justine

Yes, MyTwoSense, I have looked over all the suggestions given by KJP and in fact this helped us explore this part of Old Brooklyn. We have narrowed down to these three specific street areas because we found specific houses that fit our budget and our desire for sustainability (small footprint, good insulation) and wanting to walk to a large park. We had to eliminate some of the areas that KJP gave us due to cost and our need to walk to a large park. By the way, MyTwoSense, we love Shaker Square and will always visit there, it just doesn't fit our needs for housing right now. cd-Cleveland, Muriel is one street in Old Brooklyn and so is Ralph and Mayview. They are all fine for transit just don't know how these streets are holding up as far as safety and empty homes due to the foreclosure crisis.

We had been looking to live in a house in Asia town but gave up on finding anything for sale in our price range. We have rented now in Shaker and want to buy a small energy efficient house. My husband does not have a driver's license so it is important to have good transit. Thanks to all your feedback we have steered clear of certain areas. We were advised on this board to stay within the boundaries of W. 54th, Bridge, the Lake and 75th. Well, we found two homes that would work for us but they are right on the edges. One is on W. 54th near Franklin and one is on Bridge between W. 62nd and W. 65th. In Edgewater, we have found homes we can afford between Detroit and Clifton and between W. 91st and W. 93rd. In Old Brooklyn, we have found homes we can afford near the intersection of Broadview, Pearl, State just south of the Metro Park and just West of State and Pearl. Please advise on these areas. All the homes we have found are the same in terms of price and what we are looking for. All seem the same in terms of transit. We are wondering what you think in terms of livability and prospect for the future. Are they on the way up or down?

Thanks, KJP, as usual you are very informative. The walkscore.com is a good resource for walkability since you can customize it and add things like library and fitness center.

Unfortunately, Ohio City is over my price range. I'm not limited to the West Side but I am trying to find something within 1/2 mile of both rail and a major bus. I have found that some of the west side neighborhoods in Cleveland and parts of Lakewood offer that while still being within about 4 miles of downtown. On the Eastside, I haven't found a house that's in my price range that is close to both the rail and a major bus.

I am trying to guess which routes will remain strong since I want to buy a house and live car lite. I called RTA and was told that they make cuts in service based on ridership. I am looking at the West side of Cleveland and trying to find a place where I can walk to both the Red Line Rapid and a 7 day a week frequent bus line. Then I did some research and found that at one time RTA was considering closing some rapid stations (the current ecovillage station). I hope they don't close any stations in the future. Also, I am trying to find a Rapid Station that doesn't feel too deserted at night. So, I am focusing on the Edgewater-Cudell neighborhood near the Cudell Rapid Stop and Detroit, the Edgewater or Bird Town neighborhood near the W. 117th Rapid and the Lakewood area near the Triskett stop. They have cut back on the Madison bus and the 55 flyer (on weekends), so that leaves the Detroit line as the best bet for the future.

Welcome to Cleveland, I have tried lots of yoga classes. Many places offer the first one free as a trial. The evening class at CSU fitness center was the very best. It might be included in your membership and is convenient on the bus line. As far as transit goes, I have a car but try not to use it. The health line, red line and Detroit #26 are frequent, but I have found the Mayfield line to be infrequent on Saturday so check your schedule. Also, the Cedar line from Cedar Lee back to the health line or the red line is infrequent. It is difficult to go to a film at Cedar Lee and take the bus back at night when it just runs every 40 minutes or so, especially in the cold weather. I really like riding the red line since I love trains but have been told as a woman, I shouldn't ride it alone at night. I don't know what other people's experiences have been.

Here's an update of what we saw this weekend. We saw a cute small house for rent on e. 45th. The people moving out said that it was not well-insulated and never got warm in the winter and the landlord was not willing to do any work on the place. The place looked really substandard. We saw a couple places in Detroit Shoreway, one on Fir that was pretty nice but too small for us and another on Madison near the rapid. We came back at night on the Rapid and got off at 65th and walked around. There were about eight teenage boys hanging out in the middle of the street on 58th, we talked to someone and found out that the roosters we heard were being raised for cockfighting, a car had been completely stripped one night in someone's driveway and no one saw it or heard it. It seemed like the streetlights weren't working very well around there and everyone was walking in the middle of the street because it was so dark on the sidewalk. That part of the shoreway (around Madison between 58th and 62nd) seemed almost rural. Then looked at some apartments in the midtown area. The Dixson Hall apartments on Prospect seemed pretty good. Does anyone have any experience with those?

