Hi all!  I haven't posted on these forums in quite some time, but I have enjoyed reading them off and on for a long time.  I went back and looked at one of my posts where I was asking for advice about where to move in Cleveland.  Re-reading that was good for a laugh as people talked about how much time I had before 2009 to decide where to go.  It was a nice little time capsule of where my head was at back then.  As life tends to do for you, my plans changed.  Took a little longer to graduate, and stayed in Columbus.

 

Now, I'll be starting a new job in the fall that will have me working in an office near Belden Village in Canton while my girlfriend who has graciously decided to follow me to the area will be finishing up an education degree at Kent State.  As I'm balancing the competing interests of our respective commutes to Canton and Kent, the desire to be closer to activity than not, be safer than not, etc., I'm having a little bit of trouble picking where might be best to live.  The "Route 8 corridor" is where I grew up and I figured I'd know right where to go, but apparently I never paid much attention to livability when I was terrorizing the greater Akron area.  Since my job will have a decent chunk of traveling involved, and because I'd like to help her since she's the one leaving home and I'm more or less coming home, I think shortening her commute to <10 minutes is more important than shortening mine.  Does anyone have any suggestions for good neighborhoods or apartment situations under those parameters?

Based purely off of commute times, I think Tallmadge would be great for the both of you. Tallmadge to Kent is about a 5-10 minute commute and Tallmadge to North Canton is around a 20-25 minute commute. You can also keep Kent as an option, it would only add about 10 minutes to your commute (pretty much make her commute nothing) and you would be in a town with more to do. Another area to consider is Cuyahoga Falls, which is about 10-15 minutes to Kent and 25-30 minutes to North Canton. However, my favorite area is Highland Square in Akron which is about 20 minutes to Kent and 30 minutes to North Canton. To narrow it down, could you list amenities that you look for in a neighborhood or anything else that you need to be close to?

Yes, please list amenities you want in a neighborhood or community. I lived in Kent for 4 years and still spend a lot of time visiting the Kent, Akron, Canton areas.

If you really want to stay under 10 minutes from Kent State, I don't think you're going to have much of an option, you'll almost have to be in Kent itself. (not that that's a bad thing)

 

I'll second Cuyahoga Falls, but if that's too far Tallmadge is quite nice. If Tallmadge is a little on the pricey side for you, Mogadore isn't too far from Kent (15 minutes) and you could just hop on 76 to 77 to get to Beldon Village (might be a bit too rural for some).

 

Give us a vague idea of your price range and what you're looking for in a neighborhood and we can probably be more helpful.

I'm assuming since you're asking this on UrbanOhio, that you're interested in living in an active, walkable urban neighborhood.  Your best bet might be to live right in Kent.  It's a nice, active town because of the college.  It has some nice parks.  And it would only be 30-40 minutes to Beldon Village.  Highland Square in Akron would be my second recommendation. 

Cuyahoga Falls has some redeeming qualities too. I'm also partial to Akron's Northside area, since it's next to the CVSR train station (Ohio's busiest!), the Towpath Trail, Cascade Locks park, and walking distance to lots of downtown Akron's attractions (restaurants, art museum, Inventors Hall of Fame, etc). Plus in the summer there's a free shuttle bus Wed-Sun from the CVSR station to the Canal Basin baseball park (Akron Aeros -- Cleveland Indians' AAA team), zoo and downtown sites.

One other option, if you're willing to compromise a little bit on her commute being longer than 10 minutes, is downtown Akron.  I am a huge fan of the downtown Akron apartment complex in which I live, <a href="http://www.apartments.com/rent/Akron-OH/Canal-Square-Apartments/131712.2">Canal Square</a>, and it's almost a precisely even commute (and somewhat of a reverse-commute, at that) to Belden Village and to Kent State from downtown Akron.  It's also even closer to most of the amenities that KJP mentioned in his previous post, and it's right on the Towpath Trail.  It's also not that much farther from the train station than some of the more middle-class apartment homes in that area, e.g., <a href="http://www.apartmentsatcascadevillage.com/">Cascade Village</a>.  If you have the income to live right at the Northside Lofts or Northside Townhomes, of course, you're even closer to the train, but those places will set you back $2000 a month.

 

PM me and let me know if you decide to come downtown to check it out!

It's also not that much farther from the train station than some of the more middle-class apartment homes in that area, e.g., Cascade Village.

 

I always wondered what that was! Those are some nice little homes. But the street name:  East North Street -- really?!?!

