Cleveland Skyline! (Baltimore, Congress: 2015, violent crime, houses)

[petroglyphin]

Hi guys,

I recently had the pleasure of visiting this great city. I had my expectations set pretty low to be honest, but I was completely blown away. The food, culture, and sports scenes are incredible. I was especially impressed with their skyline. The views from Bar 32 at the Hilton where I was staying were incredible. So much impressive architecture. Why do people always talk bad about Cleveland? I am now considering moving here.

[Clevelander216]

Originally Posted by petroglyphin

Why do people always talk bad about Cleveland? I am now considering moving here.

I see it as different strokes for different folks. While there are tons of positive things about Cleveland, there are equally if not more negatives too, and that's probably why Cleveland has a bad reputation to some.

Cleveland is consistently ranked toward the top of most violent cities in America. According to Wikipedia, Cleveland is in the top ten cities with highest violent crime per capita and also property crime per capita. Also not to mention there is a high amount of blight/vacant homes/deterioration among many Cleveland neighborhoods. According to a city-wide survey, an estimated 12,000 structures are vacant. That's alot of potential for blight and crime.

Though improving, Cleveland still has the highest rate of poverty among all larger US cities, along with Detroit. Approximately 35% of Cleveland's population lives at or below the poverty level. The poverty level is only about $12k for a single person or about $24k for a household of four. That is insane!

And also, similar to Flint and many other old, American cities, our water is contaminated with lead. Also many of our old homes contain lead paint. Then there is the history of stale, stagnant, corrupt city and government officials. The condition of our streets are also very bad. Some may say our weather is pretty terrible too... just depends on who you're talking to.

I'm not trying to be a debbie downer or a "Cleveland hater", just simply pointing out facts and answering your question as to why so many people talk bad about our city. Many of these issues are common among other larger, urban cities in America such as Baltimore, Detroit, St. Louis, Chicago, etc. It is an unfortunate thing, but hopefully things can improve over time! With all that said, please judge for yourself if Cleveland is right for you.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielf.../#51c91da52931

Cleveland homicide rate tops 100 for third year in a row | fox8.com

2016 was Cleveland's deadliest year in a decade; violence rocked suburbs too | cleveland.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._by_crime_rate

Vacant houses, blighted buildings still plague Cleveland, but problem is shrinking: Taking Stock (photos, interactive map) | cleveland.com

Cleveland poverty numbers drop sharply | cleveland.com

Jimmy Dimora at center of one of biggest local corruption cases in U.S. history | cleveland.com

More than 2,200 potholes reported to city of Cleveland this year, majority designated 'high priority' | cleveland.com

[WRnative]

If interested in Cleveland, this thread may be helpful, especially post 3.

Compendium of threads & posts on Univ. Circle, Cleveland Hts., Shaker Ht., Univ. Hts., Beachwood area

The Cleveland region has great nature preserve parks and cultural institutions superior to all but a handful of cities in the U.S., as well as very affordable housing.

Winter weather may a consideration, but see post 14 in the above thread.

Crime is an issue in certain Cleveland neighborhoods, but there are wonderful suburbs, sometimes with good mass transit connections to downtown and University Circle, where crime is much less an issue.

And, yes, Cleveland does have its share of home-grown "downers," who tend to emphasize negatives instead of positive attributes of the city. Given the perspectives of these downers, it's a "miracle" that the population of downtown Cleveland is mushrooming, or that housing prices are increasingly rapidly in some gentrifying neighborhoods.

If you enjoyed the views from the Hilton, did you check out the perhaps more impressive views from the Terminal Tower observation deck?

[QCongress83216]

Originally Posted by Clevelander216

I see it as different strokes for different folks. While there are tons of positive things about Cleveland, there are equally if not more negatives too, and that's probably why Cleveland has a bad reputation to some.

Cleveland is consistently ranked toward the top of most violent cities in America. According to Wikipedia, Cleveland is in the top ten cities with highest violent crime per capita and also property crime per capita. Also not to mention there is a high amount of blight/vacant homes/deterioration among many Cleveland neighborhoods. According to a city-wide survey, an estimated 12,000 structures are vacant. That's alot of potential for blight and crime.

Though improving, Cleveland still has the highest rate of poverty among all larger US cities, along with Detroit. Approximately 35% of Cleveland's population lives at or below the poverty level. The poverty level is only about $12k for a single person or about $24k for a household of four. That is insane!

