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I'll be living in a temp apt. in that neighborhood so will definitely try the pizza...I love thin crust.
Yeah...I think this is going to be rough on me. Are you in Boston now? Do you like it?
I am indeed in Boston now, have been for over 4 years. Do I like it? Short answer: it's fine but not great.
Boston is good for students and rich people from New England. Not kind to outsiders. Next to impossible to have a social life if you don't have connections from high school or college days or family. I have none of that. Incredibly expensive. Hard to get around anywhere. You need to be willing to part with at least $1500 per month to live on your own in a neighborhood that isn't complete trash and feel somewhat like an adult human being. Even then, it won't be a very nice place.
I would honestly vastly prefer Cleveland. Now I'm a CLE native so maybe I'm biased. But so much about Boston is just cold, unfriendly, finicky, and cumbersome. I have a good enough job here that I'm one year in on currently though and would like to stick around for a bit to get the experience. Also have my gf here who will need to be in Boston at least through next year. Save for those two things, I would not care about living here. I'd honestly rather move to New Hampshire somewhere, but have no desire to drive an hour to the city or find a new job up there because my job here holds way more sway with potential future employers than anywhere else in the region for someone in my line of work.
I'll be living in a temp apt. in that neighborhood so will definitely try the pizza...I love thin crust.
Yeah...I think this is going to be rough on me. Are you in Boston now? Do you like it?
If you enjoy culture, you'll find your footings quickly living in the Cedar Fairmount neighborhood. Check out all of the lectures and films at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Check the generally free concert schedule at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Check out the Cleveland Cinematheque. Perhaps volunteer to be a "Red Coat" at PlayhouseSquare, a little society in its own right and free plays thrown in for the deal. I'm certain there are a myriad number of volunteer options in University Circle, as well.
Check out the Western Reserve Historical Society museum and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
Will you have a car??? If not, it will limit your smaller community options. While Lake County has good mass transit, its Cuyahoga County options generally are focused on downtown and Cleveland State. There are some connections to the Cleveland Clinic, which would put you in University Circle. Of course, from downtown, you could take the Healthline bus rapid or rail rapid to University Circle.
There is some reasonable housing in Painesville, perhaps the Johnson Apartments on Painesville's excellent Public Square, a transit friendly location. It's a short walk from Morley Library and events at Lake Erie College, and there are many events in the Public Square. There are several apartment buildings nearby on Mentor Ave., but I don't know their names. See posts 6, 22, etc. in this thread.
BTW, in Ohio, an Ohio resident is entitled to a free library card at any public Ohio library. E.g., Lake County residents can get Cleveland Public Library cards.
Painesville is a short distance from Fairport Harbor. Perhaps check Google Transit for options to the very good Lake Metroparks Fairport Harbor Lakefront Park with an excellent beach. If you bike, there would be many options in Painesville, including a nature preserve on Grand River just over the East Main St. Bridge and Beaty Landing on East Walnut St. There's good fishing options in the area.
According to Google Transit, it takes only 20 minutes using Laketran, including walking to the Painesville transit center, to get to Fairport Harbor Beach from the Johnson apartments.
Surprising. You could use Laketran dial-a-ride to get to and from the nearby and superb Holden Arboretum, now affiliated with the Cleveland Botanical Garden.
Obviously, if you lived in Fairport, which has a very good senior center, you could easily reach Painesville. Check Laketran evening and weekend service, however.
Willoughby is much closer to Cleveland, but likely more expensive.
The West Park neighborhood in Cleveland definitely should be considered, but check out noise from the nearby Cleveland Hopkins Airport. It has a Red Line rail station and supporting bus lines.
Cleveland's great natural parks are beautiful right now with snow on the trees and ground and likely some ice formations.
Perhaps you could find something in the charming Fairport Harbor, given your interest in being near Lake Erie. I'm not certain of mass transit options there, but Lake County offers point-to-point van service.
Hang in there, and enjoy the weeks of exploration that now are ahead. The weather will improve compared to your first days here:
How was the West Side Market? Were many booths closed at the time of your visit? The WSM recently launched Sunday hours, and I've heard that many vendors are compensating by closing on Monday. The WSM definitely is a much different place on Saturday, when it's very crowded. I haven't yet visited on Sunday.
