MayDay

Welcome to the forum, and welcome to Cleveland. Everyone has given some pretty good advice so far. I'm not sure if you mentioned it, but will you have a car? Parking fees, while cheap compared to some cities, are something to consider. However, one thing I'd strongly recommend (especially in your price range) is to try to find several properties you are interested in and get them to earn your business (aka play them off each other). See if you can them to offer extra amenities or discounts - the market is currently in your favor. As far as specific buildings, if I were to live in the Warehouse District, I would consider the Perry-Payne Building on Superior if location was my main criteria. It's a little bit away from the hustle and bustle of West 6th, and it's closer to Tower City (and its train station). I have heard less-than-stellar reviews from more than one person of the National Terminal building on West 9th Street. As far as the Gateway District - although East 4th has some great buildings, it will become a lot less quiet in the next year with new entertainment venues opening soon. Also as far as winter gear goes, X is correct that you'll need to find what suits you. However, I strongly, STRONGLY recommend a pair of the following. They're available at places like Target, Kohls, etc. I've found they're great for keeping the bitter cold wind off and out of your ears, and unlike a hat, don't mess up your hair. Also, there are certain buildings/structures that offer "warm cuts" (instead of short cuts) throughout downtown. Sometimes taking that one-block shortcut on a super-cold day makes a world of difference. You'll want to become familiar with those - one of these days, I'll make a map.

^It all started with the resurfacing of the late 70s/early 80s punk/glam looks, some of the more mainstream acts like the White Stripes and Scissor Sisters wore the "skinny" jeans and the crowds followed. I personally think the reason they're so popular is that so many younger white guys have such flat arses. It's the one style that doesn't give them the "diaper butt" look. All they need to do is hit a stairstepper once in a while but I guess that going to a gym isn't in the hipster handbook.

"mayday you are soooo chelsea!" No, just hygenic ;-) Trust me, about 15 years ago I looked even more absurd than Ms. Bedazzlebag. I mean seriously - if you're going glam, glam it up. The plaid shirt and the bag are just not cutting it! Lately, I've had a lot of fun meeting a few hipsters who've sneered at me because I'm clean-cut. I love telling them "one day, you'll be just like me" :lol:

^That's the one! Thanks! :-)

Lorain Ave -- is this a good drive? I have heard it was. Lorain Avenue might appeal to your taste for grit, and it does have some interesting spots between the West 20s and West 40s. However, it also gets dicey around the West 50s-West 70s so have your wits about you (and the doors locked). That said, there's quite a nifty antiques strip including Suite Lorain - you could spend a lot of time in there. Shaker Heights -- I actually have cousins here, what's the best drive from downtown? I would take Chester Avenue (since Euclid is torn up) towards University Circle. Once Chester intersects Euclid (near the Oil Can church), turn left on Euclid and go to Mayfield Road. Take Mayfield through Little Italy, up the hill to Coventry Road. Take Coventry south to Euclid Heights Boulevard and make a left at (help me out forumers, the north-south street by the Alcazar Hotel) which puts you on Cedar. Make a left and then veer right onto Fairmount. Take Fairmount east to Lee Road, make a right on Lee and then another right on Shaker. You'll see quite a bit with that route. Lakewood -- been there, but what's the best drive to get there? From downtown, go north on East 9th towards the Lake. Make a left onto Rt. 2 (aka the West Shoreway). Although it's a freeway, it does have good views (particularly eastbound towards downtown). Anyways, take the Shoreway west past Edgewater Park. You'll see signs for Lake Avenue, Edgewater Drive, and Clifton Blvd. I personally think Edgewater and Lake are the most scenic. All three are east-west routes that lead to West 117th, the north-south dividing line between Cleveland and Lakewood. I'd take Lake Avenue to West 110th and make a right onto Edgewater. Make a left onto Edgewater and take it past West 117th to Cove. Make a left on Cove, and you'll be at Lake. Head west on Lake, past the Gold Coast condo towers to Nicholson. Make a right onto Nicholson and then a left onto Edgewater. In Lakewood, Edgewater is broken up but you can always take Lake as an east-west route. Hope that helps, let me know if you need more info. I'll be in Cincy that weekend.