I say either Downtown Akron, which seems to be the best choice, or Kent (with you stomaching the commute).

It's also not that much farther from the train station than some of the more middle-class apartment homes in that area, e.g., Cascade Village.

 

I always wondered what that was! Those are some nice little homes. But the street name:  East North Street -- really?!?!

 

That happens a lot.  "North Street" and "South Street" in any given town will tend to be north or south, respectively, from the original center ... meaning that they'll actually run east-west.  It would be funnier to find one that didn't so that you could live on South North Street. :-)

 

I've never actually been inside Cascade Village.  The homes are cheaper, larger (slightly), newer, and more pet-friendly than Canal Square, but I don't know what amenities they have--and Canal Square lets me walk to work on the south side of downtown, whereas I couldn't do that from Cascade Village.  For someone who's going to be commuting anyway, however--and who has a girlfriend moving with him, so might need a little extra space--it might have a lot to recommend it, especially if said couple has accumulated a few more worldly possessions than I have.

I'd like to apologize for making a post that asks for advice, then getting great advice, only to forget to check back up on it.  It's now bookmarked properly so I won't make the mistake again.  Thank you all for some excellent insight!  This conversation sort of got put on the backburner for a couple months, and now that my girlfriend and I are truly beginning the search in earnest, I recalled that I had asked this already and I needed to follow-up.

 

Apologies again about the gap in time, but I'd like to address what everybody asked about.  In terms of neighborhood amenities, my overarching concern is that I don't want to end up in a cul-de-sac and 15 minutes from anything useful.  Ideally, yes, I would prefer a more urban lifestyle or at the least an urbanized version of suburbia.  My mother has gotten into biking over the last year, and she raves about the Towpath, so I think it would be neat to be near that.  Here in Columbus, I have enjoyed living in the Clintonville neighborhood and right next to the path that runs next to the Olentangy River from downtown up through Worthington.  That would be like bringing a slice of my Columbus life up with me.

 

Now that I think of it, for those who are familiar with it, Clintonville is not a bad approximation of my ideal situation.  It's a relatively quiet, safe neighborhood with good availability of parks, public transit, short travel times to downtown, access to retail and food options within a minute or two but also good highway access for getting around, not more than 15 minutes from a couple of the nicer malls, etc. etc.  I've really enjoyed the quality of life in this neighborhood and wouldn't mind trying to find something similar.

 

In terms of budget, I'll be in a "first good job after college" situation, so I'll probably be feeling rich for the first couple months but her school obligations will cancel some of that out.  Honestly, I don't have a good sense of what the rental market is like and what $400, $600, $1000, etc. will get you.  My current place in Columbus is a 2BR in a 1960's/70's era 4-unit building for $600/mo.  I don't know if my place would be cheaper or more expensive or about the same if it were in Kent/Akron/Canton.

 

In terms of location, it now sounds like Kent-Stark may offer some of the classes she would need to take initially, and given the cheaper tuition, she may end up taking courses in Canton before Akron, so at this point I'm less concerned about a specific commute for her since it is getting harder to predict.  I'd rather find the best place to live that keeps us close to our various commitments and entertainment options.

 

The next time I come up to Akron, I may take you up on that offer to check out Akron, Gramarye.  I'm guessing it would hit our high range on rent budget, but it sounds like potential option and IMO I don't think you go wrong paying a premium if it puts you where you belong.  I'll send you a PM.

If you're looking for something in that ballpark, the neighborhood that comes to mind is Highland Square (which X also mentioned above), particularly the northern part of it (though it's hardly an exact match--I'm not sure Akron has that on offer): north of Market, west of Aqueduct (west of Merriman, even better), south of Memorial Parkway.  It's not quite Clintonville and not quite the Short North, but it's basically the only gentrified, white-collar Akron neighborhood where there are a large number of rentals.  North of the Parkway, you get into the old money neighborhood (Merriman Woods, I think the whole area is called, but that may only be part of it) between Highland Square and the Valley, basically centered around Stan Hywet Hall; it's gorgeous, but there aren't many rentals there, and it's almost entirely single family homes, not apartments.  (<a href="http://www.trulia.com/rental/3053382705-657-Ridgecrest-Rd-Akron-OH-44303">This</a> was the only rental I found in that neighborhood in a quick Trulia search.  You might need a raise first.)

 

Wallhaven, the next neighborhood to the west-northwest on Market from Highland Square, is similar, though there aren't quite as many rentals there and the land use patterns start to become a bit more suburban (parking in front of the retail venues between the venue and the street/sidewalk, etc.).

