My wife is Japanese and we are moving to northeast ohio for a job that is located downtown (close to Jacobs field). I would like to know where you feel is the best place to live that also provides an asian atmosphere for our kids. We would like to enroll them Japanese language classes and also have them experience being around all cultures. We were looking at Mayfield Heights, Willoughby, Kirtland, etc.

 

It is very difficult for me to find online where there is a good asian community. Can you provide any help on where you think a good safe place is to live that is on the east side of Cleveland (not downtown or chinatown), that also has a strong asian presence?

 

Thanks!

Mayfield, Mayfield Hts, Highland Heights, Orange Village, Gates Mills and Pepper Pike are the areas that come to mind for me.  Maybe Beachwood as well.  All are extremely safe areas and good schools.  I would hesitate to say that the Asian presence is "strong"... but it really just is not that strong in Ohio as a whole to my understanding.

 

Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights do not have a strong asian influence, but are diverse enough where just about anybody can fit in.

 

I doubt Willoughby or Kirtland have what you are looking for.

 

P.S. - I like your style, Dude  ;)

There is a Japanese Language School in South Euclid...you might want to call them and ask where the majority of their students live.  But I agree with the above...might add Solon to the list too.

IIRC, Cleveland Heights is one of a few schools that offeres Japanese language courses.  They have a huge language department.

 

My wife is Japanese and we are moving to northeast ohio for a job that is located downtown (close to Jacobs field). I would like to know where you feel is the best place to live that also provides an asian atmosphere for our kids. We would like to enroll them Japanese language classes and also have them experience being around all cultures. We were looking at Mayfield Heights, Willoughby, Kirtland, etc.

 

It is very difficult for me to find online where there is a good asian community. Can you provide any help on where you think a good safe place is to live that is on the east side of Cleveland (not downtown or chinatown), that also has a strong asian presence?

 

Thanks!

I'm wondering why you settled on the far eastside, if you're working downtown?

^Great suggestion about calling the school.  And I agree, Solon is a good bet.  Parts of Shaker Heights have pretty strong Asian populations too- about 15% of the students at Boulevard elementary are Asian: http://www.greatschools.org/cgi-bin/oh/other/1347#students

Regarding Orange, while we do have a fair number of Asian families living around the hood, I don't know I'd go so far as to say there is a particularly strong, or a particularly cohesive Asian community here. That said, it's a nice community!

^That's the last time you use "Orange" and "hood" in the same sentence.

^Great suggestion about calling the school.  And I agree, Solon is a good bet.  Parts of Shaker Heights have pretty strong Asian populations too- about 15% of the students at Boulevard elementary are Asian: http://www.greatschools.org/cgi-bin/oh/other/1347#students

 

Boulevard has the largest demographic (land and $$$) as it reaches across the largest track of land in Shaker/Shaker Square.  Lower income kids are going to school with super rich kids.  it's very intergrated.  My nephew attends Boulevard.  Kids from Warrensville to Shaker Square and S. Woodland to the CH border, attend Boulevard.

Kirtland has highly rated Blue-Ribbon schools.  I don't know if they have Japanese language classes.  Kirtland has a certain "Chagrin Valley" culture to it.  It is the second wealthiest zip code in Ohio with old money estates. 

 

If you did move to Kirtland or Willoughby, Laketran has excellent morning and evening commuter busses to downtown.  You can debark at Public Square and walk a few blocks to work. 

 

I think Willoughby and Mayfield are just dandy. 

willoughby is alright, has a quaint downtown with lots of restaurant/bar options

 

kirtland is uppity for lake county, but it shares its zip 44094 with willoughby (more varied class-wise) and eastern willoughby hills (upper middle), so i'm pretty sure it's not the 2nd wealthiest zip in ohio.

 

willoughby and kirtland are overwhelmingly white.

kirtland is uppity for lake county, but it shares its zip 44094 with willoughby (more varied class-wise) and eastern willoughby hills (upper middle), so i'm pretty sure it's not the 2nd wealthiest zip in ohio.

 

Yeah, I highly doubted that when I saw it too.  Kirtland Hills is much wealthier than Kirtland, but it shares its zip code with Mentor and Mentor-on-the-Lake, so I'm sure it's not one of the wealthiest either.

 

Hudson seems to have a sizable Asian population based on the NMSF list that just came out:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,22433.msg512815.html#msg512815

 

Also, lopsidedfrock, your PM inbox is full.

I always thought of Kirtland as kind of rednecky... but, admittedly, my only interaction with that city is the fact that one of my best buddies works for a tree service that is based right off Rt 306 and he works with a lot of... well... rednecks.  The old village also gives me that country vibe.

