Help finding the right neighborhood

[SquareBetterThanAll]

Originally Posted by Cleverfield

Can I ask why?

Middleburg Heights wouldn't be anywhere near the top of my list of Cleveland neighborhoods and suburbs to not move to.

[L2DB]

CH-UH schools are decidedly worse than Shaker Heights schools, IMO. Full disclosure: my wife and I (and 4yo and 8mo) just moved out of CH this past summer.

That said, it's going to be tough to find something in your budget in a good school district - at least, something that you'll be able to stay in for the time your kids are in school. You'll probably have to get into something and then upgrade at some point when you can better afford it.

FWIW, Mentor to the airport is crazy so I'd rule that out. South Euclid schools are only marginally better than CH/UH.

Really, all you can do is get with a realtor and see what they can find you in the Beachwood, Orange, Mayfield, or Solon school districts in your price range and with the amenities you want. TBH, there's definitely a trade-off for preferred house type and school district. My wife and I love the CH/SH 1920's houses, but they don't really exist outside of those two cities (on the east side). FWIW, I think your best bet is going to end up being Mayfield or deciding to rent until your house budget is bigger.

[Clevelander17]

If your child is supported at home and has decent motivation, he/she can still get a fine education in the CH-UH schools. The taxes are still going to be an issue, but one thing to consider is that you'll get more house for less money (also meaning less actual tax dollars paid) than you might get in some outer-ring suburbs.

Perhaps one day these arbitrary lines that were drawn on the map a century ago will be erased and the gorgeous housing stock found in the Heights area (including Shaker) won't come with an asterisk.

[SquareBetterThanAll]

Originally Posted by Clevelander17

Perhaps one day these arbitrary lines that were drawn on the map a century ago will be erased and the gorgeous housing stock found in the Heights area (including Shaker) won't come with an asterisk.

Such a detriment to the region's development IMO.

[Cleverfield]

Originally Posted by SquareBetterThanAll

Such a detriment to the region's development IMO.

Shaker Heights was a fully planned community from its beginning. The lines drawn separating it from other suburbs are hardly arbitrary. If there were ever to be any kind of merging of suburbs, Shaker still ought to exist as its own entity. It is a unique, historical, and intentional community that should not have its identity taken away.

[Clevelander17]

Originally Posted by Cleverfield

Shaker Heights was a fully planned community from its beginning. The lines drawn separating it from other suburbs are hardly arbitrary. If there were ever to be any kind of merging of suburbs, Shaker still ought to exist as its own entity. It is a unique, historical, and intentional community that should not have its identity taken away.

Most of Shaker Heights was indeed planned out. But that's not to say that much its borders aren't arbitrary. There's a northwestern piece of SH that juts out from the rest of the city for no apparent reason, but does not include Shaker Square. Was that planned? How about the eastern end of the city, whereby one can be driving north along Green Road starting in Beachwood, then be traveling through Shaker Heights, then once again be back in Beachwood. Does that make any sense? Finally, there's that northern side of a stretch Fairmount Road east from Taylor Road which when bordering University Heights IS considered part of Shaker Heights but when bordering Cleveland Heights IS NOT considered part of Shaker Heights.

All of these quirks are, in my opinion, ridiculous and unnecessary. While I really like Shaker Heights and also would like to see it retain its identity, I see no reason why SH couldn't be the centerpiece of one of many potential eastern suburban mergers. One idea that seems to make sense would be to merge Shaker Heights with neighboring University Heights and Beachwood and perhaps even Highland Hills. Throw Shaker Square into that mix and you have a strong, diverse city...and that eliminates all of my above border quirks. Unfortunately there are a dozen reasons why that is unlikely to ever happen.

[SquareBetterThanAll]

Originally Posted by Cleverfield

Shaker Heights was a fully planned community from its beginning. The lines drawn separating it from other suburbs are hardly arbitrary. If there were ever to be any kind of merging of suburbs, Shaker still ought to exist as its own entity. It is a unique, historical, and intentional community that should not have its identity taken away.

Not sure how you think Cleveland or any other larger city around here developed. Many of the neighborhoods were developed as separate towns and were merged through annexation as Cleveland grew. West Park isn't so named because Cleveland thought it would be a cute name for a neighborhood. And yes, I know what you're saying, Shaker was very deliberately laid out for economic isolation.

I think his point in saying they are arbitrary is they really serve no purpose anymore other than to make it extremely inconvenient to do anything on a regional level, so from a functional standpoint, they are arbitrary. Even at the time they were put into place most boundaries served no other purpose than to allocate resources to a certain group rather than another, there was no greater plan other than that. It puts us at an extreme disadvantage over other (and typically newer) cities who can make decisions for an entire county area at once and put the force of all of their resources into whatever they settle on. Imagine trying to get a consensus from all of Cuyahoga County's municipalities for anything... good luck.