Hello, I am moving my family to the Cleveland area, we expanded our business out here the last 6 months and were supposed to go back to Chicago once up and running but turns out we really like it here and are going to stay.  We have twin 2 year olds (Boy, Girl).  We have been living in Mayfield Heights, renting -- I just randomly picked cause it was close to some stores, our business is in Solon.  I did not know much when I chose where to live but have turned out to like the areas between solon and mayfield... pepper pike, Beachwood, woodmere etc...

 

Im wondering though which city in the area is best for schools, raising a family, food (love food), meeting people all that stuff...We would like to buy a home in the next 4-5 months. 

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated...

 

THANK YOU

   

The E side has some great schools and a great food scene, I think Solon schools are ranked very high nationally. You might want to pick up the last issue of Cleveland magazine's "Rate the Suburbs" issue, as it covers things like schools, home values, etc in the various burbs. So glad you'll be making your home here!

Thank you I will do that.  Here's another question.  Its m birthday saturday whats the best restaurants downtown or near by to celebrate.  He found a sitter, so it'll be just my wife and I.  We like to graze, sit at bars taste a couple things and have a good drink or two :)

 

We have been known to go to a couple different places tasting the menu's.  I hear RED STEAKHOUSE was great..., Lola?  lolita?  Very excited to get out for a night. 

I would go down to Tremont if I were you. Have app course at Farenheit (I recommend the pizzas!), then walk to Lolita for mains and then Dante for dessert and after dinner drinks. I actually just did this as part of a foodie dinner and it worked out really well. All 3 solid restaurants and very different. Lolita was definitely the stand-out for me of the 3.

wow you got it nailed! that sounds great I have heard of those except Dante...

Dante Bocuzzi is one of our town's most talented chefs.  http://www.danteboccuzzi.com/

If you want to graze, then try either Tremont, East 4th St., or Little Italy.  If the weather is pleasant, I would recommend LI, especially given where you live now.

 

As far as suburbs go, you are already in a fantastic school system.  I hear really good things about Highland Hts, which is in the same school system, has great services, and is located right about in the middle of your business and the action more towards the city.

Are you originally from Illinois?

 

 

First, welcome to Cleveland! We're glad that you are staying.

 

The east side is quite lovely, and if you want to stay along that 271 corridor, and are specifically looking at schools, staying within the Orange School District (which encompasses Pepper Pike, Orange, Woodmere, and Moreland Hills) is a fine option. If you are looking for something more walkable, being in Chagrin Falls is also an option.  It's a little hard for me to recommend the suburbs as a Tremonter, but since your work is in Solon, we need to be reasonable.

 

As far as a birthday celebration is concerned, RnR's suggestions are excellent. Honestly, if you aren't able to get reservations in that particular order (Fahrenheit to Lolita to Dante), you can mix that combination around, but her suggested order is the best.  The Tremont Arts and Cultural Festival is also taking place this weekend, so depending on when your sitter is available, if you can get to Tremont before the Festival closes for Saturday evening at 6, you can do some very pleasant strolling and shopping before dinner.

I really appreciate the info.  I have heard about Tremont and I think it is a place we would love but I do work in Solon.  Im for sure gonna give those restaurants a shot. I do like that 271 area cause we also want some land and those homes there seem to come with acre easily a lot of times.   

I used to live just over the county line from Solon for 15 years, but cutting grass and landscaping a 2-acre lot for all that time got to me. So now I live in a mid-rise condo just off the lake in Lakewood....

 

Not knowing your tastes, you may fall in love with Chagrin Falls. If you can picture New England in Ohio (this area was settled as the Connecticut Western Reserve), then Chagrin Falls is the archetype for what the original settlers may have had in mind. It's a beautiful, walkable little town that is close to many things, including Solon. The schools are great (even though they were our high-school's rivals). But the best school district in the region, as Avogadro noted, is the Orange school system. That covers the four cities he mentioned, which are immediately west of Chagrin Falls. Just east of it is Bainbridge (where I lived) Russell and Novelty. But in those areas you have to drive to cross the street. In Chagrin Falls, you get a small town with some big-city suburban amenities, including choices of shopping and restaurants.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the city, but if I was going to live in that area, Chagrin Falls is easily at the top of my list.  It's close to a lot of things (including being less than 10 minutes to Solon without the hassle of a busy freeway) and has a great little town.  The only challenge is that the homes are a little pricey around there.