 

Note that both Highland Square and Wallhaven are to the northwest of downtown, whereas one of you will be heading south and one of you will be heading east or south vis-a-vis downtown for your daily commute, so inching northwest does slightly extend the commute for both of you.  In addition, the Towpath runs right through downtown; it runs quite near Highland Square, but not quite right through it.  It's a bit farther from Wallhaven.  Nevertheless, Highland Square and Wallhaven are what came to mind when you used the phrase "urbanized version of suburbia."  Commercial and multifamily residential on Market, single-family and multifamily residential on the other main arteries, single-family homes on largely grid-patterned streets in the side streets.

I'd suggest either Goodyear heights or Highland Square.  Use Padmapper.com to figure our your price range, availability, and preferences.  The benefits of Goodyear heights is that it is fairly equidistant to Kent and Canton.  It's about a 5 minute drive to downtown Akron.  Goodyear Heights Park is a fairly nice local park with biking even.  I'd look at renting a ranch there.  If you don't want to have to deal with yardwork then definitely look at Highland Square.

  Benefits of HS are a diverse, walkable, and welcoming community.  Lots of unique shops and owner-operated bars and restaurants.  Summit Mall isn't that far away nor is Chapel Hill.  But you've got some pretty incredible grocery stores nearby in West Point Market, Acme #1, and soon to be opened a satellite Mustardseed Market in Highland Square.  Its probably the only community in Akron that if say you don't have a car, you're not looked at like you just sprouted green antennae out of your head.  Awesome, cool places in or near the square: Square records, Nervous Dog coffee, Swensons in Wallhaven, Angel Falls Coffee, Highland Theatre, Alladins, Trecaso/Mary Coyle Ice Cream, Annabells, Mr. Zubs open til 3am, Matinee..  Those are just the places I frequent and I don't even live anywhere near there.  Happy shopping!

I agree with Goodyear Heights and Highland Square in Akron. Those are probably your best options for urban living near North Canton. I would also suggest that downtown Akron and downtown Canton have some nice things going for it. But I don't know what housing options are available. But I've always found them to be comfortable surroundings -- especially the area between downtown Akron and Northside.

 

A second option, if you like traditional small-town centers that are surrounded by suburbs, you might consider Hartville. Another is Canal Fulton which is located on the Towpath Trail. Both are walkable town centers, but Hartville probably has more amenities and is closer to North Canton.

What would be the boundaries to consider when looking at Goodyear Heights?  I can't say I'm very familiar with that neighborhood.

I was thinking for the most part anything East of Goodyear Boulevard that way you would be closer to the park..  It all is seriously middle class housing with fairly nice housing stock.  I suppose the same could be said about Firestone Park area of Akron, but I really don't know that area as well.  I'm not sure what local restaurants/services are located nearby.  Whereas Goodyear Heights has a "main st" with shops although I think they are about to close down the local Post Office.  I think the Linda theater may still be open..

 

The only other place i would take a gander at if you're serious about biking, is the "valley".  There are plenty of apartments down there with obviously a great bar scene too.  The towpath is right there and its pretty easy to bike straight into downtown Akron maybe a 10-15 minute pedal.  Sand Run park is obviously a great park to run/walk in.  The only problem is you have to get out of the valley to get to Canton.  It can take 8-12 minutes to drive to downtown Akron.

 

If Kent doesn't matter so much and biking isn't that important, then maybe take a look around the Portage Lakes for rental properties.  Housing prices there are surprisingly low despite being lakefront property..  I would think that would translate into low rent but maybe not..

 

You really need to just visit the areas to get a feel for them and decide what is right for you..

I probably oversold how much I like biking.  It would be cool, but isn't strictly necessary.

 

Talking some with the gf, I get the sense we are more likely to end up in a place like Stow, Kent, Cuyahoga Falls, Tallmadge, etc...At some point in the next couple weeks we'll be headed up that way to check things out and see it for ourselves.

 

Thanks again for all the insight everybody.

I really think that Highland Square, Kent, and Cuyahoga Falls all fit what you are looking for (a more urban feel with restaurants, entertainment/cultural venues, and access to public parks/bike trails) and I think that you would love living in those locations (Goodyear Heights and Firestone Park are also areas you should look into, but I can't really comment on them). If you haven't already, you and your girlfriend need to go to those different areas and walk around so that you both can experience those locations and to help determine which area would be the better fit for you both.

