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I lived in Concord Township, which is right next to Painesville for 5 years. Granted, I'm only 15, but I basically grew up there. I currently live in Silicon Valley, California, and I miss Concord so much. I went to Notre Dame Elementary School, which is in Chardon. I knew people to ended up attending the public schools in Painesville, and they said it was really easy and it did not challenge them at all, so I would recommend going the private school path for kids.
My father commuted to Cleveland daily, which took him 30-45 minutes, depending on weather. It was incredibly easy going to the beach, the closest one was maybe 5-10 minutes away.
The only difficult part was when I had friends living in Newbury, which is easily 30-45 minutes away. And my older sister, who was in high school when we lived there, always complained about there being nothing to do on weekends. But she was always a little dramatic, so don't take her word.
Over the years, Mentor has really grown, to the point where it was another city with lots of traffic and congestion.
I played soccer in a year-round team in Mentor. The away games were very hard, since some were 1-2 hours away.
Also, there is an incredible amount of snow. I would reccomend to learn how to ski/snowboard. My family skiied at Alpine Valley, a tiny ski resort in Chardon. It was a lot of fun, though, because numerous people from my school and people I played sports with went there, so I knew basically everyone there.
I would also check out Chardon and Kirtland. I don't know a lot about it, but I knew many people who lived there and they loved it.
Thank you, Nikki. Cincinnati is really going well. It is very suprising to me where some of these people are getting their information from on Cleveland. It seems like some are getting the information from right off the top of their head. First to start off, Cleveland has one of the lowest vacancy rates in the country. Many businesses are having trouble moving in because it is so popular, and there arent many places to go. That is why Cleveland is planning on building a 500 ft. office tower to make more room for businesses to grow. And Cleveland is no where near as dangerous as some people are saying. Its downtown is very clean and safe. The suburbs that border the city are booming. Many new housing developments and shopping malls going in. Even though that sounds progressive, which it is, that is sprawl. And i hate to see sprawl happen. Cleveland is a great city, with world class healthcare, orchestras, parks, recreational areas, sport venues, and restaurants. Cleveland offers so much.
well anicob, i tried skiing once when i was in high school, so it was about 11 years ago, and let's just say skiing isn't my "thing!" LOL! as for the snow, my husband and i both grew up in syracuse, ny, which i'm thinking has similar winters to cleveland, from the sounds of it. so i know all about winters, longggg winters for that matter. but when my husband went in to the army, they sent us to hawaii for 4 years, and well, we adjusted to year-round sunshine fast! then we came to south carolina, so we haven't really seen snow in 6 years! anyway, thanks anicob, appreciate your thoughts.
paintballer, my husband and i are really looking forward to this move. granted i wish it wasn't going to be in the middle of winter! LOL! but i think we're going to like cleveland.
yes, and all the stuff to do, sounds great! and restaurants, i'm looking forward to going to dinner. we have nothing down here in south carolina! tell me, do they have any good ny pizza places there, where you can just grab a slice to go? i do miss the food in syracuse. oh, how about haddock, which is more of a northeastern fish?
I don't mean any disrespect, but it seems to me that you are the one who is getting some of your information right off the top of your head.
As for the dangerousness of the city of Cleveland, I cited the source (Morgan Quitno Press) in my above post in which I stated that Cleveland was ranked as the 12th most dangerous of the 369 cities that were ranked (BTW, I failed to mention that Parma was ranked as the 19th safest - there is definitely a big divide betweeen Cleveland and its suburbs). The Morgan Quitno rankings are based on the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program's annual "Crime in the United States" publication. Cleveland has been ranked as one of the 25 most dangerous cities in the country for the past four years. However, I didn't need to see the rankings to know that Cleveland is dangerous: I lived in the city of Cleveland (in one of its least dangerous neighborhoods, Old Brooklyn) for 27 years before relocating to the Cincinnati area in 2000. All but one of my friends/family members who still lived there when I moved have moved out of the city of Cleveland to various suburbs or to other metro areas because they were fed up with all of the crime in the city. OTOH, as I previosuly stated, I do agree with you that downtown Cleveland is relatively safe.
