sjade565

Well..it was 50 min, and that was driving through the city. I was hoping that as I get more accustomed to the area, I would be able to find ways to shave it down. :) We took - Superior to 77 to 480 to 422 to 700. I am thinking that Superior to 77 wasn't the fastest. Maybe a faster route would be Detroit to 25th to 90 to 176 to 480...?? I have been told that rush hour in Cleveland, going opposite to the flow since I will be going out of the city in the morning (7ish) and into the city (5-6ish), still moves. Opinions? the pope -- no its not Ferndale, :) but it suits us just fine. We actually don't frequent Ferndale that much, we head to downtown Royal Oak or the Troy area more often. PS Know of anyone that is interested in renting/buying in the RO area? ;)

UPDATE: We came down on Sunday to scope out some apartments. What a great city!!! :clap: We went to look at the Park Villas...and it just doesn't fit us, and we don't love the neighborhood, for the price. We checked out a few others, but I think we are going to rent in Stonebridge condos. They are really nice and reasonable for what you get. I will have an hour drive (we timed it)...but my husband has made a deal with me - since he will be working from home, he will do the cooking and cleaning since I have an hour drive each way. NICE! :wink2: We feel it will be worth it, for the kind of luxuries that living closer to the city provides versus the apts we looked at closer to the Middlefield area. Thanks for all your help!

What are your thoughts on Stonebridge - the condos? How far from Middlefield?

I just put in the address for Park Land Villas, in U Circle, and the address for my potential new employer, and it says 39 miles, 47 min...which I know is not always accurate, but the directions it says to take are different than what you have listed above. It says to take... Cedar Rd to 271 N to US 322 (Mayfield Rd) to SR 608 (Old State Rd). So would I hit the same bad traffic here? I realize that the snow would be unavoidable. :-)

Hm...really? Do you know of any apartment complexes in Chagrin Falls? I can only find one - Carriage Hill.

THANKS SO MUCH!!! More questions :-D - 1) Is traffic on the route to Middlefield, from the U Circle, S Euclid, Lynhurst area(s), bumper to bumper, or does it move, but just takes a while to get there? 2) Are there any newer or renovated apartment complexes in Shaker Heights or Chagrin Falls or S Euclid? 3) Is there public transportation to/fro the Beachwood Mall and/or Legacy Village? TMH - You don't have to worry about hurting my feelings in regard to Detroit...I would be the first to admit it needs A LOT of work and truly is a dissapointment, even with the new casinos going up. There is no public transportation and no real shopping/restaurants, "main drag" area to keep people down there. Plus its a little scary at night. It could be so great...if the city officials would just get their act together. And YES! the Tigers are great. One thing my husband is sad about leaving is the Red Wings. He is a hockey nut, and he keeps saying he wishes Cleveland would get a hockey team. :-) I think our thought process is this - this would be the time to live in a city/urban environment, if we are ever going to do it. Before we have kids! We can live it up for 1-2 years, take some time to figure out where we want to settle down, and then move to the suburbs, when we are ready to start a family. So we are looking for the fun, lively, lots of shops, events, etc - so I am leaning more toward the Lynhurst/Beachwood/U Circle areas for this reason. I guess we will have to come down and do the drive ourselves, to get an exact feel for what it will be. All your input really helps a great deal though! Thanks again.

Also, two more questions - What taxes do you pay in terms of income - state and city or just state? What is the current cost of gas? Just wondering what the cost of living is, compared to the Detroit area.

WOW!!! :clap: So much wonderful information. Thank you! I feel a little like this now though :wtf: (I love these little faces.) So many to choose from, how do I narrow it down. Can anyone give me a short run through of the following cities? University Circle/University Heights - Also, is there a difference other than that they are separated by a few miles? Auburn Euclid/South Euclid - is there a difference? Lyndhurst Cleveland Heights The general feel for what I am looking for is new or revitalized buildings, new apartments, close to shopping meccas :wink2:, parks nearby, etc. The feel I get for Shaker Heights, from the photos and descriptions I have seen, is that its very small town, like Mayberry-ish. Correct or no? Also, what is downtown Cleveland like? Are there lots of shops, restaurants, etc? And are there any beaches nearby or access to the lake? I have not seen much info on this? How far of a drive would it be to the lake from any of the cities above? THANKS!! :mrgreen:

Hello, My husband and I are relocating from the Detroit suburbs, and I am researching to get some info on where would be a good place to rent an apartment. We will eventually buy a home, once we are settled - possibly a year down the road...I would think. Anyway, its so tough trying to gauge commute times using mappoint, and I was wondering if you could give me a little guidance. Here is the scoop on us... – Married or Single? Married couple – Do you have children or are you thinking about having some in the future? Future – Do you prefer: downtown living, urban city neighborhoods, older suburbs or cul-de-sac sprawling burbs? We prefer happening and lively areas so I would say downtown or urban – What's your age range? late 20s – How much would you like to spend housing? Rental - around $1500 a month, we need 2 bed, 2 bath, I would like a newer option versus old, with updated kitchen, etc. I have seen some of the renovated building in University Circle, for example, that are very appealing - but I wasn't sure of the drive time to Middlefield. – What kind of extra curricular activities do you enjoy in your downtime/afterhours/weekends? Bars, restaurants, the Cheesecake Factory!!, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, working out (would like apt with a gym), shopping, running outside, a nearby park would be great, would like to be relatively close to the water if possible? – What city and neighborhood are you currently living in? Royal Oak, a suburb of Detroit - lots of bars, shopping, etc. I am hoping for a commute anywhere around 45 min or less. Again, I really like University Circle or anything like it, but am not sure how far that would be of a drive. We also liked Lyndhurt. I don't see either one recommended very often though, I was surprised. I am thinking that the actual downtown area would be too far of a drive. Is downtown Cleveland "nice" - I ask because Detroit is ok....but its definitely no Chicago! Any input would be great!! Thanks!!!