Perfect College Town search (Cleveland, Mentor: real estate, job market, buying)

[Micah Girl]

Okay, I am on a search for the perfect college town. I am in New England and want to find:

1. Cultural diversity
2. Small town feel
3. Great educational opportunities for the whole family--sports, museums, libraries, etc
4. A university nearby with doctoral programs in education or ed. psychology for me.
5. Milder winters than in Central Massachusetts
6. Great healthcare facilities because my husband is a Nurse Practitioner
7. Lower cost of living and decent job market

Someone suggested Ohio. Can you help me?

Thanks,

[paintballer1708]

Check out Oberlin, Ohio. Just SW of Cleveland it is in a very diverse metro area, growing hispanic and asian populations. As well as a great college town with that small town feel to it.

BTW, the Cleveland Clinic is about 45 minutes away in the eastern suburbs. Probaly the best healthcare facility in the nation, ranked one of the best in the world.

[Micah Girl]

Originally Posted by paintballer1708

Check out Oberlin, Ohio. Just SW of Cleveland it is in a very diverse metro area, growing hispanic and asian populations. As well as a great college town with that small town feel to it.

BTW, the Cleveland Clinic is about 45 minutes away in the eastern suburbs. Probaly the best healthcare facility in the nation, ranked one of the best in the world.

Thanks! Oberlin is one of the few college towns in OH that I have actually heard of. Sounds very interesting.

[Cosmic]

In the east you have the towns in Columbiana county like Columbiana, Lisbon and Salem. They fit some of your criterion. Don't know about the educational part, but you are also very close to PA and it is easy to get into the Pittsburgh area. Pretty good road system, a mix of farm type country with development, still a lot of open space. Well located to take advantage of what is around them.

Real estate is a bit higher than I like but lots to choose. Now is a good time to be buying in those areas. A bit of a problem in that area has been losing the last of its industrial base and has to adjust. It is become a bedroom community for the rich or those who commute into PA.

I go up to that general area pretty often, like it very much, lots to do. A good social life. The salem hospital also has super good food. The general public can go there to eat.

Says something for the area, hospital food somebody will chose to seek.

Athens in Athens county. Good choice for the lower cost of living. More isolated, Mother Earth News magazine had a good article on it a few years back if you can web search for it. Athens is a college town.

I also like St. Clairsville. Lot to offer. You would have to look around for a suitable University, but can commute longer distances in that area of the state with ease. WV is not far away.

[Cosmic]

http://www.motherearthnews.com/DIY/1989_May_June/Athens_County_Ohio (broken link)

Bit old and dated but probably still largely true.

See if this survives the great cutting knife.

[Micah Girl]

Thanks, Cosmic

You are a font of knowledge.

[Cosmic]

Some other things to consider are:

What media market will you be in? What newspapers, is cable available, internet services, cell phone, etc. Over the air radio, TV, etc. Utilities available.

Ohio is a bit unique in that regard. You can be pretty remote and still be connected to the World. In many counties water and gas lines run way out to the more remote areas. Ohio probably better serves the more remote areas better than most states.

Also pay attention to the way you get into / out a community. Some places might be very desirable but are limited to higher speed roads in a particular direction or have fewer choices. One of the major drawbacks to Adams County. If a town is very isolated and has only secondary type state / county / local roads you must understand those conditions, traffic, distances required, etc as it can become a major issue in living there. The boonies may not be as they appear on the map, one way or the other. Lot will depend on the region involved.

I did this sort of thing off and on planning my last move. Started with the World, set a bunch of criterion and boiled it down to a number of choices. Three of those were in Ohio. Basically paid attention over like a span of ten years waiting for the last housing boom to peak out. For maybe two years prior did very detailed research into the top picks to finally nail it down to one. Basically went with the cheaper area of all of them but I didn't have some of your considerations. I wanted the least expensive, least hassles while still be remotely connected to the big World in terms of information, media, shopping, services, etc. Safety was way up toward the top of the list, as was a good road system, good Internet services.

