Toledo or Cleveland (Columbus, Akron, Canton: apartment complex, crime, home)

[J'aimeDesVilles]

Originally Posted by WRnative

IMO, spoken by a person who likely has no interest in assessing the significant differences between the quality of cultural institutions and other amenities and likely has little ability to do so.

E.g., the Toledo Zoo often is considered superior to Detroit's zoo and reportedly is a major attraction for the residents of Greater Detroit.

True! For the once or twice a year I may go to a museum, concert, or zoo, I'm not going to be that picky. They are all essentially the same.

Yeah, I never got that zoo thing. I have a friend whose wife used to work for a zoo. Every time they were on vacation in another city, she insisted they visit that city's zoo. He got pretty sick of it. I mean, does a giraffe in Pennsylvania look any different than one in Missouri?

[Cleveland_Collector]

Originally Posted by J'aimeDesVilles

I think a lot of people in this country would disagree with that! Geez, in some metro areas you can drive an hour and still be within the same metro. At any rate, much of the Toledo area is less than an hour from parts of the A2 area. I can get from my house to the shopping areas on the southside of A2 in 40 minutes. And I'm not sure why you think "another state" has anything to do with it. The state line is as transparent as any county/municipal line. No one here thinks anything of it.

Perhaps if they live in LA or DFW. We're talking Toledo vs. Cleveland here. Toledo is a small city where it takes about 20 minutes to drive through the boundaries of the immediate metro and where the Ann Arbor metro is 50 miles away. If you're driving there more than twice a month for any consistent reason, you should probably entertain moving closer. It matters because it's a wholly different metro in another state, yet you're somehow equating it as a reason to move to Toldeo, OH. That's like saying it's a great idea to live in Youngstown because of its proximity to Pittsburgh. If that's a strong part of your reasoning, why not just move to Pittsburgh?

[miamian in nc]

It's been a while since I've been on here and I'm now looking more seriously at Toledo. I came across an article online and in that article it was mentioned that Toledo is a "Welcoming City." I learned about the nonprofit "Welcoming America," and I saw that another reference "U.S. Together." From what I read, they do a lot to help refugees, including ESL classes.

I'm in the process of investigating these nonprofits to see about opportunities there, both office support ones and teaching ESL. Then, I spoke with Renhill Staffing and they are an agency that staffs schools in Toledo with substitutes.

Someone here on C-D has been most helpful to me also by providing me with names of apartment complexes. This person also mentioned Tobias C in this regard, so I'd like to maybe message him here as well.

Getting back to the article, the writer spoke very highly of Toledo being a friendly place. Midwesterners in general have a really great reputation for being friendly and welcoming.

Right now I'm still here in the small in-law suite, and I was thinking I ought to up and move now but I don't feel quite comfortable doing it during the holidays given the coronavirus.

[Tobias C]

Originally Posted by miamian in nc

Someone here on C-D has been most helpful to me also by providing me with names of apartment complexes. This person also mentioned Tobias C in this regard, so I'd like to maybe message him here as well.

Feel free to ask me whatever!

[InnerCitySoul]

Hello Toledo!

I stumbled upon this thread almost by accident and wow, has it proven to be timely
and informative. Like the OP, I'm currently a resident in the South (Augusta, Georgia.)
I'm 58 years old...retired...and after 20 years, looking to possibly return to my Midwest
roots (Detroit, Michigan.) Also like the OP, my ancestry is Hungarian and I'm looking to
reside in an urban/blue/diverse area.

I'm not necessarily inclined to a return to Detroit...LOVE the region and the comeback...
but am looking for something different...a new adventure. Up until I found this very
informative discussion on the relative merits of Cleveland vs Toledo, I was mostly invested
in researching Cleveland and Cincinnati. I was and am impressed by what each has to offer
for someone such as myself, retired and looking for a culturally engaged existence. But after
reading this thread and doing some initial research, I have to say, Toledo also has a lot to
offer and may in fact be closer to my ideal landing spot? So THANK-YOU Miamian for starting
the discussion...and everyone who has contributed! It has been an interesting journey getting
to know Toledo (youtube has been exceedingly helpful in this regard as well) and I look forward
to learning/hearing more as the conversation evolves.

Happy Saturday all!

Paul

[miamian in nc]

Hi Paul!

I haven't been back on this thread in a long time but I checked it tonight and saw your posting. People were doing a lot of debating here betweeen Toledo and Cleveland, so I'm glad you got to see their input.

How ironic to see someone else near my age and sharing my ethnic heritage too. I've heard there are a lot of Hungarians in the Midwest in general. Growing up in Miami, I recall going to the Hungarian Club there for dinners from time to time but Miami wasn't heavily Hungarian. My mom and dad were from really Hungarian area - New Brunswick, NJ and Shelton, CT.

I've never felt like I have fit in here in North Carolina. I haven't recently been looking at Toledo much because I was exploring Milwaukee and Madison too but they aren't as familiar as Ohio is since I lived there for three years. I think it's time to shift back to that area. Now that the weather is warm, I may drive up and look around to see if I still feel strongly about Cleveland and will check out Toledo too!

[Tobias C]

Originally Posted by miamian in nc

I think it's time to shift back to that area. Now that the weather is warm, I may drive up and look around to see if I still feel strongly about Cleveland and will check out Toledo too!

We have a popular motto that originated from a huge neon sign a long time ago....that is now a common city pride sign/image you see around alot here...







....just sayin

[WRnative]

Certainly research Hungarian heritage institutions in both Cleveland and Toledo if this an important consideration.

I actually knew this individual, who ardently promoted his Hungarian heritage. His obituary explains the conflict experienced by those who chose their liberty over their homeland.

https://www.cleveland.com/obituaries...y_wasn_ol.html
_a

Not mentioned in the above article, my memory is that Alex and Marta were able to return to Hungary on a visit after it broke away from the Soviet empire.