We are also considering Detroit Shoreway around 54th to 65th and from about Detroit to Madison as well as Kirkland-Goodrich. The idea is to rent and then buy in one of these areas. Thanks for the crime info "global moderator". When I compared Detroit Shoreway with Kirkland-Goodrich, they looked about the same crime wise. But when I pulled up the crime stats on Lakewood it was way lower. I wonder about the quality of life issues between these two areas (Shoreway and Kirkland-Goodrich), since we already know the transit is good in both.

Thanks for the info. We did find a house for rent on 45th between Superior and Payne. We were told that this is a "transitional" area. We will have to check it out at night.

So we were living in an apartment at Shaker Square and moved out of state and now plan to move back to Cleveland. We are somewhat familiar with Asiantown and interested in renting one of the houses in the area. We will be using the transit and this is one of the pluses for us since we can walk to the healt line and walk to Dave's. Can you tell me much about the area between 35th and 45th and between Payne and Superior. We found a couple of houses for rent on 45th and one closer to 38th. We are looking for cheap rent and a house and like the location since it is between downtown and University Circle. I know some of the forumers live in lofts in the area and like them. We prefer a house but still in the area. Is there a big difference between the area bounded by 30th and 38th? and in the area between 38th and 45th? Are there safety issues when one gets closer to 55th. Thanks for the info.

The true cost of driving is still much more than public transit when you consider upkeep on a vehicle, parking costs, license plates, parking tickets, insurance, toll road fees, car payments, interest on car payments, etc. etc. I picked up postcards which already have a message to Gov. Strickland. They are located at the RTA desk in the train waiting area in Tower City. I pass them out on the bus and trains (with stamps on them which I purchased). They ask the governor to restore the funding to public transit. It was cut drastically by the previous governor. To anyone to thinks that public transit should "pay for itself and not be subsidized". Our roads are subsidized. We pay public health costs for people who end up in hospitals due to accidents and pollution from automobiles. Tranist is fun, you can read, and talk to people, save money and headaches.

if we can get back to topic (ahem!), I'd like to say, that being fairly new in town (three months) and looking around for a permanent neighborhood, these are my impressions of Asia town. I have been there about ten times, mainly to Koko bakery and twice in the evening to a bar there (Sweethearts, I think). I kind of like Asia town. It does lack some things though. It doesn't have mature trees like some neighborhoods. I do like the smallish houses though I think they may need some work. Also, if one wants to live a car-free life, I've noticed that the bus service is excellent and a quick ride to downtown. As far as Ohio City goes, I don't think I'd like to live there either. I have noticed some very loud sounding dogs barking when I walk by houses, more so than in the Ecovillage neighborhood or West Park for example. So, although I know that many people on this board like Ohio City, maybe it isn't viewed the same way by everyone. If someone wants to live in the City of Cleveland, no matter which neighborhood, I give them credit for choosing the city over the suburbs.

Hi, Sorry I missed the last happy hour. But, being from Detroit, I do not cross union picket lines! So it's just as well I didn't go, but hope to go next time.

We are from Detroit, also! We have been here since June. Welcome to Cleveland. We should start a carpool for when all of us former Detroiter's visit Detroit. I think you will find that there are so many good neighborhoods in Cleveland that it is hard to choose. We are in Shaker Square now. Also, last weekend, my husband and I went downtown for dinner and found that some of the restaurants in Tower City were almost deserted. Someone told me later "there used to be a lot of crime down there". Coming from Detroit, I thought that was a laugh. It's a much nicer city than Detroit, much more mellow but more to offer in a compact space. p.m. me if you have questions or if I can be of any help.

