What are the Pro's & Con's of living in Cleveland? (North Olmsted: ski resorts, sales)

[christianguitarist27]

Hey there, I'm 24- Considering Ohio. I'm asking about Cleveland, you can write about the other areas too if you want.

What are the Pro's/Con's of living there ?

What do you Like or Love about the place?
What do you dis-like or Hate about the place?

And overall, do you like it there?

I am from Los Angeles area California. And the Primary reason I am looking for property out there is cause.. Well I guess California is on that Falt line.

I sincerely ask you to please take a moment, & write me back.
And if you can think of any other nice areas, that aren't in the middle of nowhere- that don't have Tornadoes, Floods etc.. (Natural Disasters.)
Please let me know.

Thank you!

[rranger]

There's a high "niceness" factor, 'cause - you know - mean people s$%k! With your numerous similar posts, are you high, BTW? (Sorry, I just couldn't resist).

[christianguitarist27]

No I'm not high haha.. I do however have O.C.D. if you get a chance, look it up on youtube bro..

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

I am sincerely asking you all to help me figure out what it's like over there. And trying to figure out if it's a place I'd even consider.

[lemur_lass]

This probably depends on where you live in Cleveland, but for me (just moved from Sacramento area):

Pros: nice people!!!, affordable housing, lots of natural areas close by, great restaurants, good grocery food options, beautiful community (I am in University Heights), good breweries around

Cons: lower pay, harsher weather extremes, nightlife isn't as good (I don't care, and use Miami as a comparison, so probably isn't fair), not as robust shopping options (I shop largely online), expensive property taxes (in the Heights neighborhoods), not alot of community services given the tax rate, jobs might not be as available in certain disciplines, no awesome ski resorts around

It is really different than the West coast though. For example: in general, people aren't nearly as environmentally oriented or outdoor sports loving as they are in CA. I hate making such huge generalizations, but that is just my perception over the 6+ months here.

Overall, you need to come out and visit and see if you like it. Probably have to come in the Winter to see how you are in the snow.

[christianguitarist27]

So are you from Sacramento California? And what do you like better? Cleveland? or where you were before in Sacramento?

And when you say Weather Extremes, what do you mean?? What kind of Weather is it?

Thank you!

[tom11011]

Well, Cleveland gets the 4 seasons. If you like snow and cold, this may be the place for you in the winter.

Our falls and springs seem very short. We either go right from summer to winter or winter to summer it seems.

Our summers are hot and humid. Our winters are cold and snowy. Being from L.A. you may not be accustomed to snow and cloudy, gloomy days. It's something to think about. L.A. weather probably doesn't change that much during the year.

[ottomobeale]

Lived in as an adult in Cleveland, Cincy, Lakeland, FL, and NJ.
Pros.
Housing. Salaries vs housing cost generally favorable. My doctor in NJ lives in a smaller house than the mailman and teacher that owned the house across the street when I grew up in Cleveland.
Pay in general is roughly favorable to general costs.
General “niceness” of people in general and when driving. Try NJ, then go to manhattan for a real lesson in aggressive driving.
Generally the weather April 1 to Nov 1.
METROPARKS!!!! Rocky River Reservation. Parks in general: Not as good as NJ* but far far better than Florida. *NJ ones are generally bigger and better but most ARE NOT FREE. Florida seems to almost lack non-amusement parks beyond the local playground. FL, obviously trumps everyone in the amusement park category. (@ $70 per person)
Cleveland is big enough to have many types of attractions.
Safe family oriented suburbs. I would never let my small children play out in the yard alone in FL. Does every pervert have to move down there?!?
IX center. The Home and Garden show is bigger than most other cities including many other much larger cities. They are not still talking about tearing it down are they?
Cleveland Clinic.
Cons
Less dynamic economy. Cleveland did relatively better this recession and the one in 1990. Pretty much behind other areas the entire rest of the time in the past 40 years. That is not to say there were some decent times, but often, other areas grew more and even much more. I cant find a single town in Morris Co, NJ listed in city data pages with less income than Westlake, that includes the “poor” Hispanic town of Dover. Westlake is near the top in Cuyahoga. Money talks. It is sad, but it does. BTW the real money does not live in Morris Co, NJ. If they live in NJ at all they live in Northern Bergen Co or places like Summit. Ya’all don’t really believe United Airlines when they say they wont eventually de-hub Cleveland; do you?
Weather Nov2 thru Mar 31.
City income tax. If you work in 1 city and live in another you often end up paying 3% net city income tax. On top of state income tax.

[LIS123]

What's the average percent income tax that people in Cuyahoga county pay IN ADDITION to the state of Ohio income tax? Is it really an additional 3%? I realize it varies from one municipality to the next. Do people usually pay TWO additional taxes: one for Cuyahoga county and one for the individual municipality?

With a well-paying job, that's close to 10% in Ohio+County+Town income taxes alone, which EXCLUDES RE taxes, sales taxes and other Government-owed fees (auto registration, etc.) You're talking NorthEast/West Coast tax levels at this stage! Wasn't Kasich going to phase out the income tax? I haven't heard a thing about him since swearing in, so it looks like he's not doing much.

[ottomobeale]

I lived in City of Cleveland. I worked in North Olmsted.
I paid 2% to each (4%) and got 1% of it back during tax time. (4%-1%=3%). City income taxes have VERY few offsets so 2% is 2%. It is a complex issue. Some cities are over 2% (not many). Some are under 2%, and some are zero. ???Townships are 1% or 0%??? its complex. perhaps someone can be more detailed.

"normal people" typically pay ~3% city and 3%-5% to the state.

Note MANY guides look at top rate only and give a very distorted view of the real world. I now live in NJ. NJ is often listed as having close to the highest state income taxes... Uh... not, not at least for the sub $150K income people. The NJ income tax is a big game hunter tax. The $500K a year club pay a ton of NJ income tax. A family of 4 in NJ with 2 adults 100K total income and 2 kids nets around 2.5% state income tax with 0% city income tax. (NJ IS NOT low tax. They get you other ways, like property tax)

[LIS123]

Originally Posted by ottomobeale

I lived in City of Cleveland. I worked in North Olmsted.
I paid 2% to each (4%) and got 1% of it back during tax time. (4%-1%=3%). City income taxes have VERY few offsets so 2% is 2%. It is a complex issue. Some cities are over 2% (not many). Some are under 2%, and some are zero. ???Townships are 1% or 0%??? its complex. perhaps someone can be more detailed.

"normal people" typically pay ~3% city and 3%-5% to the state.

Note MANY guides look at top rate only and give a very distorted view of the real world. I now live in NJ. NJ is often listed as having close to the highest state income taxes... Uh... not, not at least for the sub $150K income people. The NJ income tax is a big game hunter tax. The $500K a year club pay a ton of NJ income tax. A family of 4 in NJ with 2 adults 100K total income and 2 kids nets around 2.5% state income tax with 0% city income tax. (NJ IS NOT low tax. They get you other ways, like property tax)

That's pretty high! Besides high income taxes, Cuyahoga country has high RE taxes (as a % of home value). With home prices being reasonable, the dollar amount is sometimes not as high as other places, but the rate is.

You're right... when the topic of high tax states comes to mind, Ohio is not a place I think of. Looks like it's higher on that list than many people think.