Where do Single 30-Somethings Live in Cleveland (East Side)? (Shaker Heights: apartment, renting)

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by Min-Chi-Cbus

Maybe if you had young children and a worrying wife/ex-wife....

Perception is not always reality. Especially in the Shaker Square/Larchmere area. I think it's a fine place to have kids. They even can go to Shaker Heights High School, not Cleveland city schools, which is a definite advantage. It's probably the best place for public transportation too. Also walking distance to Shaker Nature Center and the Shaker Lakes. I don't really know what more you could want! Statistically, adult males are by far the most likely people to be victims of crime, so if that is your concern (which I don't really think it should be anyway), then you should be more worried about yourself!

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

I guess I don't think there's anything wrong with Shaker Square or Larchmere as is. I hope normal people keep living here. I think it's cool that it's not gentrification central. I think it'd be cool if a few more people moved in and some new businesses opened, but we don't need it to become Ohio City east.

Cleveland needs as many Ohio City neighborhoods as it can get, each with its own unique character (as much as that is possible with gentrification). With its continuing population decline, Cleveland can't be negative about gentrification.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by Kamms

Cleveland needs as many Ohio City neighborhoods as it can get, each with its own unique character (as much as that is possible with gentrification). With its continuing population decline, Cleveland can't be negative about gentrification.

"Over-gentrification" robs neighborhoods of personality. I actually do like Ohio City and Tremont and I am excited about their futures, but if you ever go to another city and see its gentrification, all the neighborhoods really are the same. I don't want Cleveland to overdo it.

Shaker Square/Larchmere are not neighborhoods that could really use the help. I think other places like Collinwood are better for that kind of thing, because the area really has been down in the dumps for decades. So I do think the Waterloo renaissance is good.

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

"Over-gentrification" robs neighborhoods of personality. I actually do like Ohio City and Tremont and I am excited about their futures, but if you ever go to another city and see its gentrification, all the neighborhoods really are the same. I don't want Cleveland to overdo it.

Shaker Square/Larchmere are not neighborhoods that could really use the help. I think other places like Collinwood are better for that kind of thing, because the area really has been down in the dumps for decades. So I do think the Waterloo renaissance is good.

I hear ya but in the '80s many people were complaining about the yuppies moving into Ohio City. This was a small number since the ''movement'' began in the 1970s. So, it has taken 40 years to get OC to where it is today and it's still a work-in-progress. Cleveland doesn't have to worry about overdoing gentrification; it needs to get it really going forward first before it becomes a ''problem''. DC is undergoing major gentrification with neighborhoods changing quickly; it is also the wealthiest metro area in the U.S. I don't hear anyone in DC complaining about it; only in Cleveland where it barely is moving do you hear the alarms going off already.
What ''personalities'' are left in Cleveland's neighborhoods, at least the ones in dire need of gentrification? The west side is getting section 8 residents by the boatloads thereby changing certain neighborhoods ''personalities'' yet I don't hear anyone complaining about that.

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

"Over-gentrification" robs neighborhoods of personality. I actually do like Ohio City and Tremont and I am excited about their futures, but if you ever go to another city and see its gentrification, all the neighborhoods really are the same. I don't want Cleveland to overdo it.

Shaker Square/Larchmere are not neighborhoods that could really use the help. I think other places like Collinwood are better for that kind of thing, because the area really has been down in the dumps for decades. So I do think the Waterloo renaissance is good.

The entire City of Cleveland needs help, including Shaker Square and Larchmere.

[bjimmy24]

Respectfully disagree, Kamms. Keep the hipsters on the west side

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Perception is not always reality. Especially in the Shaker Square/Larchmere area. I think it's a fine place to have kids. They even can go to Shaker Heights High School, not Cleveland city schools, which is a definite advantage. It's probably the best place for public transportation too. Also walking distance to Shaker Nature Center and the Shaker Lakes. I don't really know what more you could want! Statistically, adult males are by far the most likely people to be victims of crime, so if that is your concern (which I don't really think it should be anyway), then you should be more worried about yourself!

I say it's sketchy for two reasons:

1. My wife says so (as well as her parents), so it's hard to argue with that since she'd lived in Shaker half her life and I'm new to the region.

2. I've experienced some things there that can make me a bit uncomfortable, and definitely not something I'd want for my children....assuming I have choices (mainly just beggars/petty theft).


I'm not trying to paint a broad-brush stroke of the area with my personal opinion, but Shaker Square FOR ME is sort of a no-go if I don't want to intentionally irritate my wife/ex-wife (a big plus for me)!

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by Min-Chi-Cbus

I say it's sketchy for two reasons:

1. My wife says so (as well as her parents), so it's hard to argue with that since she'd lived in Shaker half her life and I'm new to the region.

2. I've experienced some things there that can make me a bit uncomfortable, and definitely not something I'd want for my children....assuming I have choices (mainly just beggars/petty theft).


I'm not trying to paint a broad-brush stroke of the area with my personal opinion, but Shaker Square FOR ME is sort of a no-go if I don't want to intentionally irritate my wife/ex-wife (a big plus for me)!

A lot of native Clevelanders still think downtown is dangerous and Ohio City is a ghetto. Natives are not always a good source of information.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by Kamms

I hear ya but in the '80s many people were complaining about the yuppies moving into Ohio City. This was a small number since the ''movement'' began in the 1970s. So, it has taken 40 years to get OC to where it is today and it's still a work-in-progress. Cleveland doesn't have to worry about overdoing gentrification; it needs to get it really going forward first before it becomes a ''problem''. DC is undergoing major gentrification with neighborhoods changing quickly; it is also the wealthiest metro area in the U.S. I don't hear anyone in DC complaining about it; only in Cleveland where it barely is moving do you hear the alarms going off already.
What ''personalities'' are left in Cleveland's neighborhoods, at least the ones in dire need of gentrification? The west side is getting section 8 residents by the boatloads thereby changing certain neighborhoods ''personalities'' yet I don't hear anyone complaining about that.

I tend to agree....it's a bit anxietal to be worrying about the type of infill/redevelopment that everybody wants but still has yet to materialize on a city-wide level. Let's start with a full-scale "renaissance" first and THEN worry about whether or not it's destroying the character of some of these places. There are SO MANY neighborhoods in Cleveland that need ANY kind of care/investment that even if they did gentrify it'd be a step in the right direction, since the current "character" can best be described as "sad".

Now that I'm probably going to be in Cleveland for the foreseeable future, I want to see the city make huge strides in reinventing itself by starting to take care of its nooks and crannies, and not just 4 or 5 main neighborhoods (downtown, OC, Tremont, University Circle, and Coventry).

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

A lot of native Clevelanders still think downtown is dangerous and Ohio City is a ghetto. Natives are not always a good source of information.

I also had an opinion of the place, and I live very close to it and go through there at least 2X a day on weekdays to/from work. I'm personally not a fan of Shaker Square, but I can definitely see its potential! I think it could be better than it is now though.

I think I may live there depending on the variables and the situation, but if it involves my wife's opinion and whether or not I'll be able to have my daughter(s) over for days at a time because she thinks it's dangerous -- hyper-critical or no -- I have to at least take her viewpoint seriously......it's just not worth the risk (of not being able to see my kids as much as I'd like).