moving from Youngstown to Cleveland Area Advice on where to live?? (Parma: foreclosure, crime)

[youngstowner]

Single woman moving from youngstown to cleveland area -- prefer east or south of downtown cleveland. Can't afford over $60,000. Want a big old 1.5 story bungalow/cape. Schools aren't a concern. Seems like Euclid, Garfield Heights, Maple Heights and parts of Cleveland (such as Slavic Village) are best bets for the type of house I am looking for. Any specific areas I should definitely avoid? For example, in Euclid it seems like the most crime is near Euclid Ave and least crime bordering richmond heights and wickliffe.

[Cleverfield]

Yep, those are pretty good options. Be careful in Slavic, some areas are definitely much worse than others. In Euclid, I would look either North of I-90, or up the hill, south of Euclid Ave, in the Indian Hills neighborhood (although those may prove too pricey). I am not a big fan of Maple Heights, and would probably avoid that area. It just seems less safe to me, and people there, in my experience, are not very friendly. Plus the city is completely broke. Garfield Heights is decent for the most part, but some parts are unsafe, so you do have to be careful.

Some other options might be:
-North Collinwood: similar to Euclid, but less expensive. There are some really nice improvements underway there, such as the Waterloo Arts District. The closer you are to Waterloo or E 185th, the safer it is. Don't go West of 152nd unless you're north of Lakeshore.

-South Euclid: might be out of your price range, but there might be something available. Most of SE is OK, but again, visit for yourself and see how it feels.

-Bedford: Decent suburb, with some issues, but not bad. Has a little less of an urban feel than the other suburbs mentioned. I'd describe it as a cross between Maple Heights and Solon.

-Parts of Cleveland Heights: There are some options here in that price range that are okay, and some parts that are not great. Look especially in the area around Quilliams. Avoid areas that are close to East Cleveland.

I'm not as familiar with the West Side, but there may be some options there too, in places like Parma and Brook Park, as well as city neighborhoods like Kamm's Corners.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

[ClevelandskyMan]

Originally Posted by Cleverfield

Yep, those are pretty good options. Be careful in Slavic, some areas are definitely much worse than others. In Euclid, I would look either North of I-90, or up the hill, south of Euclid Ave, in the Indian Hills neighborhood (although those may prove too pricey). I am not a big fan of Maple Heights, and would probably avoid that area. It just seems less safe to me, and people there, in my experience, are not very friendly. Plus the city is completely broke. Garfield Heights is decent for the most part, but some parts are unsafe, so you do have to be careful.

Some other options might be:
-North Collinwood: similar to Euclid, but less expensive. There are some really nice improvements underway there, such as the Waterloo Arts District. The closer you are to Waterloo or E 185th, the safer it is. Don't go West of 152nd unless you're north of Lakeshore.

-South Euclid: might be out of your price range, but there might be something available. Most of SE is OK, but again, visit for yourself and see how it feels.

-Bedford: Decent suburb, with some issues, but not bad. Has a little less of an urban feel than the other suburbs mentioned. I'd describe it as a cross between Maple Heights and Solon.

-Parts of Cleveland Heights: There are some options here in that price range that are okay, and some parts that are not great. Look especially in the area around Quilliams. Avoid areas that are close to East Cleveland.

I'm not as familiar with the West Side, but there may be some options there too, in places like Parma and Brook Park, as well as city neighborhoods like Kamm's Corners.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

There should be no reason to be worried in Slavic Village. Heck, you should be more worried to go to Bedford than Slavic Village.

Slavic village is receiving lots of renovation projects, and lots of developments are being built there. It's one of those neighborhoods that just need a thin layer of paint to fix it up.

[Cleverfield]

Originally Posted by ClevelandskyMan

There should be no reason to be worried in Slavic Village. Heck, you should be more worried to go to Bedford than Slavic Village.

Slavic village is receiving lots of renovation projects, and lots of developments are being built there. It's one of those neighborhoods that just need a thin layer of paint to fix it up.

Umm... obviously you don't have that much experience in Slavic Village. Many of the houses there are boarded up and falling apart. It was ground zero of the foreclosure crisis, and many of the houses are still vacant, and have had their copper and mechanicals stolen. Slavic is a pretty big neighborhood, and spans a wide range of quality and safety. You must not have been to the parts around E 71st. Gertrude, Hosmer, Claasen, those streets are all terrible. Lots of crime, lots of dilapidated properties. The streets off of Fleet are not great either. There have been a lot of problems with shootings and drug related activity in that area. I know the city quite well, and love Slavic Village, but there are many reasons to be careful about where you buy there.

[treat]

With $60,000 as your limit, perhaps you should just rent? That way you don't need to worry about maintenance and repair costs, and you could live in a better area. The only city off that list that I would be even moderately ok with buying in would be Euclid. And I say that as someone that lived in Slavic Village up til 2012 (which Cleverfield described pretty accurately).

[ClevelandskyMan]

Originally Posted by Cleverfield

Umm... obviously you don't have that much experience in Slavic Village. Many of the houses there are boarded up and falling apart. It was ground zero of the foreclosure crisis, and many of the houses are still vacant, and have had their copper and mechanicals stolen. Slavic is a pretty big neighborhood, and spans a wide range of quality and safety. You must not have been to the parts around E 71st. Gertrude, Hosmer, Claasen, those streets are all terrible. Lots of crime, lots of dilapidated properties. The streets off of Fleet are not great either. There have been a lot of problems with shootings and drug related activity in that area. I know the city quite well, and love Slavic Village, but there are many reasons to be careful about where you buy there.

Have you even been to E.55th and Broadway?

[Cleverfield]

Originally Posted by ClevelandskyMan

Have you even been to E.55th and Broadway?

Yes, many times. It looks really nice (except for all the vacant storefronts), but once you start going down the residential streets, you realize that a large part of the area is in very rough shape. There are some nice areas here and there, and some nice new construction in places, like along Turney Road, and in the Warszawa historic district, but crime is quite high there, and many of the houses are abandoned and have been gutted by scrappers. I love Slavic, and am considering investing in property there, but that's the reality at the moment.