Is Elyria really that bad?

[MiamiU08]

Having attended the rival Catholic elementary/middle school, St. Mary's, I will tell you you've made the wrong choice . In all seriousness, though, St. Jude's is a great school and parish and I have many close friends there. You will feel welcomed by the community, and being active in the parish should provide you with many opportunities to meet great, new people in the area. Best of luck!

[Dee Decaf]

Hello:

I have been a resident of Elyria for over 40 years. I raised 3 children and lived on the "north" side of Elyria, where Windsor Elementary School is located. Each of them attended Windsor. They are now all grown, married, and have children of their own.
The area in which you are looking is a very nice area, and probably one of the better sides of town to live in.

Don't let some comments dissuade you. I am now a widow, and a grandmother of 4. I still reside here. I am content with this city. Oh, and just so you know, I have traveled extensively, and still can say that I would live here, as opposed to other places I have been to.

Dee

[SthrnCalBkeye]

I was born in Elyria, but moved to Santa Barbara, CA before I was very old. My brother went to the elementary school next to the hospital in which I was born. He remembers the city, and says he liked it back then. I've been back to spend 2 summers, a Christmas and an Easter break there. I flew back to OH again to see Michigan/OSU game, and rented a car to drive up and see Elyria after all these years. I some ways, it's a different world from southern California--which isn't to say one is better than the other. I like Ohio very much, and would enjoy spending some time in Elyria to get "reacquainted" with my city of birth. My dad used to be the pastor of one of the downtown churches before moving west, and had lots of good Elyria stories. Although I didn't get the chance to see much of Elyria this year due to time constraints, I have to say it seemed as though the city isn't as vital as it used to be. It seems to me that the city could market itself better and make some improvements, but maybe that's all happening anyway. The downtown used to be fun to walk around, when the stores used to be there. I guess the mall's killed a lot of that? My family used to live on Princeton Ave., near the hospital somehow. Is that now a pretty bad area? I wasn't able to drive through that part of town, but my brother said it used to be OK. Where are good places to stay a few days next fall--any good B and Bs, etc? Thanks!

[BelieveInCleve]

Princeton Ave. and the majority of the city East of the river is still very nice.

The only part that I would consider anywhere near "bad" is the area between Broad st. and Cleveland st. Thats the commercial and Industrial center of the Eastside and about half of all the crimes East of the river happen within that small area. Its still very livable though.

Elyria hasnt changed a whole lot since the 90s IMO.

[chance2jump]

MIMom -

We moved to Grafton (right outside of Elyria) from the Lansing area. Very, VERY honestly... Elyria really isn't that bad at all. Some areas are run down and remind you of so of the not so desireable areas of Lansing, but it certainly isn't any Detroit or Hamtramack!

You'll be fine. Elyria is convenient to the highways and good shopping, and I have some great pizza places for you to check out!! I never had real pizza until I moved out by Cleveland!!!

[BelieveInCleve]

Since there are people curious, Ill give you a brief summary of Elyria and the neighborhoods:

The City- Elyria started out as an industrial town and was matured by the 70s, so many of the houses in the city are on the older side. There are newer areas of the city though. The nicer areas were in the Northside and Eastside, and part of the Westside. The Westside was more in the middle with some bad areas. The Southside came to be the "ghetto" of Elyria. From the 80s until now the city has gone downhill just like most of the rustbelt. Jobs were lost and the city has tried to diversify its economy, not very successfully though. Its very livable though in most areas, a pretty average city. Downtown was killed by the malls/shopping centers, but there is some stores still open. Elyria is mostly blue collar but its the county seat so the government is located here. To see the demographics of everything look on the Elyria city-data page (or new census).

Neighborhoods:
Northside- (N of 57/80 East of the river) Is considered the nicest area of the city. Has some pretty wealthy areas, Overbrook and W of Abbe especially. The County Club and the College are located here. Mostly white, and crime rate is very low, the schools in the area are nice also.
Eastside/SE- (S of 57/80 East of the river) The largest in the city. A mix of nice and average neighborhoods. Near Glenwood st. is arguably the nicest area in Elyria. Between Broad and Cleveland has a lot of commerce on main roads and industry near the tracks. The only decayed area of the Eastside is located here. Near Park ave. is a historically nice, wealthy neighborhood. S of Colgate is the SE side, and is a more new, suburban looking area. As a whole is mostly white, with some more diverse areas mixed in. The schools are average to good. Crime is low in most areas with average from Broad-Cleveland.
Westside/NW- (W of the river, excluding SW) Probably the most diverse area of the city. Industry on the southside of the area and near the tracks, commerce on main roads and of course the mall. S of Foster is the most decayed, and not nice, but it is livable. The rougher areas are between Woodland/Lake ave. and Lorain Blvd. West of Woodland/Lake are the nicer areas and also some N of 113. The mall area is mostly commercial with some residential, only being some apartments and isolated houses which are so-so but on the cheaper side. As a whole its mostly white by a little, but with some more diverse areas and some more black areas(Adams st area). The schools are just average a little on the bad side.
Southside/SW (S of 5th st between and W of river branches) The oldest neighborhood in the city. Historically the worst area of Elyria for many reasons. Mostly residential with some commerce on main roads, SW side is mostly industrial. 70% rentals and mostly older housing. Its decayed in some areas. Nearly all the public housing is located here and all apartments in the neighborhood are low income. There is some nice streets though and some people do care about the neighborhood and property. As a whole is mostly black slightly. N of 10th is more mixed while S of 10th is majority black (SW also). Crime is high in most areas, but not all. Schools are pretty bad. The new high school will be nice though.

I hope that helped. Elyria is not as bad as some people say, its pretty average for a city its size. I was born in Cleveland and grew up both in Elyria and Lorain (S Elyria, and Central Lorain), so I know a lot about the area. If you want to know anymore just ask.

[jlawrence01]

I worked in Elyria for five years and walked 4-5 miles per day in various areas of the city for my exercise. It is a good walking town.

Cle440 has really nailed it on the head. I had to open a map of Elyria to remember the layout of the city. I think streets as opposed to neighborhoods or "sides of town". His descriptions of the areas are very accurate. Personally, I really liked the neighborhoods south of Broad St. on the Eastside. Once you get about three blocks from Broad St., you get away from the traffic and the housing stock improves.

The reason that I did not buy in Elyria were the schools. No matter what neighborhood I went into, most people would say that the schools were "OK". Not great, not excellent but OK. It was rather damning.

(I moved from St. Louis and since it took a year to sell the house, I had plenty of time to do my research.)