I am indeed in Boston now, have been for over 4 years. Do I like it? Short answer: it's fine but not great.
Boston is good for students and rich people from New England. Not kind to outsiders. Next to impossible to have a social life if you don't have connections from high school or college days or family. I have none of that. Incredibly expensive. Hard to get around anywhere. You need to be willing to part with at least $1500 per month to live on your own in a neighborhood that isn't complete trash and feel somewhat like an adult human being. Even then, it won't be a very nice place.
I would honestly vastly prefer Cleveland. Now I'm a CLE native so maybe I'm biased. But so much about Boston is just cold, unfriendly, finicky, and cumbersome. I have a good enough job here that I'm one year in on currently though and would like to stick around for a bit to get the experience. Also have my gf here who will need to be in Boston at least through next year. Save for those two things, I would not care about living here. I'd honestly rather move to New Hampshire somewhere, but have no desire to drive an hour to the city or find a new job up there because my job here holds way more sway with potential future employers than anywhere else in the region for someone in my line of work.
I'm from MA (grew up in Salem) and lived in Boston in the 80s...had some very lonely times but also some good times. But I'm sure it's even harder now. I had an awful apartment near Kenmore Square for only about $300/mo. But it does seem like Boston is all about where you went to school...etc. It's very established and hard to break into if you're not part of all that I guess. Right now Cleveland feels so alien and it's depressing me and I can't see staying but hope I feel better after a little more time. I have to say the people are nice and friendly (much more so than in Seattle and maybe Boston) and I haven't seen one hipster yet (a relief coming from Seattle where the town is full of them). Well...maybe you'll end up back here. But at least you have a gf and that must make it feel like home there.
I am planning a move to Cleveland (imminent now) from Seattle and whenever I tell someone they usually look at me blankly, pause and say "Why?" as though it is a crazy idea. One person said it was an eccentric choice which I thought was a good thing. What I'd like now is to hear from people who have moved here in the past couple of years or so, where they moved from and how they like Cleveland or Ohio in general and/or how it's turned out for them.
Job-related move here 6 yrs ago from the Bay Area, just like citymama. When friends learned where I was headed to, I received the same looks and reactions that you did. "WHY?" "WTF" It was the pity in their eyes that was so troubling to me. The only thing I knew then about Cleveland were insights from people who've never lived there - it's cold; it peaked a century ago and that it is now an industrial wasteland just like in Mad Max.
I had no great expectations of Cleveland; great expectations of a new move will set me up for disappointment. Primary objective was to settle into a good school district and the ancillary benefits that are appendaged to it: safe/friendly neighborhood/neighbors, good city/municipal services, all within budget. Commute is/was somewhat a factor for this Bay Area refugee, thus if we can find a school district that is traversed by US 422/I-271, then it would dovetail perfectly. We found an astonishing number of good school districts that fir the profile, found a home in the Chagrin Falls school district. We didn't know it then, but now we felt like we hit the lottery with the schools and the neighborhood we live in.
We lucked out with the school district. We lucked out with the neighborhood/neighbors. What really impressed me my first week here was how genuinely friendly and disarmingly nice people were. People would actually say hi and greet you like they meant it, not like as if they had to. It was almost a 180 from Palo Alto, where we moved from. Palo Alto is such a highly desirable community to live in, very competitive real estate environment with so much money from the new millionaires at Google and Facebook, so many young families have moved in that I couldn't enroll the kids in the school district.
The word that I'm glad I left in California - "oversubscribed". While looking for homes here, I would bring up the issue about schools and children's programs and services being oversubscribed where I'm coming from, realtors and school administrators had no idea what I was talking about. They looked at me like I was coming from Mars, and to my relief, that was actually a good thing
Cold and snow were not hindrances to me, I actually love the snow. It's the tropical heat I can not stand, and summers in Cleveland can have those tropical muggy hot and humid spells and the mosquitoes that come with it.
Moving anywhere can be tough without adequate planning and emotional support, hope you have enough of both. Best wishes to your move and hope it turns out well.