 

As for pricing, Kent is doable with a rent of about $600 (utilities would probably be separate), but the condition of the apartment may not be that great, especially the closer to downtown you are. You could probably find something in Cuyahoga Falls for around $600, but it will probably be east of the river (farther away from downtown). Also, the quality might not be so great at that price point. For both Kent and Cuyahoga Falls, it is likely that you may have to look for something in a higher price range to get a nice apartment (but that's not an absolute). Highland Square is more affordable, but apartments move fast there. Also, the nicer buildings (The Avalon, Twin Oaks Manor, The Colony Apartments) are obviously more expensive ($700+).

 

I have recently been looking for places in those areas (plus in Stow), and my roommate and I ended up going with the apartment we looked at in Highland Square. We both will have 20+ minute commutes (I go to KSU and she works in Hudson) but we ended up with that neighborhood because it was the best deal all around. We are a short walk to the heart of the neighborhood, our future apartment is larger and nicer than places we looked at in Kent and Cuyahoga Falls, the rent is cheaper than those places and utilities are included (plus, we loved the unit we looked at, we love the neighborhood, and we have friends who live a couple blocks away). The place that we looked at in Kent was a 2 bedroom duplex on Earl Ave (a great location) that was $650 a month plus utilities and the kitchen was horrible (disgusting appliances, the floor needed work, the cabinets needed work, it was dingy), the bedrooms were small, and I think it was highly plausible that there would have been other hidden issues with the unit. Essentially, you were paying for the location (we were going to look at other places at similar prices, but we didn't like the locations). We found a nice place in Cuyahoga Falls for a good price (around $600 with some utilities paid) but someone got it before we did. However, we did find some nice places in Stow, so if you are willing to make some sacrifices, you should look into that city.

 

Overall, I think that Highland Square would be your best bet (but I'm biased), Cuyahoga Falls comes into a close 2nd and offers the amenities you like and a shorter commute to Kent, and Stow would be a great middle ground for the both of you (close to Kent but not walkable to the amenities Kent offers and cheaper rent). However, if you are able to go higher than $650 a month, keep Kent open as a viable option.

 

Also, is there a particular housing type that you are trying to find or does it not really matter? This info might change my recommendations.

 

I think Kent is looking pretty trashy these days, at least compared with how I remember it when I went to KSU in 1985-89. It was a much nicer and better kept city then.

 

Cuyahoga Falls is OK, but still has some rough edges compared to how I remember it 20+ years ago. We used to go there to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show preceded by dinner at one of the local restaurants and chased the movie with a few beers at local bars. Cuyahoga Fall's nightlife doesn't seem as active today, unless it has changed for the better since I last visited in the The Falls two years ago.

I don't think a particular housing type is necessarily superior.  We're looking for a place that would be pet-friendly to accommodate her ~15lb dog, and we'd like a W/D hookup.  If we had a yard, I suppose it would be nice for the dog and I know I'd probably start a small food garden, but I think that desire to spend some time outside is met if there's a decent park in striking distance.  In my mind, $800/mo is the max, and I'd want a pretty great place for that.  Some work with Craigslist/Padmapper leads me to think there are options at the $600-$700 range that would do the trick and let us start to build some savings.

 

I think I learn more about what we want from typing it here than from just sitting and thinking about it.  For example, it occurs to me that I know we're both athletic types who will spend time at the gym so proximity to a good gym or apartments with a good one on site would be nice.  Also, trying to think of random things here, I'm a soccer referee in my spare time as a hobby/second job.  In the fall and spring I'll be going to the different parks that regularly host competitive youth soccer games, so if any place gave me a "home base" for picking up games, that would be a nice bonus.

 

Interesting stuff to consider.  We're going to come up next weekend, so that will be a good chance to check out some places and let her get a better feel for NE Ohio.

I don't consider Goodyear Heights to be all that much more urban, if any, than Cuyahoga Falls.  It's not particularly walkable and the land use pattern appears largely segregated.  It does have the location advantage for a couple that will need to travel primarily south and east from Akron, of course.  It also has the original Fiesta Pizza location as well as Leonardo's, too.  (Fiesta Pizza's main failing is that they so completely overload the pizza with toppings that the moisture and the weight can overly soften the crust.  I manage to deal.)

Interesting to hear.  I'll have to check it out in person.  My impression was that being a part of Akron proper, it was a bit more dense than what you describe but now that you mention it I do sort of remember that Akron has somewhat fuzzy boundaries where sometimes there's no clear difference between portions of Akron compared to the city next door.  There's never a substitute for seeing a place in person!  I sent you a PM to see about setting up a visit when we come up.