I always thought of Kirtland as kind of rednecky... but, admittedly, my only interaction with that city is the fact that one of my best buddies works for a tree service that is based right off Rt 306 and he works with a lot of... well... rednecks. The old village also gives me that country vibe.

 

Yeah, Kirtland Hills is where the money is.  Kirtland itself seems more like a dump with a tourist attraction (the Mormon Temple) to me from my very limited experience of being in Kirtland (apologies in advance to anyone I may have offended from Kirtland).

Wasn't that the church of that wacko?  Jeffrey Lungdren or something like that.

^ You got it, that's the place! 

 

Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights do not have a strong asian influence, but are diverse enough where just about anybody can fit in.

 

My Japanese Grandpa called Shaker Heights "crime ridden" because of that. He lived there in the '70s. No way in hell you could sell him on a neighborhood's non-White/Asian diversity, no matter how wealthy or sophisticated it is. Especially if it has blacks. I think Japanese are particularly prone to live in the most lily white suburbs they can find. Columbus has a lot of Asians, probably the highest concentration of Japanese in Ohio because of OSU and Honda and I've definitely noticed that pattern here.

 

Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights do not have a strong asian influence, but are diverse enough where just about anybody can fit in.

 

My Japanese Grandpa called Shaker Heights "crime ridden" because of that. He lived there in the '70s. No way in hell you could sell him on a neighborhood's non-White/Asian diversity, no matter how wealthy or sophisticated it is. Especially if it has blacks. I think Japanese are particularly prone to live in the most lily white suburbs they can find. Columbus has a lot of Asians, probably the highest concentration of Japanese in Ohio because of OSU and Honda and I've definitely noticed that pattern here.

 

Do you know what street your grandpa lived on?  Glad he's not here anymore.

 

Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights do not have a strong asian influence, but are diverse enough where just about anybody can fit in.

 

My Japanese Grandpa called Shaker Heights "crime ridden" because of that. He lived there in the '70s. No way in hell you could sell him on a neighborhood's non-White/Asian diversity, no matter how wealthy or sophisticated it is. Especially if it has blacks. I think Japanese are particularly prone to live in the most lily white suburbs they can find. Columbus has a lot of Asians, probably the highest concentration of Japanese in Ohio because of OSU and Honda and I've definitely noticed that pattern here.

 

Do you know what street your grandpa lived on? Glad he's not here anymore.

 

I'm not sure; I'd have to ask him. When he said that, I was surprised because in urban planning, they always referred to Shaker as a model for planned communities - which I can definitely see. I asked him if he was mistaking it for Cleveland Heights or something but he said it was referring to Shaker. My dad liked living there though. I can't imagine it being bad at all back in the late 60s-70s. Japanese are a great people but they're rigid in their thinking and everything is "us vs. them" or broad-based stereotypes from growing up in homogenous Japan. He thinks the Japanese are weird! He's pretty weird himself but he doesn't even realize it lol

 

 

Thanks for the replies.  My parents live in ashtabula county so i want to stay on the east side and I would like to be close to both downtown and them.  It sounds however, that if I want any kind of asian demographic that I need to stay closer to downtown so willoughby and kirtland are probably out.

 

I heard some people say Mayfield, Solon, Hudson, Orange, Beachwood, etc.  What would you recommend from neighborhoods in that area?  Shaker Heights is a little too close to the city, i would like to be more east so that it is easier for me to get to Ashtabula area.

^Hudson is pretty far south, so I would toss that out based on your geographic priorities unless its demographics are really, really compelling to you.

I-90 is a pretty easy commute from "the east suburbs" and Lake County.  The highway does get slow during peak rush hour, but it is not too bad.  The northern end of I-271 is "never" slow.  I-271 from Mayfield to downtown is a long drive.  And the Mayfield section is the edge of the snowbelt.  Willoughby would actually be a closer commute.  I drive from the Mentor Ohio-306 exit to downtown in less than 30 minutes during off-peak.  Willoughby is closer.

 

Another consideration is taxes.  Cleveland will collect a lot of income tax.  You might want a community that has a high credit for taxes already paid to Cleveland.  www.ritaohio.com

 

I would look for a house near attractions.  In the areas you are talking about, it would be easy to get to the lake in just a few minutes.  The marinas are downtown, in Wildwood park, Chagrin harbor, Mentor, and Grand River.  The beaches are at Wildwood, Mentor Headlands (nice) and Edgewater downtown.  I think Euclid has a beach.  Many towns have a lakeside park without a bathing beach.  Other posters listed entertainment attractions.

 

Living near one of the Cleveland Metroparks is boffo.  You are just in time for fall colors.  They have lots of programs for the kids and adults.  Lake Metroparks has xc skiing at Chapin park.

