How Much Money Do I Need? (Cleveland, Lakewood: best suburbs, for sale, real estate)

[Donnerna]

Hi all,

I am a federal employee currently working in downtown Washington DC. I have an opportunity to move to Cleveland, Ohio. It would actually be a demotion and significant paycut, but would be way closer to family and I'm hoping I would break even when you consider the cost of living difference.

I currently make around $78k a year in Washington DC. If I took the Cleveland job, I'd be making 50-60k. I have a stay-at-home wife and a newborn baby daughter, so safety is important to me.

My family (parents, siblings, etc) live in Pittsburgh...just two hours from Cleveland instead of 5.5 hours from Washington DC. That's the only reason I'm considering the job...I want my daughter to know her grandparents and uncles/aunts/etc.

We currently rent a basic two bedroom townhouse...nothing fancy...in a decent suburban, but my commute is two hours a day round trip. The rent is around $1450 a month.

So...what areas would you recommend for someone supporting a stay-at-home wife and newborn daughter on 50-60k. Safety is most important issue, and we'd prefer to buy a suburban house if that's feasible with my income.

Let me know if you have any recommendations!

tl;dr safe suburban neighborhood in Cleveland area, family of 3 on 50-60k.

[L2DB]

Mayfield Heights, if you're buying. I assume you'll want eastside to be closer to Pittsburgh and you can't afford the others with good schools (what constitutes "good" is debated on here, but IMO).

You may also consider renting for a few years depending other factors. You could get a 3BR 1.5BA SFH in Cleveland Heights for about $1k-1100/month rent and have a few years before your daughter would be in school. Could build up a down payment, learn more about the area, etc. before deciding where to settle down for good.

[Donnerna]

Thanks! We would probably rent for at least a year to get a feel for the area, and then buy in the best school district that we could afford.

Is the difference between east and west cleveland that significant when it comes to driving to Pittsburgh? I know east is closer, but are we talking ten minutes or an hour?

[L2DB]

Prob around 15 minutes. Just did a quick mapquest comparison (obv. this is rough and it will depend exactly where you live and how far to the highway, but some options...)

Rocky River - 2h 24m
Strongsville - 2h 17m
Mayfield Heights - 2h 8m
Solon - 2h 2m

I'm not sure about house prices in Rocky River or Strongsville. RR prob out of your budget.

[Donnerna]

Got it, thanks! 15 minutes isn't a big deal to me, so west Cleveland would be fine too, if there are safe areas within our budget.

[Peregrine]

You can afford some of the nicer areas. Here's one in Rocky River for $150K. House payment would be under $1,000.

Rocky River Real Estate & Rocky River Homes for Sale - Zillow

Here's a 4 bedroom for $115K.
Fairview Park Real Estate & Fairview Park Homes for Sale - Zillow

THere are deals to be had for sure.

[whitesable]

My in-laws are from Pittsburgh and live in Streetsboro due to the proximity to the turnpike. That being said, with the highway build out in the Cleveland metro area, and the 70 mph speed limit on the turnpike, Pittsburgh is a quick drive. It's close enough that I have left work, caught a Pirates game at PNC Park and got back home before midnight.

There are dozens of options to setup shop, it really depends on what you're looking for. For renting, If schools are not an issue and you want a walkable area for your wife with lots of sidewalks and shops to walk to, I would recommend Lakewood or Cleveland Heights. There are better parts of both, so if that's your preference than do your research. If you're looking for public transportation to downtown, than Shaker Heights is a good option. If you're looking for a safe, sleepy suburb for the year you're renting there are dozens of options within a 30 minute drive to downtown. Check out the Cleveland Magazine list of best suburbs which details the suburbs, just google "Cleveland Magazine Rating the suburbs". Good Luck, I relo'd from NYC to Cle a few years ago for similar reasons and it's worked out well.