What Stereotypes Do You Hear About Cleveland? (income, property taxes)

[WRosado]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer
Yeah, I was thinking Toronto and Chicago would make a better comparison.

I'm not a Clevelander, but I've driven through Cleveland many times along the Ohio turnpike with very little desire/interest to veer off and check out Cleveland. (I have checked it out before, but it doesn't draw anyone to it outside of the Rock-N-Roll Museum or somewhere like that for one time).

Toronto or Chicago are certainly bigger draws.

Really, I wouldn't have guessed that one.

You judge the city by one museum on our lakefront? You judge the city by driving by on the Turnpike? You realize that isn't the city, though. Right?

The Cleveland Orchestra is in the top 10 in the world:


Gramophone’s complete list of Top 20 orchestras follows.

The Top 10
1) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam
2) Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
3) Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
4) London Symphony Orchestra
5) Chicago Symphony Orchestra
6) Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
7) Cleveland Orchestra
8) Los Angeles Philharmonic
9) Budapest Festival Orchestra
10) Dresden Staatskapelle


The Next 10
11) Boston Symphony Orchestra
12) New York Philharmonic
13) San Francisco Symphony
14) Mariinsky Theater Orchestra
15) Russian National Orchestra
16) Leningrad Philharmonic
17) Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
18) Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
19) Saito Kinen Symphony Orchestra
20) Czech Philharmonic

World's Greatest Symphony Orchestra

There are several other links that say the same.

Cleveland is also home to the second largest performing arts district in the nation after New York. Playhouse Square has not only watched its amazing theaters bustle, but new restaurants, studios, art galleries and housing are opening up.

The Cleveland Museum of art is finishing up on a $350 million expansion. Consistently ranked as one of the best art museums in the nation. I personally can't wait to explore the new atrium, I see it almost everyday walking past Wade Lagoon.

Cleveland is home to the nation's largest law firm, a federal reserve, big banks, insurance companies, big development firms, world class healthcare in University Hospitals and the Cleveland Clinic. I can have the best Italian food for lunch, and head to Asiatown for dinner and shop at a Korean grocery store. Head over to the west side and take in the market and explore Ohio City. You want the big beautiful historic homes? Check out Cleveland's Edgewater neighborhood. You want the homes with a view? There are plenty of places on the west side that sit up on the bluffs with great lake and skyline views. Stay on the west side and explore one of the most densely populated areas west of the BosWash corridor in Lakewood. While you're at it, head over to the east side and take the rapid to Shaker Square. I could continue.

Oh, and that Turnpike you were on... ya it runs through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, one of my favorite aspects of the Cleveland Metro park system. It was rated one of the top 10 most visited national parks last year.


10 Most Visited National Parks (2011)

National Park Recreational
Park Visits
1. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (TN, NC) 9,008,830
2. Grand Canyon National Park (AZ) 4,298,178
3. Yosemite National Park (CA) 3,951,393
4. Yellowstone National Park (WY, MT, ID) 3,394,326
5. Rocky Mountain National Park (CO) 3,176,941
6. Olympic National Park (WA) 2,966,502
7. Zion National Park (UT) 2,825,505
8. Grand Teton National Park (WY) 2,587,437
9. Acadia National Park (ME) 2,374,645
10. Cuyahoga Valley National Park (OH) 2,161,185

Ten Most Visited Parks | National Parks Conservation Association

Sorry, I had to re-quote this. I love when you call a poster out and they have no responses left. Just thought I would mention a story from this past weekend. Two of my roomates from the extremely depressed state of Michigan had some friends come down and stay at our house this past weekend. I was in Columbus on Saturday, but on Friday night we went out and showed them around the city. They are from Detroit. They were amazed at how many people were out all over the city. We left our place in Little Italy (restaurants were packed, traffic backed up, no parking to be found), at this point, they think they are in the heart of the action of Metro Cleveland... they had no idea yet. We drove through University Circle and they marveled at the architecture (it wasn't some Michigan Central Station they were looking at). We had to head out to Beachwood for PF Changs . Like so many Michiganders, I heard comments on how many "foreign cars there are." We quickly ate dinner, then went to Shaker Square and parked the car. We rode the rapid into the city (again appreciating the fact that Cleveland had rail transit) then went through a quick jaunt of downtown. Didn't take them everywhere we would have liked to, but did East Fourth street, the Gateway and Warehouse districts. All I kept hearing was "downtown Detroit doesn't have this."

I am pretty proud of Cleveland, and having lived away from the place... I really began to realize how much I missed everything this region has to offer. I also really appreciated what metro Cleveland brings to the table when I went on my eastern half of the US trip back in August. Cleveland has a lot more to offer than most places around the country, and that is coming from someone who loves to travel and pays attention to every little detail. I am proud to call Cleveland home.

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by WRosado

Erie has got some charm to it. Did you hit up Presque Isle? Probably the only reason I go to Erie.

We drove it on the way home because I have never seen it. It is very nice.

