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I concur that the current weather may not contribute a positive impression upon you of cle. If there's a locale that you're interested in seeing what it's like in good weather, check out the youtube channel of newdaycleveland. They have an hour-long feature on the local fox affiliate where they go to different places, e.g. Painesville, or Chagrin Falls, or University Circle. They feature local businesses and people from those locales, so you can get a glimpse of what things are like over there, typically in nicer weather. Once you may fancy a certain area, then perhaps it would be worthwhile having your own boots on the ground.
And it;s ok to be lonely. But from the responses here, it doesn't seem that you're alone. You Reach out and someone tried to help. I hope you will find the place that suits you best.
I think the weather is just making it difficult for me to do the things I need to do to start feeling comfortable and more familiar with the place. I usually just walk all over, take buses everywhere, get the lay of the land but it's been hard to do that right now so it just feels strange being here and not that pleasant. I miss being settled and it feels so weird to be "in transition." As one of my friends said..."put on your big girl pants."
Thanks for the YOUTUBE suggestion...that sounds great.
People on this forum have been great and that has heartened me. I guess I don't really feel lonely so much as just uncomfortable and uncertain what future holds and feel anxious to be settled again. I'm moving into my temp apt. tomorrow so maybe that will help. Thanks for listening and for your help. Hope to have better things to say in the near future.
I'm not even much of a shopper but was surprised there is no real shopping area downtown with department stores such as Macy's. I heard there used to be one but it is now the casino. I would prefer to be near cultural things (but not sure like being in a student area). I will have to check out Lake County. I took the green line today and saw Shaker Square which was very appealing. Didn't get off the train and just enjoyed the lovely scenery (Tudor houses, lots of trees).
Most of the department stores in Greater Cleveland used to be in downtown Cleveland. They were spectacular. I remember visiting NY City in the 1960s and my mother didn't believe that the department stores there were any better than those in Cleveland -- Higbee's, Halle's, May's, and Sterling Linder are the ones that I still remember, but I believe there were others. Higbee's was eventually purchased by Dillard's and now is the downtown casino. The famous Santa Claus slide scene from "A Christmas Story" was shot inside Higbee's, and you can see glimpses of Higbee's first floor during the scene.
Sterling Linder had a Christmas tree that rivaled the one at Rockefeller Center in NYC, except Sterling Linder erected the tree inside its atrium. Kids used to take school field trips to see the tree. The problem was that the first floor around the tree had fragile goods such as china and lots of Christmas tree ornaments. I remember teachers and parent chaperones sweating bricks as we checked out that tree. My parents were smarter. When my parents took my brother and I to see the Sterling Linder tree, we were only allowed to view it from the fourth floor.
Have you checked out the Avenue at Tower City. It used to be a train terminal larger than Grand Central Station. On a weekend, buy a ticket and go the Terminal Tower observation deck for a bird's eye view of Cleveland.
From the last station on the Green Line, the Green Road Station, you can take buses to both Legacy Village and the adjacent Beachwood Mall, collectively the upscale shopping mecca in northern Ohio. Use Google Transit for the specifics if you are ever interested, perhaps in better weather. There's also bus service directly from University Circle to Beachwood Place.
If there's a locale that you're interested in seeing what it's like in good weather, check out the youtube channel of newdaycleveland. They have an hour-long feature on the local fox affiliate where they go to different places, e.g. Painesville, or Chagrin Falls, or University Circle. They feature local businesses and people from those locales, so you can get a glimpse of what things are like over there, typically in nicer weather. Once you may fancy a certain area, then perhaps it would be worthwhile having your own boots on the ground.
I had never seen that New Day road trip to Painesville. It had some things new to me, such as Miscellaneous Barn. It was excellent, but I prefer Model Bakery to T&T, and neither are as good as the long defunct Puritan Bakery.
The road trip includes Greater Painesville. E.g., Smoke BBQ Grill is located in Painesville Township, certainly not a short walk (almost 3 miles and no sidewalks on Route 20) from downtown Painesville.
At 19:21 you can see the Johnson Apartments in the background and there are lots of shots of Veterans Memorial Park (public square). You can take a Laketran bus from Painesville along Mentor Ave. to Great Lakes Mall and beyond on one of the best shopping corridors in Ohio. Close to Painesville on Mentor Ave. is a Giant Eagle, Marc's and Aldi's for your grocery needs. Many elderly persons in Lake County use Laketran's dial-a-ride service for grocery shopping for door-to-door service. The bus drivers help passengers when needed.
Across from the Painesville Depot shown in a segment at the end of the video is the Depot Cafe. It has very good Lake Erie perch (a local delicacy), but I prefer Brennan's Fish House in Grand River for my perch fix. Perkins on Mentor Ave. in Painesville likely is the most popular restaurant in Painesville. It sometimes has a great perch dinner on its menu. (Two of my favorite meals in Greater Cleveland are Lake Erie perch and Wienerschnitzel.)
I can't believe the New Day road trip didn't include Joughin's Hardware. You'll definitely want to check out Morley Library.
I searched youtube for "Willoughby Ohio New Day Cleveland" and found this video.
I also moved during the winter from the Bay Area in 2008; it definitely didn't help with the feeling of isolation, but when spring and especially summer roll around it will feel like an entirely new city. Plus we never had a real summer in Oakland (where you didn't have to wear a jacket at night) and I noticed the same about Seattle. For that, you will probably enjoy being out late nights for festivals and nightlife late into the summer and have a lot more fun that way.
