Moving to Cleveland in the Fall to attend CWRU Law

 

Just spent the weekend up there (from Arizona) looking at apartments in the cleveland heights, shaker square, university circle area and was disappointed by how dingy, unkept or tiny most were. I'm looking for a 1br in the $600-700 range and I'm not a big fan of the LARGE apartments houses. It's also unlikely that i'll be able to visit again till I move there, so I was really hoping to secure something as a result of my trip

 

I did stumble across a neat, charming place above a boutique store on Larchmere. [Map location here] I'm wondering what your thoughts are in terms of safety, noise level, commute conditions in winter etc

 

I'm a city, urban type girl, so I'm drawn to the feel of Larchemere street...but i'm sensible to know there's more to finding a place to live than that

 

All Thoughts/Suggestions are most appreciated

FlyGalH2K, Welcome to Cleveland! I like Larchmere a lot. A friend of mine lived very close to the place above the boutique store you're interested in. There's some nice little cafes, galleries, antique shops and restaurants in that neighborhood, and it's an easy walk to Shaker Square that has more shops and restaurants, plus a full-service grocery store and a movie theater. There are some bad areas just to the west of Larchmere, west of East 116th Street. But they've stayed there and not crept eastward.

 

To learn more about the Larchmere area, see:

http://www.larchmere.com/

 

To learn more about Shaker Square, see:

http://www.shakersquare.net/

 

There is a frequent bus route operating 21 hours a day from the Shaker Square/Larchmere area to CWRU. To see a bus schedule, go to:

http://www.riderta.com/pdf/48-48A.pdf

 

If you want something newer and closer to campus, check out:

http://www.thetriangleapts.com/

 

It's an easy walk to Little Italy:

http://www.littleitalycleveland.com/

 

And the Cleveland Food Co-op:

http://www.clevelandfoodcoop.org/

 

I hope this helps. If you need anything else, you will get a lot of help from some great people here.

OhmyGwasH ~ KJP You. Are. Awesome!!!....Thanks for the speedy response and links. Great insight. I'm reading nothing but great things about Larchmere which has been comforting. Overall, would most say it's a vibrant, youthful, young professional type vibe?

 

Checked out the triangle & besides the fact I felt it was a tad overpriced compared to others in the area, it's a big apartment complex which i'm not too thrilled by

 

Curious, is the gas bill as outrageous as what most have said it is on here? I'm reading $300ish in the winter? YiKeS!! For a student that can be much *gulp*

 

The Food co-op sounds mega cool, I'm part of one here in Arizona and wonder if it kind of works the same...you know members put in $X amount a week or every two weeks depending on what you chose & you get a basket of fresh stuff? Anyone part of the Cleveland co-op?

Food Co-op is more of a regular grocery store than what you're describing.  You don't have to be a member to shop there, but membership is only something like $20.

 

There's also City Fresh which brings local produce into the city on a weekly basis - you can either sign up week-by-week or for a full season.  www.cityfresh.org

 

Also, Shaker Square has a weekly farmer's market on Saturdays - there's also a farmer's market on the Cleveland Clinic campus on Wednesdays.  www.northunionfarmersmarket.org

Welcome to the neighborhood! :wave:

What you are thinking of as a co-op is more like a CSA here. You can buy shares, you have food every week, etc.  Many of them don't deliver however, and you're expected to do some work for some of them as well.  But they can be a great deal for fresh produce every week.  Some also include eggs, etc.

 

Welcome to Cleveland!

OhmyGwasH ~ KJP You. Are. Awesome!!!....Thanks for the speedy response and links. Great insight. I'm reading nothing but great things about Larchmere which has been comforting. Overall, would most say it's a vibrant, youthful, young professional type vibe?

 

Checked out the triangle & besides the fact I felt it was a tad overpriced compared to others in the area, it's a big apartment complex which i'm not too thrilled by

 

Curious, is the gas bill as outrageous as what most have said it is on here? I'm reading $300ish in the winter? YiKeS!! For a student that can be much *gulp*

 

The Food co-op sounds mega cool, I'm part of one here in Arizona and wonder if it kind of works the same...you know members put in $X amount a week or every two weeks depending on what you chose & you get a basket of fresh stuff? Anyone part of the Cleveland co-op?

 

Welcome, FlyGal!  Larchmere's a pretty diverse place- I believe the new construction there has many empty nesters in addition to some younger professionals.  And the retail mix, antiques and home furnishings at many price points and restaurants at many price points, means that the shoppers range pretty widely too from wealthy old ladies to younger couples.  All to say, it's definitely not as young as some of the other neighborhoods around, but it has lots of appeal, IMHO.

 

As I'm sure you noticed, Larchemere is also very close to Shaker Square, which on Saturday morning has the region's best green market.  Awesome local produce and baked good there and a great neighborhood vibe.

 

Safetywise, I think it's fine, but I would definitely use some common sense, especially at night; it's not far from some pretty bleak neighborhoods to the west.

 

Good luck with your move and law school!

 

PS: If you're interested in a younger vibe, you might want to check out downtown, though the rents there may be on the high end of your range.

 

http://www.freshforkmarket.com/

Clevelanders like their fresh produce huh? never seen so many links....but then hey! i do live in the desert :-P

Clevelanders like their fresh produce huh? never seen so many links....but then hey! i do live in the desert :P

 

Then you will love the city.  The Westside Market is incredible.

Curious, is the gas bill as outrageous as what most have said it is on here? I'm reading $300ish in the winter? YiKeS!! For a student that can be much *gulp*

 

Suggestion: get an electric panel heater or two, one per room(s) that you spend a lot of time in. For an example, see:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/DeLonghi-800-Watt-Mica-Panel-Heater-White/12534597?wmlspartner=GPA&sourceid=44444444440311083374

 

I used to have high gas bills, but now I only run the furnace when its colder than 25 or 30 outside. I run both in January, but the electric panel heater means the furnace doesn't come on all that often. So during January my electric bill is just over $100 and my gas bill is just under $100 for a 900-square-foot apartment-style condo. Outside of Jan. 1 to March 1 my monthly natural gas bills are less than $30 and often much less.

Curious, is the gas bill as outrageous as what most have said it is on here? I'm reading $300ish in the winter? YiKeS!! For a student that can be much *gulp*

$300ish gas bills are common for an older house. For a single bedroom apartment or studio you'd pay much less, but do consider KJP's suggestion of a small electric heater for the room(s) you use most. Just try to get one that's energy star approved so you don't end up just shifting from a high gas bill to a high electric bill.