MayDay

Welcome to the forum! I'll try to address each question as best I can: Looking for a 1 bedroom rental, $650-$850 range, loft preferred, historic or stylish apt OK. Reverse commuter-job is past Independence, but I'm not interested in the suburbs. Shaker Heights and Coventry, although seemingly what I'm looking for in terms of culturally diversity, appears to be too inconvenient from a traffic perspective." Your price range should land you something decent in most areas (and likely on the nicer side), including downtown. Keep in mind that parking fees generally apply to most downtown spots and you'll want to park your car indoors if possible. I've heard positive feedback about the following in the Warehouse District: Bingham, Bridgeview and Perry-Payne; the Osborn and Huron Square in Gateway. I have heard not-so-good things about the National Terminal Building. Places in Tremont tend to be more along the lines of doubles or rental homes, rather than apartment complexes. The good thing about Tremont for your commute is that you can shoot right down West 14th to access the Jennings Freeway (176) and you'll be on I-480 in about 5 minutes. For a good overall look at rental prices in different areas check out http://www.pluggedincleveland.com/rentals/ "The only real amenity I'm interested in is public or common space, where I can meet people or hang out and people watch. Coffee shops a plus. Casual bars and cool hipster places are OK, but definitely NOT a fan of the big dance clubs. I'm single, straight, and social." It sounds like the Market Square area in Ohio City would suit your tastes, as would Tremont. "How is traffic in the Gateway/Theater District? Do you have to avoid the streets on game nights?" I've seen it gridlocked, particularly around Jacobs Field and the Q when events are happening at both. "What is the state of the proposed large-scale construction projects by the Flats, and has that affected traffic?" Flats East Bank is still in the proposal stage, so no traffic affected. West Bank construction like Stonebridge hasn't really affected traffic there at all. "How bad is downtown crime, really? I've lived in other downtown areas and have a basic idea of what to expect. Have the recent shootings had any effect? Is the Warehouse District on the upswing or sliding downwards? Is it considered "safe" for someone living in the Theater District to walk to the Warehouse District, or vice versa?" It's not bad, although as with any city you wouldn't want to leave valuables in your car overnight. The Warehouse District, even with some recent incidents is still relatively safe. There have been some isolated issues with certain bars that attract drunkards, but in general it's not bad. Keep in mind that the Downtown Cleveland Alliance Ambassadors are available to escort you to your car (or residence in the District). I know some people don't care to live there because of noise (nightlife) issues. Walking from Playhouse Square to the Warehouse District would be fine, provided the weather permits. Is there any area that normally hosts public and community events? Almost all the neighborhoods have events, particularly during the summer. "Places like Tremont are described as "walking communities". Do people really walk there to go to various destinations, or does the term just describe a more suburban and de-centralized setting?" My S.O. lives in Tremont and (weather permitting), we'll walk from his place to any of the bars/restaurants. Note, due to Tremont's location (bordered by the industrial valley and the highways), it's a little more isolated from downtown than say, Ohio City. "Is the Tower Press Lofts (1900 Superior) too far from downtown to walk at night?" Not really, but it's a schlep. "What is the condition of the bike trails, if any, and are they safe? Is bicycling downtown or in the "walking communities" a common sight? Could I ride a junker around and lock it up without returning a couple of hours later to find the tires slashed or the rims bent? (once or twice a year would be expected, just not once or twice a month)" I'm not a cyclist (though I am car-free), so I'll let someone else take these questions. "I get mixed reviews all the time about various areas, or that one area is good but it borders a bad area, etc. Just tell me flat-out, what are the bad areas or streets to be avoided in the neighborhoods bordered by Lakewood on the west, the Heights on the east, and within 480?" On the west, the neighborhoods tend to be nicest as you get closer to the Lake. I'd advise anything north of Detroit (Clifton, Lake, Edgewater) and west of West Blvd. I advise against anything (or at least really do your homework) south of Detroit in the West 70s-90s. As far as the Tremont area, I'd suggest anything east of I-90/I-71. In Ohio City, the areas north of Lorain and east of West 45th tend to be better-kept. I hope that helps as a start :)

Who are you calling "masses"?

Now that's what I like to hear! :clap:

Am I the only one who has gone into the "Look and Layout Preferences" and changed the theme to the "Babylon" theme?

