People who moved back to NE Ohio after moving away (Cleveland: house, neighborhoods)

[OhioNative]

I'm interested in getting comments from anyone out there who moved back to NE Ohio after having lived away for a period of time, especially from a warmer climate. What led to your decision to move back? Are you happy you moved back? Any problems adjusting back to the NE Ohio weather? My spouse and I find ourselves missing our home town lately, and have been toying with the idea of moving back. However, we are worried that we won't adjust well to the weather (currently live in Atlanta), or the fact that so many people we grew up with have left and that it won't be the same.

[costello_musicman]

I lived in North Carolina for a couple years.

My biggest reasons:

- sports teams at my finger tips
- sense of place (I personally enjoy Cleveland history, specific areas and neighborhoods... Ie. Cleveland Hts, Little Italy, Shaker Square, Ohio City, Lakewood, etc)
- people seem more genuine in Cleveland, where I often felt I was seeing a faux southern hospitality
- Playhouse Square Broadway season tickets, Cleveland Orchestra, Univeristy Circle in general with all its attractions.
- Having four seasons... I really missed having a nice crisp fall
- sense of pride people have in Cleveland. Living here makes one fell like their a part of something, even more so, making it better
- family of course

Things I was pleasantly surprised I didn't take Advantage or realize when first living here:

- Metroparks (didnt realize people hiked, biked, and kayaked)
- Lake Erie in general (sucker for the jet skis and dinner boat cruises)
- beer scene - sure I drank Great Lakes, but there are about a dozen good brewery spots in town nowadays
- westside in general
- riding the rapid
- affordability
- westside market (I went once or twice, but now it's a must stop for out of town visitors)

Regarding weather, winter is tough at first, but like anything you adjust.

[citymama]

We are Northern California natives. We moved to the Westside with our then 2 year old and me 7 months pregnant. Having moved from Oakland, specifically, we had a really easy transition to Clevelabd. Underdeveloped waterfront, underdog mentality, gritty, etc. I loved our walkable neighborhood and slower pace. Winters were novel.

Then we moved south to Nashville. I probably cried and prayed for a straight year wanting to move back. The culture in Cleveland is rooted in the ethnic enclaves and that felt comfortable
to me. The rural town we were in had culture rooted in Southern Baptist religion and that felt very uncomfortable. Where we were, there was very little political or social diversity. As far as the weather, it was only 10 degrees warmer in winter and the towns shut down often with the freezing rain or any hint of snow. When we got offered the job to come back, we jumped at the chance. 3 years back has absolutely flown by. I have a list pages long of what I want to do in each season and if I don't get to anything on the list, it's usually because we've just been enjoying hanging out in our sweet little walkable neighborhood loving our day to day life.

[miamian in nc]

Cleveland continues to be in the back of my mind also. My story is different from everyone here so far in this thread. I am originally from Miami, FL but left Central FL where my parents retired and moved to Cleveland when they died as I had no other family in Central FL. I did a few back and forth moves, going back to Miami for a brief time, then back to Cleveland, and then to North Carolina - just couldn't find my place now that I was alone. I've been in NC for 14 years. I have not really had anything solid keeping me here - part-time piecemeal jobs, plus teaching ESL part-time at a local community college two nights a week. I'm just now starting something new - another part-time job at the library here. I'm looking forward to it and want to get some experience there, but I don't see myself staying here in NC for the long haul.

I've given it 14 years here, have acquaintances, but not really close friends. There are some kind people here, including some families that have included me in get-togethers; however, all in all I have never felt like I belong here. Coming from Florida, there was a sense of both belonging and a good life there while growing up. Now though, it's no longer home. I went back three years ago to see if I might want to return but I don't.

Now for my time in Cleveland, it was a weather thing back then. I was fresh out of FL and the cold and gray winters made me not want to be there. It was still a time of personal grief in losing my parents. But, in being here in NC there is no real ethnic diversity here to speak of. Culture is greatly missing too. In Cleveland there is so much to offer with ethnic diversity, then University Square with its museums, the orchestra, street festivals, Friday fish frys, the beauty of Lake Erie in the four seasons, the Metroparks...the list goes on. Being alone in Cleveland is okay. Here in the Triangle in NC it isn't. It's families or college students at one of the major universities - Duke, UNC, NC State, tec. If you're older and alone, this isn't the place to be. I'm sad here. Despite the weather in Cleveland, it's so much better there for someone like me. I may return to retire or even in the next few years. Cleveland is a great place.

[jprice15]

I can't speak to the questioners particular questions, but he/she isn't alone. Cleveland is a unique place, and I would like to offer two anecdotes.

