North Ridgeville? Sheffield? (Cleveland, Lorain, Elyria: low income, section 8, apartment complexes)

[davial0]

I just moved up here form Southern OH last month to take a job in Elyria. I planning on buying a house or condo within 6 months. I had originally had settled on Avon, Avon Lake, and Westlake ( I'd pretty much ruled out Elyria and Lorain). However, I have seen places in North Ridgeville and Sheffield that looks promising. I am a twenty-something black professional female, and I definately do not want an area that is hostile to minorities ( esp. since I am single). When I mentioned to someone in my office that I might expand my housing search to NR she highly discouraged it and grouped in with Amherst with places that are hostile to minorities. I heard the horror stories about Amherst, but not NR...what are you're guys thoughts? Also what are you thoughts on Sheffield?

[NewToCA]

I would stick with Avon, it has the best long term appreciation promise. You get a bit more "inconsistent" out in areas like Sheffield, which hasn't had the growth they expected for the past 20 plus years. I would stick with Avon, Westlake or Avon Lake if you could afford it, even if the home in Sheffield or North Ridgeville seems a little more appealing.

[BelieveInCleve]

Sadly most the suburbs on the westside are majority-white by far. I have never lived in Amherst but I have also heard stories of how people are so racist against blacks there, and basically anything except white people. I would say the best place for what you want is some areas of Avon or Avon Lake. At least there are some minorities in those areas and they are definitely less hostile than in Amherst. I wouldnt totally rule out Elyria and Lorain. Both those cities have high minority populations and do have some nice neighborhoods that you might want to look at.

I live In North Ridgeville and its really nice, especially compared to the places I used to live. However there is hardly any minorities here. I wouldnt really say its hostile to minorities but I have heard a few racist remarks. North Ridgeville is basically all white and I think it even has a higher asian population than black. If I was black I would probably rule it out too.

[MiamiU08]

Well, I have lived in Elyria and NR, and I have never seen racism displayed towards any citizens. The whole area is very tolerant of diversity, and I don't think that a young citizen would experience discrimination. As far as sheer value of the community, I would probably check out Avon or Avon Lake first, because they offer more services and closer proximity to entertainment than Elyria or NR. Elyria is very affordable, however, and may be a good option in these tough economic times.

Good luck on your decision, but I doubt that racism will ever be a factor in choosing one of these fine cities!!

[tribecavsbrowns]

I suspect your coworker thought North Ridgeville was more hostile to minorities because it's not as classy a place as Avon or Westlake. While not as classy, I wouldn't say it's hostile to minorities any more than your typical white Midwestern suburb. Sheffield has never done much for me, but I'm a city kid. To me it seems poorly planned and things seem too far apart (schools, churches, stores), but that doesn't bother a lot of people.

I've heard Avon, Avon Lake, and Westlake schools are significantly better than Ridgeville and Sheffield schools, for what it's worth.

Oberlin would also be worth checking out.

Just out of curiosity, why have you completely ruled out: a) renting, and b) anything in the city of Elyria? I would take a hard look at both options if I were you.

[TheCLE]

Why did you rule out Elyria? The areas (Southeast, East, Northeast) in Elyria that border North Ridgeville, Avon, Sheffield are no different than those "suburban" cities. For the most part, the eastside of Elyria is Cleveland sprawl, just like the eastern Lorain County suburbs. Condos and new developments are going up there, and will cost less, in just as safe of a neighborhood, as some of the other areas you are looking at. If you want to buy a house, there are a lot of developments going up on the eastside of Elyria, and if you want to live closer to downtown, there are a bunch of gorgeous older houses.

Not that there is anything wrong with Avon, North Ridgeville, Sheffield or Avon Lake, but I would take a harder look at the city of Elyria ... especially if that is where you will be working at.

Plus, and this is just my personal opinion, but I think Elyria gets a bad rap overall. It's really a great place to live, especially if race is a big factor (though I don't think it will be in any of the places you mentioned). I'm in the heart of the Southside (you'll hear the "horror stories" once your up here) every week. Really, it's a diverse neighborhood that is filled with good people. You could buy a beautiful home on that side of town and, if you aren't looking for trouble, you won't find it. .. as long as you aren't in Wilkes, Southpark or Ely Village. But considering you said you are a professional, you won't be.

IMO, there is no reason to rule out Elyria, especially if that is where you will be working. Save the gas money and buy a house that is just as nice as in the "burbs" for less money.

[BelieveInCleve]

TheCle is right about most of the things about Elyria. I dont know if your still considering Elyria though. All the Eastside, Southeast, and Northeast neighborhoods in the city are very suburban like and nice. The area close to downtown on the Eastside is more urban but its really nice area. The area just north of downtown is one of the wealthiest areas in the city. The Westside is more mixed, but overall its still pretty nice outside of a few rundown areas by the tracks.

The Southside is the worst area (S of 6th st between the rivers and includes the Southwest side). I lived on the Southside for part my childhood (The other part mostly lived in Central Lorain). The area is high crime and mostly rentals/public housing and all the apartments down there are low income. Land Value in the area is actually lower than it was in the 90s. People and the city have fixed up a few houses a while back and they are still empty. Its livable as long as you are street smart, but its not a nice area by any means. I would never consider "buying" a house down there.

If you consider Lorain there is a few nice neighborhoods there too. Most of the city south of Meister rd. or west of Leavitt Rd. is pretty nice. Also the neighborhoods near the lake, just west of downtown, and the Eastside (NE on a map) is all pretty nice. Just stay away from Central Lorain and South Lorain (SE on a map) they are in the same situation as South Elyria.