As WR was mentioning cultural institutions, let's not forget some others. Remember, the Cleveland area is home to two of the top 15 or so music schools in the world: the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Both have absolutely world-class faculty and world-class students. Apollo's Fire is one of the nation's top baroque orchestras. And of course, the Cleveland Orchestra, considered by many to be the finest on the planet. I would move there in a second if I was good enough at my job to make a living there.
If you enjoy culture, you'll find your footings quickly living in the Cedar Fairmount neighborhood. Check out all of the lectures and films at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Check the generally free concert schedule at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Check out the Cleveland Cinematheque. Perhaps volunteer to be a "Red Coat" at PlayhouseSquare, a little society in its own right and free plays thrown in for the deal. I'm certain there are a myriad number of volunteer options in University Circle, as well.
Check out the Western Reserve Historical Society museum and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
Will you have a car??? If not, it will limit your smaller community options. While Lake County has good mass transit, its Cuyahoga County options generally are focused on downtown and Cleveland State. There are some connections to the Cleveland Clinic, which would put you in University Circle. Of course, from downtown, you could take the Healthline bus rapid or rail rapid to University Circle.
There is some reasonable housing in Painesville, perhaps the Johnson Apartments on Painesville's excellent Public Square, a transit friendly location. It's a short walk from Morley Library and events at Lake Erie College, and there are many events in the Public Square. There are several apartment buildings nearby on Mentor Ave., but I don't know their names. See posts 6, 22, etc. in this thread.
BTW, in Ohio, an Ohio resident is entitled to a free library card at any public Ohio library. E.g., Lake County residents can get Cleveland Public Library cards.
Painesville is a short distance from Fairport Harbor. Perhaps check Google Transit for options to the very good Lake Metroparks Fairport Harbor Lakefront Park with an excellent beach. If you bike, there would be many options in Painesville, including a nature preserve on Grand River just over the East Main St. Bridge and Beaty Landing on East Walnut St. There's good fishing options in the area.
According to Google Transit, it takes only 20 minutes using Laketran, including walking to the Painesville transit center, to get to Fairport Harbor Beach from the Johnson apartments.
Surprising. You could use Laketran dial-a-ride to get to and from the nearby and superb Holden Arboretum, now affiliated with the Cleveland Botanical Garden.
Obviously, if you lived in Fairport, which has a very good senior center, you could easily reach Painesville. Check Laketran evening and weekend service, however.
Willoughby is much closer to Cleveland, but likely more expensive.
The West Park neighborhood in Cleveland definitely should be considered, but check out noise from the nearby Cleveland Hopkins Airport. It has a Red Line rail station and supporting bus lines.
Cleveland's great natural parks are beautiful right now with snow on the trees and ground and likely some ice formations.
Perhaps you could find something in the charming Fairport Harbor, given your interest in being near Lake Erie. I'm not certain of mass transit options there, but Lake County offers point-to-point van service.
Hang in there, and enjoy the weeks of exploration that now are ahead. The weather will improve compared to your first days here:
How was the West Side Market? Were many booths closed at the time of your visit? The WSM recently launched Sunday hours, and I've heard that many vendors are compensating by closing on Monday. The WSM definitely is a much different place on Saturday, when it's very crowded. I haven't yet visited on Sunday.
I went to the WSM today (Mon) and ate at the Market Cafe (delicious rosemary toast) after being directed to it by someone nearby. I was expecting food stalls with common seating area to eat but didn't really see that. I saw lots of produce stalls and then later saw some other counters selling meats and baked good. It was kind of quiet and I will go back at some point. I didn't get to walk around the neighborhood too much because of all the snow.
Given that you are so familiar with this area perhaps you could direct me to an area, town, or neighborhood that is more small town-like and pretty. I am going to check out Chagrin Falls and someone else recommended Rocky River...any others spring to mind. I don't mind being up to 25 miles away from city. Oh...and I may end up buying a car...it feels so big and spread out here.
