Seeking Home in Safe, Diverse Cleveland Neighborhood (Parma, Lakewood: low income, safe neighborhoods)

[maketherightmove]

Originally Posted by Arlinda

I just got a great job in Mentor, Ohio and must relocate to the Cleveland area within the next few weeks.

• Step 1: Find temporary furnished corporate housing. Any suggestions?
• Step 2: Purchase a home. Where should I live?

Background => I am single 30-year-old woman. I am pretty much a city girl, so I would be comfortable living in Cleveland or another highly-populated area and commuting to Mentor. (I travel for a living, so I won't have to commute to the office much anyway.) I want to purchase in a community that is ethnically diverse. I want my family to visit and see successful people who look like them. Although, it is not important that the community be mostly or significantly African-American (I'm black), I would hope that it be diverse. If there is a safe artsy neighborhood where many languages are spoken on the streets, all-the-better. Does this exist near Cleveland?

I know nothing of Cleveland. Can you help me?

You may want to try CORT.com. They cater to extended stay tennants.
If commuting is not an issue, I think you would be happy with Cleveland Hts.
Simply put, it's just a cool city. (not sure about the different languages spoken on the streets though)

[Clevelands Finest]

i read yo comment on east cleveland and u dissin mah hood iight u dnt kno nuthin bout east cleveland till u lived there fo mad long

[MABCle]

^I agree that you can't just write off an entire area. East Cleveland definitely has rough parts there's no question about that, but it does have nice parts to. The area a nice large homes and is getting new schools built. its also real close to the University Circle area and has a Rapid transit line that will take you downtown and to the airport. Living in East Cleveland you'll have to take the precautions you would in any urban area. The only problem as mentioned before is the area is not diverse anymore.

[kgold97]

CLEVELANDS FINEST.... I hope your statement was a joke.... Ha ha ha ha.... That's pretty funny.... Thats exactky why I would never move to that area... Thanks for providing evidence.

[tjla]

Originally Posted by kgold97

CLEVELANDS FINEST.... I hope your statement was a joke.... Ha ha ha ha.... That's pretty funny.... Thats exactky why I would never move to that area... Thanks for providing evidence.

I'm sure that Cleveland's Finest was being facetious. I grew up in East Cleveland and attended public schools there. As part of the Gifted Program from grades 3-12, I enjoyed some of the finest learning experiences and had great teachers who cared about me. I attended Shaw High School and went on to graduate from one of the leading private liberal arts colleges in the nation. I also have my MBA from a top tier school on the West Coast. There are a lot of good people that have come from that city.

With that said, sure there are definite issues in East Cleveland. It needs strong leadership, a stronger economic base, better plans for training its youth for the global economy, and maybe a dose of hope. It's in a good location since it's close to downtown. The better parts from a property standpoint are "up the hill" closer to Cleveland Heights. I grew up "down the hill" and wouldn't change a thing. If you knew how to mix with people who dont look like you, maybe the city wouldn't be so "scary." Like any urban place, you have to be on your toes.

Anyway, as often happens, the city may undergo re-gentrification over the next several years. We'll see.

[MABCle]

^ That was very well said. I hope the area does undergoe gentrification in the next few years it is certainly a candidate. The Silver line articulated bus project will be complete from downtown to Windemere station down Euclid Avenue. There is also alot of develoment that is going on or about to happen in Univercity circle and there is a chance some of that development could start to trickle into EC.

[soylentboy]

I'm a big fan of Cleveland Heights. I think what you can get for the money is outstanding, the community is very diverse and you can still walk to a corner store.

[zbs227]

The eastern suburbs of Cleveland are very diverse, notably Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, Richmond Heights, and Euclid. Cleveland Heights is very artsy and large; it has a population of about 50,000. Shaker Heights is a very classy, diverse community. Shaker Heights is more upper and middle class people. The houses in both Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights are larger, but Shaker Heights tends to look better-kept. Richmond Heights is a smaller community and not so artsy. Euclid has a population of about 50,000. It is situated on the lake. Housing in Euclid is excellent in the areas near Lake Erie. The homes are older and well kept. Neighborhoods have private beachclubs, in which anyone in the neighborhood can join. In Euclid, there tends to be crime in the apartment complexes. I would not recommend living in any apartments in Euclid. Euclid also has excellent city services. Euclid, Shaker, and Cleveland Heights are all about 20-25 minutes away from Mentor. Mentor is not ethnically diverse whatsoever, so I would not recommend buying there. Do not buy a home in East Cleveland. The crime rate there is horrible. Drugs and poverty are a huge problem. Personally, I am afraid to walk through East Cleveland. I hope this helps you in making your choice.

[Arlinda]

Feels like areas such as Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights, Richmond Heights and South Euclid may be where I am headed. A realtor also mention new condos in Buford Heights (?).

But what about the tax situation. I am told to avoid Shaker Heights because of the excessively high property taxes (6% of property value). Would the other areas mentioned above also have the same tax problem?

[MABCle]

Bedford Heights in the south eastern 'burbs. If you want Go to Cleveland.com in the search bar type in tax. On the left column of the results there should be a store called "You can run, can't hide from tax man". It was printed on 1/16. It basically states how Shaker hts. and Cleveland Hts. are amonst the heaviest taxed cities in the area.