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What have your friends and/or family have been saying about your decision to relocate to Cleveland?
Mostly they have no comment or they want to talk about the winters. I explain that snow doesn’t scare me and I’m used to and don’t mind the grayness.
By contrast when I talked about moving to Arizona or the Carolinas they’d get excited for me and I’d bring up the negatives.
My cousin in Philadelphia who grew up in Berea said “Well, you can always move!” Right off the bat. I know she hasn’t been back to Cleveland in a long time.
Thank you all, and thank you Kasey77. I grew up in So Cal, I get the reactions, even in Seattle, people aren’t exactly excited for me. I haven’t been on here much lately, working 60 hr weeks. I’ll be finished before Memorial Day and plan to do a week long scouting trip, late June/early July.
Still planning to move in September. I have decided to drive. I know it sounds crazy, with 3 cats, but a friend with relatives in Cincinnati will drive with me and fly home.
I’m getting excited, seeing houses on the market in the Spring reminds me that it’s not always winter, and it’s so pretty.
I’ve seen some houses in my price range that I like in Cuyahoga Falls. It seems safe. Any pros and cons?
I wouldn’t pay much attention to your west coast friends’ reactions. Most are likely hung up on outdated jokes and cliches. Odd that so many scoff at places like CLE, even as their own cities deteriorate in front of their very eyes.
My scouting impressions on Cuyahoga Falls...charming, mostly well-kept homes in the village, walkable and vibrant downtown. Down-to-earth vibe. Property lots tend to be on the small-ish side, unless you get outside the village a bit. Seems safe enough.
My advice is to download a crime tracker like SpotCrime or similar, so you can see what is actually happening in different areas and make your own judgments based on crime data. Many sources are misleading as they can skew for “city-wide averages” when you may really only care about particular areas within a city. That said, Cuyahoga Falls looks pretty quiet overall on my tracker.
Cuyahoga Falls operates more in the Akron realm, so you may get some insiders’ viewpoints on that forum.
But not used to Cleveland snow. I can handle 9-10” of snowfall, but what concerns me is 3-4 months of it. Can a single, tough but soon to be old lady handle it?
Also, I have 3 cats, so renting will be a problem. Could I find a safe neighborhood to buy a $150-200k house? East or West side doesn’t matter, but safe does. I know a condo would be wise, but I’m drawn to University Heights, the housing stock there just makes me happy, even in my price range.
Snow and cats will be the least of your problems!
Some of the suburbs are fine, but the City of Cleveland is unfit for civilized people. We made the mistake of moving here several years ago, and the low property values have us trapped in here now.
Gunshots rings out in the night. People are mugged, carjacked, and shot every single day.
Monstrous car stereos are extremely common and are seldom operated at less than earth-shaking volume levels and seldom turned off. They are parked on the street and in driveways where they shake the foundations of the homes in the vicinity even when the passengers leave the vehicles and go into the houses. Along with this, mufflers are almost unheard of. Although we live on an old red brick street that goes nowhere, the motorcycles and cars floor their accelerators and speed up and down the short street with noisy roars like their lives depended on getting somewhere fast. Even though signs prohibit it, huge semitrailer trucks frequently rumble up and down shaking house foundations.
Our neighbors have had their homes broken into through side or back windows. Our security cameras have picked up opportunistic thieves walking the street and checking cars for unlocked doors. People throw trash in their own yards, on the streets. Aggressive Pit Bulls are popular and common.
Businesses have mostly closed up and/or moved away, so the area is an economic wasteland. Ruined houses sit vacant, open, surrounded by garbage, often inhabited by subhuman drug users who live in them without power or running water.
If you should call the police, it could be 30 minutes to an hour before they arrive. Their attitude is often resentful, as if you had disturbed them and they came only grudgingly and can hardly be bothered
A great number of properties have been bought up by negligent absentee landlords who do nothing to maintain the property, rent to anyone without vetting, and could not care less about anything that happens as long as they get their rent money.
It's impossible to live in the City of Cleveland without fear, and living in fear is no kind of life. It is a fact that people in the city live substantially shorter lives than those in the affluent suburbs.
I'm quite sure that everything I've said is also true for thousands of other American cities and towns. Choosing a place to live a decent secure life in peace is very, very difficult in the nation of today, and when you do, you'll pay dearly for the privilege.