Disregard what I said about Kent. I was in the downtown area today (during the college's summer break, no less) and was very impressed with the level of activity, the condition of most buildings, and the new investment happening there.

 

I also have to say the area in and and near downtown Akron's Canal Park baseball stadium looks very nice, with the new housing and restaurants. Looks almost as nice as the area between downtown and Northside!

I'm putting together a list on Padmapper so I'll have something to look at next week.  Anybody have any insight on North Canton or any place along 77 b/w Akron and Canton?  Right now the list is primarily of Stow and Cuyahoga Falls stuff based on what's available.  While I'd prefer to be closer to Akron/Kent, I figured I should check out what's near my place of employment just so I can know I've seen my options.

You mean other than the airport? No. :)

There probably won't be too many residential rentals in that area north of North Canton but south of Akron.  Most of that is sprawling, single-family suburban housing ranging from the old pre-sprawl country road ranches and farmhouses to Portage Lakes McMansions (some without the "Mc").

Gotcha.  Anything worth checking out in Canton itself since I'll be working in the Belden Village tower?

There are a lot of rentals in Canton itself, as well as several in North Canton itself and in Jackson Township and Plain Township.  I lived in the <a href="http://www.rent.com/rentals/ohio/stark-county/canton/colonial-club-apartments/538937/">Colonial Club</a> complex when I worked in downtown Canton for two years (there is basically nothing in downtown Canton worth living in, unfortunately).  It was right by the three-way boundary of Canton, North Canton, and Plain Township.  It was solid.  No real complaints, no real spectacular endorsements.  It was a healthy walk (0.9 mi. or so) to the Fisher's Foods, which is a nice little Canton-area grocery store (and they occasionally had wine tastings, too).  There are other places in the same neighborhood between there an I-77 (just on the other side of the highway from the Belden Village area), for example, along Everhard, that I'd probably have felt likewise about.  I looked at another similar complex in the area, <a href="http://www.woodsideterraceapts.com/directions.htm">Woodside Terrace</a>, that might have been more attractive had my job been at Belden Village.  Nothing that's likely to call to one's soul as a place to call home, but not bad for a place to put a roof over one's head for a couple of years, especially if you (or your girlfriend) are OK with a more suburban residential ambiance, anyway.  Normal, comfortable generica.

 

The Belden Village area itself has a number of apartment developments, too, I believe, set a little ways back from the main commercial strips.

It was cruel of me not to give my final update.  Big thanks to Gram for a tour of Akron!  You really showcased those neighborhoods and the city in a positive way.  I hear they are looking for a mayor...

 

With GF's school situation being somewhat fluid (She ended up switching things up so she can go to Kent Stark and take advantage of cheaper tuition), we decided to go with the one piece of information we knew was stable: my job.  We now live in an apartment community that is about 2 miles from my office at Belden.  Gramarye was right that the apartment communities here are nice, comfortable, and generic.

 

I gave myself the gift of time and low fuel costs: my commute is 5 minutes, which is great.  It allows me to go home for lunch, which is great for eating cheap.  The easy commute is such a nice lifestyle perk that I don't mind not having some of the other things available, although I sometimes look at the SARTA station on Whipple and remember how nice it was to ride the COTA #2 up and down High St. in Columbus and be able to go anywhere without a car.  The bank and grocery store are both within easy walking distance, but otherwise you need to hop in the car here.  The amount of traffic and lack of courtesy from drivers here makes me wary of biking even a short distance on the roads near Belden.

 

While living next to a mall isn't my ideal, I did accomplish one of my major goals of minimizing commutes, so I am pretty pleased with that.  There is a certain convenience to having all of the shopping and restaurants so close as well.  My next goal is to learn more about the amenities that Canton and the surrounding areas have to offer (beyond the Hall of Fame).  Looking forward to checking out the parks with our dog, finding some good places for biking, checking out the historic stuff like McKinley and First Lady's Library here in town.

 

Thanks again to everybody who offered tips and advice.  As is typically the case, we found something that works but was completely different than what we were originally looking for.

For mtn biking, I guess I'd have to recommend vultures knob near Wooster.  I haven't been there yet.  Almost went this week tho..   

 

You should be able to hop on the train in downtown Canton to come up to Akron on the weekends for a nice excursion.  Maybe with your bike even?

You should be able to hop on the train in downtown Canton to come up to Akron on the weekends for a nice excursion.  Maybe with your bike even?

 

Not until next June.