Getting too close to major urban areas in my estimation is a bit like wanting to go back to MA. Especially if there is lots of sprawl. Fun to visit, maybe good to go shopping but who wants to actually endure it daily. The hassles involved have a way of being universal.

[Micah Girl]

Originally Posted by Cosmic

Some other things to consider are:
....................

I did this sort of thing off and on planning my last move. Started with the World, set a bunch of criterion and boiled it down to a number of choices. Three of those were in Ohio. Basically paid attention over like a span of ten years waiting for the last housing boom to peak out. For maybe two years prior did very detailed research into the top picks to finally nail it down to one. Basically went with the cheaper area of all of them but I didn't have some of your considerations. I wanted the least expensive, least hassles while still be remotely connected to the big World in terms of information, media, shopping, services, etc. Safety was way up toward the top of the list, as was a good road system, good Internet services.

Getting too close to major urban areas in my estimation is a bit like wanting to go back to
MA. Especially if there is lots of sprawl. Fun to visit, maybe good to go shopping but who wants to actually endure it daily. The hassles involved have a way of being universal.

How did you do most of your research? Right now I have been going on rabbit trails on the internet, and checking books out of the library, sharing my information with my husband and then we try to narrow it down to where we could realistically visit on a vacation with 3 kids.

My other thought is to try to get into doctoral programs and let their decision be my guidance, but I think I have to many additional pre-requisites to fulfill for that to be a quick "yes" at this point. Fortunately, everyone needs healthcare workers so my husband can work anywhere.

Even more important than my husband's work and my future education is a place that will feel like home, a community we can belong to and ideally where we will stay and my kids will want to stay as they grow up.

[HAS]

There is a great college here in Painesville, OH called Lake Erie College. It is one of the best schools in the nation, yet everyone around here seems to take it for granted.

I just realized that you have kids, so I thought this school might be of interest to you. It's a small, private college...pretty expensive as well I believe, but it offers a lot. Most of the students attending school for their Bachelor's Degrees are actually going for education...like you said you want to. They also have a psychology degree program. Here's a website where you can find other information on Lake Erie, and on just about any other college of your choice: http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=4&profileId=7 (broken link)

Your husband could easily get a job at a number of hospitals which are located nearby...one actually in Painesville, and then of course there's all the hospitals in Cleveland.

And your family would most likely love Painesville, which is a small-ish, family-oriented town. There are also surrounding towns to live in, like Mentor, Concord, and Fairport Harbor, which some people prefer to Painesville.

The only problem I can see you having is the winters. I'm not sure how winters are in Massachusetts, but here they are pretty bad. Oh well, there's no harm done in checking it out...maybe you'll just love it and want to consider it eventhough the weather isn't the best. Good luck in your search, and if you have anymore questions for me I 'd be happy to help!

[Micah Girl]

Originally Posted by HAS

There is a great college here in Painesville, OH called Lake Erie College. It is one of the best schools in the nation, yet everyone around here seems to take it for granted.

I just realized that you have kids, so I thought this school might be of interest to you. It's a small, private college...pretty expensive as well I believe, but it offers a lot. Most of the students attending school for their Bachelor's Degrees are actually going for education...like you said you want to. They also have a psychology degree program. Here's a website where you can find other information on Lake Erie, and on just about any other college of your choice: http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=4&profileId=7 (broken link)

Your husband could easily get a job at a number of hospitals which are located nearby...one actually in Painesville, and then of course there's all the hospitals in Cleveland.

And your family would most likely love Painesville, which is a small-ish, family-oriented town. There are also surrounding towns to live in, like Mentor, Concord, and Fairport Harbor, which some people prefer to Painesville.

The only problem I can see you having is the winters. I'm not sure how winters are in Massachusetts, but here they are pretty bad. Oh well, there's no harm done in checking it out...maybe you'll just love it and want to consider it eventhough the weather isn't the best. Good luck in your search, and if you have anymore questions for me I 'd be happy to help!

Thanks for the suggestion. All my husband would have to here is Lake Effect Snowstorm, and he'll be headed in the other direction!