Chicagoist

Did you mean Clifton? If so, I've lived in an apartment-style on Clifton at the east end of Lakewood since 1996. Lots of great stuff happening here. You might also consider the Edgewater section of Cleveland, such as the side streets off Clifton. Lots of investment happening in this area in terms of infrastructure and new development. It might be a good time to get in on the ground floor of this stable and improving neighborhood. It's an easy ride into Hopkins's main terminal on the Red Line from this area, but its a long drive to Oberlin (as it would be from Detroit-Shoreway too). It's a lot easier to get to Oberlin from Kamm's. Also, check the sidestreets in Lakewood north of Detroit and west of Bunts. Detroit Avenue has seen a dramatic rise in the number of shops, restaurants and amenities (new YMCA, library, etc) west of Bunts. I covered Kamm's for the community newspaper until last year, so I'm pretty familiar with it and can tell you its a very stable community. The residency law was struck down, but the city gives extra points on civil service exams to applicants of new jobs or promotions to people living in Cleveland. So I've not seen city workers flee the city. However, Baby Boomers retiring and/or becoming empty nesters has caused many older homeowners in Kamms to pursue scaling down their lifestyles, which includes selling their homes and moving into apartments or condos. So you may be able to get more house in Kamm's -- or Fairview and Rocky River, which also have a large amount of bungalows between Lorain and Hilliard roads. Follow your heart. If you love a neighborhood, find the right home in it. Take your time. It took me three years to find the perfect home for me. And I've here for nearly 18 years now. Who knows, I may live here for another 18 years or more.... Good catch, yes, I meant Clifton. Edgewater is intriguing too. Around Clifton is obviously very nice. Great location. You're right about taking our time. A year should give us a good sense of the direction we want to go and it may just boil down to if we love a particular house, because as I said, we're in it for the long haul. You all can call me a dork but I just bought my first cell phone in years (always had work issued iPhones) and had to choose a NE Ohio cell #. Instead of going with area code 440 because I'd be in Oberlin I requested a 216 and got it. My Lorain County based family is already razzing me about it but I don't care!

Hello All, Since I first reached out in this forum more 4 years ago about my desire to relocate back to Cleveland, I finally found a good job and will be moving back in 4 weeks. My job is located in Oberlin and we will be renting there for the first year as my wife is 7 months pregnant and my parents live in Oberlin and will be able to help with a newborn. My job is about 40% travel so I will become intimately familiar with Hopkins as well. So we have time before we buy. My previous focus was on DS and Tremont obviously, but now that I've done some more research I've pushed a little westward and focusing on Edgewater,Lakewood, Kamm's Corner, Fairview Park and possibly Rocky River. I was just in town last weekend and drove through all 4 areas and also OC and Detroit-Shoreway. Actually, I was really impressed by how far Detroit-Shoreway has come along since I was last there almost 2 years ago. It keeps calling me! Ha My wife really liked the bungalows in Kamm's Corner. That was her favorite area. She didn't like Lakewood this time around except for Clinton Blvd. I was pleasantly surprised by Fairview Park. We also want to buy less house so we're not house poor and my wife can be a stay at home if she so chooses, so I'd like to keep it in the 150K range which I fully understand limits us considerably in Fairview and Rocky River. I'm very intrigued by Kamm's and it's family friendliness and relative stability. I understand the city lifted the residency requirement a few years ago and I assume that had some kind of impact. My mild concerns about Kamm's is would we fit in with the neighborhood demographics? We both come from middle to middle upper-class families, college educated, professional jobs, etc. A neighborhood with a good mix of white collar and blue collar professionals would be good. When we buy we plan on being in that place for the next 10-20 years at least. So good people of UrbanOhio is Kamm's a good choice to put down roots long term? If not, why? Thanks I'm familiar with all of the pros and cons of each neighborhood and area. My heart is leaning towards Kamm

I live in Madison and get out and about. Can give you all sorts of restaurant and Madison attraction ideas. In Madison, I'd definitely hit the downtown square where the capitol is located. Graze and Old Fashioned would be 2 of the restaurants on the square I would recommend. Graze is more of the gastropub scene and Old Fashioned is very Wisconsin and a hit with locals and tourists alike. Near downtown East is more bohemian and is very walkable. Almost has a Tremont like feel with the architecture. One of the best restaurants I have ever experienced is called The Pig in a Fur Coat - great gastropub and the food was great. It's releatively new and has a cool vibe about it. Defnitely a place for foodies. Dinner for 2 will be $75-$100 if you drink. The near west side is where UW is located. Specifically check out State street. It's Madison's answer to Columbus' High Street, but it's more dense actually. There is good middle eastern restaurant on State st. - Husnu's. If you are a beer person, there is New Glarus brewery just outside of town in New Glarus itself is kind of a cute town - it's Swedish. There are a lot of cool neighborhoods I can recommend if you like touring neighborhoods. Hope this helps.

