Why does everyone seem so down on Cleveland? (Parma, Youngstown: city hall, crime rate)

[Alaskapat528]

Originally Posted by Donna7

I agree with what you've said. I don't think that anyone was trying to be "negative" or down on the original poster. I always love the people that can't stand the heat and then run out of the kitchen, then try to blame the other people for making them do so. Really not fair and not what happened. Cleveland; it is what it is at this present time; there is always hope (and hopefully structured plans) for things to improve. Making a move from Portland, OR to Cleveland, OH WITH KIDS is going to be a life-changing move for all concerned. I don't understand the "defensiveness" attitude at all if people give various opinions. Moving across town in a particular city/state can make all the difference in the world; much less across the country.

***If the original poster is still reading, I wish you the best if you decide to make a move; whether it is Cleveland or anywhere else. Wishing you peace in whatever you decide.

Nice post Donna and so true.

[Slash83]

There is no reason to be worried about moving here..some of these posts are absurd..Cleveland has a pretty downtown and we have nice suburbs. There is plenty to do here, shopping, restaurants, amusement parks, the lake, NICE people..you will like it here, don't worry.

[twange]

Originally Posted by Slash83

There is no reason to be worried about moving here..some of these posts are absurd..Cleveland has a pretty downtown and we have nice suburbs. There is plenty to do here, shopping, restaurants, amusement parks, the lake, NICE people..you will like it here, don't worry.

I don't think anything said about Cleveland on this thread is absurd. Just different point of views. You may not agree, or like what others have to say, but don't be dismissive. This is a perfect example of how sensitive and defensive Clevelanders can be. Nobody said the suburbs weren't nice - in fact, this thread wasn't about suburbs, it was more about THE CITY OF CLEVELAND. Nobody said it was boring or that the people weren't friendly. I'm not sure where you're coming from

And to suggest that "there is no reason to worry" and that "you will love it here" is just simplistic and presumptuous. She might hate living in Cleveland. Believe it or not, some people don't love living there.

[1Westsider]

I live on the west side of cleveland (own my house)west of W. 73rd between Lorain and Madison. I've lived here for 11 years. Before that I owned a house for 6 years a llittle west of W. 130th, off of Lorain Ave. Before that I rented here and there in Cleveland, after leaving my mom's house, also in Cleveland. I've never lived anywhere else. Both the houses I've owned are in the First Districts juristiction. I see a world of difference in the police reponse time between the two locations. And I see a world of difference in the attitudes the police have with the residence in the area I currently live in, which by the way is part of the Weed and Seed program.

I'm holding onto the last bit of hope I have that things will get better. That last bit is very very small. I have several reasons basically. These are no exaggerations. I'm just being honest for people who don't live here so they can get an idea of what it's like to live in the inner city:

-Police response time is very very slow. Of course, it didn't help when ex Mayor Campbell laid off a bunch of officers. That's when things really got bad.
-There have been 3 shootings and one murdered on my street this year. I've laid in bed at night this summer and listened to gun fire several times.
-There are 11 houses on my street alone that are boarded up and abandoned. Most have been stripped - siding removed, gutters stolen, pipes gone, you name it, it's gone if it can be sold. Kids in the neighborhood hang out at these houses and drink and holler all hours of the night.
-The houses that have been torn down are now empty lots with weeds that are waist high. I've called the city and they say someone will come out and cut it down but they never come.
-I don't feel safe walking in my neighborhood, especially at night. I don't go anywhere but the porch at night.
-The hookers on Lorain Ave are bad.
-There's broken glass and trash on the main streets. The ex mayor removed the garbage cans. It helped before having them, I noticed less trash.
-I can't seem to get the city to fix the streetlights. It's dangerously dark.
-I work downtown and am constantly being approached for cigarrettes or change. I've worked downtown for 20 years. It's nothing like it used to be. The majority of Downtown has been deserted. I don't feel safe staying late at night as the sun sets earlier.

I know it seems like I'm painting a dark picture but what I speak from is my experience and what I'm living in now. I wish I could stay because I really don't want to give up, Cleveland is my home. But, I'm realizing, , through the actions of the powers that be, that Cleveland doesn't care about me. Call me a quiter if you want to if I leave Cleveland, I don't care. I've given just about all I can give. I just turned 40 and am to the point I would really like to live somewhere that respects it's citizens..somewhere I can feel safe and can walk my dogs at night. That's not too much to ask.

[twange]

Originally Posted by 1Westsider

I know it seems like I'm painting a dark picture but what I speak from is my experience and what I'm living in now. I wish I could stay because I really don't want to give up, Cleveland is my home. But, I'm realizing, , through the actions of the powers that be, that Cleveland doesn't care about me. Call me a quiter if you want to if I leave Cleveland, I don't care. I've given just about all I can give. I just turned 40 and am to the point I would really like to live somewhere that respects it's citizens..somewhere I can feel safe and can walk my dogs at night. That's not too much to ask.

No it's not too much to ask. In fact, "living somewhere that respects its citizens" and feeling safe walking around should be the BARE minimum.

Thanks for sharing that excellent info and good luck! I know how hard it is to leave your hometown.

[xwideopenskyx]

Originally Posted by 1Westsider

I live on the west side of cleveland (own my house)west of W. 73rd between Lorain and Madison. I've lived here for 11 years. Before that I owned a house for 6 years a llittle west of W. 130th, off of Lorain Ave. Before that I rented here and there in Cleveland, after leaving my mom's house, also in Cleveland. I've never lived anywhere else. Both the houses I've owned are in the First Districts juristiction. I see a world of difference in the police reponse time between the two locations. And I see a world of difference in the attitudes the police have with the residence in the area I currently live in, which by the way is part of the Weed and Seed program.

