Cleveland Suburbs Which one to choose HELP ME PLEASE!!! (Lakewood: middle-class, apartments)

[cassiemarie102682]

Hello everyone! I just moved to Mantua Ohio from New Jersey. So i live in Mantua but i work in Solon. I am looking to get my own apartment and I know NOTHING about the good the bad and ugly of the cleveland suburbs. All i know is Mantua is too middle of nowhere for me right now, Solon is nice but too snotty, and the prices seem alot higher there than say Auroura and thats around the corner. I lived in Union NJ which is 20 mins from NYC and in the middle of Newark Elizabeth and Irvington (very very bad towns) but Union was still OK like urban but suburban. So i am a city girl, but i dont wana hear gunshots and see drug deals outside my door everyday. Cultural make up and ethnic makeup have no effect on where i live doesnt make a diff to me as long as its not all white(i am white) or i end up being the only white person Anyway I want to live somewhere like solon where there is a bus (public transportation) but not as expensive and by the lake maybe? I really liked what i saw in Lakewood & Westlake am i on the right track? $600-650/month (or lower) for a 1 Bedroom is what i am looking for. Is this rage doable for what i want? I know they come cheaper but i was paying $1050 for a 1 bedroom in jersey so $650 is a bargin to me.

Next topic: East side suburbs VS West side suburbs
Which side is the worse of the two (i was told east) and is cleveland heights nice place to live? (i was told no way but i read diff on here)
does it really make a diff other than in weather which side you live on.
Please dont take offence to any of this i am just trying to learn all i can about my new home. And my parents have only been here 2 years and they live in Mantua so they are no help. Compared to Jersey Ohio is like another planet. ( i still havent gotten over how cheep it is here compared to Jersey) Anyways thanks again for your help everyone!!!!

[WeSoHood]

Well you will certainly find Mantua MUCH different than most of New Jersey. Heck, I'm from Cleveland and had to google to make sure I knew where it was! Lakewood is 50-60,000 people at about 11,000 people per sq. mile making it relatively dense like NYC or parts of Jersey. It is very diverse and safe for the most part. Walking to places shouldn't be a concern. Westlake is nice as well, but a little bit pricey. For $600-$650 you should be able to find a place in most of the westside. I really love Lakewood though. And you would only be a couple minutes from downtown Cleveland. The weather can be VERY different depending where you are in the snow belt. The East side in general has a LOT more snow fall if that is any concern for you.

[andrew61]

Hi, Lakewood and Westlake are very nice towns (Lakewood is the more urban of the two; I lived there for many years and loved it), but if you work in Solon that's going to be a pretty long daily commute.

I'd say look into Cleveland Heights... it's a lot like Lakewood but more racially diverse. There's some crime but it's nothing like Newark. Check out the Coventry and Cedar-Fairmount areas for nice vintage apartments that should be in your price range, and a hip, urban vibe... walking distance to restaurants, nightlife, etc. if that sounds good to you. I'd avoid some of the areas in the northern part of Cleveland Heights (closer to East Cleveland).

[airics]

i have a friend who chose to live in coventry... he pays $650 for a 1br DUMP. I am sure you can find better, but it will cost you more.... Decent area to live, lots of action

[CTownsFinest216]

first of all solon is terrible for public transportation. theres like 1 bus route that goes there and is very infrequent. solon is way out and very suburban.

lakewood has excellent public transportation and is urban. its basically all white though.

cleveland heights has several commercial districts and some great apartments. theres plenty of bus routes there and if you lived in the cedar-fairmount area you'd be close to the university circle rapid station. theres also a dave's grocery store and a bunch of restaurants/shops there too.


why does it have to be a suburb? i suggest you take a look at different neighborhoods in cleveland as well.

[ottomobeale]

If you work in Solon live on the east side. One bonus for living in OH is a "long" commute is a half hour compared to NJ where an hour is common and 2 hours is not unheard of. Take advantage.

The "heights" cities are known for high taxes and racial mixing. Most of both cities are OK. Never lived in them so someone more familiar with them can give the street by streets of go here dont go there.

[1watertiger]

picture of lakewood

[WeSoHood]

Lakewood is NOT all white. AS an indication of the younger generations and the high school.. it's HS diversity is:

83% White (but this includes Romanians, Albanians, etc.. MANY implants from Eastern Europe), 8% Black, 3% Hispanic, 4% Multiracial, 2% asian.

You may not experience until you live there, but I'd actually say Lakewood is far more diverse than Cleveland Heights. Cleve Hts is essentially white and black. Lakewood may be around 83% white, but A VERY LARGE percentage are foreign born and bring a totally different types of cultures.. which is very noticeable.

I guess it's hard to explain cultural diversity in a racial debate!

[tribecavsbrowns]

If you work in Solon, rent in an eastern suburb. Lakewood is my favorite part of Cleveland and I think Westlake has a lot to offer as well, but they're not so great that I would drive across town to get to work. If you find your dream house overlooking the lake in Lakewood and want to buy it, that's one thing. If you just want a cool neighborhood to rent in, there are plenty on the east side.

Now, you said you want to be close to public transportation. I'm not sure if you intend to use it to get to work, but if you do, you want something near Warrensville Center Road in Shaker Heights or University Heights (43 bus line, which goes to Solon). If you intend to drive to work but just want to be near public transportation, I suggest something near the green or the blue rapid transit lines in Shaker Heights (they run downtown from Shaker). Shaker is formerly an extremely exclusive suburb, but one that's come to accommodate all types of lifestyles while retaining a high degree of class and uniqueness.

On a map, Shaker Heights starts near Shaker Square (although the square is in the city limits of Cleveland) and, roughly, continues east along Van Aken and Shaker boulevards. The neighborhoods in the city of Cleveland bordering Shaker are inner city ghettos along the lines of the bad parts of Newark, Irvington, etc, however, Shaker is safe for an urban area.

Cleveland Heights could work for you, too, but that's a longer commute. CH is more urban than SH, closer to cultural institutions, more liberal, etc.

The biggest difference between East Side and West Side is not crime or anything like that, it's the feel of the places. You could make the argument that the Midwest starts when you cross the river and get to West 25th Street in Cleveland. Lakewood, Rocky River, etc. are laid-back suburbs with the feel of suburban Chicago or Detroit, whereas the eastern suburbs are more like Jersey or Philly, especially in the Heights and Hillcrest areas (Shaker, Cleveland Heights, South Euclid, U. Heights, Beachwood, Lyndhurst, Mayfield Hts., etc.). Solon is east side, too, obviously, but it's more like Any Upper-Middle-Class Suburb, USA.

[tribecavsbrowns]

WeSoHood covered the other thing I was going to mention. Yeah, Lakewood's largely "white." So is the West Bank or the Balkan Peninsula. And Lakewood actually has more multiracial students in its public schools per capita than either of the Heights communities, which can trumpet their racial diversity to the point that it becomes annoying.