[MiamiU08]

Originally Posted by Cle440

TheCle is right about most of the things about Elyria. I dont know if your still considering Elyria though. All the Eastside, Southeast, and Northeast neighborhoods in the city are very suburban like and nice. The area close to downtown on the Eastside is more urban but its really nice area. The area just north of downtown is one of the wealthiest areas in the city. The Westside is more mixed, but overall its still pretty nice outside of a few rundown areas by the tracks.

The Southside is the worst area (S of 6th st between the rivers and includes the Southwest side). I lived on the Southside for part my childhood (The other part mostly lived in Central Lorain). The area is high crime and mostly rentals/public housing and all the apartments down there are low income. Land Value in the area is actually lower than it was in the 90s. People and the city have fixed up a few houses a while back and they are still empty. Its livable as long as you are street smart, but its not a nice area by any means. I would never consider "buying" a house down there.

If you consider Lorain there is a few nice neighborhoods there too. Most of the city south of Meister rd. or west of Leavitt Rd. is pretty nice. Also the neighborhoods near the lake, just west of downtown, and the Eastside (NE on a map) is all pretty nice. Just stay away from Central Lorain and South Lorain (SE on a map) they are in the same situation as South Elyria.

I grew up in Elyria and would not have it any other way! I absolutely loved the city and the people, and it was a great fit for me and my family. It is not for everyone, though. Some people like the more upscale, primarily residential suburbs. The best advice is to check out all of the cities before you make a decision - it's all about experiencing it firsthand.

[BelieveInCleve]

Yeah, and they are finally building a new high school in Elyria. What they have now is just sad. They only have 1 high school in the whole city and its packed with 2,300 kids, not to mention part of it is around 150+ years old. I went there for a while and it was bad, I think my grandma went there and it was already in bad shape back then. Anyways its good new for the city.

Lorain is in a bad situation too, they went from 4 high schools (Lorain High, Southview, Admiral King, Lorain Catholic) to 2 (just Southview and Admiral King). Now they are talking about merging them. If you have been to the city in the past couple years its pretty bad.

[TheCLE]

[quote=Cle440;3295636]Yeah, and they are finally building a new high school in Elyria. What they have now is just sad. They only have 1 high school in the whole city and its packed with 2,300 kids, not to mention part of it is around 150+ years old. I went there for a while and it was bad, I think my grandma went there and it was already in bad shape back then. Anyways its good new for the city.

quote]

It's good that the city is getting a new high school for sure. And yes, the orginial part of the high school is 150 years old. But the entire high school isn't that old. Plus, it is large enough to support 2,300 kids. It's larger than some other high schools with similar enrollment (Brunswick, Strongsville).

The new high school could've been built years ago too. But voters kept turning it down because the new school was orginally going to be built down by the stadium from what I've been told. Well, the voters on the north and east sides thought it was too far south for their kids. ... when I say south, distance wasn't the factor.

As for the southside of the city, to each is own. Personally, you may never buy a house on that side of town and many others feel the same way. But, it is not as bad as some make it out to be.

For one, the residential houses are not majority rentals. On my wife's family's street there is only one rental. The rest of the people on the street have owned their homes for years and care about their properties.

Secondly, the majority of the homes are large, older homes with a lot of potential. If people didn't have the mentality that the southside was off limits, there are some great values there.

Third, the crime in that area is probably the highest in the city, but it's safer than a lot of neighborhoods in greater Cleveland. Can you find trouble, yes. Could you be a victim of a random crime, yes. But you can have that in a lot of neighborhoods. Personally, I've never felt threatened and I've walked around enough of that neighborhood, at night, to get a good sample.

Fouth, while it's true that the large majority of the apartments on the south are LMHA or section 8, it's not like it's a neighborhood made up of apartments. Plus, the majority of the apartments there are in isolated areas that aren't really in the residential areas. Ely Village, if you want to count that as "southside" is out in the middle of nowhere. Wilkes is also isolated. South Park is closer to the residential area but still away from the in tact area of the southside... Although it's right next to some of the newer houses on that side of town. The only other apartment complexes on that side of town is the one on 16th and Grafton. I'm not sure if that is section 8, though I suspect that there are section 8 units. The other one is the small one next to the stadium. If I had to guess that is probably all section 8, but again, it's away from most of the residential neighborhood. I almost forgot, there is one more, over by 16th and East Ave. That is in a residential neighborhood, but considering it's right down the street from my families house, and I forgot it was even there, shows that there isn't much trouble there. Even the newer HUD homes are out in the middle of nowhere over by Ely Village. And I will say the HUD homes are an asset to the neighborhood. They are rent to own and the people that live in them care about their properties.

I know the neighborhood has its problems. I remember sitting on the porch watching the black panthers march down the street after a 16-year-old kid was shot while going to Gas USA to buy "cookies" at 2 a.m. a couple of years back. But seeing some of the talk, and me being out there all the time, I have to defend it.

It's not for everybody, but if people don't see potential there, they are blind. I know it's apples to oranges, but 10 years ago, Ohio City was basically the same as the Southside of Elyria. Now, Ohio City is an "it" neighborhood. Southside could be Lorain County's Ohio City if people would put aside their misconceptions.

Just so I don't sound like a hippocrite, I live in Medina, but if my and my wife's jobs were closer to Elyria, we would take a hard look at living in that neighborhood. My wife was born and raised in the neighborhood and she graduated HS with a 4.0 GPA.

Before I regress too much, Davail0, how is your search going? The southside isn't probably for you, considering the other neighborhoods you are looking at, but I hope you haven't ruled out other neighborhoods in the city of Elyria. There are areas there that will look a lot like neighborhoods in the cities you mentioned. If you take the southside out of the equation, Elyria is almost identical to Medina, which is an "it" suburb.