[robertpolyglot]

- Cold, depressing
- Good "bang for the buck" in terms of housing
- A hidden gem that is actually nice - suburbs, quaintness, lakefront
- Brawny, blue collar, and "river on fire"
- Good medical hub - Case Western and The Cleveland Clinic

[costello_musicman]

Originally Posted by robertpolyglot

- Cold, depressing
- Good "bang for the buck" in terms of housing
- A hidden gem that is actually nice - suburbs, quaintness, lakefront
- Brawny, blue collar, and "river on fire"
- Good medical hub - Case Western and The Cleveland Clinic

I'd agree this is a balanced perception coming from an outsider -- both the good and the bad. Although I competely disagree with "depressing" .

[Peregrine]

Sort of also agree.
My edits:


- Cold, and Grey, always grey (I think we have more then proven this stereotype exists... especially among our own people)
- Good "bang for the buck" in terms of housing
- A hidden gem that is actually nice - suburbs, quaintness, lakefront DISAGREE. While this is true I don't think many people outside the CLE think this.
- Brawny, blue collar, and "river on fire"
- Good medical hub - Case Western\The Cleveland Clinic\University Hospital\Rainbow Babies (technically UH but most outsiders don't know that)

The burning river thing kind of pisses me off. How many of you know that there were MANY cities that had rivers catch on fire? Everyone thinks it ONLY happened here.
Chicago has had MANY river fires and much larger ones, too. But we should be proud of ours, damnit. Stop being ashamed. Ours was the one publicized on the cover of Time and is a HUGE part of why the Clean Water act was passed in this country. So the next time an outsider brings it up: be proud! hahaha

[Marshall Gibson LP]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

The burning river thing kind of pisses me off. How many of you know that there were MANY cities that had rivers catch on fire? Everyone thinks it ONLY happened here.
Chicago has had MANY river fires and much larger ones, too. But we should be proud of ours, damnit. Stop being ashamed. Ours was the one publicized on the cover of Time and is a HUGE part of why the Clean Water act was passed in this country. So the next time an outsider brings it up: be proud! hahaha

I think it is good to embrace it lightheartedly and remove some of the stigma. I like how Great Lakes does this tongue-in-cheek with their Burning River Ale. Also, this article is a good handy thing to refer to when the stigma of the burning river is brought up: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/us/21river.html .

I'd be interested to see water quality samples, but I'll bet that today's Cuyahoga is cleaner than the Colorado River through Austin (Lady Bird Lake) which people are not allowed to swim or fish in.

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

Sort of also agree.
My edits
- Cold, and Grey, always grey (I think we have more then proven this stereotype exists... especially among our own people)
- Good "bang for the buck" in terms of housing
- A hidden gem that is actually nice - suburbs, quaintness, lakefront DISAGREE. While this is true I don't think many people outside the CLE think this.
- Brawny, blue collar, and "river on fire"
- Good medical hub - Case Western\The Cleveland Clinic\University Hospital\Rainbow Babies (technically UH but most outsiders don't know that)

The burning river thing kind of pisses me off. How many of you know that there were MANY cities that had rivers catch on fire? Everyone thinks it ONLY happened here.
Chicago has had MANY river fires and much larger ones, too. But we should be proud of ours, damnit. Stop being ashamed. Ours was the one publicized on the cover of Time and is a HUGE part of why the Clean Water act was passed in this country. So the next time an outsider brings it up: be proud! hahaha

Not sure if the Cuyahoga River "fire" made the cover of Time, but if Dallas can live-down killing JFK, then Cleveland should be able to move beyond its ''burning river'' image. Both events happened in the '60s but people act as if the river ''issue'' happened last week.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by Marshall Gibson LP

I think it is good to embrace it lightheartedly and remove some of the stigma. I like how Great Lakes does this tongue-in-cheek with their Burning River Ale.

Clevelanders have an enormous and endearing capacity for self-deprecating humor.

Anyway, if it weren't for that particular incident on the Cuyahoga, the environmental movement wouldn't have caught fire -- if you'll pardon the pun -- as quickly as it did.

Originally Posted by from the article

But it became a galvanizing symbol for the environmental movement, one of a handful of disasters that led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and to the passage of the Clean Water Act.

The first Earth Day was celebrated just a few months later. For heaven's sake, Cleveland did the world a favor!

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by Kamms

Not sure if the Cuyahoga River "fire" made the cover of Time, but if Dallas can live-down killing JFK, then Cleveland should be able to move beyond its ''burning river'' image. Both events happened in the '60s but people act as if the river ''issue'' happened last week.

Pretty sure it was. God save the internet, here is that original article that sparked it all. Pun intended.


America's Sewage System and the Price of Optimism - TIME

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by Marshall Gibson LP

I'd be interested to see water quality samples, but I'll bet that today's Cuyahoga is cleaner than the Colorado River through Austin (Lady Bird Lake) which people are not allowed to swim or fish in.

There are plant gorwing both in the river and in Lake Erie that were thought to be extinct. Now that light reaches the bottom these plants have bounced back.