Renting a condo in lakewood/shaker heights (Cleveland, Clifton: real estate, 2009)

[sb2009]

Hi ,

I will be moving to Cleveland shortly as I got a job there. I am looking to rent a condo in either Lakewood or Shaker heights. Could anyone share info as to where to look for info on condo rentals. I find the apartment buildings listed on shakeronline and other apartment websites dull and boring. I am looking for a modern-ish rental home (hopefully a condo), hopefully with a gym/fitness center and gated access.

Any thoughts?

[Boffo]

I don't know a whole lot about Shaker but it seems like you might really enjoy Lakewood's Gold Coast right on the lake. It has lots of highrises full of apartments and condos. Everyone I know of that lives there seems to really enjoy it. You can check out this website that has all of them listed
Lakewood Real Estate | Condos and Lofts in Cleveland's

[sb2009]

Thanks a bunch, Boffo. I ve seen the pictures online of the high rises in Lakewood. They are pretty!

I hear that west Cleveland gets a lot less snow than the eastern side, but I was wondering how much the lake effect would contribute to the weather in lakewood. Does this fall in the snow belt? What would the average commute time be in rush hour to downtown, Cleveland in peak winter?
Also, any comments on the safety of living and commuting from these neighborhoods during late hours?

[tom11011]

Hi, how did you narrow your decision down to shaker vs lakewood? They are on complete opposite sides of the city. Lakewood is just a few miles west of the city, shaker is east of the city. Anything in particular you are looking for?

There is less lake effect snow west of Cleveland because of the slope of the land. But I would have to say you would be getting lake effect snow in either city. Commuting to downtown from Lakewood would be simple, take route 2 all the way in along the lake, probably 10-20 minutes.

Safety concerns have been on the rise in the city of Cleveland itself over the last few weeks and months with some high profile crimes. Overall I would say it's not bad. If you are with a group I would say you can walk the streets if you want.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by sb2009

I hear that west Cleveland gets a lot less snow than the eastern side, but I was wondering how much the lake effect would contribute to the weather in lakewood. Does this fall in the snow belt? What would the average commute time be in rush hour to downtown, Cleveland in peak winter?
Also, any comments on the safety of living and commuting from these neighborhoods during late hours?

I lived in Lakewood for five years and I had a blast.

If you are not used to it, lake effect snow is confusing. I would get calls from friends asking if we got the foot of snow that they saw on the Weather Channel, just to tell them that we had 2" of less.

However, the lake impact is more than that. Once I was at Lakewood Stadium for a football game. There were five inches at the stadium. I drove home, six blocks north, and there was about one inch of slush.

Now you CAN get 15-20" of snow. In 1996, we got a huge snowfall in November ... and never had more than 2-3" the rest of the season.

Safety ... you will see people walking up and down Clifton, Detroit, and Lake Ave. nearly any hour of the day and night.

If I worked downtown, I would take the bus downtown despite the weather. It is a fifteen-twenty minute ride from Lakewood. I am not really into the Cleveland transit system BUT from Lakewood downtown, it is convenient.

Personally, I did not care for the high rise apartments on the lake. I thought that some of the apartments on Clifton between 120000-13500 were pretty cool.

[tom11011]

Lake effect snow is unpredictable. Being in lakewood, I don't see it having a major impact on your comute to work 95% of the time and it really shouldn't compute into your equation any more than considering any other northern city that gets snow (unless were talking about Buffalo!).