Cortland, Ohio Photo Tour (Toledo, Grove City: fit in, house, teaching jobs)

[CortlandGirl79]

The Eastside of the lake, heading towards the interesection of 5 and 305.



McCleary-Jacoby Rd.



A new house i like on McCleary-Jacoby



Timber Creek Heights Development located between St. Rt. 46 and McCleary-Jacoby

[CortlandGirl79]

For this year's 4th of July celebration the fireworks formerly held at Mosquito Lake were moved to the Lakeview High School sports complex located on Shepard's Hill in Cortland. I grew up in the neighborhood south of this complex and had a great childhood there. While attending a 4th of July party i decided to take a walk down memory lane w/my camera. The following are pics of both the high school, my old neighborhood, and a couple new neighborhoods north and east of the complex.

[CortlandGirl79]

The high school baseball field. They are setting up the fireworks display beyond left field. BTW, the show was great!



The football practice field with the back of the high school gym beyond the goal post



Lakeview's football field and all-weather track



The home stands (they looks so small now!)


Welcome to Bulldog Country




The view from the high school parking lot, down Natale Drive, sometimes in the winter you can see the Lake (the high school is located on a hill that over looks Mosquito Lake, thus Lakeview Schools).



The Auditorium


The Main Entrance to the school (the school was build in the early 60s i believe)




New homes north of the side parking lot

[CortlandGirl79]

Homes on Portal Drive, north of the high school









Watch out!!!!! Apparently a State Trooper lives in the neighborhood!!!!! If you ever wondered why people in Ohio don't speed too much, this is the reason why!!!!!!!!



This area was all woods when i was a kid and my friends and i used to play in the creek located behind these new homes. Sad We used to see deer and once we saw a fox.



Newer homes on Cedar Drive


Want to move to Cortland???

[CortlandGirl79]

My old neighborhood built in the 70s

Here is someone representin' the Buckeyes


This one was remodeled






The house i grew up in (unfortunately, they guy who bought it parks his boat in the drive and it looks junky!



The view looking down my old street


The huge evergreen in the side yard was my first Christmas Tree in 1979. The one in front of it i planted in 3rd grade when it was maybe a foot high.


These homes back up to the athletic fields at the high school. When i was growing up i spent many summer days playing in these backyards. Not to mention the easy access we had to football games and it was a shortcut for us to walk to school.



It's a little dark, but here is a pic of all the people in the football stadium waiting for fireworks




Looking through the fence

[StephandTerry4]

These Pics are beautiful. The more I see and hear about Ohio. The more I get excited about moving to Ohio.

Stephanie

[SCBeaches]

What a walk down memory lane....that could have been my neighborhood and school when I was growing up in NW Ohio. I can tell you are very proud of your town - that's great!

[CortlandGirl79]

Thanks to you both!!! I do love my hometown and the Mahoning Valley in general. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of things wrong here and the area is depressed, but it's home. I had a great childhood and i wouldn't trade it for the world.

I'm proud to be from Northeast Ohio and the Mahoning Valley.

[goodgirl49]

Cortland Girl,

I loved seeing these beautiful photos! I grew up in Beaver Co. PA, north of Pittsburgh near the Ohio line, and was quite familiar with eastern Ohio. The countryside is similar in both areas, with perhaps PA being a little hillier. I've always loved the area in summer, when everything is pretty and green. It's really a stark contrast to Los Angeles where I've lived since the 1970's. Looking at the homes you've pictured, you really can't tell that the area is depressed. I like to see the homes on large lots, something that isn't common out here. I commend you for wishing to stay in the area, and not blindly following your peers to supposedly greener pastures out of state. Hopefully, you are able to make a decent living in the area.

I've seen you post on the Pittsburgh forum about finding suitable people to date in the area. I had this problem over 30 years ago when I lived there. That's about the only thing that really bothered me. I ended up marrying someone from CA who was visiting his relatives in PA at the time. I never considered what a big life style change it was to move all across the country. I wish I had considered this, but you live and learn. He has never wanted to live in the east mainly because of the winters. I know they can be rough, but other things can be rough out here too. Life is very fast paced here, which I don't like. I miss the sense of community that existed back there, but probably with the economy worsening it isn't the same now. One thing that bothered me when I was young and single was that the guys were all heavy drinkers, which I couldn't stand. My husband didn't drink and maybe that's what attracted me to him.

Oh well, we can always get nostalgic for the past, but you have to live in the here and now and life hasn't really been bad for me. I can't really say it would have been better if I stayed back there. You have to seize the opportunity when it comes.

Take Care,

Good Girl49

[SCBeaches]

Originally Posted by goodgirl49

Cortland Girl,

I loved seeing these beautiful photos! I grew up in Beaver Co. PA, north of Pittsburgh near the Ohio line, and was quite familiar with eastern Ohio. The countryside is similar in both areas, with perhaps PA being a little hillier. I've always loved the area in summer, when everything is pretty and green. It's really a stark contrast to Los Angeles where I've lived since the 1970's. Looking at the homes you've pictured, you really can't tell that the area is depressed. I like to see the homes on large lots, something that isn't common out here. I commend you for wishing to stay in the area, and not blindly following your peers to supposedly greener pastures out of state. Hopefully, you are able to make a decent living in the area.

I've seen you post on the Pittsburgh forum about finding suitable people to date in the area. I had this problem over 30 years ago when I lived there. That's about the only thing that really bothered me. I ended up marrying
someone from CA who was visiting his relatives in PA at the time. I never considered what a big life style change it was to move all across the country. I wish I had considered this, but you live and learn. He has never wanted to live in the east mainly because of the winters. I know they can
be rough, but other things can be rough out here too. Life is very fast paced here, which I don't like. I miss the sense of community that existed back there, but probably with the economy worsening it isn't the same now. One thing that bothered me when I was young and single was that the guys were all heavy drinkers, which I couldn't stand. My husband didn't drink and maybe that's what attracted me to him.

Oh well, we can always get nostalgic for the past, but you have to live in the here and now and life hasn't really been bad for me. I can't really say it would have been better if I stayed back there. You have to seize the opportunity when it comes.

Take Care,

Good Girl49

You sound exactly like me, except that I left my little town in OH after a nasty divorce back in '84. There were no teaching positions in NW OH and, with a 2-year-old to care for, I needed a full-time position with benefits. So....off to the South I headed, where there were beaches, no snow, lots of sun, and plenty of jobs. I've lived here for 24 years now and it really is home now, but I miss the small towns of OH....the sense of community, the festivals and fairs, where everyone knew everyone else and you felt safe and a sense of belonging. Like you, I couldn't stand that all the guys were heavy drinkers (well, for that matter, most of the girls were too)...it seemed that that's all they did on weekends was get together at someone's house or out in the country somewhere and listen to music and drink heavily. Sadly, most of my peers from high school are still in the same place, doing the same thing.

I was fortunate in that my parents followed me down here the next year after I moved, then my brother, and now some cousins....so I do have family here. And as much as I miss Waterville, where I grew up, it's not the same anymore and I feel like an outsider looking in when I go to visit. You just can't go back.

It was nice to hear that someone else feels the same. Thanks for sharing. And CortlandGirl, I hope you stay put and marry a nice young man then raise your kids in the same town where you grew up. That's a rarity these days!