New York to Cleveland (Akron, Parma: house, neighborhoods, good schools)

[BrFitz]

[SIZE=3]I am a native New Yorker and I lived here all my life. Recently, I accepted a promotion to Cleveland. My wife is from North Canton and we are looking for area somewhere in between. We have been looking at areas outside of Akron, more specifically, Arlington Rd. I am a little concerned that this area may be too far for me to commute to Cleveland. Is there any areas about 10-20 mins. north on 77 that have similar amenities (food, shopping, entertainment, etc.)? [/SIZE]

[gtsurfer05]

Fairlawn has tons of shopping and places to eat. Its right off of 77, but its kinda far from Cleveland. There is really no cities directly on 77 that have big malls or shopping, but the Brecksville, Broadview Hts, Independence area have such places within 20 minutes drive. They're also fairly close to Akron, about 40 minutes, Canton would be further. Macedonia, Strongsville, Garfield Heights, and Parma have shopping areas right around that area.

[IDTwinsMom]

Copley is right next to Fairlawn, and has more housing selection. Bath might also be a consdieration. Best wishes!

[chartbury]

I know people who have commuted and it gets to be a real drag after a while, especially in the snow! Cleveland is one city that still has good suburbs closer in (and we still have a pretty good train system if you want to ditch the car altogether!) Inner city suburbs like Lakewood, Rocky River, Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights are worth taking a look at. Also try Westlake, Bay Village, Brecksville, Hudson for good schools. I've also heard good things about Independence and I like Mayfield Village too (Mayfield Village was voted a best place to live by Cleveland magazine). Good luck, there are lots of different housing and lifestyle options in Greater Cleveland and the Metroparks are awesome! I would want to live anywhere close to those!

[irothste]

Moms commutes from Akron(the valley) to cleveland and it takes her about 45 minutes each way. One thing about alot of the cleveland commutes compared with bigger city commutes is that 45 miles can take you 45 minutes as opposed to 6 miles taking an hour and a half.

[twange]

I agree that if you're working in Cleveland, don't venture too far or it will start to suck. It's not so much the traffic (as Cleveland's isn't that bad compared to East coast cities), but when the snowstorms hit, it can be a drag. The questions I have before recommending a place to live is:

a.)Do you have kids and are schools important
b.)Being from NYC are you looking for a place that's walkable to shops/entertainment and is close to public transportation
c.)Are you looking for a more rural, quiet atmosphere but within close proximity to amenities
d.)Do you want a newer house or a earlier era home
e.)Aesthetically, what are you looking for? More of an urban setting or white picket fences.

These are important questions to ask as Cleveland has many option in terms of neighborhoods.

[ottomobeale]

Small point
You are driving to cleveland 5 times a week.
You are probably driving to your in laws 5 times every 6 months.