Cleveland vs. Inner Ring Suburbs (Parma, Lakewood: low income, section 8, apartments)

[Cleverfield]

I'm curious to know how Cleveland Proper stacks up against the inner ring suburbs in terms of desirability. In years past, the city neighborhoods emptied out to the suburbs, and people wouldn't even consider moving into the city. Now it seems that trend is reversing. Which suburbs do you think are now less desirable than Cleveland proper, and which are still more desirable. For the sake of this comparison, let's leave Downtown out of the equation - we're strictly talking about city neighborhoods vs. inner ring suburbs.

The inner suburbs are all suburbs that share a border with Cleveland proper, and include:

-South Euclid
-Euclid
-Cleveland Heights
-Shaker Heights
-East Cleveland
-Warrensville Heights
-Maple Heights
-Garfield Heights
-Cuyahoga Heights
-Newburgh Heights
-Brooklyn Heights
-Parma
-Brooklyn
-Brook Park
-Fairview Park
-Lakewood
-Bratenahl

Rank them in this format. Higher is better, lower is worse. Leave out the ones you're not sure about.

Shaker Heights
Bratenahl
Lakewood
Brook Park
Cleveland Heights
Brooklyn
Parma
South Euclid
Euclid
Middleburgh Heights
Warrensville Heights
Garfield Heights
Cleveland
Maple Heights
East Cleveland

[JohnDBaumgardner]

Cleverfield, I reside in the city of Euclid, I love it here! Euclid has seen some challenges just like many other Cleveland suburbs; however, it does have many nice qualities:

*A wide variety of housing stock at affordable prices

*A very responsive Police force

*Great park areas & swimming pools - The new pedestrian pier at Sims Park is just awesome!!!

*An attractive and modernized library

*Easy access to Downtown and the eastern suburbs

*Great shopping choices

*Proximity to Lake Erie is very alluring

*Euclid also has lovely neighborhoods - Beverly Hills and Indian Hills are quite lovely!

[bjimmy24]

Where would I live?

Cleveland Heights, Lakewood, maybe Shaker, but it's definitely not as "fun" as the other two.

"Cleveland" is a little broad. I'd rather live in a place like Ohio City over Coventry, but I would pass on Central in favor of anywhere in Lakewood.

[Clevelander17]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

"Cleveland" is a little broad. I'd rather live in a place like Ohio City over Coventry, but I would pass on Central in favor of anywhere in Lakewood.

I agree, Cleveland has a vast range of neighborhoods. I'd rather live in certain parts of Cleveland than in Warrensville Heights, Euclid, Parma, Maple Heights, Garfield Heights, etc.

[reretarff]

Shaker Heights has a steady population, which is about half Jewish/White and half African American. It is going to stay steady too, being bordered with Cleveland Heights and Beachwood.

Bratenahl is going to get a rise in population because of all the new and old mansions there, along with the upscale condos.

Lakewood is going to see a rise in population also because of the new wave of younger people moving there, along with new bars and restaurants opening there.

Brook Park is probably going to stay where it is because of it's close proximity to the airport and great metro parks.

Cleveland Heights is going to see a major rise in population because of it bordering Beachwood and South Euclid and Shaker Heights. Cedar Road and the Cedar-Lee area are doing great because of all the restaurants opening there, along with the wide range in houses, having those inner city type houses, along with one hundred year old million dollar mansions on tree lined streets.

Brooklyn is going to stay where it's at population wise, considering it's about the same as it's been 20 years ago.

Parma is going to get better by the years because of the large and strong Polish and Ukrainian population there, along with a small growth in Russian immigrants. Parma has nice schools and is a good looking neighborhood, also having Cleveland's skyline visible there.

South Euclid is going to stay where it's at right now, because of the high Orthodox Jewish population there, along with being close to Cleveland Heights, Beachwood and Shaker Heights. There are a lot of stores and restaurants along Cedar Road there, so I think it's doing great.

Euclid is going to stay where it's at, or maybe even get better soon. Euclid has a pretty stable equal mixed racial population of about 50% white and about 50% African American. Euclid also has great city services, along with the remodeling of houses and apartments.

Middleburgh Heights is going to get better because they are trying to remodel the houses and build more businesses there.

Warrensville Heights is going to stay where it's at, if not get better because of I-271 going right through it, being close to the Racino, having Cuyahoga Community College and South University in it and bordering good neighborhoods like Solon, Orange and Beachwood.

Garfield Heights is going to stay where it is because of it being where it is, close to Brooklyn Heights and Warrensville Heights.

Just saying Cleveland is too vague.

Maple Heights is going to stay where it is for the same reasons as Garfield Heights.

East Cleveland is going to go either way. Either they become a part of the city of Cleveland and get some sort of rehabilitation and end up looking like University Circle, or they can stay the way they are now and just see more decline, or they can elect a mayor that somehow turns the direction of the city completely around and make it better somehow.