BTW, it's ironic that you stated that Cleveland is just like Minneapolis. On the 10/16/06 CBS Evening News, there was an 'Eye on Crime in America' segment about the fact that the sharpest increases in crime have recently been in America's mid-size cities. The segment focused on Minneapolis, which has experienced skyrocketing crime rates lately. Apparently, Minneapolis is well on its way to becoming a dangerous city like Cleveland.
As for your saying that Cleveland has one of the lowest vacancy rates in the country, where in the world are you getting that from? This type of information is very easy to research on the Web. The percent of office space vacant in Cleveland's central business district in the 2nd quarter of 2006 was 22.5% (down from 22.6% in the 1st quarter of 2006 but up from 21.8% in the 2nd quarter of 2005). For the sake of comparison, here are the central business district office vacancy rates for the 2nd quarter of 2006 for other major Midwest cities:
Columbus - 18.5%
Cincinnati - 16.6%
Indianapolis - 16.3%
Detroit - 18.6%
Chicago - 18.0%
St. Louis - 16.8%
Kansas City - 20.6%
Minneapolis-St. Paul - 20.1%.
Yes - Cleveland's downtown office vacancy rate is the highest of major Midwest cities.
And yes - less than two months ago (on 8/29), the U.S. Census Bureau named Cleveland the poorest big city in America (poorer than Detroit) for the second time in the last three years. Nearly a third of the city's residents - 32.4% - were living below the federal poverty level (Detroit was the 2nd poorest with 31.4% below the poverty level).
I dont take that personal at all. I get all my information from the U.S. Census Bureau, and MY JOB. I am an Urban Planner, that is where i get my information from on the vacancy rate. Right there that kind of seems like you are getting your information from the top of your head on that issue. Cleveland's downtown is booming with all the new projects going on. I just recently moved to Cincinnati from Cleveland. Like you said you havent lived in Cleveland for about what was it 27 years? Thats a long time. I lived there about three months ago. We were so busy with numerous projects going on around the city. Cleveland is planning on building a new office building for all the new companies coming to the city. Cleveland's downtown population has grown over 32% since 2000. With all the new condo units going in, the downtown population is expected to exceed 20,000 by 2010.
I dont have to go to sites for my information. No doubt most of your information is right. I have seen all of it, most of it being outdated. I worked for over two years in Cleveland in Urban Planning. Cleveland is really doing well. With the new projects going in. Like the Euclid Corridor Project that will be expanding transportation along Cleveland's Lakefront. Cleveland has one of the best Rapid Transit Systems in the country. Also the Connecting Cleveland Plan. It will add parks, condo units, restaurants, and more recreation from Edgewater to Gordon Parks, including Cleveland's downtown and skyline along the lakefront.
Every major city is going to have its crime problems. No doubt Cleveland has that problem. But in Cleveland it is based in certain areas. Like say in Detroit where you only have to go 3 miles SW of the downtown and you see abandonment. And Cleveland unfortunately moved to the poorest city position. But that doesnt mean its economy is doing bad. Cleveland has a growing economy and all sectors are showing strong growth rates. Clevelands unemployment rate is just under 5%, around 4.7%. Compare that to over 8% in Detroit. Cleveland has a very safe downtown, a growing downtown and is a world class city on many levels. Also, Cleveland has the fifth largest banking presence in the nation. At over 250 billion in assests.
You lived in Cleveland about 27 years ago right? Not saying that you havent visited since then. But i worked there not long ago. I worked with many other people in planning some of the new developments you see going in. Cleveland is seeing one of the highest amount of developement dollars going into it in the nation. We were very busy at work. I still talk to some friends up in Cleveland, and they are still busier than ever. The Flats and Warehouse districts are going through billions in new developement. I still wish i could work on those two projects. Robert Stark has some great ideas that will be going into the Warehouse District in these next few years. Not to mention the new Convention Center that will be going in, the possible dome over Browns Stadium, the entire Flats District, the Avenue District, The Euclid Corridor Project, and 515 Euclid Tower. Just to name a few projects going on. Stark Enterprises is investing in billions into just the downtown. The plans for the lakefront are amazing.