Are you originally from Illinois?

 

Yes I am originally from Joliet, IL --- last 10 years moved around a bit from L.A. to cleveland.  But lived for the last few years in downtown Chicago. 

I have been to chagrin -- we love it there but not sure to live.  Were somewhat city oriented people from the start so like to be closer to malls, and such I guess.  We do take the kids to Chagrin for Ice cream and play quite often. 

 

So Orange schools are the best I will shoot for that.  Sounds like I'm in the right area...   

You might also consider Beachwood, which has good schools, lots of shopping, restaurants and some higher density residential areas around Beachwood Place mall and the Legacy Village lifestyle center on Cedar. Although Legacy Village is across the border in Lyndhurst. Perhaps you might like the Village Green, off Richmond Road, just south of Beachwood Place?

It's not "Village Green".... it is just "the Village".  "Village Green" was the name of one of the parcels within "the Village" which was dedicated for apartments because it was constructed and operated through a joint venture of Forest City and the Village Green Companies (out of Michigan).  FCE bought them out a few years ago and renamed that apartment complex "Verdant at the Village".... but then renamed it "Easthaven" after the 2nd fire in 4 years destroyed one of the buildings.

 

Not a big fan of Beachwood, outside of the schools.  As has been discussed here many times, it has some of the blandest housing you will find anywhere in suburbia USA and you can get better bang for the buck in other suburbs on the east side.

 

To the OP, keep in mind that municipal boundaries and school districts don't coincide exactly.  You can be in parts of East Cleveland and be within the Cleveland Heights school district, and vice-versa, for example.  Pretty sure that parts of Richmond Hts fall within the Euclid District and, of course, parts of Cleveland (mainly Shaker Square) fall within the Shaker district.

Tell ya what.... We're sort of grasping in the dark here without knowing what your neighborhood preferences are. Since you grew up in Chicago, you are probably pretty familiar with more than just Joliet or downtown. I'm pretty familiar with Chicago since I have friends living there.

 

Can you give us areas of Chicagoland that you really like and we can give you Cleveland examples of those same areas? Cleveland and Chicago have a lot of things in common even if what we have is smaller -- and less expensive.

It's not "Village Green".... it is just "the Village".  "Village Green" was the name of one of the parcels within "the Village" which was dedicated for apartments because it was constructed and operated through a joint venture of Forest City and the Village Green Companies (out of Michigan).  FCE bought them out a few years ago and renamed that apartment complex "Verdant at the Village".... but then renamed it "Easthaven" after the 2nd fire in 4 years destroyed one of the buildings.

 

Not a big fan of Beachwood, outside of the schools.  As has been discussed here many times, it has some of the blandest housing you will find anywhere in suburbia USA and you can get better bang for the buck in other suburbs on the east side.

To the OP, keep in mind that municipal boundaries and school districts don't coincide exactly.  You can be in parts of East Cleveland and be within the Cleveland Heights school district, and vice-versa, for example.  Pretty sure that parts of Richmond Hts fall within the Euclid District and, of course, parts of Cleveland (mainly Shaker Square) fall within the Shaker district.

 

I could not agree more!

We loved the feel of Oak Park, IL there right outside the city of Chicago.  Being that we like to walk places opposed to drive, we lived 5 minute walk from Navy Pier in Chicago so never drove anywhere.  The house's there though were more of that straight up City look.  Who wants a three story house with twin kids!  So we kind of ruled that out --- to me the cities here have a bit more character than chicago suburbs which besides Oak park area all look the same - taco bell, Kfc, strip malls boom!  Unless you want to dish out a MIL --- which I do not.  Were looking for a home we can get a good price on and throughout the years make changes to what we like.  Im a big cook so I need a nice sized kitchen I can update later if needs be. So we really want to love the look and shell of the house and put our money into the re-do other than the mortgage.  Which is why I want some land to have options for later expansions etc..we get a lot of voisitors so want that spare room.  We like outside activities so want the deck for entertaining.  things like that...all in a great school system and reasonable priced! not to much to ask :)