Location: Cleveland, OH USA / formerly Chicago for 20 years
4,069 posts, read 7,315,088 times
Reputation: 3062
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeugitai
Snow and cats will be the least of your problems!
Some of the suburbs are fine, but the City of Cleveland is unfit for civilized people. We made the mistake of moving here several years ago, and the low property values have us trapped in here now.
Gunshots rings out in the night. People are mugged, carjacked, and shot every single day.
Monstrous car stereos are extremely common and are seldom operated at less than earth-shaking volume levels and seldom turned off. They are parked on the street and in driveways where they shake the foundations of the homes in the vicinity even when the passengers leave the vehicles and go into the houses. Along with this, mufflers are almost unheard of. Although we live on an old red brick street that goes nowhere, the motorcycles and cars floor their accelerators and speed up and down the short street with noisy roars like their lives depended on getting somewhere fast. Even though signs prohibit it, huge semitrailer trucks frequently rumble up and down shaking house foundations.
Our neighbors have had their homes broken into through side or back windows. Our security cameras have picked up opportunistic thieves walking the street and checking cars for unlocked doors. People throw trash in their own yards, on the streets. Aggressive Pit Bulls are popular and common.
Businesses have mostly closed up and/or moved away, so the area is an economic wasteland. Ruined houses sit vacant, open, surrounded by garbage, often inhabited by subhuman drug users who live in them without power or running water.
If you should call the police, it could be 30 minutes to an hour before they arrive. Their attitude is often resentful, as if you had disturbed them and they came only grudgingly and can hardly be bothered
A great number of properties have been bought up by negligent absentee landlords who do nothing to maintain the property, rent to anyone without vetting, and could not care less about anything that happens as long as they get their rent money.
It's impossible to live in the City of Cleveland without fear, and living in fear is no kind of life. It is a fact that people in the city live substantially shorter lives than those in the affluent suburbs.
I'm quite sure that everything I've said is also true for thousands of other American cities and towns. Choosing a place to live a decent secure life in peace is very, very difficult in the nation of today, and when you do, you'll pay dearly for the privilege.
Ah, I see that Cleveland police response time has improved by quite a bit. I can remember when it was typically two hours or more.
Some of the suburbs are fine, but the City of Cleveland is unfit for civilized people. We made the mistake of moving here several years ago, and the low property values have us trapped in here now.
Gunshots rings out in the night. People are mugged, carjacked, and shot every single day.
Monstrous car stereos are extremely common and are seldom operated at less than earth-shaking volume levels and seldom turned off. They are parked on the street and in driveways where they shake the foundations of the homes in the vicinity even when the passengers leave the vehicles and go into the houses. Along with this, mufflers are almost unheard of. Although we live on an old red brick street that goes nowhere, the motorcycles and cars floor their accelerators and speed up and down the short street with noisy roars like their lives depended on getting somewhere fast. Even though signs prohibit it, huge semitrailer trucks frequently rumble up and down shaking house foundations.
Our neighbors have had their homes broken into through side or back windows. Our security cameras have picked up opportunistic thieves walking the street and checking cars for unlocked doors. People throw trash in their own yards, on the streets. Aggressive Pit Bulls are popular and common.
Businesses have mostly closed up and/or moved away, so the area is an economic wasteland. Ruined houses sit vacant, open, surrounded by garbage, often inhabited by subhuman drug users who live in them without power or running water.
If you should call the police, it could be 30 minutes to an hour before they arrive. Their attitude is often resentful, as if you had disturbed them and they came only grudgingly and can hardly be bothered
A great number of properties have been bought up by negligent absentee landlords who do nothing to maintain the property, rent to anyone without vetting, and could not care less about anything that happens as long as they get their rent money.
It's impossible to live in the City of Cleveland without fear, and living in fear is no kind of life. It is a fact that people in the city live substantially shorter lives than those in the affluent suburbs.
I'm quite sure that everything I've said is also true for thousands of other American cities and towns. Choosing a place to live a decent secure life in peace is very, very difficult in the nation of today, and when you do, you'll pay dearly for the privilege.
In what Cleveland neighborhood is your house located?
Location: livin' the good life on America's favorite island
2,221 posts, read 4,391,624 times
Reputation: 1391
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeugitai
Snow and cats will be the least of your problems!
Some of the suburbs are fine, but the City of Cleveland is unfit for civilized people. We made the mistake of moving here several years ago, and the low property values have us trapped in here now.
