Never been to Cleveland (or even Ohio!), but moving there in 5 months--HELP! (Dayton: sales, rental homes)

[carrollcrew7]

We have never been to Cleveland or even to Ohio for that matter, but we will be moving there in June 2010 for just 1 year! I need advice on where to find a nice BIG rental house!! My husband will be doing his fellowship at Case Western Reserve. We would like to be within 20 minutes to CWR. We have 5 Boys (ages: 10, 7, 5, 2, 1) and need plenty of space to run around and play!! We are originally from Charleston, SC. We are definately NOT used to the snow that you get in Cleveland, but we are looking forward to a winter adventure of skiing, snowboarding, etc.

Any advice you can offer us from finding a nice, safe rental house to snow survival will be greatly appreciated!

[Peregrine]

Shaker Heights has BIG rental homes and is 10 minutes from CWR.
Recommend.

[costello_musicman]

Ditto Shaker Hts....as well.

[Samir_Abdul]

or cleveland heights.....

[CALarrick]

Ditto, indeed. I also came from out of town (NYC) recently and those were the only places that ended up on our list.

One question though - private or public school for your kids? Shaker Heights has better public schools than Cleveland Heights, which is actually why we are moving there (with some regrets) from a CH rental.

[firefightermom]

Since everyone else is talking location, I'll talk snow. For your car, you should make sure to have a couple blankets, extra gloves, hats, scarves. Make sure you have an ice scraper for each vehicle, too. Also not a bad idea to keep a bag of kitty litter for traction, but you could always use your floor mats if needed. A small snow shovel. Some food, like granola bars. Of course, this is all in case of emergency. I lived in Cleveland so 10 years and never had to use any of my stuff. But better safe than sorry, espcecially if you're not used to driving in snow.
Take advantage of those clearance sales going on and get some good winter coats and snow boots. For you, I recommend a full length wool coat--it will keep you warmer than something short. Make sure you have at least one snow shovel, and buy it when they first show up in stores. Don't wait til the first snowfall or you may find yourself without one. I would also recommend buying those kiddie snow shovels...my kids think it's great fun to shovel the driveway--and less work for me! Let me know if you have any specific questions...I could ramble on and on!

[Daytonnatian]

I'll go against the grain and recommend Lakewood, if you have the cash.

Nice community, and MUCH less snow since it is west of the CBD.

[Clevelander17]

Originally Posted by Daytonnatian

I'll go against the grain and recommend Lakewood, if you have the cash.

Nice community, and MUCH less snow since it is west of the CBD.

Lakewood's a nice recommendation. It's a little bit longer drive than 20 minutes, but still has an attractive selection of rental homes that aren't too much pricier than Cleveland Heights or Shaker Heights/

[WeSoHood]

Originally Posted by Clevelander17

Lakewood's a nice recommendation. It's a little bit longer drive than 20 minutes, but still has an attractive selection of rental homes that aren't too much pricier than Cleveland Heights or Shaker Heights/

CWRU is a 25 minute drive from Rocky River and can be as short as 10-15 from some parts of Lakewood.

[Clevelander17]

Originally Posted by WeSoHood

CWRU is a 25 minute drive from Rocky River and can be as short as 10-15 from some parts of Lakewood.

I stand corrected. I'm not very familiar with the westside of town, but I did a quick search on mapquest and it appears that one can easily hop on the freeway to get over to University Circle. Good deal.