 

I you lived in Beachwood and surrounding communties, you could take the "rapid" rail line and not have to take a car downtown and pay for parking.  Way cool

re 44094

 

it also includes the rich Waite Hill

 

ps jeff i cleaned out my inbox

Doesn't Solon have a rather large Asian-American and Asian community?

re 44094

it also includes the rich Waite Hill

I meant to say "second wealthiest school district, not second wealthiest zip code.

^source?

Doesn't Solon have a rather large Asian-American and Asian community?

 

The OP didn't want to move to Shaker Heights because he would be too far from Ashtabula.  Solon is even further from Ashtabula and also further from downtown (and Hudson even further from both) so I would assume the southeastern suburbs are out of the question.

Solon would be as far as I would go in terms of distance from downtown and ashtabula.  I am not a fan of Shaker Heights as the taxes are high, the older homes, etc.  I have been to Shaker and it is a beautiful neighborhood, it is just not for me.  I do not know much about Solon besides that it has good schools.  If you would compare Mayfield, Orange, beachwood and Solon in terms of demographics, schools, and generally a nice neighborhood to live, what would you suggest?

I would say Solon.  There is a great business community, close proximity to Chagrin Falls, has a lot of young families, fairly diverse community racially in a good way, metroparks, has immediate freeway access, has a lot more momentum in general

this is pure speculation, but i think solon might have the most ethnic diversity of the places you mentioned above. beachwood is majority jewish. the mayfield district probably has the most socioeconomic diversity of the bunch (mayfield hts with mostly smaller bungalows and ranches, highland hts and mayfield with newer developments and larger lots, and gates mills with large lot chagrin valley seclusion). your kids will do fine in any of these school districts.

 

personally i find driving to solon from downtown to be a hassle.

 

what is your price range?

Solon probably has the largest number of Asians of those communities, but also would be the furthest from both downtown and Ashtabula.

 

OK, and now for my personal opinion:

 

Solon feels "isolated" to me.  It's a good drive to anything of interest to me (other than Chagrin Falls).  There are not many good restaurants (unless Applebee's is your sort of thing), movie theaters, coffee shops, etc.  Mayfield, Orange, and Beachwood are all closer to a wider variety (and more upscale) shopping and activities.  Also, I find many of the homes in Solon to be of the oversized cardboard box variety.  But this is all just my opinion.  Apparently Solon is for some people, as it is one of the "hot" suburbs right now.  I just don't see it sustaining momentum.

^yeah definitely once you get to solon there is no "there" there, then you get to those hotly contested northern summit burbs *yawn*

I'm not a suburban-minded person, so I can't fully or accurately comment on what attracts people to one suburb, but at least I get why people would like a Beachwood or a Mayfield.  It may be a little bland for my tastes and not built for walkability, or have homes with character, etc., but at least there's a variety of things to do and you don't feel like you're hanging off a rope from the edge of civilization (US 422).

Well, maybe I can tell you a little more about us to help with some of these discussions:

* we are 29 years old

* wife is pregnant with first child

* Currently living in a condo in downtown Chicago (everything within walking distance)

  can spend 280K-320K on a home

* Looking for young safe neighborhood, good parks, good schools, (would like a neighborhood feel), good shopping, would want a yard for kid(s)

*  Wife is Japanese and we would like some ethic diversity (i know there is not much in cleveland compared to columbus)

*  We are both outgoing and like going out and doing things (we love trying out new restaurants, going to events, walking in the parks, etc.)

* Wife is Japanese and we would like some ethic diversity (i know there is not much in cleveland compared to columbus)

 

What/who gave you that idea? 

Well, maybe I can tell you a little more about us to help with some of these discussions:

* we are 29 years old

* wife is pregnant with first child

* Currently living in a condo in downtown Chicago (everything within walking distance)

  can spend 280K-320K on a home

* Looking for young safe neighborhood, good parks, good schools, (would like a neighborhood feel), good shopping, would want a yard for kid(s)

*  Wife is Japanese and we would like some ethic diversity (i know there is not much in cleveland compared to columbus)

*  We are both outgoing and like going out and doing things (we love trying out new restaurants, going to events, walking in the parks, etc.)

 

That is hilarious.

I would say Mayfield Village or Beachwood would be your best bets.

^ both good choices.

 

For what you want to spend, I can say you'd get a 4BR house with a quarter acre in Orange, maybe more, with where housing prices have gone. There are a few developments that have a nice sense of community, but it's not really walkable (bikeable towards the north, to get to stores, etc.). It's an easy drive to the freeway (compared to the Hts) and it takes me about 20 minutes to get to Mentor from Orange (add another 45 min or so to get to Ashtabula, depending on where you're going).