I have kind of been interested in checking Savannah out. It looks like an amazing city from what I have seen online, and it looks like the core is growing. Anybody else have any opinion on this city. I never really thought a city in the south could be so badass lol. And does anyone have an opinion on cities in Switzerland? Such as Zurich? I havent been there either but it looks like a cool place to visit as well. I lived and worked in Savannah for many years. It' a very unique place. Almost like a mini-New Orleans. Beautiful setting and architecture, plus is so close to the Atlantic Ocean which is a plus. I actually lived in Ardsley Park and Wilmington Island. I noticed a few folks put Charleston, SC down and while that is a great city as well, it is more "manicured" than Savannah. Savannah has more imperfections than Charleston and in my humble opinion - more character. You have the gorgeous setting, plenty of cool restaurants, bars, and shops, and it is relatively affordable. I really enjoyed my time there and would go back in a heartbeat. Maybe I'll retire there. The open container laws we're sweet too. :)

US Cities I've visited and or lived (excluding Ohio cities): 1) NYC 2) Miami 3) Savannah, GA 4) Portland, OR 5) SLC, UT International: Embarrassingly enough, do not have a passport.

If you don't mind sharing on a public forum, why would you choose DS over Tremont? I've driven through both fairly extensively and Tremont just seems more vibrant and livable right now. (My perspective is purely as an outsider who has done a few drive-bys in each neighborhood and some research online)

Thanks for the suggestions and feedback. Having lived in Chicago (and now Madison, WI) I can appreciate the housing prices can differ greatly block by block. I guess I'm just more skittish when seeing the same thing in Cleveland. That Tremont house is in a great location on a great street in the 'good' part of Tremont -- and yet under 100K?!? Fwiw, my wife has been to Cleveland multiple times and likes Lakewood the best because it reminds her of Chicago. I've got a sales job to do!

I posted a couple of years ago while I was living in Chicago about the possibility of moving back to NE Ohio (I grew up in Oberlin). Now that I'm married and looking to have kids soon, I'm getting my ducks in a row to finally make the move back 'home'. My parents have always lived in the area and both my brothers have moved back recently (one in Avon Lake and one in Vermilion). Bottom line, I want to be closer to family. Unlike my brothers, I want to live in in Cleveland proper and don't want the suburban life. I've zeroed in on the usual prospects, DS, Ohio City, Tremont, and Little Italy..possibly downtown. I've read all of the threads and researched all of the areas pretty thoroughly, but here is where I'd like some feedback from locals on 2 properties in particular and why are the prices so low? The one in Tremont really has me scratching my head. DS: http://www.progressiveurban.com/p/259/3324932 Tremont: http://www.progressiveurban.com/p/259/3172609 I know the pros and cons of all 3 have been beaten to death, but I'm seriously torn. Part of me just wants to say screw it and buy a condo at the Pointe of Gateway downtown. Anyway, any insights on to the wildy disparate prices on homes on the same street would be greatly appreciated.

Appreciate that...actually I'm in the bookstore industry. My company only has a few locations in the Cleveland area. Because I'm in management, my company is pretty good about accomodating relo requests. If, and it's a big if, nothing will open in the Cleve area within the next year, then I might look at other job options.

Well, Punch, sometime early this summer. Obviously, been doing a lot of research online,but there is no substitute walking a neighborhood. Professionally, I'm a few months away from signaling to my employer that I want to relocate (my GF has to finish school this summer). There could be a few more months before a spot opens up in the area. The other big piece is convincing my GF that moving to Cleveland is in both of our best interests. She is more lukewarm to the idea than myself. Since she is more lukewarm and it would be moving closer to my family, she will have more input on where we live if that makes sense. We'll travel back to Cleveland in JUne for a few days and really take the time to thoroughly scout out the places I mentioned in my original post and then target some suburbs like Lakewood, Cleveland Heights, Rocky River, Bay Village, Shaker Heights, etc..the usual suspects. So, it's somewhat of holding pattern right now...going through Zillow Cleveland heights looked really good...there are just so many choices. Despite what Jakim NOah said, I'm really starting to think downtown could be a major player.