I visit cities very often in urban development to see what is going on, and what some cities would like to have done. I worked for Forest City Enterprises. That is a Cleveland based company that helps out other cities across the nation, not just Cleveland. If you could only see the shape that other cities are in. Minneapolis has a booming economy. Its a shame, but you see crime rates skyrocketing across the nation. You are seeing more people flee to the suburbs, but still working in the city. Cities are trying to stop this by adding more downtown housing. You are seeing this in a lot of cities. Do you ever notice how bad the sprawl is around this nation? That is because people are leaving the cities. But with more investment going on in the downtowns, sprawl should begin to slow down. Cleveland is a changing city. It has been given the names like the Comeback City and America's New City. Brookings Institution just named Cleveland as one of America's best emerging downtowns. Cleveland is a changing city. And if you work in urban development or for city council you can see this change. Its not just Cleveland. But Milwaukee, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis.
nikki, i think you will really like Cleveland's Little Italy. Its a great area. I do like South Carolina though. Charelston has a lot of character. Columbia could use some work. But Cleveland has a lot of nice restaurants downtown. The suburbs are booming. I lived in Westlake. It was such a great area. We were only about 15 minutes from the lake and the beaches. LOL winter time. Its really nice believe it or not. I like the change in season. Check out some of the ski resorts down in Geauga and Portage counties. About 45 minutes from Cleveland. Summer, Fall and Spring are all great. Good luck in the move, and if you need any more help feel free to ask.
You misread what I wrote about when I lived in Cleveland. I wrote that I lived there for 27 years before relocating to the Cincinnati area in 2000; IOW, I lived in Cleveland from 1973-2000. Also, I have visited two or three times per year since I moved, so I definitely see what's going on there.
As for the office vacancy rates, I included the link to the website from which I got them, and, as I stated, they are recent - 2nd quarter of 2006. Here is the link again: http://www.buildingteamforecast.com/...dustryid=43721
As for the unemployment rates you stated for Cleveland and Detroit, you're surely talking about the metro areas, not the cities themselves, correct? The city of Cleveland's unemployment rate is in double-digits. BTW, the most recent (August 2006) number for the Cleveland metro area is 5.6% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics; that's a sharp increase from May 2006, when it was 4.6%.
As for Cleveland being a "comeback city," everything I've read and seen indicates that that was its image in the 1990's, but that it is once again a declining city. I am constantly reading and hearing about how poor the Cleveland economy is. Do you know that the Cleveland metropolitan area is actually losing population? The population declined by 21,692 from 2000-2005 according to the Census Bureau. (Note that I'm talking about the entire metro area, not just the city itself.) For the sake of comparison, over the same time period, the Columbus metro gained 95,788; the Cincinnati metro gained 60,784; and the Detroit metro gained 35,778. There are very few large metro areas that are actually losing population, but Cleveland is one of them.
little italy, sounds great! yes, columbia could definately use some work! we haven't been to charleston, but hear it's nice. we planned on visiting, but haven't gotten around to it yet, and hope to before we leave, even just for a day. so we'll see.
How can SC not be friendly? Itsn't it the state of smiling faces and great places? I don't know, but when I am in SC, I LOVE the people.
As far as Cleveland, OH - good luck to you. January is an awesome time in NE OH - and as they say, "Cleveland rocks!" Of course, they're living in California while they're saying that...but don't pay any attention to that.
Good luck on your move.
Last edited by Donna7; 10-18-2006 at 09:14 AM..
Reason: Misspelled word
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LOL! as for the snow, my husband and i both grew up in syracuse, ny, which i'm thinking has similar winters to cleveland, from the sounds of it. so i know all about winters, longggg winters for that matter. but when my husband went in to the army, they sent us to hawaii for 4 years, and well, we adjusted to year-round sunshine fast! 
then we came to south carolina, so we haven't really seen snow in 6 years! anyway, thanks anicob, appreciate your thoughts.
