Official Cleveland relocation thread (Lakewood, Euclid: Home Depot, inspector, organic)

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by peyups

Hello! My family (4 kids, eldest 6, youngest 1) is relocating to Shaker Heights from NJ in the next few months. We've narrowed our search down to SH based on advice we received from forum posts we made earlier, and from our own research. Our house budget is 240k.

1. Neighborhoods / communities to consider (and avoid).
2. Settling-in advice.
3. What to do? Where to go? With covid we have been mostly indoors and we can definitely use a breathe of fresh air, and a change in scenery.
4. My wife and I are working remote full time. My work headquarters is at Miami FL, while my wife's is at Columbus OH. How is the local income tax calculated for this?

Welcome!

There are not any areas of Shaker that should be actively avoided. If you are right on the border with Cleveland there can be some occasional spill over nuisance crime (package theft, loud dirt bike groups, unlocked cars getting rifled through)

You might also consider the portion of Cleveland proper that feeds to Shaker Schools. Have your realtor filter by school district rather than city.

For settling in, I would join one of the Shaker Heights facebook groups, and also the group for your local neighborhood. You could even do this ahead of time if you are trying to get more info on a specific location.

For things to do, I would e-mail the person listed here and see if they can send you the Fall or Winter recreation guide, and also some copies of the Shaker Life magazine. They mail these out to everybody each season, with a list of different activities going on. So you can get the older kid signed up for baseball or soccer or whatever, and even the younger kid will have some stuff available at the Library or through Family Connections (a nonprofit separate from Shaker, but that has local playrooms for babies and toddlers).

The places WRNative listed are great, but also check out the Childrens Museum (they also have an under 3 play area). If you want to explore downtown Cleveland, you can take the Rapid from Shaker to Public Square and have the kids splash in the fountain there. And the Nature Center right in Shaker Heights is not to be missed either!

Welcome, and good luck house hunting!

[peyups]

Originally Posted by WRnative

3. Until your children are vaccinated, check out Shaker Heights parks; Cleveland Metroparks and Lake Metroparks (Farmpark, Penitentiary Glen); Cuyahoga Valley National Park; Lake Erie beaches; Holden Arboretum; perhaps drive to the Mohican Region or Presque Isle (see discussions in following link). Once vaccinated, the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland Botanical Garden, etc., would be good options.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g...Day.Trips.html

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g...Cleveland.html

4. https://shakeronline.com/158/Underst...ce%20community.

Call RITA and ask what forms you would need and review them.

Thank you! Checking the links now

[peyups]

Originally Posted by ferraris

Welcome!

There are not any areas of Shaker that should be actively avoided. If you are right on the border with Cleveland there can be some occasional spill over nuisance crime (package theft, loud dirt bike groups, unlocked cars getting rifled through)

You might also consider the portion of Cleveland proper that feeds to Shaker Schools. Have your realtor filter by school district rather than city.

For settling in, I would join one of the Shaker Heights facebook groups, and also the group for your local neighborhood. You could even do this ahead of time if you are trying to get more info on a specific location.

For things to do, I would e-mail the person listed here and see if they can send you the Fall or Winter recreation guide, and also some copies of the Shaker Life magazine. They mail these out to everybody each season, with a list of different activities going on. So you can get the older kid signed up for baseball or soccer or whatever, and even the younger kid will have some stuff available at the Library or through Family Connections (a nonprofit separate from Shaker, but that has local playrooms for babies and toddlers).

The places WRNative listed are great, but also check out the Childrens Museum (they also have an under 3 play area). If you want to explore downtown Cleveland, you can take the Rapid from Shaker to Public Square and have the kids splash in the fountain there. And the Nature Center right in Shaker Heights is not to be missed either!

Welcome, and good luck house hunting!

Thanks for the advice, appreciate it!

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by WRnative

3. Until your children are vaccinated, check out Shaker Heights parks; Cleveland Metroparks and Lake Metroparks (Farmpark, Penitentiary Glen); Cuyahoga Valley National Park; Lake Erie beaches; Holden Arboretum; perhaps drive to the Mohican Region or Presque Isle (see discussions in following link). Once vaccinated, the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland Botanical Garden, etc., would be good options.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g...Day.Trips.html

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g...Cleveland.html

4. https://shakeronline.com/158/Underst...ce%20community.

Call RITA and ask what forms you would need and review them.

I meant to specifically mention the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. The outdoor portions are very good, especially African Elephant Crossing, where you can get within 10-15 feet of the massive African elephants when they cross between paddocks. Unfortunately, I would skip the great RainForest building until the kids are fully vaccinated even if wearing masks. Perhaps buy a family membership.

https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/...phant-crossing

Pre-pandemic recommendations:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/clev...land-moms.html

I believe Lake Metroparks has shut down for the epidemic's duration the fantastic Farmpark dairy cow milking studio for children.

