ElijahSnow

I saw it today...its seemed quiet and well kept, but I wanted some good feedback from native Clevelanders. First impressions of an area are not always accurate.

New York City...actually, north of the City in Tuckahoe (Westchester County)

Specifically, south of Monticello, north of Mayfield, east of Taylor, and north of Mayfield...particularly, Radcliffe, Boynton, and St. Alban's? I found a house that I would like to rent and the neighborhood seemed safe and nicely kept, but not being from Cleveland and having not spent much time here I wasn't sure. I figured that many posters on this forum could help me. Any info. would be greatly appreciated. I'm under a time crunch, so speedy replies would help a great deal! :) Thank you in advance!

My wife will be starting a 3 year fellowship at Rainbow Babies, so she wants to be within a 20 min. commute of Case. The problem is there are tons of areas that fit that bill. We also have a 4.5 month old son, so safety is a top priority. My wife and I love to take walks and I'm always riding my bike or running, so we would want an area that caters to those activities. We would love access to parks as well. We neither prefer an overly urban (we like a bit of quiet, trees, and grass) or suburban (we hate homogeneous cookie cutter homes in totally car-dependent neighborhoods) experience and really appreciate many homes from 1900 - 1940. Having lived in NYC for the last 3 years we tired of traffic congestion and desire easy access to major traffic arteries. We do not want to sacrifice access to cultural activities either (museums, orchestra, live music, ect.). Our ideal budget is 150k - 200k. I have been looking at (in no particular order): Cleveland Heights University Heights Lakewood Rocky River Shaker Heights would be on the list, but it seems the property taxes can be through the roof. Someone suggested Solon to us, but that's too far. With many property values seemingly bottomed out and the first time home buyer tax credit it is just too tempting to buy...we are both very tired of renting. Part of the problem I have run into is that some people rave about each of these areas, while others bash them as hopelessly spiraling downhill. We may, or may not, be moving in 3 yrs., so either way, I want a place that will maintain safety and value. In summary we are looking for: 150k - 200k SAFETY and STABILITY < 20 min. Commute to Case Walkability Access to Parks Cultural Activities (lower property taxes than Shaker Heights) Please provide specific geographical areas if you can, giving street names, ect. Many people just make blanket statements about a given area, "Cleveland Heights is this" or "Lakewood is that" for example, when all these areas seem to have their good spots and bad spots. Since I am unfamiliar with Cleveland some geographic orientation is a must. All the diversity, even within neighborhoods, is kind of dizzying. Also, if anyone knows of areas better suited for us, please chime in...We need all the help we can get. And if anyone knows of a really top flight real estate agent that would also be a huge help. Thank you all in advance.