Any opinions on Wooster area? (Cleveland, Medina: college, subsidized, living)

[october2007]

When I lived in Cleveland I unfortunately didn’t explore much of Ohio and am wondering about Wooster. Is it bigger than Medina (which I did visit)? Is it a mostly family centered town or are there singles there too? Any cultural activities, antique shops etc? I’d like to hear from anyone that lives there or knows it fairly well. I eventually want to find a more peaceful place to live and don’t want a city per se but a place with some city type things.

[bjimmy24]

Wooster is a great place imo. Wooster light opera is a big deal. Not too far from cle if you want the city. Very quiet down there. College of Wooster provides some good cultural stuff too. Maybe Columbiana OH would be a good fit as well.

[mshultz]

It appears that Wooster once again has a few more people than Medina, but Medina county is much larger than Wayne county. Wooster has a large library, but Medina's is larger. They are both part of Clevnet, so one card gets you access to the entire 45 library Clevnet system. Wooster does have a homeless problem, but the library generally has a police officer or deputy on duty, and is safe.

There are a number of antique shops in Wooster and Wayne county.

Wooster has a private subsidized bus system with 2 routes. Much more than you would expect in a city this size.

The county fair is a big deal. People ask how many times you went to the fair, not whether you went to the fair.

[WRnative]

For me, I would enjoy Wooster's closer proximity to western Holmes County (heart of Ohio Amish Country) and Ohio's Mohican region, and the Ohio Light Opera in Wooster in the summer. See Ohio Amish Country, Mohican Region and "Regional performing arts" here:

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

The one-hour distance, not considering traffic and weather conditions, from Wooster to Lake Erie and Cleveland cultural, world-ranked medical facilities, and sports attractions, would be a controlling negative IMO.

Medina is about 1/2 hour closer than Wooster to Cleveland attractions.

For perhaps a lower cost of housing than Wooster and a closer proximity to the Mohican Region, especially if you enjoy "village" living, consider places such Jeromesville or Loudonville.

[october2007]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Wooster is a great place imo. Wooster light opera is a big deal. Not too far from cle if you want the city. Very quiet down there. College of Wooster provides some good cultural stuff too. Maybe Columbiana OH would be a good fit as well.

Gee I wish I had explored more...thanks I will look into these places further. I haven’t ruled out Ohio even though Cleveland wasn’t for me.

[october2007]

Originally Posted by mshultz

It appears that Wooster once again has a few more people than Medina, but Medina county is much larger than Wayne county. Wooster has a large library, but Medina's is larger. They are both part of Clevnet, so one card gets you access to the entire 45 library Clevnet system. Wooster does have a homeless problem, but the library generally has a police officer or deputy on duty, and is safe.

There are a number of antique shops in Wooster and Wayne county.

Wooster has a private subsidized bus system with 2 routes. Much more than you would expect in a city this size.

The county fair is a big deal. People ask how many times you went to the fair, not whether you went to the fair.

Thanks...surprised about the homeless as I rarely saw any in Cleveland. But overall sounds nice.

[october2007]

Originally Posted by WRnative

For me, I would enjoy Wooster's closer proximity to western Holmes County (heart of Ohio Amish Country) and Ohio's Mohican region, and the Ohio Light Opera in Wooster in the summer. See Ohio Amish Country, Mohican Region and "Regional performing arts" here:

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

The one-hour distance, not considering traffic and weather conditions, from Wooster to Lake Erie and Cleveland cultural, world-ranked medical facilities, and sports attractions, would be a controlling negative IMO.

Medina is about 1/2 hour closer than Wooster to Cleveland attractions.

For perhaps a lower cost of housing than Wooster and a closer proximity to the Mohican Region, especially if you enjoy "village" living, consider places such Jeromesville or Loudonville.

Thanks for the info and leads! I wouldn’t mind being an hour away from city (as long as there are some nearby medical facilities). Being near Amish country is appealing. I will do more investigating.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by october2007

Thanks for the info and leads! I wouldn’t mind being an hour away from city (as long as there are some nearby medical facilities). Being near Amish country is appealing. I will do more investigating.

Wooster actually has a well-ranked hospital compared to general Ohio and national rankings, even though below the very exceptional five-star hospitals available in Greater Cleveland, such as several Cleveland Clinic hospitals including the main campus. Of course, an hour trip to the Clinic for non-chronic care is not particularly onerous.

https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcom...lng=-81.935143

https://www.medicare.gov/hospitalcom...OH&lat=0&lng=0

See post 3 here:

//www.city-data.com/forum/cleve...l#post54753538

Of 4,500 hospitals assessed by Medicare, only 293 have five-star ratings and only 1,086 have four-star ratings.

https://www.beckershospitalreview.co...-from-cms.html

[WRnative]

My perception is that Wooster was to some degree a Rubbermaid company town, and that the Wooster economy has suffered since the acquisition of Rubbermaid by Newell and Newell's move of Rubbermaid headquarters to Atlanta.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubbermaid

I don't know if Wooster has benefited significantly, albeit indirectly, from the growth of J.M. Smucker in nearby Orrville.

I've never been to Orrville, but perhaps it's worth investigating.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orrville,_Ohio

[october2007]

Originally Posted by WRnative

My perception is that Wooster was to some degree a Rubbermaid company town, and that the Wooster economy has suffered since the acquisition of Rubbermaid by Newell and Newell's move of Rubbermaid headquarters to Atlanta.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubbermaid

I don't know if Wooster has benefited significantly, albeit indirectly, from the growth of J.M. Smucker in nearby Orrville.

I've never been to Orrville, but perhaps it's worth investigating.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orrville,_Ohio

Thanks again!