Horseshoe Lake has been drained and its dam may be removed. In the past century, it was a key attraction in Shaker Heights. However, the park that would replace the lake might be even better.

https://www.cleveland.com/community/...-councils.html

BTW, I don't know if there is a difference in quality among the SH elementary schools. I really like Fernway Elementary School, with its post-fire reconstructed interior, and classical neighborhood setting, but it's not a cheap neighborhood. Perhaps ask to tour prospective elementary school buildings, and certainly check out nearby playgrounds and distance to Thornton Park; it would be great if kids could go to Thornton on their own when older.

https://shaker.life/schools/the-rebirth-of-fernway/

https://www.freshwatercleveland.com/...Ire121818.aspx

https://shakeronline.com/154/Thornton-Park

Another goal might be to live within walking distance of the Van Aken District and the Blue Line rail rapid, if housing prices would permit it.

“Van Aken is unique,” Braverman said. “There are similar lifestyle centers, be it Crocker Park or Pinecrest, but those are the ones where the street is kind of its own street off by itself; they’re not connected to the neighborhoods. Van Aken is different because it connects into the neighborhoods....

Van Aken, however, falls into the South Woodland Road/Warrensville Center Road neighborhood, which is actually one of the less expensive neighborhoods in Shaker, though real estate prices are on the rise since the opening of the District.”

https://www.midstory.org/how-the-van...tration-essay/

BTW, I personally think the acoustics in the Van Aken District Market Hall are embarrassingly atrocious. Hopefully, that will be remedied some day.

[kimjt]

Euclid, so far, seems to be an area where I could afford to buy - looking for a home under $200k. Single female, older - are there areas of Euclid that are better than others for someone like me? Looking at areas that are about a mile from the lake. I could ask a realtor, but would like input from the forum first. Thanks!!

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by kimjt

Euclid, so far, seems to be an area where I could afford to buy - looking for a home under $200k. Single female, older - are there areas of Euclid that are better than others for someone like me? Looking at areas that are about a mile from the lake. I could ask a realtor, but would like input from the forum first. Thanks!!

Have you considered Lake County? Lake County's Laketran offers Dial-a-Ride, point-to-point mass transit with discounted fares for seniors. The service includes University Circle hospitals.

Areas north of Lakeshore in Euclid are within a mile of Lake Erie and are relative housing bargains in Greater Cleveland.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/8...33626903_zpid/

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...33633360_zpid/

Euclid has a newer housing development -- Wells Place -- at the intersection of Lloyd Road and Lakeshore, maybe 15-20 houses on Wells Court.

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...2_M44047-24851

My understanding is that there are some real housing bargains in southwest Euclid, south of Euclid Ave. I don't know the area well and the demographics may be more problematic. E.g., Greenwood Ave.?

There are very affordable condos off Lakeshore Blvd. E.g., Bonneville Tower and Benton Village.

Good luck!

[Christinepurple]

Originally Posted by kimjt

Euclid, so far, seems to be an area where I could afford to buy - looking for a home under $200k. Single female, older - are there areas of Euclid that are better than others for someone like me? Looking at areas that are about a mile from the lake. I could ask a realtor, but would like input from the forum first. Thanks!!

Have you tried Lakewood? It has a lot to offer plus I believe it's not real expensive to live there. Lakewood is west of Cleveland and a nicer area than I believe Euclid is. Euclid has had some bad police problems for one thing.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by Christinepurple

Have you tried Lakewood? It has a lot to offer plus I believe it's not real expensive to live there. Lakewood is west of Cleveland and a nicer area than I believe Euclid is. Euclid has had some bad police problems for one thing.

The median home price in Lakewood is $259,262 compared to $121,985 in Euclid, according to Zillow.

https://www.zillow.com/lakewood-oh/home-values/

https://www.zillow.com/euclid-oh/home-values/

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by kimjt

Euclid, so far, seems to be an area where I could afford to buy - looking for a home under $200k. Single female, older - are there areas of Euclid that are better than others for someone like me? Looking at areas that are about a mile from the lake. I could ask a realtor, but would like input from the forum first. Thanks!!

North of Lakeshore is great. But people don't sell those homes very often. Anyway, I am bullish on Euclid. There is a lot going for it.

[kimjt]

Thank you ALL for that information and feedback - very appreciated and I will look at those links. I have looked at Lakewood but so far, nothing in my price range without needing a LOT of fixing up.