1. I remember being at the City Club last year, listening to Aaron David Miller, a Cleveland native. When he was boarding his flight from DC (where he currently resides) to CLE to give the talk, a person asked where he was going, to which he replied, "home". He noted, in an off-handed remark, that he found that funny. He's lived in DC longer than he did in CLE, yet he still calls this home. He said, "You can take the boy out of Cleveland, but you can't take Cleveland out of the boy"

2. A family member, who was born and grew up in Vermont, went to college in Florida, and then moved back to MA after, was relocated to Cleveland for work. She and her husband both agreed, Cleveland was first place that truly felt like home, despite never having lived here before.

[theurbanfiles]

Cleveland really is a great place. I'm living in FL right now and hoping to eventually move back at least part time. Big things for me:

1. Weather: I think living in ATL it would bother me less due to the number of indoor attractions, shade, and proximity to the mountains and cooler temps. But, it's certainly worth noting that Cleveland is overall likely more comfortable than ATL from May-Sept. Obviously, ATL comes out ahead the other 7 months, but, with that being said, ATL never gets a prolonged stretch of temperatures in the 65-80 degree range like one does in Cleveland, and even though it doesn't snow or get as cold, it certainly gets cold in ATL. However, I am looking at ATL as a compromise on weather with my wife, since it doesn't get as hot as it does in FL, and experiences Cleveland's seasons which I miss so much. I don't think weather would be as dramatic a transition for you as it would be for someone in FL. What you prefer is based on you though. I could deal with Atlanta's climate, but Florida's has me clamoring for home.

Edit: I usually group weather by months. I'd say Cleveland wins 7 months vs. FL, and that's if someone doesn't enjoy winter sports at all also. I'd say Atlanta wins 7 months against Cleveland, but, the question is which has the best stretch, and also, there really is a charm to the seasons in CLE IMO.

2. Scenery/Parks: Again, not as MUCH of an issue for Atlanta as Stone Mountain and Chattahoochee NRA are cool, and you're close to the mountains, and the trees are oh so gloriously deciduous there. But, even then on sheer size, Cleveland has Atlanta's park system beat, and it REALLY has anywhere in Florida's beat. I like how Cleveland is both flat, and not. That I'm able to experience terrain there where I can't in Florida. And even in the dead of winter, forests in Cleveland, feel like well, forests. In Florida, they feel more like a swamp. The aesthetic is better, the tap water tastes better (Erie), and you can sit in the grass without being cut or red ants attacking.

3. Built Environment: I love the history and sense of community and architecture and neighborhoods in Cleveland. Florida has some of that to be sure, just significantly less of it. ATL has more of it than FL, but still less than CLE. Even sporting venues/events are way better overall in CLE.

4. Museums/culture: I feel like this could be grouped with the last one, but Cleveland is simply excellent here.

5. Location: Cleveland has a better location for seeing more of what the world has to offer. Think of the fact that in 5 hrs. driving from downtown, you can be:
1. Thru hiking 3-4K peaks on the AT.
2. In the CBD of 2 of the 5 most powerful cities in N.A.
3. In a distinctly southern city, having a mint julep and watching the Kentucky Derby
4. In another country at one of the 7 wonders of the world (Niagara Falls) (<4 hrs.)
5. Be in 6 other Big League cities I didn't already mention.

6. Affordability/Opportunity Ratio: plenty of job opportunities, but also a cost of living that would allow a person to get a very nice house in a nice area and thrive. I'd say the cost to entry for something like that in FL, depending on area might be 200k, ATL would be 170k, and CLE would be 130k. Estimate, but that's really amazing.

7. Miscellaneous. I could go on. Significantly less time spent waiting in traffic, etc., etc., but overall, there's a lot to treasure about this area.

[Dracarys]

I'm moving back after a year in Arizona. The main reason is that my husband is being deployed and is doing his initial training on the east coast. Both of our families are in Cleveland; I do not want to be here in AZ completely alone while he is gone.

However, I'm not sad to be moving back. Arizona was okay, but not anything to write home about. Maybe it was where we lived, but we were unimpressed. We miss our families and it gets quite lonely here with none of that chaos around. I had a good job in Cleveland I'm lucky to be going back to and my house there never sold, so it was meant to be I suppose.

So, as much as I complain about the snow and cold, Cleveland really is home for a variety of reasons. I will not miss the AZ heat; one year was plenty for me. I'm actually looking forward to all 4 seasons again. I realize I don't take advantage of all the city offers because of where we live (far east 'burbs), but I'm planning to change that.