We relocated here in 2008 from the Bay Area. People always looked at us with such pitiful eyes. It's funny now when I think about it. We love it here. Found a great neighborhood in Rocky River. We can walk to the lake or to coffee shops, library, restaurants, grocery store, ice cream. Kids can walk to school. Moved to Nashville for 2 years and couldn't wait to get back.
We've met some of our closest friends, aside from my kids' classmates' parents, at our Crossfit gym. Many, many transplants have found their group of friends though Crossfit. They usually have free or cheap Saturday workouts. Get yourself out there meeting people and staying active and you will get through the winters much easier.
What brings you here?
Did they say things along with their reactions when you told them you're moving to Cleveland? If so, what were they?
Did they say things along with their reactions when you told them you're moving to Cleveland? If so, what were they?
Usually it was along the lines of, "Oh ya....I've been there once for work. Oh......., good luck!" Our neighbors in Oakland were actually jealous, though, and wanted us to take them with us. It was 2008. Everyone was having a rough time with the economy bust.
I've said it a thousand times but I will say it again even though the OP won't believe me at this time: The day to day life is so much better here. I have exponentially less stress than what I had in the Bay Area. I love my daily routine and love who I see everyday when I am out and about.
The cool thing about summer and fall is that we never let a beautiful day go to waste. We are always outside. Also, there is so much to get involved in and grow yourself in endless ways that you don't spend as much time worrying about petty things such as keeping up with the Jones's. We can never hit all of our bucket list items each season because there is so much to do.
WR, the great thing about new day cleveland is that it offers a glimpse into places that I might not venture to. I've been to Painesville only because when I xited 90 to go to Fairport Harbor, I made the wrong turn and ended up in town. Remember, look for the ice cream stand. :
Instead of a scene from the movie "Wrong Turn", it was nice to see the old [abandoned] power plant and we actually ended up eating in an authentic Mexican hole-in-the-wall across the street. In Baltimore or in NYC, that power plant would already have been a cool work incubator or hipster hangout. Anuway, I like new day because there's always a vignette that would appeal to me. That barn is cool, isn't it? A must-go for me next time.
The new day production is probably a 1-day affair so everything has to be pre-pro could be frantic and rushed. Intern would probably call the municipality's PR and ask for help abt businesses, security, traffic issue[s]. There is probably no 2nd unit, so 1 camera person will have to look for flora, fauna, architectural shots as well. Form and releases have to be signed. Then that buffoon Moss will akways go to restaurants during service rush, not before or after.
To the OP, I concur with what citymama about how life for us has been so much better here, and I left a great community. When we looking for properties with realtors, asked about first impressions 10 minutes in, and with jet-lag fueled by caffeine, I remarked how domestic makes were on the road, as opposed to Silicon Valley where you'd stick out like a sore thumb if you're no behind the wheel of a luxury make. She laughed and said "welcome to the snow belt". She said that she could lease a $60k luxury suv and deduct the lease payments as a business expense, but the midwestern practicality in her prevailed. And that her gmc has been battle-tested in snowy geauga cty.
The lack of pretentiousness here is a such a boost and a breath of fresh air. I don't have neighbors, while I'm taking out the trash, telling me how much my property is worth according to zillow. I don't have realtors ringing my doorbell at 0700 on a saturday to tell me that my property's $/sf is such-and-such and her card for future reference. I don't have neighbors casually telling me how well their portfolio performed Q2.
What I have are neighbors who shpckingly put our trash bins away, Taught me how to winterize lawn and garden and the irrigation system, how to put those snow sticks before winter [oh ..... so that's what they're for ]leave a basket of cucumbers outside the door in the summer, and not-so-subtle hints about teenaged pumpkin thieves that seem to pop up in the neighborhood a week or 2 before the infamous Chagrin Falls pumpkin roll. I could go on and on how much better our quality of life has been here. And it's not just because I love South Chagrin Rez. It's really because of the abundance of top-notch human beings here in Northeast Ohio. Great place to put down roots and instill values
Instead of a scene from the movie "Wrong Turn", it was nice to see the old [abandoned] power plant and we actually ended up eating in an authentic Mexican hole-in-the-wall across the street. In Baltimore or in NYC, that power plant would already have been a cool work incubator or hipster hangout. Anuway, I like new day because there's always a. vignette that would appeal to me. That barn is cool, isn't it? A must-go for me next time.
That power plant isn't abandoned. It is coal-fired and now operates only about two weeks a year during the period of greatest power demand in the summer. If natural gas prices ever rise, it probably would operate more frequently. By operating it, it somehow saves Painesville's municipal power system a huge amount of money in transmission charges on its power supplied by owned generating assets located far from Painesville and on purchased power, as I understand it.
The power plant also provides power if transmission lines are destroyed, as has occurred on occasion.
<<"If Painesville goes down, it's a matter of hours -- not days [before the power plant can be fired up and supply power]," Council President Joseph Hada said. >>
The Painesville system also provides service to parts of Painesville and Concord Townships, as does the city's water system.
The city's municipal power system now owns generating assets throughout Ohio and as far away as Illinois, including part of a hydroelectric system on the Ohio River.
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]leave a basket of cucumbers outside the door in the summer, and not-so-subtle hints about teenaged pumpkin thieves that seem to pop up in the neighborhood a week or 2 before the infamous Chagrin Falls pumpkin roll. I could go on and on how much better our quality of life has been here. And it's not just because I love South Chagrin Rez. It's really because of the abundance of top-notch human beings here in Northeast Ohio. Great place to put down roots and instill values