"Thank you; you just got me hooked on Dynasty. You bitch." Imagine being hooked on Dynasty starting at age 9, and watching it until you were a junior in high school :-D

""The notion of any business proposing a constitutional amendment for their own personal benefit is offensive," says David Zanotti, president of the Ohio Roundtable, a Strongsville-based group that promotes Judeo-Christian values in public policy. "These guys are spending millions to buy their way into the constitution." It's no more offensive than a group proposing a constitutional amendment to legitimate their own personal bigotry. F#cking hypocrites.

They have pubs all over, but none in northeast Ohio.

I'm taking notes too... and I'm the one who can suspend accounts! :evil:

"Fair enough...I agree with that. I just brought up NR becuase it probably has the best public schools in the "region". That's all." Don't get me wrong - even though I don't have children, I appreciate the value of quality schools. However - what happens when those schools in North Royalton become overcrowded, and residents seeking tax relief from their previous suburbs are once again faced with passing levies and raising their low taxes? See North Olmsted. I'm not trying to argue, but there's a reason that I steer people away from the outermost 'burbs - I've seen it time and time again.

"Mayday - I thought you didn't go anywhere south of I-480" I do, I just try to make sure it's done as quickly as possible ;-) I'm not saying, nor have I ever said that people should only live within the city, in a high-rise, or in an area with 100K people per square mile. I'm not saying that the suburbs are some evil no-man's-land and that suburbanites are environment-destroying, nouveau riche jackasses. I've lived in Lakewood, Westlake, and Hudson myself. What I *am* saying is that there are plenty of livable options for families with children in places such as Lakewood, Parma Heights, Middleburg Heights, etc. Places that are away from the city enough to have some quiet, but close enough without having to add yet another lemming to the hordes who think they've "escaped" the hustle and bustle of places like Strongsville by wiping out one more half-acre of trees only to repeat the process 10 miles and five years down the road. I'm not saying people shouldn't have a choice but I do think people should seriously reflect on how their choice affects the region and the world beyond their little bubble (and that goes for everyone).

"Given time, is it likely that sprawl will occur beyond south of NR, Strongsville into Medina and Summit counties? I saw Cleveland Clinic facility in Strongsville. This lead me to think that the clinic expects this area to continue to grow." Absolutely. It's already happening there - people who once lived in places like Lakewood, Fairview Park, and North Olmsted left because those areas became "too built up" and "traffic was too much" and moved to places like Strongsville. Now that Strongsville is getting "too built up", people are leaving for places like... you got it, North Royalton and Medina. Look at any of the "built up" 'burbs in Cuyahoga County and you see the exact same pattern: Beachwood/Solon --> Bainbridge/Aurora/Concord and Russell Townships Westlake/Rocky River --> Avon/Avon Lake/North Ridgeville Independence --> Brecksville/Richfield The problem with the development patterns of the newer (further out) suburbs is that people move into what seems like a nice "rural" atmosphere with their half-acred subdivisions and lower taxes. Then, a few years later their bucolic subdivision becomes surrounded by other subdivisions and the requisite retail strip which brings traffic and additional development. Schools become overcrowded, so taxes are raised; infrastructure is strained, so rates go up and taxes are raised. What happens next? They move even further out which puts even more strain on resources (federal dollars spent on widening highways, waterlines being extended, etc.). As AmrapinVA said - sprawl may be slower but with a stagnant population, you won't have new blood building up the tax base that's needed to pay for that sprawl. /rant

"NR seems less built up than Strongsville from the map, a good thing, IMO." Give it time. Also, I'm not sure if anyone mentioned Berea - it's close to Middleburg Heights and seems to get a lot of positive compliments. No idea about the school system though.

As the HBIC, I hereby declare no more acronyms in this thread!

Start spreadin' the news... ;) It's highly unlikely. So far it looks as though their media group has a nominal amount of overlap with the Penton brands. There may be some staff reductions in areas of redundancy outside the actual magazines, but that's purely speculation at this point. We may keep going business-as-usual only with a different company providing our paycheck, or who knows... Honestly, this is the THIRD company I've been with to undergo a buyout/merger and worrying about it accomplishes absolutely nothing. Suffice it to say that (using a sinking ship metaphor) I'm not hopping in a lifeboat just yet, but I'm keeping a good eye on them ;)

So MGD and KJP are sharing their POVs for the AD and the DoD, both near the CBD and the article about the DoD can be seen at the URL for AD. :?