Job-related move here 6 yrs ago from the Bay Area, just like citymama. When friends learned where I was headed to, I received the same looks and reactions that you did. "WHY?" "WTF" It was the pity in their eyes that was so troubling to me. The only thing I knew then about Cleveland were insights from people who've never lived there - it's cold; it peaked a century ago and that it is now an industrial wasteland just like in Mad Max.
I had no great expectations of Cleveland; great expectations of a new move will set me up for disappointment. Primary objective was to settle into a good school district and the ancillary benefits that are appendaged to it: safe/friendly neighborhood/neighbors, good city/municipal services, all within budget. Commute is/was somewhat a factor for this Bay Area refugee, thus if we can find a school district that is traversed by US 422/I-271, then it would dovetail perfectly. We found an astonishing number of good school districts that fir the profile, found a home in the Chagrin Falls school district. We didn't know it then, but now we felt like we hit the lottery with the schools and the neighborhood we live in.
We lucked out with the school district. We lucked out with the neighborhood/neighbors. What really impressed me my first week here was how genuinely friendly and disarmingly nice people were. People would actually say hi and greet you like they meant it, not like as if they had to. It was almost a 180 from Palo Alto, where we moved from. Palo Alto is such a highly desirable community to live in, very competitive real estate environment with so much money from the new millionaires at Google and Facebook, so many young families have moved in that I couldn't enroll the kids in the school district.
The word that I'm glad I left in California - "oversubscribed". While looking for homes here, I would bring up the issue about schools and children's programs and services being oversubscribed where I'm coming from, realtors and school administrators had no idea what I was talking about. They looked at me like I was coming from Mars, and to my relief, that was actually a good thing
Cold and snow were not hindrances to me, I actually love the snow. It's the tropical heat I can not stand, and summers in Cleveland can have those tropical muggy hot and humid spells and the mosquitoes that come with it.
Moving anywhere can be tough without adequate planning and emotional support, hope you have enough of both. Best wishes to your move and hope it turns out well.
Interesting...so you live in Chagrin Falls? I want to see what that's like...is it mostly families though? I am a 60 y.o. single woman but want to be in a smallish town or place that feels like one rather than an urban neighborhood (I think). I have been impressed so far with the people here...very friendly and nice (so different from Seattle where I've been). People do say hi for no reason...in Seattle they avoid saying most anything if they don't know you. I wanted to see what the midwest was like and hoping for unpretentiousness etc. and like you, didn't have real expectations about Cleveland..figured I'd just try it and see. I think it's just hard for me coming here alone. Glad it's worked out for you! I do think it's funny when the smug coasters can't imagine why someone would come here.
I was born and raised in Chicago and lived there until I was 30. Then I moved to Portland OR and lived there for nearly 38 years. Two and a half years ago I moved to Cleveland and I am very happy.
As far back as seven years ago I knew I had to get out of Portland. I researched cities all over the country. I choose Cleveland because it had everything I wanted. WR mentioned all the good stuff, I don't have anything to add to it. But I will tell you that after living in the snobby PNW, Cleveland is like a breath of fresh air. People talk to one another, they don't look at you as if you don't belong because you're not young, hipster or yuppie.
I first lived in Cleveland Heights in the Cedar Fairmount area. If was lovely but I found it was more of either a college area with young students or family oriented neither of which I am since at the time I was 68 years old. Last June I moved to Lakewood, clear across town. It's great. I live in a senior citizens complex just about a mile from Lakewood Park and Lake Erie. I'm right off downtown which has great little ma and pa shops as well as some larger ones.
People couldn't be more friendly or helpful. Today my dental hygienist told me she got stuck in the parking lot of her office building. Two strong young men came over right away and pushed her out of the snow patch her car was in. That's just an example of how people are here.
I can walk to just about everything I need which is great because I don't drive. There's a senior center in my building that offers a lot to do. I really feel I am home. I am used to city living and Lakewood is a small city that borders Cleveland so there are all the Cleveland amenities available.
Oh, and a word about those idiots who thought you were crazy for moving from Seattle. I had the same thing from my Portland friends. So full of themselves. The funny thing is besides telling me Cleveland was a "nothing" place to live, the horror anyone would want to leave PNW Paradise, they kept harping on how bad the weather was here and how great it is there. Yet, since I moved to the Cleveland area they have had hotter summers and stormier winters then we have had here.