[Clevelander17]

Originally Posted by reretarff

Shaker Heights has a steady population, which is about half Jewish/White and half African American. It is going to stay steady too, being bordered with Cleveland Heights and Beachwood.

Bratenahl is going to get a rise in population because of all the new and old mansions there, along with the upscale condos.

Lakewood is going to see a rise in population also because of the new wave of younger people moving there, along with new bars and restaurants opening there.

Brook Park is probably going to stay where it is because of it's close proximity to the airport and great metro parks.

Cleveland Heights is going to see a major rise in population because of it bordering Beachwood and South Euclid and Shaker Heights. Cedar Road and the Cedar-Lee area are doing great because of all the restaurants opening there, along with the wide range in houses, having those inner city type houses, along with one hundred year old million dollar mansions on tree lined streets.

Brooklyn is going to stay where it's at population wise, considering it's about the same as it's been 20 years ago.

Parma is going to get better by the years because of the large and strong Polish and Ukrainian population there, along with a small growth in Russian immigrants. Parma has nice schools and is a good looking neighborhood, also having Cleveland's skyline visible there.

South Euclid is going to stay where it's at right now, because of the high Orthodox Jewish population there, along with being close to Cleveland Heights, Beachwood and Shaker Heights. There are a lot of stores and restaurants along Cedar Road there, so I think it's doing great.

Euclid is going to stay where it's at, or maybe even get better soon. Euclid has a pretty stable equal mixed racial population of about 50% white and about 50% African American. Euclid also has great city services, along with the remodeling of houses and apartments.

Middleburgh Heights is going to get better because they are trying to remodel the houses and build more businesses there.

Warrensville Heights is going to stay where it's at, if not get better because of I-271 going right through it, being close to the Racino, having Cuyahoga Community College and South University in it and bordering good neighborhoods like Solon, Orange and Beachwood.

Garfield Heights is going to stay where it is because of it being where it is, close to Brooklyn Heights and Warrensville Heights.

Just saying Cleveland is too vague.

Maple Heights is going to stay where it is for the same reasons as Garfield Heights.

East Cleveland is going to go either way. Either they become a part of the city of Cleveland and get some sort of rehabilitation and end up looking like University Circle, or they can stay the way they are now and just see more decline, or they can elect a mayor that somehow turns the direction of the city completely around and make it better somehow.

A number of the suburbs discussed above are near and dear to my heart for various reasons, but I think that your outlook is a bit too rosy for most of them. Short of significant gentrification or government intervention (i.e. demolishing homes), I fear that many are going to continue to deteriorate and be victims of flight.

[L2DB]

Your whole premise precludes whether your subject person has kids. If you have kids and can afford it (leaving the private option out) you live in the suburbs. If you don't have kids, there are parts of Cleveland proper that have the potential to be more desirable.

[Cleverfield]

^ That sentiment might be changing with high performing public schools like John Hay as well as charter schools.

[TBideon]

Shaker Heights: Has been, is, and will continue to be stable, with the majority wealthy or middle income. Even the rougher spots are not too bad.
Bratenahl: I don't know much about it. No opinion. Probably stays older and wealthy.
Lakewood: Doing okay, fights the blight effectively, schools still good for the most part. Still a desirable suburb.
Brook Park: Really no opinion. Is Ford the biggest employer there?
Cleveland Heights: Perhaps an increase in young professionals with a decrease in families. Schools and crime still an issue. Permanently stable as long as Case, UH, and the Cleveland Clinic are around.
Brooklyn: As the second biggest employer of a somewhat fading city, American Greetings pulling out of the area is catastrophic for the city. I would not invest there by any means.
Parma: Semi-stable but there is a rise in Section 8. Because of the community's ties to Eastern Europe, it isn't unreasonable to expect some motivation to bring in immigrants, thereby stabilizing the population/blight.
South Euclid: On the decline. Look at the quality of stores on Mayfield. Look at the demographics of the school. Probably has changed for the worse more than any other city since 2000.
Euclid: Also on the decline. Low income whites and blacks alike, some inexplicably located Section 8 housing along the lake. Kind of a strange, rough area overall.
Middleburgh Heights: Haven't a clue.
Warrensville Heights: Well, they're bulldozing Randall Mall, so that's a positive. Marcia Fudge might look out for her former district, so that's another plus. And Orange/Solon are still thriving, so the WH residents may see some overlap.
Garfield Heights: Semi-stable on the decline.
Cleveland: Accelerating decline, especially with once functional (though rough) west side neighborhoods. Population is bleeding (perhaps bottomed out on the east side), and city's focus of downtown is misplaced.
Maple Heights: Dead.
East Cleveland: Dead.

[bjimmy24]

^ Ignoring a lot of areas that are doing well. Better than any point in Cleveland's history since white flgiht. I think it's unwise to ignore some of the unprecedented growth.