Moving to Cleveland, all I hear about are the "Heights." What about other places?? (Lakewood: townhouses, neighborhoods)

[dc guy]

We are a couple moving to Cleveland from Washington DC. I am taking a position at Case Western Univ. We have heard the Heights (Shaker/Cleveland/University) are all nice places, but I want to explore wider than these 3 neighborhoods everyone rattles off as soon as I mention Case Western. Our ideal house:

*Family friendly neighborhood

*3BR,2-3BA in a more contemporary house/neighborhood (a reason I'm not so hot about the Heights is because the houses there seem a lot older)

*Within 30 min drive of Case

Specefic neighborhood recommendations would help greatly. We actually haven't heard much about the West Side, would love to hear about that area as well. Thanks!

[jigrec1978]

Solon - Liberty Hill Subdivision off of Som Center Rd (Rt. 91)
Solon is a nice/safe city with easy access to everything you need. Nice community park. Excellent public school system (top 5 in state of OH). Easy access to major highway (US-422).

Check out their website at www.solonohio.org

Good luck on your move and let me know what you think of Solon and if you have any other questions.

[Mike Dunn]

West side areas you may want to consider.....Rocky River, Westlake, Bay Village.

[CLF]

You might like Willoughby/Willoughby Hills or Highland Heights. They have a lot of newer family friendly developments and it would be easy to get on I-90 for your commute to Case.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Willoughby-Ohio.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Willou...ills-Ohio.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Highla...ghts-Ohio.html

[kelebek]

Other nice areas on the east side:

Chagrin Falls
Orange Village
Pepper Pike
Moreland Hills
Solon
Beachwood

These areas tend to have newer houses than the Heights, although I grew up in Shaker Heights and I must say it is an amazing place. Good schools, good people, very community & family oriented, beautiful houses, lots of trees and greenery, diverse population. My parents chose to move to Shaker Heights when I was young for all of these reasons.

I suggest making a trip and driving around - see what feels right to you.

[WeSoHood]

The Cliffs on the Rocky River in Lakewood. Check out Rocky River and Lakewood out. As well as Berea as you can find some newer homes.

[ClevMan629]

Hello, so your moving to cleveland looking for a nice place for you and your family to settle. Well i grew up in Mayfield Heights about 30 to 40 minutes from downtown. It has a top 10 rated school district that was voted one of the best schools in the country! This is great for your children to get plus education. Mayfield has great access to anywhere you want to go. Whether its the freeway that goes right through the city or its getting to malls or any stores you can think of which would be off of Mayfield rd(a major rd. that goes all the way downtown). It is a well runned and maintainded city. There are many great homes in Mayfield also that you can get for good prices these days! The neighbors are the best part, they are 100% friendly and almost make you feel like family. All the cities around Mayfield Heights are great and i recommend all of them! But in particular take a good look at highland heights and Mayfield Heights which both belong to the Mayfield School District. I wish you good luck and Case Western Reserve..Whoo hoo. Any questions ask or contact me!

[airics]

clev - are you still in Mayfield? i lived here for 37 + years, the school is no longer ranked in the top. and the city is changing...... i do recommend mayfield is better than some, but i would go a few minutes farther east in geauga county. if the school levy passes in november, the property taxes, which are already high enough, will be insane.. it is a huge levy...6.9 mil

[dc guy]

Hey all,

Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to reply to my post. We had a chance to drive through and explore a variety of neighborhoods a couple of weeks ago. Does any know how safe/family friendly the are right around Case Western is? We saw a couple of townhomes there and they seem to fit our criteria (newer, 2-3 BR, garage), but I am wondering about the neighborhood. At this point, I am leaning toward places within 20 mins of the hospital. The less the driving, the better! Thanks for your thoughts!

[Pgserge27]

The Case Wetern/University Circle area is going to be exploding with new development over the next five years. As an architect we have a project that we are working on, townhouses, and I know of at least three other projects that will be happening. One of which is supposed to be hundreds of units. Great neighborhoods that you could walk to your job would be Little Italy, University Circle, and a long walk, probably rather drive the five minutes, would be from Cleveland Heights or University Heights. I would really look at the possibility of some of these, the parks around the museums are amazing and there are many family friendly things going on centered around the museums.