And also, similar to Flint and many other old, American cities, our water is contaminated with lead. Also many of our old homes contain lead paint. Then there is the history of stale, stagnant, corrupt city and government officials. The condition of our streets are also very bad. Some may say our weather is pretty terrible too... just depends on who you're talking to.

I'm not trying to be a debbie downer or a "Cleveland hater", just simply pointing out facts and answering your question as to why so many people talk bad about our city. Many of these issues are common among other larger, urban cities in America such as Baltimore, Detroit, St. Louis, Chicago, etc. It is an unfortunate thing, but hopefully things can improve over time! With all that said, please judge for yourself if Cleveland is right for you.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielf.../#51c91da52931

Cleveland homicide rate tops 100 for third year in a row | fox8.com

2016 was Cleveland's deadliest year in a decade; violence rocked suburbs too | cleveland.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._by_crime_rate

Vacant houses, blighted buildings still plague Cleveland, but problem is shrinking: Taking Stock (photos, interactive map) | cleveland.com

Cleveland poverty numbers drop sharply | cleveland.com

Jimmy Dimora at center of one of biggest local corruption cases in U.S. history | cleveland.com

More than 2,200 potholes reported to city of Cleveland this year, majority designated 'high priority' | cleveland.com

I agree with some of the things you said in your post, but you shouldn't cite Wikipedia because that's not a legit source. Information posted on Wikipedia is from users not scholars.

[Clevelander216]

Originally Posted by QCongress83216

I agree with some of the things you said in your post, but you shouldn't cite Wikipedia because that's not a legit source. Information posted on Wikipedia is from users not scholars.

Yes that is true and I understand, but that's why I posted several other "sources" that tell us how high Cleveland ranks on the crime list.

[QCongress83216]

Originally Posted by Clevelander216

Yes that is true and I understand, but that's why I posted several other "sources" that tell us how high Cleveland ranks on the crime list.

Yeah, but some the sources you cite are old. Cleveland hasn't been in the Top 10 list for crime in the last few years that Forbes source you cited is from 2012. You can't use something from 2012 for something in 2017 because rankings can change from year-to-year. Not saying Cleveland doesn't have crime issues, and they do need to be addressed, but it's not in the Top 10 either, there's cities smaller than Cleveland that are in the Top 10 in crime. Now, I definitely feel that the politicians and the citizens of Cleveland need to come together and address the crime problems and put pressure on them, and if they're not doing they're job then we vote them out.

[Clevelander216]

Originally Posted by QCongress83216

Yeah, but some the sources you cite are old. Cleveland hasn't been in the Top 10 list for crime in the last few years that Forbes source you cited is from 2012. You can't use something from 2012 for something in 2017 because rankings can change from year-to-year. Not saying Cleveland doesn't have crime issues, and they do need to be addressed, but it's not in the Top 10 either, there's cities smaller than Cleveland that are in the Top 10 in crime. Now, I definitely feel that the politicians and the citizens of Cleveland need to come together and address the crime problems and put pressure on them, and if they're not doing they're job then we vote them out.

I know that it's an older article, but only 5 years old. Even since then, Cleveland is always at the top of all those Forbes "most miserable cities" and "top X dangerous cities". Even last year in 2016, the homicide rate was the highest it's been in the last decade, I believe? The crime issues are real and they've been going on for years. Even with the development going on around town, you can't just ignore these issues, they're right in your backyard. Much like Chicago. It is a world class city that is very vibrant and urban in many parts, but there are also huge swaths that are similar to Cleveland with the crime/depression.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by Clevelander216

I know that it's an older article, but only 5 years old. Even since then, Cleveland is always at the top of all those Forbes "most miserable cities" and "top X dangerous cities". Even last year in 2016, the homicide rate was the highest it's been in the last decade, I believe? The crime issues are real and they've been going on for years. Even with the development going on around town, you can't just ignore these issues, they're right in your backyard. Much like Chicago. It is a world class city that is very vibrant and urban in many parts, but there are also huge swaths that are similar to Cleveland with the crime/depression.

Forbes is absolute tripe.

[QCongress83216]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Forbes is absolute tripe.

Definitely trite nobody quotes Forbes anymore, they're not even relevant. Plus, Cleveland hasn't been in the Top 10 in "Most Miserable Cities" for awhile. Some Clevelanders will try to take rankings from years ago and apply them to now, which you can't because the rankings from sites and publications like Forbes are subjective not objective.

[WRnative]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterta.../#14dde5456488

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ambergi.../#190195ff208f