Since you will only be travelling one or two times a week, you may want to choose a neighborhood you really like such as Coventry. It really depends whether or not you mind some longer trips on buses and trains. If you like to read or don't mind spending time on the transit then it wouldn't be necessary to live downtown. As far as the megabus to Toledo and then Amtrak. I'd really look into the Megabus and Amtrak schedules. I go to Detroit from Cleveland often by public transit and I find the Greyhound much more convenient. The Amtrak train doesn't run that often and it could be a logistic nightmare to schedule it. Also, with Coventry you have both the Circulator (Monday through Saturday) and the bus (I think #9). I would call RTA and ask to speak to someone in their Marketing Division. I did that before I moved here to find out what neighborhoods would work for me to live and use public transit. Their number is 216-621-9500 or call their administrative office and ask for marketing, 216-566-5100. Also you can p.m. me if you like. I moved to Shaker initially but plan to move to a different neighborhood. There's nothing wrong with Shaker but it has a whole different feel than Coventry. Each neighborhood here in Cleveland is very unique.

I also was looking for a short term rental and found that some companies will do it but will charge you a month and a half rent for each month. Also the ones that specialize in short term rental were just outrageously priced. So, what I finally did was to take out a years lease even though we only plan to stay until we buy a home. Then, I plan to advertise on Craigslit to get someone to take over the lease. The Ohio rental laws state that a company cannot double charge for rent. Also, my lease agreement states I can get out of the lease by finding someone else to take over. I may lose the security deposit though. If you go on Craigs list there is often people who advertise that they want someone to take over their lease. Maybe you could find someone who has to move and only has two or three months left on the lease. Another option is call the city Broadview heights and see if they have a relocation office or housing office. Sometimes they keep a list of people who will rent out part of their home or a room or two, (often on a month to month basis). I did this for Cleveland Heights and there were lots of people willing to rent month to month. The Cleveland Heights Housing office gave me the list of people to call.

Thanks for the recommendations all of you. I now have a vet and two dentists to call. By the way, someone here warned me away from Heights Animal Hospital and said there had been a lot of problems there in the past. They are the ones on Cedar near Lee. Does anyone know anything about them? Did they have some problems in the past?

Does anyone know of a reasonable vet and a reasonable dentist? I have been here two months near Shaker Square and all the vets and dentist I have been referred to seem over the top expensive. I don't need a designer vet or dentist. All I need is a dentist to clean my teeth twice a year. they all want to improve my teeth at great cost with cosmetic stuff. The people I've talked to about vets go to these outrageously expensive vets that have their animals on all kinds of medications. My cat just needs shots and also to have her teeth cleaned. Please help me find some basic services at a reasonable cost.

I think a later date would work for Brian and I also. We are busy job hunting and getting art work out and catching up on ten years of technology.

We had fun and enjoyed meeting all of you hardy bikers! It's great to talk to people who appreciate city life and patronize independent businesses. Thanks for putting it all together, Jeff.

We will be riding the rapid so won't need to worry about parking. There's a stop at 117th or you can get off at 98th and take the Detroit Ave. bus which runs very frequently (about every 20 minutes at night).

Brian and I (newly moved to Cleveland) would like to meet you for a drink later as we aren't bike riders. Just let us know time and place.

Here's an update. We moved to Shaker Square on June 12 and it has surpassed all our expectations. We are one block north of the square in a beautiful spacious apartment with nice hardwood floors, lots of windows and mature trees right outside our windows. The square itself seems a bit suburban in design but there are lots of people sitting outside and it is very convenient to walk there to go to Dave's grocery store or CVS. The light rail is just 13 minutes to downtown. Also, within a two block walk is a beautiful park with a small lake. The area seems very diverse. The only thing is I get the impression that our apartment building is only about one third full. It seems awfully quiet and the few people I see in passing to say hello to barely say hello back so it seems a bit anonymous. All in all, I think it is a good place to land for someone new to the city. It does give an opportunity to live without driving since there's a very convenient bus (number 48) from the square to the red line and University Circle as well as the rapid to downtown.

We think we will really enjoy the Shaker Square area and especially the farmers market on Saturday. I didn't really think about how much we would bake in the summer when I rented the apartment and unfortunately there were no apartments on the first floor of any of the Matlack Buildings available. Now I know why. We plan to soon look for a place to buy. Does anyone know what area of Cleveland (or suburbs) is similar to Woodbridge area in Detroit? Woodbridge is just went of midtown, has a lot of older houses close together, two-flats, row houses, gardens, open minded, live and let live type of neighborhood.

I really like the Arabica Coffeehouses. There are several of them but they feel like independents,not a chain. There's a beautiful one in an old house in the University Circle area with nice outdoor seating.