Questions on Toledo

[bvale]

I went to college at the University of Toledo for two years and I really did not like Toledo. There's not really that much to do (although there's plenty of places to eat), it's in the middle of nowhere, and I have to agree, it's a creepy place. I had an apartment off of Heatherdowns Blvd. (west side) and I was scared as a single woman to go outside alone at night. The store a few blocks down was robbed at least twice while I lived there (I moved out as soon as my lease was up a year later). The only good thing is that the Stranahan Theatre tends to get a lot of good touring shows if you're into theater. I got the heck out of Toledo and transferred elsewhere to finish my degree.

[OhioIsMyFavoriteState]

I have lived in the Toledo area most of my life and believe it has many great things to offer. As far as where to live, it really depends on your personal taste and housing budget. If you are a city person, I can recommend West Toledo. I am especially fond of Hampton Park (a triangle between Sylvania Ave., Monroe St., & Douglas), which is especially great for older, solid houses, has a nice mix of people, has a good elementary school, and is within an arm's length of many popular places around the area. The houses are in the 100K to 150K range. Old Orchard and the Old West End are also nice choices if you have an appreciation for home character and historical architecture.

If you are more of an outer-ring kind of person, we have many safe suburbs with great school systems. I am partial to Sylvania, since I grew up there. It is a happy medium between Toledo proper and the smaller suburbs. Between the city and township, it has a decent population and cultural mix of people. Perrysburg is quaint in a way but is growing by leaps and bounds, especially in the way of new businesses. It has wonderful schools also. Anthony Wayne is also an excellent, up and coming school system. Multiple communities (Waterville, Whitehouse, Monclova, etc.) comprise the AW schools. These southern suburbs are on the rural side (but not too much), as is Bedford (Temperance & Lambertville, MI) to the north of Toledo. Bedford also has great schools and is growing, if you are a little bit more country.

If you are interested in shopping and/or eating out, boy are we the place for you! Westfield Franklin Park in West Toledo is a large indoor mall that has been greatly updated in the past few years. We also have the Levis Commons retail complex in Perrysburg and The Shops at Fallen Timbers on its way to Maumee (another nice suburb). I was recently in downtown Toledo and noticed quite a few new businesses there as well. If you are really a city person, there are some nicely renovated places to live downtown as well.

Toledo also offers many places that I never really had enough appreciation for until I lived elsewhere. Our libraries, metroparks, theaters, zoo, art museum, and historical sites are really quite impressive for a city our size. The best part is that they are all reasonably priced or even free. We also have an abundance of higher learning institutions with some impressive offerings (e.g., The University of Toledo, UT Health Science Campus, Bowling Green State University, Owens Community College, & Lourdes College to name a few). There are also many recreational opportunities for both participating and spectating.

I haven't even mentioned how convenient Toledo is. You are almost anywhere you want to be in the area in 10-20 minutes. Also, we are convenient to many other cities (Detroit, Ann Arbor, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Indianapolis, Windsor) and interesting vacation destinations (Cedar Point, Greenfield Village/The Henry Ford Museum, Football Hall of Fame, US Air Force Museum, Mackinac Island, and on and on and on).

The only thing we seem to lack in Toledo is a general appreciation for what we do have. I hear so much about a bad local economy and few job opportunities, yet I am constantly meeting people who moved here specifically for a job. I would like to see us let go of some of the past and broaden ourselves to include many more high tech opportunities and the like. There is always even more room to grow and prosper.

For those who don't like the flatness or the snow or those who may be bored or creeped out here, I would say that you will almost definitely be better off somewhere else. But for those of you who are willing to give Toledo a try, we are certainly happy to have you.

[Tyger1906]

Depends on your price range but dont overpay for a second hand home....people are trying to maximize their profit...you can get a nice brand new home in a suburb for what you would pay for a 2nd hand home in a nice part of the area. For example in Old Orchard near the University of Toledo houses are going for 230k or higher in some cases...you are zoned to Toledo schools (academic watch) and you are not too far from some questionable areas....whereas you could buy a new home in Holland for 230k and get 4 br, 2.5 baths and about 2800 sq feet...look at Whisperlake in Holland...also you cant go wrong with Perrysburg, Sylvania or Maumee....we dont have the shopping variety you would expect for a city of this size. Franklin Park Mall is your typical 1 story 4 department store mall with chain restaurants and stores...we dont have what you would call a mega mall (2 stories with 200 plus stores)...people in toledo think that Franklin is a large mall.....thats b/c there is nothing here to compare it too....if you visit Detroit, Columbus, Cleveland, or any large city for that matter you will see what I mean........Levis Commons is geared towards women (1 mens clothing store) and it is on the expensive side...and not very large..and outdoors.....Fallen Timbers (opens Oct 3) is basically going to be a Franklin Park without a roof (lifestyle center)...most of the stores that will open there are duplicated at Franklin...however PF Changs Bistro will be new to the area.....for high end shopping most people drive to the suburban Detroit malls for Saks, Neiman's, Lord and Taylor, about 1hr away.. ect....the Toledo area quality of life is good but if you are coming from a large city with tons of extracurricular you will probably not enjoy your stay here. Toledo is a slow midwestern city....

[pvtsms]

My family moved here in August 2005. I was not pleased with the transfer, but have come to contentment here in Holland, a suburb west of the Maumee River. The property taxes are something I found ridiculously high when we were house hunting in this area. Sylvania, Perrysburg, even Holland, anything on the west side suburban area is high.

There is more to do on the west side of the river than the east side, but property taxes and home prices are better on the east side. An earlier post mentioned the Whisperlake area of Holland - that is where I live - the subdivision is called Whisperwood and it is quite reasonable all the way around. Holland is a small town atmosphere inside a bigger metro area.

There are some fun things to do and Detroit and Cleveland are quite close. Cedar Point is about an hour away - there are a number of tennis and swim clubs, and some excellent eating (particularly sushi in Levis Commons!).

There are fun little side trips to take up to Detroit (Henry Ford museum), Grand Rapids, Sauder Village, etc.

My children have made wonderful friends through the Springfield School district and my husband and I are very pleased with our neighbors.

Good luck - it's tough finding a new home!