The friend with the biracial daughter is in Akron. Not sure the name of the school. She lived in Santa Monica and her daughter went to a melting pot of a school that focused on performing arts. Her daughter is a good singer apparently. An all white catholic girls school would be an adjustment to say the least. Obviously, there are a lot more moving parts as to why my friend would want to leave Ohio -- but she did just get offered 2 different full time jobs in Cleveland so she will be staying for awhile. She's in Public Event Marketing. She's excited about that. I suggested she look into Urban Community School. A comment on the school issue if I may...I have family friends who went to Mags and St. Ignatius (even though they grew up in Lorain County) and they are more socially savvy than your typical public HS kid from Lorain County. Now before I get flamed, I'm a product of Oberlin HS and have a multitude of friends from Public highschools that are very successful and live happy, successful lives...but, there is a different air and savvy that kids carry who go to larger private OR public schools closer to Cleveland. Just my .02 cents.

Thanks for link 8Shade..playing with it now. My job will be in Westlake, Mentor, or the Orange area. Definitely east side if it's the latter 2. Couple more tidbits from trip: The 2 natives who recently moved back to the Cleve area and we're considering Tremont, now are looking to move back out of state. The one misses the diversity of LA. (Her daughter is biracial and getting teased mercilessly at an all girls catholic school. The other one is a doctor currently living in the Bingham. He wants to move to Nashville. Also met a couple who moved to Avon lake from Seattle. (The wife grew up in LA) They love Cleveland over Seattle mentioning that it is more kid friendly, tolerant of religious folk, friendlier people, and stronger sense of community. They considered the Cleve area a well kept secret.That was cool to hear.

Absolutely! I've always found the east side to be more New Englandly. Shaker Square, Cleveland Heights, etc...if my GF thought Lakewood looked good, she would positively weep at Shaker Square. If you want suburbs, CLeveland is the place. Much better on the whole than, say, Chicago's. For those of you old timers, I'll never forget the quote by former Indian Pat Tabler who said Cleveland had the best suburbs in the American League. Ha ha. A wise man. :)

Thanks ksonic! See, Wrigleyville and LP are the reference points for my GF. She works in Lincoln Park. The irony is she doesn't necessarily want to live in such a dense neighborhood. Hence, why she liked Lakewood so much. She likes the urban/suburban mix (ahem, she is thinking kids in the near future) Plus, I'm a straight Cleveland homer while she is not. My urban pioneering ways don't translate to her...she wants more safety and kid friendly. Anyway, yes, renting a for awhile would probably be best, but oh the deals to be had buying! What they are charging at the Pointe of Gateway for example is criminally low. Why people aren't pouncing on those condos makes no sense to me. Oh, and something else that jumped out at me...the people in Cleveland were better looking than you find in Chicago. There's something to hang your hat on. :)

Ok, quick recap of my weekend visit and genreal observations: I went to the Cavs game Friday night, ate at RJ BOlands pre-game and hit that Irish place on the corner of East 4th postgame and then hit a bar in Tremont. Drank too much but was impressed with the downtown area. It was lively, clean and a lot of younger folks out and about. The weather was great. The food was good at Bolands and good value. Pretty compact area with a lot going on. Did not get a chance to venture beyond that little square though. People were very friendly. Unfortunately, the only time I was in Tremont was that night. The bar was fine and it was a mixed crowd. I wish I could remember the name of the place. My GF remarked that, unlike Chicago, the bars or restaurants were spread out throughout the neighborhood. It made it feel more deserted to her...not as lively. I liked it though...nice views of downtown from Tremont. Saturday: Due to family obligations I was only able to do a quick driveby through Ohio City and DS. We drove in on Lorain Ave from Great Northern Mall to Ohio City. Went to the West side Market and walked around 2 blocks of Ohio City. The Great Lakes Brewery and Flying Fig looked good and young people were out and about. The West Side Market was bustling. My GF liked the Ohio City area the best and thought it was more Chicago-like but still seemed deserted comparitively speaking. Some interesting architecture going on..I liked it alot and see why it is becoming more popular. Unfortunately, was not able to explore it fully. We then drove west on Detroit Avenue to DS and visited Battery Parkand went theough The Gordon Arts District, saw Mad Pub...I liked it...nice balance of shore line living and urban. My GF, again, could not get past that pubs were mixed in with houses..she's used to brownstones. I saw the more modern neo-futurist townhomes that have sprung up in the area, that loked smaller than I envisioned. I liked the area. GF didnt. Finally, drove through Lakewood on Edgewater My GF loved the look of Lakewood and thught it was the most Chicago like. She compared i to Oak Park (where we live currently. She htought it was a great blend of neighborhood, while still being close to the city. She would move to lakewood and be happy. All in all, I was impressed with the neighborhoods, and would now consider downtown a real player...I probably liked Ohio City the best, but Tremont did not get a fair shake on this visit. GF didnt like the more urban neighborhoods...they seemed too desolate to her. No sh!t babe. :)