"That list is too old and inaccurate. How the hell did indepence make this list?? No Cleveland Heights or Shaker Heights! You know this is wrong....just wrong!!" The reason that Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights - and Lakewood didn't make it in? Property tax rates - they're absurdly high. Cleveland Magazine's annual Rate the Suburbs has some goofy methodology (aka Beachwood has a higher crime rate because they count the shoplifting at Beachwood Place) and a newer/outer suburban slant) but let's face it - high property taxes don't always mean a higher quality of life. KJP, the reason I suggested Lakewood was that I know several Lakewood residents who work at American Greetings (and a few other places further south on Tiedemann, which aren't far from Parma Heights). They all live in eastern Lakewood and say that the commute is pretty decent down West 117th. Now, if they lived in western Lakewood and worked down at Parma General - yeah, that would be a pain.

Given what you've told us, I can recommend Lakewood - the only thing lacking would be ranch-style newer apartments. The Edgewater area of Cleveland is great (I live there) but again, you're dealing with Cleveland schools. That's not to say there aren't nice apartments or rental homes in Lakewood, it's just that they're older. If I were to include the newer 'burbs (which aren't my cup of tea), Seven Hills would be an option. Parma Heights isn't terribly accessible via transit, so it's likely you'll commute by car. Believe it or not - there are some lovely areas of Parma and Parma Heights. Streets near the Metroparks (and Big Creek Parkway) tend to have better quality homes. Some of the homes along Elsmere would fit right in with the old mansions on Fairmount - and yes, they're in PARMA.

"My best advice for your situation would be Strongsville." Hmm, school-wise and safety-wise I agree, but they're looking for areas that aren't quite "McMansioned" and that might offer public transportation options. Strongsville definitely doesn't fit the bill on those accounts. "SHAKER SQUARE!" Gee, how did I know? :roll:

Welcome to the forum. I have to say that while Pepper Pike is mostly higher-end single family homes, Shaker Heights has a variety of housing beyond the typical Tudor mansions. If you don't mind my asking, can you tell us a ballpark location of where you'll be working (downtown, suburb, etc.)? That will help determine your commute times, public transportation options, etc. I don't have children, but I've heard mostly positive things about some of the inner-ring suburbs like Lakewood (which has a wide variety of apartments AND homes).

I'm not generally a fan of doughnuts, but I have a serious sweet tooth for pastries, particularly anything combining coconut and chocolate. My vote goes to Corbos in Cleveland's Little Italy, http://www.corbos.com/ and specifically, these (I don't know the name, they're basically a macaroon encased in dense chocolate): And a close runner-up: Corbos:

And this must be eventually: Penton Media sold for $500 million in cash and debt From cleveland.com An investment team led by New York business mogul Bruce Wasserstein has agreed to buy Cleveland-based Penton Media Inc. (Link: release) Prism Business Media Holdings Inc. plans to pay $194 million in cash for the publisher and trade show organizer and assume more than $300 million of the company's debt. Prism is owned by Wasserstein & Co.'s U.S. Equity Partners II LP. The total deal is valued at $530 million. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/business/ )

She would be Chloe. :)

I'm hearing that the 23rd might work for most - would a lunch-time meet work better for everyone? I know a lot of people have family gatherings and evening parties so give me some feedback about a lunch outing :)

"I liked the "vote for issue 3" banners at TC" Any property in northeast Ohio owned by, or related to, or affiliated with, either the Ratner or Jacobs families is plastered with Issue 3 stuff.

In conjunction with the Cavaliers opener, most buildings downtown left their lights on this evening to show support. What struck me the most was the difference with the "non-signature" buildings being lit up. Granted, Terminal was half-lit, but it was refreshing to see the old girl with a few lights on her. One thing I noticed - there were plenty of people downtown but with temps heading into the low 40s and colder, they were packed into places in the few blocks around the Q. I had to leave downtown around 6ish so if they were out and about, I missed them. Major props to my boyfriend who toted me to several locales :) Stopped by the Arcade: Terminal Tower showing support: Yes, yes we are - even those of us who don't follow sports :) Da Q: The Key of Sauron: East 4th looked sweeet! Taking a peek in a Sincere Building condo: Huntington and National City were lit nicely: Two outta three: Two outta three, again! Three outta three! The Federal Courthouse Tower: Being the freezebaby that I am, I ducked into Tower City Center: 200 Public Square looked exceptionally bright: Not a new tower on the left, just one of the light fixtures on Mall A: Tower at Erieview and One Cleveland Center: Terminal Tower and the Renaissance Hotel: Probably my favorite view in Cleveland - and this pic doesn't do it justice, imho: Sigh... Hooples! And the old standard from my 'hood: Good night!