I'm holding onto the last bit of hope I have that things will get better. That last bit is very very small. I have several reasons basically. These are no exaggerations. I'm just being honest for people who don't live here so they can get an idea of what it's like to live in the inner city:

-Police response time is very very slow. Of course, it didn't help when ex Mayor Campbell laid off a bunch of officers. That's when things really got bad.
-There have been 3 shootings and one murdered on my street this year. I've laid in bed at night this summer and listened to gun fire several times.
-There are 11 houses on my street alone that are boarded up and abandoned. Most have been stripped - siding removed, gutters stolen, pipes gone, you name it, it's gone if it can be sold. Kids in the neighborhood hang out at these houses and drink and holler all hours of the night.
-The houses that have been torn down are now empty lots with weeds that are waist high. I've called the city and they say someone will come out and cut it down but they never come.
-I don't feel safe walking in my neighborhood, especially at night. I don't go anywhere but the porch at night.
-The hookers on Lorain Ave are bad.
-There's broken glass and trash on the main streets. The ex mayor removed the garbage cans. It helped before having them, I noticed less trash.
-I can't seem to get the city to fix the streetlights. It's dangerously dark.
-I work downtown and am constantly being approached for cigarrettes or change. I've worked downtown for 20 years. It's nothing like it used to be. The majority of Downtown has been deserted. I don't feel safe staying late at night as the sun sets earlier.

I know it seems like I'm painting a dark picture but what I speak from is my experience and what I'm living in now. I wish I could stay because I really don't want to give up, Cleveland is my home. But, I'm realizing, , through the actions of the powers that be, that Cleveland doesn't care about me. Call me a quiter if you want to if I leave Cleveland, I don't care. I've given just about all I can give. I just turned 40 and am to the point I would really like to live somewhere that respects it's citizens..somewhere I can feel safe and can walk my dogs at night. That's not too much to ask.

Thank you for your honest post. I've been in your shoes and know first hand exactly what you're talking about. I was born in the city of Cleveland and lived there most of my life. When I try to warn others who know next to nothing about Cleveland I am labeled as "negative" or that my comments are absurd. I suspect that some Clevelanders live in complete denial or live in the suburbs and have no clue as to what goes on in the city. I am 40 years old also, and I decided that I would not spend the rest of my life hoping for Cleveland to turn around. Life is way too short!

I currently reside in southern Arizona and it has made a world of difference all the way around. It has only been a year and 10 months since I left.

Hope that you will find safety plus more.

Wishing you good luck

[JR_C]

I wonder why the quality of neighborhoods seem vary so greatly? I see the same thing in Youngstown. My neighborhood is great, IMHO. But, I hear people tell stories about their Youngstown neighborhood, and they might as well be on a different planet. I've read so many contradictory things about Cleveland neighborhoods. Some people love their neighborhood, and others tell a horror story.

20 years ago, I was only 11, so I wasn't paying much attention to Cleveland at the time, outside of what I saw on the evening news. But I've seen pictures from the early-mid 80's, and downtown Cleveland looked bleak compared to how it looks today.

[twange]

Originally Posted by xwideopenskyx

I am 40 years old also, and I decided that I would not spend the rest of my life hoping for Cleveland to turn around. Life is way too short!

There seems to be a pattern here...three 40 year-olds getting fed up with C-Town

I think that people of our generation have lived through the worst times in Cleveland. It was already in motion when we were born(late 60s, early 70s) and so we grew up with the national ridicule which led to the mostly defensive, defeat-ist negative outlook. For many of us, it has taken moving away to see things clearly.

[xwideopenskyx]

Originally Posted by twange

There seems to be a pattern here...three 40 year-olds getting fed up with C-Town

I think that people of our generation have lived through the worst times in Cleveland. It was already in motion when we were born(late 60s, early 70s) and so we grew up with the national ridicule which led to the mostly defensive, defeat-ist negative outlook. For many of us, it has taken moving away to see things clearly.

The 60's, 70's and 80's were still decent in my neighborhood. It was a gradual sort of decline, it was still relatively safe. Most of the changes involved an exodus of the homeowners to the burbs and each year more and more homes became rental properties.

This migration did not catch up with itself until sometime around the mid 90's when the neighborhood started to decline at a faster rate. That is when I started hearing gunshots and police helicopters on routine basis, elderly ladies getting beat to death in their driveways by a gang of teenage punks for a couple of dollars in their purse etc. That is pretty much when it became an unlivable situation for me.

When I was 32, I made a plan to move out of state and it took 6 years to complete the goal. During that 6 year period I moved not only out of the city of Cleveland but also out of Cuyahoga county.

My friends and family still live in the city of Cleveland and surrounding areas. I get regular updates on what is going on in my hometown. This housing meltdown has probably delt the last blow to my old neighborhood. People are ripping off the siding, copper plumbing, water heaters etc. from the foreclosed properties. I've barely been gone a couple of years and they told me that I wouldn't recognize my neighborhood anymore. It actually breaks my heart.

[BelieveInCleve]

People have different views and experiences in Cleveland and its important to tell all sides of the story and dont try to sugarcoat anything. I have also experienced what that poster was saying about some of the neighborhoods in Cleveland. I have lived on neighborhoods on the eastside and westside and they were pretty similar to what that poster said. The quality of life in those neighborhoods was just sad and theres no reason why anybody would want to live in those neighborhoods if they have the ability to move to a nicer neighborhood.

There are a few safe areas in the city and most the suburbs are pretty safe, but the truth is that there are many bad areas of the city and a few suburbs and cities outside the city that most people wouldnt want to move in if they care about quality of life at all.