 

It's definitely a bedroom community, though, and it's got a suburb feel to it, so if you're not looking for that, I'd still advise Willoughby (because it's easier to get to Ashtabula), or the 2 Jam suggested.

 

BTW, Beachwood has a fantastic water park that the little one might enjoy when he/she gets a little older. Only good for a few months out of the year, but hey, beats what I've got (Orange HS's pool)

It has not been brought up yet, but you may want to consider Chardon as it is equidistant to Ashtabula and downtown Cleveland.  In recent years, it has developed in more of suburban-minded community, but it also maintains the historic downtown square.  For the money you have to spend, it probably would not be a bad idea to invest in a community like Chardon.  I could definately see Chardon becoming a booming suburb in NE Ohio if our real estate market ever turns around.

 

Out of all the towns mentioned, I would not say any of them celebrate their diversity much there.  Even though there may be asians living in Solon, you would never know it...at least I don't think so.  As far as Chardon goes, don't expect to find much diversity.  Pretty much young families mixed with fpeople who have been living there forever.  The scenery there however is gorgeous in my opinion.   

Keep in mind that Chardon, however, is in the heart of the snowbelt and sometimes get 2x the snow we get closer to the City.  But I am pretty sure that gotribe brought it up because he had an itch to fit in "equidistant" into one of his posts ;)

Keep in mind that Chardon, however, is in the heart of the snowbelt and sometimes get 2x the snow we get closer to the City. But I am pretty sure that gotribe brought it up because he had an itch to fit in "equidistant" into one of his posts ;)

 

Yeah, I just learned the word today.  In any event though, the areas that lie "equidistant" between Cleveland and Ashtabula I find to be some of the prettiest in Ohio (Chardon, Thompson, Madison, Leroy, Concord).  Thompson and Leroy are definately hard hit towns when it comes to snow, but I definately believe when you start "traversing" (there's another big one) Southern Lake and Northern Geauga Counties, you will love the scenery.  Not to mention the vineyards in South Madison and Harpersfield.   

Here's another one..."definitely". ;)

 

The Geneva/South Madison area is pretty, especially if you like wine.  But it's not a fun commute to d/t, especially in the winter.  If you move out there, I would definitely consider using the Laketran Park-N-Ride at I-90/SR 528 in Madison.

duder, though very racially diverse, I wish I could recommend Painesville city, but the schools aren't exactly the best (tho' you'd never know that based on my sterling level of literacy. Would you? Would you??  :|), and despite the fact that they're now all housed in brand spanking-new buildings (Well, here's hoping they can improve  :drunk:). On the other hand, the Painesville Township schools have--relatively speaking--an excellent reputation academically (always a sore spot for me growing up, even back in the 60's--not that I was exactly the most scholarly member of my class). Anyway, it's a town attempting to make a comeback and rebrand itself, as it were. If nothing else, look at it this way, it's closer to Ashtabula than anywhere else that's been suggested!

it's closer to Ashtabula than anywhere else that's been suggested!

 

Just for the record, Madison and Harpersfield are closer to Ashtabula than Painesville Township.

If we're going that far out in Lake / Ashtabula, there's Perry, which has good schools, what with the subsidy from the nuclear power plant. Of course, there's that little issue...you live in the shadow of the nuclear power plant. But hey, life's about trade offs. It's close to Ashtabula (maybe 20 minutes or so), albeit a slog to get to DT Cleveland.

Perry is 35 min to Ashtabula and 35 min to d/t (assuming not at rush hour).

beachwood seems like it'd work for you. there are sidewalks, and it's in the middle of some primo shopping areas.

 

however, downtown willoughby is quaint (beachwood is not) and has a lot of restaurants and bars within walking distance. it has more of a small town feel, and uppity. and willoughby to downtown is probably faster than beachwood to downtown. the school system is probably more mediocre.

 

 

beachwood seems like it'd work for you. there are sidewalks, and it's in the middle of some primo shopping areas.

 

however, downtown willoughby is quaint (beachwood is not) and has a lot of restaurants and bars within walking distance. it has more of a small town feel, and uppity. and willoughby to downtown is probably faster than beachwood to downtown. the school system is probably more mediocre.

 

 

 

Willoughby? Uppity?  Reeeealy?  :wtf:

We grew up in a much-less-uppity-than-Willoughby town, MTS, so to us, Willoughby is a little uppity.  Not MTS-uppity, but uppity nonetheless. :)

We grew up in a much-less-uppity-than-Willoughby town, MTS, so to us, Willoughby is a little uppity.  Not MTS-uppity, but uppity nonetheless. :)

 

Wow, now I have branded "uppitiness".  I'm moving up in the world.

sorry, i wanted to say LESS UPPITY (than beachwood)

 

i got distracted during the post