, wealthier neighborhood of Edgewater, though it hasn't started seeing the development spillover. It's stable, but it's akin to a more rundown version of Lakewood. I actually really like the area, though. It's walkable and convenient. I live a few thousand feet from a train station, a small independent market, and a CVS. It's only a fifteen minute or so walk to the beach at Edgewater Park. There is bike lane access and highway access.
I previously lived in Detroit-Shoreway which is home to the Gordon Square Arts District. It's one of the hotter neighborhoods right now and also has some of the best architecture of the near west neighborhoods. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cu...!4d-81.7540902
This neighborhood gives way to Ohio City which is the last neighborhood before hitting downtown. It also has one of the best branch libraries I've seen!
Tremont is trendy, but is actually pricey (even by the standards of a larger city) so I'll skip it, but it's about the same density.
As for Shaker Heights, I think it's a beautiful area. It's notably more suburban, but it does have rail access! It's hard to beat Shaker and Cleveland Heights in terms of impressive residential architecture - just streets and streets of awesome mansions and houses.
I'm not intimately familiar with Shaker, but it does tend to lack the type of broad commercial areas and avenues that city neighborhoods have. They are getting the new Van Aken District to serve as a formal downtown, but even that's more high-end and not necessarily something that would adequately provide you with a place to buy daily necessities.
Cleveland is in a very transformative time right now, so most of the neighborhoods are seeing development to some degree (but like I said, most of it is at a scale that wouldn't even register as newsworthy in Seattle). The near west neighborhoods of Ohio City, Detroit-Shoreway, Tremont, and Edgewater are the ones most in demand, while the east side has Little Italy and University Circle. There are also some other neighborhoods that are very likely going to start becoming much more noteworthy - likely Glenville on the east side and Clark-Fulton on the west side.
One thing you might not know is that downtown Cleveland has a magnificent public library, one of the best in the U.S. So you might want to have a convenient mass transit option to downtown.
In Ohio, any Ohio resident can get a library card at any Ohio public library, so you don't have to be a resident of Cleveland to get a Cleveland Public Library card.
The problem in Shaker Hts. may be finding an apartment for $600-700/mo. Perhaps consider the adjacent Buckeye Shaker area in Cleveland which is adjacent to Shaker Hts. I'm not certain how safe this area, whether acceptable or not.
The Van Aken area of Shaker Hts. is densely populated and served by the Blue Line rail rapid, but it has a few apartments in your price range. If you walk a few blocks north of Van Aken, however, you'll be in beautiful "garden city" residential areas.
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