A link to some of the proposals (please don't repost the pics here): http://www.cleveland.com/news/photos/gallery.ssf?cgi-bin/view_gallery.cgi/cleve/view_gallery.ata?g_id=4928

^I can't believe the building is even being listed after the water and mold damage it sustained after the water main break, not to mention the asbestos. It just boggles my mind that such a large tower (Toledo's second tallest, right?) is in that condition.

Correct, your holiness!

StrapHanger, correct on #6 and #9!

Y'know, I thought I was the only one who said that line - but methinks I've said it for ENTIRELY different reasons! :lol:

HQ buildings, yes - but in assets National City is around $150 billion (#12 in the US) and Key is around $95 billion (#20 in the US). A merger would result in a bank about the size of USBank, based in Minneapolis.

Round 2 for MayDay's trivia pics! :-) #6 - southern facade of the Standard Building - guessed by StrapHanger #7 - chandelier at Tower City - guessed by the pope #8 - (Hint - You can dine on 9 but it's not a food court!) Constantino's on West 9th, guessed by ella #9 - The Leader Building - guessed by StrapHanger #10 - (Hint - get to the Pointe!) Blue Pointe Grill (at the Hoyt Block in the Warehouse District - guessed by Straphanger #11 - Superior Avenue facade of the Rockefeller Building - where an addition was added in the early 1900s - guessed by wimwar Okay - this is tricky - I want not only the building, but the significance of this section ;-)

I think there would be both good and bad. Here are just a few of both: Good: A stronger banking institution, rather than two smaller institutions which would be takeover targets. The rumors would finally be put to rest. Both have a distinct footprint (National City is very central, Key goes from the Northwest to New England), each footprint offers benefits. Increased visibility as a unified brand. Bad: Thanks to Key's unfathomably tacky precedent, we could see National City's logo on top of 127 Public Square*. A lack of competition/choice for local consumers who prefer locally-owned operations. Initial layoffs of overlapping positions at the corporate level and at branches. Losses to agencies providing services to either bank - another case of overlap but in the exterior sense. A bank ranking at #6 on the scale is still vulnerable to a takeover and higher on the radar. *

^Yes! I can't believe I forgot them - Lake Erie Artists in the former J. Crew space. They had some pretty nifty pieces the last time I was there.

Steelyard Commons industrial remnant?

I thought you said we were dorks - which is it?

"^I know Kent can party when it wants to, but it just doesn't have anything like Court Street in Athens, Main Street in Bowling Green, or High Street in Columbus." Of course not - Kent's largely a commuter school (though that's changed a little since I attended). Most Kent students I knew didn't bother with the tripe of Kent "college bars" as they catered too much to underagers and the greek scene (Rays Place is a notable exception). If we wanted to go out, we usually went out in either Akron or Cleveland.

As I've said before - they don't seem to be familiar with the phrase "don't sh!t where you eat".

Hmm... maybe not for the first wave of housing, but down the road, I do think that a handful of $125K-$175K units wouldn't be cost-prohibitive (operative word - handful, not the entire building).

It's a heart (on its side). For example, this would be a rose: ----<@

As lovely as the area is, I couldn't possibly live there. I lack the unkempt hair and the faded/shredded/stained/ill-fitted clothes. If I could only bring myself to stop doing laundry, shaving and getting haircuts every 3 weeks. :lol: And give me a break - either ya tranny out or you don't. It's one thing to have a man-bag, it's entirely ANOTHER to have a BEDAZZLED man-bag!!! :-P

"the perceptions that they perpetuate about Cleveland's impending doom will do little to build the confidence of a community whose largest problem is that it lacks confidence." Yes, but that's how they've been doing business for decades - and that's what used to sell ads. Now, their circulation and sales are on the decline and they're losing market share (they've already lost much of their relevance) - maybe they'll learn to rework their model like the city reworked its own. :D

Actually (and I know it may sound silly) but in a market like Cleveland, they might get those 3 to 5 simply because the article mentions Minshall buying a unit.

ella, the first is the terra-cotta trim on the Grand Arcade building in the Warehouse District. The second is the former Orthodox church on Detroit Avenue - I want to say it's at West 58th.

Ella, you are correct!