If you are fed up with the PNW, Cleveland is a good place to be.
I was born and raised in Chicago and lived there until I was 30. Then I moved to Portland OR and lived there for nearly 38 years. Two and a half years ago I moved to Cleveland and I am very happy.
As far back as seven years ago I knew I had to get out of Portland. I researched cities all over the country. I choose Cleveland because it had everything I wanted. WR mentioned all the good stuff, I don't have anything to add to it. But I will tell you that after living in the snobby PNW, Cleveland is like a breath of fresh air. People talk to one another, they don't look at you as if you don't belong because you're not young, hipster or yuppie.
I first lived in Cleveland Heights in the Cedar Fairmount area. If was lovely but I found it was more of either a college area with young students or family oriented neither of which I am since at the time I was 68 years old. Last June I moved to Lakewood, clear across town. It's great. I live in a senior citizens complex just about a mile from Lakewood Park and Lake Erie. I'm right off downtown which has great little ma and pa shops as well as some larger ones.
People couldn't be more friendly or helpful. Today my dental hygienist told me she got stuck in the parking lot of her office building. Two strong young men came over right away and pushed her out of the snow patch her car was in. That's just an example of how people are here.
I can walk to just about everything I need which is great because I don't drive. There's a senior center in my building that offers a lot to do. I really feel I am home. I am used to city living and Lakewood is a small city that borders Cleveland so there are all the Cleveland amenities available.
Oh, and a word about those idiots who thought you were crazy for moving from Seattle. I had the same thing from my Portland friends. So full of themselves. The funny thing is besides telling me Cleveland was a "nothing" place to live, the horror anyone would want to leave PNW Paradise, they kept harping on how bad the weather was here and how great it is there. Yet, since I moved to the Cleveland area they have had hotter summers and stormier winters then we have had here.
If you are fed up with the PNW, Cleveland is a good place to be.
Was it difficult at first? If so, how did you deal with it? Your life sounds great now and I think I am just hating this feeling unsettled and not knowing where anything is etc. etc. I hope I can prove all those snobby Seattle-ites wrong - I think they are the crazy ones for living there the way it is now. I sure hope I can relax and build a life here. But the past couple of days here have been rough.
Interesting...so you live in Chagrin Falls? I want to see what that's like...is it mostly families though? I am a 60 y.o. single woman but want to be in a smallish town or place that feels like one rather than an urban neighborhood (I think). I have been impressed so far with the people here...very friendly and nice (so different from Seattle where I've been). People do say hi for no reason...in Seattle they avoid saying most anything if they don't know you. I wanted to see what the midwest was like and hoping for unpretentiousness etc. and like you, didn't have real expectations about Cleveland..figured I'd just try it and see. I think it's just hard for me coming here alone. Glad it's worked out for you! I do think it's funny when the smug coasters can't imagine why someone would come here.
Chagrin Falls is relatively expensive and I know little about its rental housing. It is a very charming community, however. Check out the South Chagrin Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks if that would be an amenity of interest.
However, it sounds as if Lakewood would be a very good fit for you, except perhaps it is one of the most densely populated cities in the Midwest. There are neighborhoods with duplexes for rent on nice residential boulevards despite the city's many high-rise residential buildings.
Rocky River would be a good choice, but it also, like Chagrin Falls, likely has little in the way of relatively affordable housing, but Cleveland housing is much more affordable than in Seattle.
Perhaps Minervah can provide specifics for you to consider in a private message. She also could give you tips about the Cedar Fairmount neighborhood.
In my earlier post, I was trying to give you some options to consider that might be among the more affordable in Greater Cleveland but still check off many of your criteria.
Check out civic groups in any community that might interest you. E.g., I know that there is a Painesville Women's Chorus that accept all those interested in singing with no auditions. Similar groups are fairly common in Ohio.
Strongly consider contacting the City Hall of any city that interests you. Most have persons who will answer questions of prospective residents.
Last edited by WRnative; 01-30-2017 at 09:39 PM..
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