gilgi

I AM upset with federal & state officials. My question was HOW such protests are being organized. Because my experience is that organized protests are more effective than when people contact officials in a disorganized way. As far as I can tell, we're on the same side here. And the information about the proposed RTA fares being above those of other cities--as KJP provided in a handy list--was correct. Considering the amounts involved, 25 to 50 cents above other cities is a significant percentage. I also wonder if there is a reason that a lot of other cities have clustered around $2--it may well be that going above this is a significant psychological threshold for public transport riders. It may be justified, but it is undoubtedly more money. One problem is that Cleveland has a public transport system that is just dense enough in some areas and it is precisely in many of those areas that the cuts will affect most--so that some areas will go from being just dense enough to be doable (both in terms of #s of routes and frequency of service) and being not dense enough to make sense for many people. I'd love to see Cuyahoga county work with other counties to create a truly regional system. From experience, I can say that LCT (Lorain County Transit) sucks beyond words, but maybe a partnership would help through economies of scale and possible leadership reshuffles. All of the dithering about the commuter rail on the west side, though, makes me wonder how much other counties will be willing to do such a partnership. I hope that this is just unwarranted pessimism and that they will realize that public transportation is key to the future of the region. Here is another place where organized and creative lobbying could be of use. How good is All Aboard Ohio?

This is a naive question, but is there a lobbying group/could one be started to protest RTA cuts? I think that some sort of organized action would probably work better than isolated protests. $2.25-250 for a basic fare is more than New York, Chicago, Boston and SF Muni. DC has a zone system but for most rides, Cleveland's new fare would be more.

Wow, I had no idea that I was stepping into such a minefield in the lakewood vs. ohio city/tremont wars. I have been to visit friends in OC but never really past the dinner hour, and my one time in lakewood was driving around the other day. To be honest, I liked the atmosphere of OC better (although since I didn't know what I was looking for in lakewood, I can't say for sure), but I also could see it being sketch late night. ...Meanwhile, I saw the cutest house in Cleveland Heights (Coventry-ish) today that is exactly in my price range, so who knows? Next week, I'll look a little in Lakewood and Ohio City to try to get a feel for both areas. I'll continue to try to get a sense of the ratio between cool/hip/urban (yeah, I'm a poser) and safe/secure. As for the person surprised about people moving to Cleveland. You're telling me. Still, I work in a very small field that isn't exactly a part of the normal job market. My move, at least, is no harbinger of any larger trend. I really do appreciate all of the advice and I will definitely keep you all posted. And will pretty soon want even more advice about living in cleveland (or some inner ring suburb thereof)...

Thanks to all of you for your advice. I am now definitely considering Lakewood after reading both the glowing recommendations here (thanks rockandroller and jmc8651! and elsewhere on the forums. I even drove around it earlier today and it is a cute neighborhood, even though I didn't see a huge amount of stuff to do (probably I wasn't on the right streets). jmc8651, you mentioned downtown and I have considered that. The thing is, when I looked, I only saw luxury condos that were way too pricey for me. On the other hand, maybe I'm just not looking in the right places. Where should I be looking? I have been to Ohio City a few times (I have friends, all male now that I think about it) and I think it is really cute for all the reasons you mention, 8ShadesofGray. On the one hand, I love the old architecture and the fact that it is mid-gentrification is kindof cool. On the other hand, the fact that I was seeing really nice houses next to dumps with broken windows was a little scary. Good point re: the crime statistics (thanks too for the link!). I grew up in a supposedly dangerous part of NYC during the "bad old days" so I know to take crime stats with a grain of salt--it all depends on where you are, etc. I really appreciate all of your candor re: buying vs. renting. I think it is a pretty good bet I'll be here for 3 or 4 years at least, and it seems like I could recoup the closing costs. Whether I would actually make money on the place, probably not, but that's less of a concern for me. I think I'm just getting sick of living in apartments and dealing with crappy landlords. (So I guess I figured I could be my own crappy landlord.) I think I'll buy if I find the "perfect" place, but if not, I'll just rent for a while. In any event, I've started looking at houses (so rockandroller, do pm me the name and contact info of the realtor you know) and I've been doing a lot of driving around. I realize all I'm looking for is a place with a nearby cafe (or multiple cafes) that I can walk to. Why does that seem so hard... Anyway, please don't let my intervention keep you from offering more advice. I'll take all the opinions and ideas I can get.

I'm looking to buy a house in Cleveland. Here's a bit about me, now tell me (and be opinionated) where I should live: --I'm looking in the 150K-175K range --I'm female, single, 32 y.o., professional --I really like urban areas (NYC native). Ideally, I'd live somewhere where I could walk to bars and cafes and restaurants. --Actually, more generally, I just want an area where I can walk (jog) around and see interesting things and not worry about my safety. --I'm working on the west side but am willing to commute to wherever --I also like there to be some diversity --I like older houses--ideally something well-maintained and interesting. I don't like cheaply rehabbed homes and I am not a fan of new construction. --I'm not sure how long I'll stay in Cleveland, so something with a reasonable resale value (I don't want to have a house sit on the market forever) Thank you so much in advance for your opinions. I'm already considering Cleveland Heights (esp. Coventry or Cedar-Fairmount), Tremont & Ohio City, but if there are other neighborhoods I should look at, that would be great. Also, if you have preferences between those neighborhoods, I want to hear what those are. Seriously, be as opinionated as you want to be and tell me where to move. Thanks in advance.