Gunshots rings out in the night. People are mugged, carjacked, and shot every single day.
Monstrous car stereos are extremely common and are seldom operated at less than earth-shaking volume levels and seldom turned off. They are parked on the street and in driveways where they shake the foundations of the homes in the vicinity even when the passengers leave the vehicles and go into the houses. Along with this, mufflers are almost unheard of. Although we live on an old red brick street that goes nowhere, the motorcycles and cars floor their accelerators and speed up and down the short street with noisy roars like their lives depended on getting somewhere fast. Even though signs prohibit it, huge semitrailer trucks frequently rumble up and down shaking house foundations.
Our neighbors have had their homes broken into through side or back windows. Our security cameras have picked up opportunistic thieves walking the street and checking cars for unlocked doors. People throw trash in their own yards, on the streets. Aggressive Pit Bulls are popular and common.
Businesses have mostly closed up and/or moved away, so the area is an economic wasteland. Ruined houses sit vacant, open, surrounded by garbage, often inhabited by subhuman drug users who live in them without power or running water.
If you should call the police, it could be 30 minutes to an hour before they arrive. Their attitude is often resentful, as if you had disturbed them and they came only grudgingly and can hardly be bothered
A great number of properties have been bought up by negligent absentee landlords who do nothing to maintain the property, rent to anyone without vetting, and could not care less about anything that happens as long as they get their rent money.
It's impossible to live in the City of Cleveland without fear, and living in fear is no kind of life. It is a fact that people in the city live substantially shorter lives than those in the affluent suburbs.
I'm quite sure that everything I've said is also true for thousands of other American cities and towns. Choosing a place to live a decent secure life in peace is very, very difficult in the nation of today, and when you do, you'll pay dearly for the privilege.
"honey"? Why the condescending attitude? Do you know her personally? Is she your wife or daughter or something?
She's his adopted daughter. I ran into Drew last year at Saks in Beachwood. He told me that he and Deborah adopted. I was happy for him so I bought him a beer at Bar Louie after shopping. Nice to see a dad helping guide his daughter in this crazy world.
Last edited by Transplant99; 05-20-2021 at 09:14 PM..
Reason: Typo
I’ve followed this post as I too am interested in moving to the Cleveland area (suburbs) to prepare for retirement. I’m a native Floridian (56 years) and simply could not endure the perpetual summer, heat and oppressive humidity any longer. Moved to
Minneapolis x 2 years and loved it — my friends thought I was insane. Then my younger son relocated from Arkansas to SLC, UT and I followed them here. I love my family, but that was a rash decision! I do not care much for Utah, but I’m not LDS. It’s a nice place to visit.
I’m excited about considering life in Ohio. I like seasons, water, outdoors, arts/culture, dining out, wine, volunteering/community service, etc.
I am interested in purchasing a SFH or duplex/triplex, can you please suggest areas to avoid purchasing and areas you would suggest purchasing (safe, middle-class housing prices, walking to shops/restaurants, nicely maintained homes)? Thank you all!
I’ve followed this post as I too am interested in moving to the Cleveland area (suburbs) to prepare for retirement. I’m a native Floridian (56 years) and simply could not endure the perpetual summer, heat and oppressive humidity any longer. Moved to
Minneapolis x 2 years and loved it — my friends thought I was insane. Then my younger son relocated from Arkansas to SLC, UT and I followed them here. I love my family, but that was a rash decision! I do not care much for Utah, but I’m not LDS. It’s a nice place to visit.
I’m excited about considering life in Ohio. I like seasons, water, outdoors, arts/culture, dining out, wine, volunteering/community service, etc.
I am interested in purchasing a SFH or duplex/triplex, can you please suggest areas to avoid purchasing and areas you would suggest purchasing (safe, middle-class housing prices, walking to shops/restaurants, nicely maintained homes)? Thank you all!
Check out the links in post 3 of this thread, as well as post 3 in the following thread, especially the last two links.
You first need to decide whether you want to live on the east side, west side or southern side of Cleveland. If you enjoy art and culture, you likely want to have convenient access to University Circle. You also need to consider convenient access to superior medical care, and how close you desire to live to Lake Erie and/or major parks.
This thread, and other SlideRules99 threads/posts, provide bountiful information and perspectives for prospective retirees seeking to relocate to Greater Cleveland.
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Cleveland - Don't Make the Mistake!
