Best eastern suburb for early 40's empty nesters (Cleveland, Mentor: schools, college)

[jms0104]

Hello,

My wife and I will likely be relocating to Cleveland for a job on the east side (Mentor). I'm a Cleveland native and would love to live in Rocky River or Bay Village, but that would be a long commute. I'm less familiar with the east side of town and am looking for some help in finding a nice place to live. Our only kid is in college, so schools not a concern. Looking for higher-end shopping, restaurants, etc. Obviously downtown would be the place to be for dining but my wife insists on a yard for her dog. My first thoughts are Chagrin Falls or maybe Beachwood? Budget is ~ $500K

thanks!

[maxmodder]

For a $500K budget, Kirtland and Willoughby Hills would be my top 2 choices. Nearest high end shopping is Beachwood, but some good dining can be had in Mentor.

[Cleverfield]

If you want more sub-urban, go with Beachwood, Lyndhurst, Mayfield Heights, or Willoughby Hills. If you want more of a rural feel, but still close to suburban amenities, go with Kirtland, Pepper Pike, Orange, Gates Mills. If you want even more rural, but still reasonably close to Mentor and other suburbs, go with Chardon, or Chesterland. Chagrin Falls is going to be about a 30 minute commute for you, which might be a little far. The other cities I mentioned are all about 20 minutes from Mentor, except Kirtland and Willoughby Hills which are about 5 minutes.

[L2DB]

Chagrin Falls is a good option if you're okay with the commute. If you want to be closer in to the things going on/restaurants in Shaker/CH/downtown, you really can't go wrong anywhere. I think Beachwood has some advantages being closer to Eton, Legacy Village, and Beachwood Place, but there might be more value in one of the nicer parts of CH without too much additional drive time to those places or additional commute time.

[Clevelander17]

How do you feel about snow?