Official Cleveland relocation thread (Parma, Lakewood: new home, universities, bus)

[ferraris]

Shaker Square, Shaker Heights, Larchmere, and Cleveland Heights are nearby areas that have a large numbers of rentals and would generally be considered a step up in neighborhood quality.

As a short term (1 year or less) situation, I wouldn't necessarily turn down the area you're looking at, though. I'm assuming you are not bringing kids?

[Mz.luna]

Originally Posted by Cleverfield

It’s not too bad. The company I work for renovated and managed two homes on that street and we’ve never had complaints about the neighborhood from tenants, although I’m sure there’s some crime.

Thank for the info, I see you’re a real estate agent to
You have some properties available for immediately move in?

[usaf_1832]

Cool article:

How 3 families live, work & play in Cleveland—and why they wouldn't have it any other way

https://www.freshwatercleveland.com/.../uf060619.aspx

[Balapmsb]

Hi,
I am looking for Indian Apartements 2 bhk in Cleveland since I am moving there. Can any one suggest ?

[konerko2014]

Based on my 20+ years of experience in Cleveland Heights I would avoid a rental there like the plague. Where to start? My first experience was in two story with a good landlord..but then the new owner (a first time home buyer, just married with a young baby) showed up the last night of my lease to announce a 20% rent increase and an increase in the security deposit. I found out he was moving in downstairs and booting out the 83 year old woman living there but not before asking for $500 security so she could stay there 2 more months. We accidentally found out he planned in fixing up and renting out the floor above us; no need to tell us apparently. The next place was owned by a young couple with two young children (also Cleveland Heights natives). When we moved in we realized the short-shag carpet was soaked with dried cat pee; we had to pull it out ourselves. A young woman (a friend of theirs) moved in upstairs with a dog; eventually dog pee leaked through our ceiling--the dog had to go. I could go on. Avoid rentals with young couples with a new baby and it is their first house. You will have zero rights in this situation, which is very common in Cleveland Heights. The city goes very easy on such landlords; I know from hard experience -- very hard.
Finally, you can't trust the natives to tell you about problems. Cleveland area natives are very defensive about their city as a result of decades of jokes. There ARE some nice things about Cleveland Heights. There are many old trees (but they are being cut down at an alarming rate). There is some nightlife but many vacant storefronts. My wife and I no longer feel safe at night; a popular bar owner was murdered a few years ago and there was a spate of carjacking and mugging. MAYBE it is getting better. Don't be deceived by the nice exterior look of the houses in the summer. Good luck

[ferraris]

Cincy and Cleveland really aren't all that close with a ~4 hour drive between the two. If you don't have a concrete reason to go, like family, work, or school, both cities have a lot of closer "weekend getaway" opportunities.

[pareloc]

Family of 3 looking to relocate from a very small (~9,000 pop.), very isolated/rural, very low-wage region in Pennsylvania - contingent on my wife or I getting a job and our current house selling.

We're familiar with the city itself, Ohio City and Tremont, and Cleveland Heights-Uni-Shaker areas - but visiting is a lot different than living. Looking to spend about $100,000 on a house, so that obviously limits what neighborhoods are open to us. So in your opinion, what neighborhoods should we consider?

What we're looking for:

-Location within ~30 minutes of downtown.
-Bike paths are a plus, or closeness to longer trails.
-A school district that is, I suppose, average at worst... We'll be leaving schools here that are average compared to the state.
-Proximity to parks, playgrounds, and/or community gardens a major plus.
-Diversity. It's 95%+ white here.
-Relative safety. We aren't looking to leave our doors open at night, but at the same time I don't want to hesitate putting on my headphones and walking the dog before bed, or letting our daughter play (supervised) with neighborhood kids outside.
-Bars/restaurants/coffee would be a bonus but not necessary.

What's not important:

-Public transport. We have cars, bikes, and feet.
-Proximity to churches.
-Proximity to shopping.
-New construction isn't important, we don't mind areas that have older buildings.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by pareloc

Family of 3 looking to relocate from a very small (~9,000 pop.), very isolated/rural, very low-wage region in Pennsylvania - contingent on my wife or I getting a job and our current house selling.

We're familiar with the city itself, Ohio City and Tremont, and Cleveland Heights-Uni-Shaker areas - but visiting is a lot different than living. Looking to spend about $100,000 on a house, so that obviously limits what neighborhoods are open to us. So in your opinion, what neighborhoods should we consider?

What we're looking for:

-Location within ~30 minutes of downtown.
-Bike paths are a plus, or closeness to longer trails.
-A school district that is, I suppose, average at worst... We'll be leaving schools here that are average compared to the state.
-Proximity to parks, playgrounds, and/or community gardens a major plus.
-Diversity. It's 95%+ white here.
-Relative safety. We aren't looking to leave our doors open at night, but at the same time I don't want to hesitate putting on my headphones and walking the dog before bed, or letting our daughter play (supervised) with neighborhood kids outside.
-Bars/restaurants/coffee would be a bonus but not necessary.

What's not important:

-Public transport. We have cars, bikes, and feet.
-Proximity to churches.
-Proximity to shopping.
-New construction isn't important, we don't mind areas that have older buildings.

There are plenty of neighborhoods without many white people pretty close to downtown. You just probably don't actually want to live there. Old Brooklyn might be a good bet.

[pareloc]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

There are plenty of neighborhoods without many white people pretty close to downtown. You just probably don't actually want to live there. Old Brooklyn might be a good bet.

To us one of the benefits of leaving a very rural, white area is access to restaurants, groceries, art, learning opportunities, and cultural/community activities and events that we wouldn't get where we are now. Obviously all of that can be found across the greater Cleveland area but we wouldn't mind having it outside our front door.

I'll look into Old Brooklyn - we just took our daughter to the zoo but didn't spend any time exploring the area.

[ferraris]

Are you accounting for property taxes in your $100k housing budget? That could be an easy $3-4k/year in some places around here, particularly Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights, which you mentioned.

Of the places you mentioned, Cleveland Heights is probably your best bet in your price range.

Shaker is almost entirely out of your price range, but some homes in the Moreland, Lomond, and Ludlow neighborhoods would fall into it. There's also a sliver of the City of Cleveland that feeds to Shaker schools, and that area is in your price range too. There are also plenty of condos to buy in that price range.

You might want to also check out North Collinwood (Waterloo and E185th) and Euclid. North Collinwood feeds to Cleveland schools, but the community group is active in helping residents find alternative magnets and private schools.