Cleveland seriously interests me now (Columbus, Lakewood: credit, transfer, living in) - Ohio (OH) - Page 21 - City-Data Forum

theurbanfiles · 04-02-2015, 11:59 AM

Yeah those aren't the best examples haha. Although, if you like beach volleyball they have some pretty serious competitions there regularly during the summer!

jeffhs560 · 06-26-2016, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nep321

That is good to hear. I want to feel assimilated, welcomed and comfortable.

I don't know how far east you would be willing to move, but if you want to be in a quiet small town, I'd suggest Fairport Harbor, in Lake County. I moved here 16 years ago from Wickliffe (an eastern Cleveland suburb in Lake County, Ohio, 15 miles from downtown), and have not looked back. Fairport Harbor is a very small village (population just under 3100), thirty miles east of downtown Cleveland. It isn't noisy at all, except during the Mardi Gras parade night on July 4; however, the only time you would hear any appreciable amount of noise from that would be if you lived on High Street, the main street of the village. Other than that, though, Fairport Harbor is so quiet, especially at night, I swear you could hear a pin drop.

I had my misgivings about moving here at first, but they didn't last long once I got to know the area. I always wanted to live in a small town, and when I found out I would have to move from my former home (long story), the first place I thought of was Fairport Harbor. The rest is history.

Fairport Harbor is very near Lake Erie (I live about a mile from the south shore of the lake). There is a public beach in the village, operated by Lake Metroparks.

As I mentioned, Fairport Harbor is thirty miles east of downtown, so you would be driving at least 30 minutes to get to the center of Cleveland.

Being so close to Lake Erie, Fairport Harbor, as well as most areas east of Cleveland, gets quite a bit of snow in the winter, due to a phenomenon known as "lake effect". This is caused by warm air passing over the lake after it gets very cold, and the amount of snow generated can be considerable. I remember a snowstorm in 1978, known as "the blizzard of '78", that brought so much snow I had about a foot of the white stuff in front of my garage door, and my next-door neighbor had at least as much snow in front of the side door of her house as well. I would say we had at least a foot of snow that day; needless to say, no one went much of anywhere the day of the blizzard and likely a couple of days after.

Another area you might consider is Painesville. This is a city (population 15000+) located about two miles from Fairport Harbor; in fact, the latter is actually within Painesville Township. Because it is in roughly the same area as Fairport Harbor, Painesville gets its share of snow as well in winter, but because the latter isn't right on the lake they don't get snow blowing off it; at least I don't believe so.

I was in Cleveland Heights for three years in the early '70s (another long story) and can attest to the fact that the city also gets a lot of snow in the winter, due to the area's elevation.

I would avoid Chardon and other areas of Geauga County if you don't care for shoveling snow. I say this because this city (population just over 5000) sits very high as far as elevation goes; of course, this means the area will get much more snow than almost anywhere else in northeast Ohio, except the southwest suburbs. This is due to the fact that the southwestern Cleveland suburbs are located in what is known as the "secondary snow belt", with the eastern suburbs and beyond located in the primary snow belt.

The weather in northeastern Ohio is very difficult to predict (as it is in any area on any of the four Great Lakes). You can have, for instance, a foot of snow in one area and next to nothing 50 miles away. I know someone who lives fifty miles from me, and the weather where she is is very often the exact opposite of what my area gets; to use the example I cited above, she can get, say, five inches of snow, where I may have next to no snow at all, or vice-versa.

For further information about northeastern Ohio and the greater Cleveland area, I would do a Google search using those keywords.

Good luck.

andrew61 · 06-27-2016, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffhs560

I don't know how far east you would be willing to move, but if you want to be in a quiet small town, I'd suggest Fairport Harbor, in Lake County...

You do realize you're replying to a post made in February 2015? (And the OP was planning to move in May of that year.) Hope he's already found a place by now!

I do wish more people who post questions here about where to live would follow up with us and let us know their decisions. It would be very gratifying.

citymama · 06-27-2016, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrew61

You do realize you're replying to a post made in February 2015? (And the OP was planning to move in May of that year.) Hope he's already found a place by now!

I do wish more people who post questions here about where to live would follow up with us and let us know their decisions. It would be very gratifying.

The O/P ended up choosing Columbus.