Commutes to Ireland Cancer Center/University Hospital (Cleveland, Cleveland Heights: real estate, houses)

[DM_Mom_Dad]

Greetings all.

Might be moving to Cleveland to work at the Ireland Cancer Center/University Hospital. As we're moving from outside Boston, our biggest need is an easy commute (I currently have an hour and a half each way!) We're looking to buy, and spend around 350K. We want no more than a 30 minute commute, and the best schools we can get for that money that close to the hospital. (we have two young kids, three and newborn). We might be settling down for several years, so stable to rising property values (such as they can be these days) would be good, too.

We have heard that Shaker and Chagrin Heights are popular, but we've also heard you have to be careful as to which bits of those areas you buy in.

Any help would be great! Thanks.

DM

[Boffo]

Shaker Heights would be a great choice if you are looking for a short commute to your job. There are some areas you have to be careful of but I do know there are a lot of Shaker Heights residents on this forum who could guide you. But the commute would seriously only be a about 15 minutes and the schools are top notch Shaker Heights, Solon lead Greater Cleveland with most National Merit Scholar semifinalists | cleveland.com. In addition, a lot of the east side suburbs would work well. Beachwood is also a good choice and Chagrin Falls is beautiful but it is a littler further out. Anyway, I hope you have success on your search and I would like to welcome you to Cleveland if you decide to take the job. If you have any specific questions feel free to ask and I or one of the other posters will try to help you out.

[costello_musicman]

Welcome!

If you live in Shaker Hts, your commute would be 10-20 min....yep that's right. And did you mean Chagrin Falls maybe? Your commute for that would be about 40-45 min then.

I think you're going to be shocked at the quality of homes you can get for the $300,000-$350,000. The phrase people sometimes use is "reverse sticker shock." Here are a few examples (but I'm guessing you're looked already.):

18435 Van Aken Blvd, Shaker Heights OH 44122 | Homes.com
3325 Chalfant Rd, Shaker Heights OH 44120 | Homes.com
21075 Sydenham, Shaker Heights OH 44122 | Homes.com
3018 Morley Rd, Shaker Heights OH 44122 | Homes.com

I'd say you can't go wrong with Shaker Hts--very short commute, and some GORGEOUS houses.

[DM_Mom_Dad]

Thanks. There is certainly reverse sticker shock. I think that's why I'm looking at these places and saying "well, if it's this cheap, what's wrong with it?" Ten minutes. ****shakes head****

I hope to find some Shaker residents. I have an in law who doesn't live in Shaker, but is a cop there who has given me some guidance, but I think the fact that he only sees the icky side of things through his job colors his reviews of the place.

Are places like Auburn township and other places in Kenston LSD doable? Or are they too far out?

PS I'm also noticing the houses in Shaker tend to be older, many built as early as the 1920's. Is this typical or am I just looking in the wrong place? How far out of the city does one have to look for newer (like 1970's or newer) places? My current house was built in 1968 and is starting to get to that point where things are breaking all the time, so if we could avoid that... but if you can't you can't.

[costello_musicman]

In general, the further go go out, the newer the houses will be. Places like Beachwood, Chargin Falls, Pepper Pike, Solon, etc.

All of these listed above are 20-45 minutes in commute and have excellent schools.

Long story short, you should be able to find exactly the house you want within the $350,000 price point.

[xanthines]

First off, I'd say get a real estate agent you get along with. They can help you find what you're looking for. I'm a Case student and my fiance is a resident at UH, and we bought a nice house in Cleveland Heights with a very short commute for under $200k. It's so short, that I often walk to work/school! Our neighborhood is nice, quiet, safe, and clean. We don't have kids, but the schools in Cleveland Heights are so-so, at best.

I wouldn't worry too much about a house built in the '20's. They built 'em to last back in those days. Just make sure you get a house that hasn't been abandoned for too long and get a good home inspector that YOU pay for so they'll be accountable to you and no one else.

The only bad thing I would say about a house that old is that the layout can be kind of weird, and the house may have older wiring, which isn't a hazard but inconvenient. The older knob and tube electrical systems are mainly 2 pronged outlets and the nature of the wiring means no insulation in the walls.

[DM_Mom_Dad]

Thanks all!