There likely are well over 100,000 Greater Clevelanders who still celebrate their Hungarian ancestry.

<<Cleveland's Hungarian immigrant population rose from 9,558 to 43,134 by 1920. Hungarians constituted 8% of the city's foreign-born population in 1900, and 18% in 1920.>>

https://case.edu/ech/articles/h/hungarians

The Cleveland Hungarians have established several institutions in an attempt to hang on to their heritage. I wonder how long they will survive as individuals such as Ferenczy and their children pass on, and subsequent generations become ever more Americanized.

https://clevelandhungarianmuseum.org/

https://clevelandhungarianmuseum.org/about-us/history/

Hungarians in Cleveland | Cleveland Hungarians

https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/ohio...-budapest-cle/

As with many cultural societies in Greater Cleveland, they have migrated to certain suburbs, often on the east side. I'm surprised the Hungarians landed in Solon, a very outlying suburb, not easily accessible by mass transit from Cleveland, but they still maintain a presence in Parma on the west side as well.

https://www.hungarianclub.org/

I'm not familiar with the Buckeye Road area, but my impression is that very little, if any, Hungarian influence remains there. Thankfully, one of the Hungarian community's great institutions -- the Balaton -- relocated to nearby Shaker Square and prospered until blindsided by the epidemic. Its owners are a multi-generation Hungarian family, with older members who still speak Hungarian. Speaking to its owners would be a great way to gauge the current status of Cleveland's Hungarian community.

Cleveland's Cultural Gardens represent the efforts of the Greater Cleveland community to celebrate and preserve its ethnic immigrant roots.

https://www.clevelandculturalgardens.org/

https://www.clevelandculturalgardens...garian-garden/

Here's a listing of Cleveland Hungarian restaurants. Kuhar's in Mentor fulfills my desire for Hungarian cuisine. I visit several times a year even though I have no Hungarian ancestry.

https://www.yelp.com/search?find_des...leveland%2C+OH

Several Cleveland restaurants offer an eclectic German/Eastern European cuisine, but perhaps none more successfully than the Prosperity Social Club in Tremont.

<<To celebrate, Flinner is offering her favorite menu item—the Ethnic Platter—for $15 on October 21st and 24th. The platter includes two potato pierogi, cabbage and noodles with kielbaski, one Hungarian stuffed cabbage roll and a potato pancake served with apple-cranberry chutney and/or sour cream. “The delicious sampling is a little nod to my heritage and to that of the bar’s longtime previous owners, the Dembowski family.”>>

https://experiencetremont.com/2020/1...-meals-coming/

The epidemic has more than decimated the Greater Cleveland restaurant community, but hopefully the Prosperity Social Club will survive.

Thankfully, the Hungarian Festival, reportedly the largest Hungarian festival in Ohio, has survived the epidemic!

https://ohio.org/wps/portal/gov/tour...arian-festival

One great joy of Cleveland is its many ethnic festivals, some of them very special in the U.S.

https://www.clevelandkurentovanje.com/

https://www.clevelandkurentovanje.com/about

Little Italy's Feast of the Assumption Festival likely is the most prominent. Parking is impossible, but mass transit access is superb (Little Italy RTA Red Line station; Healthline bus rapid).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clevel...ption_Festival

https://www.wkyc.com/article/enterta...6-b0ba92d24d59

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by J'aimeDesVilles

True! For the once or twice a year I may go to a museum, concert, or zoo, I'm not going to be that picky. They are all essentially the same.

All the same to you, but many persons, especially in Greater Cleveland, are sufficiently cultured that they would grimace at this statement.

Even among great art museums, such as the Detroit Institute of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art, the differences are palpable. E.g., the CMA was completely renovated and expanded in the past decade, and now is a modern, spacious, technologically advanced museum that is very visitor friendly. Compared to the DIA, the CMA grounds, including Wage Lagoon and the Fine Arts Garden, also are superb, as is its location in University Circle. The CMA's Artlens gallery and museum-wide Artlens App remain fairly unique in North America.

https://www.cleveland.com/arts/2014/...of_arts_p.html

https://www.clevelandart.org/artlens-gallery

https://www.clevelandart.org/sites/d...ochure_WEB.pdf

Collections also vary substantially. The CMA's Asian art collection is one of the best in North America. One of my favorite galleries at the DIA housed its Native American collection, very different than at the CMA, where the emphasis is on pre-Columbian art from the Americas.

Post-epidemic, the CMA likely will resume its superb performing arts and film series.

Originally Posted by J'aimeDesVilles

Yeah, I never got that zoo thing. I have a friend whose wife used to work for a zoo. Every time they were on vacation in another city, she insisted they visit that city's zoo. He got pretty sick of it. I mean, does a giraffe in Pennsylvania look any different than one in Missouri?

Zoo exhibits can vary greatly. E.g., the African Elephant Crossing exhibit at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is mesmerizing. I don't believe the Detroit Zoo has had any elephants for over a decade, and the large African elephants are not common at American zoos. The Toledo Zoo also has African elephants.

https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/...phant-crossing

The RainForest at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo also is somewhat unique.

https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/...the-rainforest

[miamian in nc]

WRnative, you are a wealth of information! I have seen your responses many times to posters and your various linkes are amazing!

Thank you so much. I will spend time checking out the links you sent me. As far as the Hungarians go, i'm second generation Hungarian and to be honest, connecting with Hungarians isn't important to me, but I do love the food and some of their music, but not all. I love all kinds of ethnic festivals - Hungarian, Polish, Italian, Greek - you name it. These would be fun.

Thank you also Tobias C., for your encouragment!