Toledo or Cleveland (Columbus, Cincinnati, North Olmsted: extended stay, fit in, apartment)

[miamian in nc]

Hello everyone. I need a fresh start as a freshly turned 62 y.o. I currently live in Durham, North Carolina, a place I've never fit into for various reasons. Prior to Durham I lived in the Cleveland area - North Olmsted, Olmsted Falls and Westlake. I left because at the time I couldn't handle the weather, having just moved up from Miami, Florida, where I was born.

I posted on Madison, Wisconsin too because I've been interested in that area too, with it being a university city and surrounded by water. However, so far my networking hasn't led me there. I need to move out of my apartment by the end of August as I won't be renewing the lease here. I'm thinking of either Toledo or Cleveland again.

What I'm looking for are nice parks to walk my dog, museums, especially art museums, festivals, ethnic restaurants, and of course Meetups. I loved walking my dog along Lake Erie, and in the Metroparks. I"m sure Toledo has a lot to offer too. My ethnic background is Hungarian, and I have read about the Hungarian presence in Toledo, restaurants, etc. Meeting other Hungarians isn't important to me but it'd be nice to enjoy a Hungarian restaurant now and then. I used to go to West Side Market in Cleveland when I lived there and I loved being able to get my pastries at Giant Eagle. Here in NC it's a desert insofar as anything ethnic except for Latino, Chinese and Indian.

I've been teaching ESL to adults on an online conversation platform, so I'll continue doing that but will need additional employment. I plan to register with the school system to sub or with temp office staffing agencies too. Given the state of things I will start receiving Social Security in August so that'll be a help.

I need to find temporary housing too till I get situated. I'm looking into airbnbs and the extended stay type places.

Part of me wants to go back to Cleveland because it's familiar but then the other part says to try somewhere new. Of course safety is important and medical too, medical not so much at this point. I have no desire to return to Florida. I have nothing to go back to there and the heat and humidity seem to get worse with age.

Does anyone have thoughts on which city might be a better choice?

[SonnyDaze]

Sounds like Cleveland would be the far better choice. It's amenities/culinary scene/cultural institutions out-power Toledo's by a good margin. The lake access is much better in Cleveland too.

I went to UT for my undergrad and while I had fun, I think the city/metro is a solid tier or two below Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus.

[miamian in nc]

Can you tell me a little more about how it's a tier or two below the other cities? I've never been there.

[TheProf]

Originally Posted by miamian in nc

Can you tell me a little more about how it's a tier or two below the other cities? I've never been there.

Toledo is a much smaller city/metropolitan area. It doesn't have anywhere near the size, retail, entertainment, arts, culture or prominence of Ohio's 3Cs (Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus).

[WRnative]

Check out the relative healthcare systems carefully. Those in Toledo seem problematic, especially compared to the Cleveland Clinic, one of the top healthcare systems in the U.S. and the world, and compared to Cleveland's University Hospitals, the second-ranked hospital system in Ohio.


https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/oh


https://www.modernhealthcare.com/fin...certain-future


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


Promedica in Toledo is highly ranked.



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


Cultural amenities (Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Orchestra) are much better in Cleveland, but the Toledo Museum of Art and the Toledo Zoo are very good.


Have you ever been to the Balaton on Shaker Square? It's allegedly the best Hungarian restaurant in Ohio.

[miamian in nc]

WRnative, thank you so much for the really helpful links! You always provide a lot of great information on these boards so I'm so happy you saw my post. Thank you to everyone else who has given me some insight also. Medical facilities are very important.

Toledo doesn't have a Rapid Transit system, does it? I used to enjoy riding RTA into Cleveland. I wouldn't ride it at night but it served its purpose during the daytime. What about the lake not being as accessible in Toledo? Do people swim in it in either city? I never would. Th temperature would never be warm enough for me but I enjoyed going there for nice walks, not down by the lake but above it.

I never ate at the Balaton. and believe it or not I never visited Shaker Square. I guess both cities have enough Catholic churches to pick from. I used to attend St. Brendan's and was in the choir there. I've tried joining a few choirs here in North Carolina but have never fit in there either. I can't figure it out, but it's been disappointing. Maybe St. Brendan's was just unique but we used to go out for pie after rehearsals and breakfast after Mass there.

[Natural510]

I can’t think of any reason to choose Toledo over Cleveland (or Madison), personally. Cleveland is still very affordable for a big city, especially outside of a few exclusive suburbs and certain city neighborhoods everyone is flocking to.
The day I was last there most recently, we had smoothies and coffee at a Middle Eastern juice bar, stocked up at the West Side Market, went book shopping, ate lunch at a non-GMO restaurant and had a couple at the Great Lakes brewery before heading back. And that was all in a two block radius. I don’t think you can get that in Toledo.

[Tobias C]

I'm a Toledoan and a cheerleader for the city at that...but I would still say Cleveland is probably the logical choice for you as far as the things you desire are concerned.

Toledo is a great city. Especially for someone like you who would probably actually appreciate it for all it's worth and get the most out of it. With that said, nothing changes the fact that metro Toledo is only like a third of the size of the 3 Cs, if that, so its offerings are proportional.

You should definitely consider visiting sometime though to see for yourself.

[Rebek56]

Weighing in as someone who has never lived in either city but has visited and loves both: Cleveland is "more" in terms of amenities, but it also has more snow and more traffic. Toledo may be more manageable if you want to get around easily (a biggie for me), though its transit system is much less developed than Cleveland's. Both areas have fabulous Metropark systems, but my nod goes to Toledo in that instance. 12,000 acres in addition to some nice city parks and some state and Nature Conservancy preserves. I agree with everyone else that medical care is probably better in the Cleveland area, but the air quality is better in Toledo, at least upwind of the refinery.

[miamian in nc]

Is there a train system in Toledo like RTA in Cleveland?