thinking about a move to the westside of cleveland.......westlake, avon lake (Lorain: sales, real estate)

[joecop]

My wife and I discovered this seemingly great part of Cleveland and are very excited about it. We have 2 girls ages 9 and 10 and think it might be the place to raise them. We love the lake and find the energy of these neighborhoods to be the same as where we live now on Long Island New York.
We were wondering about the schools and the job market. I am a retired Police Detective currently in school for Radiography (X ray Technology). I know here in NY the job market is wide open but the real estate taxes are threw the roof and all your money goes to paying them. We are trying to find a place where the paycheck wont be destroyed by high taxes....can anyone let me know if west cleveland is or isnt? Joecop from NY

[ldavis]

If you are thinking of moving to Cleveland, the west side is certainly a great area. The West side of Cleveland is known as very nice, although their are some nice East side neighborhood as well. I say this because there is a bit of conflict between people who live on different sides of town (I've been on both ends). Everyone thinks their end of the city is the best.
Here are some things to consider about the East-West-side controversy in Cleveland. The West side tends to get less snow than the East side. The West side is less diverse from a demographics standpoint. There are a lot of new homes, in Westlake, Avon Lake, etc. and many are moving out that way because crime is less rampant. If you are looking to buy, now is the time, because the housing market is horrible in Cleveland. You could get a beautiful house for a steal. From a job perspective, their isn't much of a market at all in Cleveland, unless you are in the medical field (The Cleveland Clinic is still growing). From a tax standpoint, you will pay more in local taxes on the West side, because you are supporting a better school system. Although compared to Long Island, I think you should be in better shape.

[MABCle]

There is a job market here, but it really depends on what field you are in. It seems you are in the medical fields so there are alot of opportunities for you from The Cleveland Clinic 3rd best in the USA, University hospitals and Metro Health. These hospital systems have branches throughout the region, but the main campuses are in University circle in the heart of the East side. Taxes are highest in Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights, but those cities offers lots of parks, recreation and well kept schools. Here is a link from a Plain Dealer article about taxes in Cuyahoga County:

http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer...490.xml&coll=2

[bedebede]

To see the tax implications, know that the most cities in Ohio have a municipal income tax (see http://tax.ohio.gov/divisions/municipalities/index.stm as the rates differ depending on where you live) county sales taxes and Ohio income tax depend on your spending and income and are available at http://tax.ohio.gov/documents/forms/ohio_individual/individual/2006/PIT_IT1040%20Instructions.pdf (broken link). The top rate is 6.87% on income in excess of $200,000. Property taxes can be seen online by searching for the Cuyahoga County Auditor's office and putting in an address. They also have the effective property rates for the cities and townships within the county for comparison (it also depends on the school district).

I do this for a living so check it out. A whole lot of Ohioans don't realize how easy it is to see what the costs are. Guaranteed they are a whole lot less than in Long Island. BTW, Cuyahoga County sales tax is 7.5%, but next door in Lorain County it is 6.25%.

Good luck!

[soylentboy]

Just to give you an idea, a home in Avon Lake around 200k will cost you about $3,800 a year in propety taxes.

[mountains]

I know that Westlake, Bay Village, Avon, Avon Lake have good schools. North Olmsted & Rocky River used to but I don't know how much it's changed. In all of the communities along the west side there are great kids programs & activities & sports! Bay & Westlake get rather snotty. Don't miss Ceder Point - it's the best amusement park in the country!!! The area is easy to get around & the lake is wonderful!!!

[Pinipeanut]

Westlake and Avon Lake are the most pricey neighborhoods on the westside. So they would be very good places to raise children. School systems are very good! And like you said, the Lake. Although the lake is not that great. They do try to keep it cleaner over in those cities though. Dont know anything about the taxes, but i do know that they is a waiting list to go to school for radiography. I was looking into that myself. The Cleveland Clinic would be about 20 min from westlake and avon.

[sandy11]

Hi.........My husband and I are from Long Island too......I have a brother that lives in Fairview Park. A town to the east of Westlake.... We love Westlake and would love to move there too. We are also sick of all the taxes...
Avon Lake is very nice too.....but the schools in Westlake are better I hear. The houses are less expensive there...but you might get less property. There is alot more new construction. We've been toying around with this plan for about 4 years....but now my husband really wants to change careers.....he has a good connection in Cleveland. How did you guys find Westlake????

[ottomobeale]

Been a few years since I looked but west side but is overall a good overview:
Best schools. Olmsted Falls
Close behind Avon, Westlake, Avon Lake, Bay Village (high taxes)
Good enough to use. North Olmsted. You get more house in N.O. but the schools are merely good instead of great.
Very Nice house in Westlake 280K
Very Nice house in N.O. 240K
Mini Mansion in Westlake 650K

[Stephlb51477]

Taxes on the west side are generally cheaper than the east side. When you look at avon lake, it is in lorain county where taxes are generally cheaper than cuyahoga county. Basically think of lorain county as a former farm-like area that has been expanding mostly because of new home developments and shopping plazas. I mean that in a good way though. The negative is the drive to downtown is going to be longer. I grew up in Bay Village which is a beautiful little town with almost no big business, very quaint and right on the lake. Property taxes are more than Avon Lake or Westlake, but i am sure still cheap compared to long island (approximately $2,400 annual for $100k house). Not a lot of new houses in Bay Village though. Westlake is definitely the richest area on the west side, lots of big new homes, with the new Crocker Park shopping center which is an outdoor mall which is very popular. Anywhere on the west side is safe and i would say schools are overall very good. I dont know much about the east side, from my experience most people that live on the west side stay on the west side, and same with the east side.