Relocating to Toledo (Akron, Bowling Green, Green: apartment complexes, rentals, loft)

[tjam129]

i attempted to read through some of the prior threads, but they seemed to be almost irrelevant to me.

I'm young (26), single, no kids (dont care about schools), no roommate, no pets, and not a student at the university of toledo, who is preparing to relocate to the NW Ohio area for work (I currently live in Akron, in the perfect area for myself and hate having to give it up). I'm looking to rent (not buy, not rent to own) a nice place, in a decent area, with a younger demographic with a decent nightlife. my budget is fairly high for ohio, but i dont care if i reach it or not. So whats the best area for me?

[Tobias C]

Do you prefer living in the suburbs or a more urban area?

Is being close to your work important?

Where abouts will you be working?

The more you can provide about what you ideally want and desire the better we can steer you in the right direction.

[tjam129]

no concerns with work location, I will be working throughout all of NW ohio.

suburban or urban is really not that big of a deal on my list, i guess i would lean towards urban. I prefer an apartment building or complex to the top half of an old house, and something with off the street parking.

Thats literally the max of my preferences.

[Tobias C]

Well I would recommend Downtown, first, especially to someone who's 26. There's lots of bars downtown that you would have within walking distance, as well as sports events, concerts, festivals, etc. You could find a really cool loft apartment thats big on character and style for anywhere from 400 to 1400 a month, depending on what you want. Some of the bigger apartment buildings downtown even have their own private indoor parking which is a plus.

After downtown, I would recommend the Old West End which is a beautiful historic residential neighborhood adjacent to the downtown area. It's full of huge old homes in spectacular condition, many of which are divided up into apartments, and the prices really vary from super cheap to pretty expensive depending on how much space you want. The Toledo Museum of Art and the University of Toledo art school are both in the Old West End and there's a lot of artsy progressive types that call the neighborhood home.

After that I suppose my next recommendation would be just the general Westgate / Old
Orchard / University of Toledo area of west Toledo. Out here, I feel is the true center of activity in Toledo right now. Just being close to the college and to all the upper class neighborhoods, most everywhere you'll need to go on a daily basis is here. Plenty of restaurants, coffeeshops, etc. The Franklin Park mall is also near by and it's the biggest shopping destination in like NW Ohio so you have your shopping right near by. This area of Toledo isn't as densely urban as downtown and the Old West End but isnt the suburbs either. I don't really feel like there's many "cool" apartment options in West Toledo but if you look hard enough you'll find something good. And theres countless apartment complexes in the area so, as far as safety goes and what not, I would use your budget to your advantage and find a higher quality place that basically prices out most shady people.

I guess after that I would have to recommend Perrysburg, even though I'm not a strong proponent of the suburbs. Downtown Perrysburg is small but has a few cool restaurants and bars as well as a grocery store so you could basically walk to a lot of stuff you need there. There's some cool apartments above a lot of the businesses downtown. Downtown Maumee is kinda neat as well. Also on the south side of Perrysburg there's Levis Commons which is a new, urban style outdoor mall place. There's apartments literally next door to the whole pseudo-downtown area of it. There's several popular restaurants and bars here, even a comedy club that attracts some recognizable names. The apartments around Levis Commons will probably cost no less than like 700 and easily over a 1000 depending on what you want. I personally can't justify anything over 600 that lacks any character to set it apart but that's all up to you.

An another thing to keep in mind is that pretty much anywhere in the Toledo metro area is within a 20 min drive of anything else, 30 mins at the max, so regardless of where you live, you can get to anything you need or want fairly easy and quick. Just depends on the lifestyle you want.


Welcome to Toledo! Feel free to asks any questions.

[ryansmith]

Akron has a lot of similarities to Toledo... you won't feel too out of place. I concur with most of Tobias' suggestions. My rentals are all full right now or I would plug them.

[tjam129]

Well thanks guys, I hate leaving my place now, cause its just in the exact area for me (mid-to late 20s, solid nightlife) Hopefully your suggestions work for me in toledo.

[belleislerunner]

Toledo is only about a 40 minute drive south of Detroit - so you might be surprised at how often you find yourself hanging out at Tigers games, Wings game, downtown festivals/events etc. Of course, there's always the Mudhens in downtown Toledo. Frickers is a cool bar downtown that's pretty popular with the younger crowd. Meetup and Yelp are good places to make new friends as in joining a sports league (e.g. softball, kickball, racquetball) or church.

[tjam129]

Thank you Belle, i was informed of the distance to Detroit, thank you for the suggestions.

[kally90]

Well i guess it depends. Bowling Green has an awesome nightlife but its mostly a "cornfield" college town or has average families. Toledo is alright but stay in the north or somewhat southwest, youll probably find less crime. Toledo University area has a fairly good nightlife, has alot of diversity though if you go to far out of the vicinity. The north/ sylvania can be pretty pricey but its deffinately the prettiest parts of toledo. If your accustomed to diversity and want quality, the old west end isnt to shabby but im not sure how many apparments youll find there. The best advice I could possibly give you is STAY AWAY FROM THE EAST SIDE. Especially over the river, its just asking for trouble. I was born and raised in toledo (Waterville actually) and there isnt a whole lot to do except throw parties and get in trouble. The zoo is really nice, so is the art museum if your into that. Westfield, Fallen Timbers, and Levis Commons shopping malls are average with the exception of some DELICIOUS restaurants. To wrap it up, theres about 5 different "types" of things to do around toledo and vicinities, if your looking for crazy fun you wont find it here.

[eriPolstar]

tjam 129- i am curious to know what area you decided to move too. i have a possible job oppotrunity in toledo and would be relocating from ny. my criteria is the same as yours and i was wondering if you have any advice.