 

 

Okay guys what do you think of this suggestion(not my usual suggestion). What about Willoughby? Although it is a suburb, it does have more character in the older parts. The downtown is pretty nice. You have bars, restaurants, a coffee shop, an ice cream shop, the Willoughby Brewing Co., etc. The neighborhood that surround the downtown definitely has some nice older homes that actually have character. You would also have a nice park in walking distance. The Willougby-Eastlake School System constantly gets rated excellent. And I believe you said you enjoy malls, the Great Lakes Mall is 5 minutes from downtown Willougby by car. Also a couple minutes away you do have the big box stores if thats your thing(Giant Eagle, Target, etc.) Anyways, just a suggestion! I personally love and prefer the city, but this might give you the best of both worlds.

Okay guys what do you think of this suggestion(not my usual suggestion). What about Willoughby? Although it is a suburb, it does have more character in the older parts. The downtown is pretty nice. You have bars, restaurants, a coffee shop, an ice cream shop, etc. The neighborhood that surround the downtown definitely has some nice older homes that actually have character. You would also have a nice park in walking distance. The Willougby-Eastlake School System constantly gets rated excellent. And I believe you said you enjoy malls, the Great Lakes Mall is 5 minutes from downtown Willougby. Also a couple minutes away you do have the big box stores if thats your thing(Giant Eagle, Target, etc. Anyways, just a suggestion! I personally love and prefer the city, but this might give you the best of both worlds.

 

Although a drive, based on what they are asking for, I would live in the heights before living anywhere in Lake County.  Great Lakes Mall?  Really?  ewwwwwwwww

Okay guys what do you think of this suggestion(not my usual suggestion). What about Willoughby? Although it is a suburb, it does have more character in the older parts. The downtown is pretty nice. You have bars, restaurants, a coffee shop, an ice cream shop, etc. The neighborhood that surround the downtown definitely has some nice older homes that actually have character. You would also have a nice park in walking distance. The Willougby-Eastlake School System constantly gets rated excellent. And I believe you said you enjoy malls, the Great Lakes Mall is 5 minutes from downtown Willougby. Also a couple minutes away you do have the big box stores if thats your thing(Giant Eagle, Target, etc. Anyways, just a suggestion! I personally love and prefer the city, but this might give you the best of both worlds.

 

Although a drive, based on what they are asking for, I would live in the heights before living anywhere in Lake County.  Great Lakes Mall?  Really?  ewwwwwwwww

 

Im personally not a fan but hey, a malls a mall for the most part. I did hear they were completely redoing the inside.

Okay guys what do you think of this suggestion(not my usual suggestion). What about Willoughby? Although it is a suburb, it does have more character in the older parts. The downtown is pretty nice. You have bars, restaurants, a coffee shop, an ice cream shop, etc. The neighborhood that surround the downtown definitely has some nice older homes that actually have character. You would also have a nice park in walking distance. The Willougby-Eastlake School System constantly gets rated excellent. And I believe you said you enjoy malls, the Great Lakes Mall is 5 minutes from downtown Willougby. Also a couple minutes away you do have the big box stores if thats your thing(Giant Eagle, Target, etc. Anyways, just a suggestion! I personally love and prefer the city, but this might give you the best of both worlds.

 

Although a drive, based on what they are asking for, I would live in the heights before living anywhere in Lake County.  Great Lakes Mall?  Really?  ewwwwwwwww

 

Im personally not a fan but hey, a malls a mall for the most part. I did hear they were completely redoing the inside.

The selection of stores and products will still suck!  But, hey, thats my opinion about the mall.  Now back on topic!

And I believe you said you enjoy malls, the Great Lakes Mall is 5 minutes from downtown Willougby by car.

I haven't been there in ages, but I must have been one of the original mall rats at the Great Lakes Mall in the late 60's/early 70's. I remember when it was a fraction of the size and the only dept. store was the now much lamented May Co. (http://livemalls.blogspot.com/2010/02/may-company-later-kaufmanns-now-macys.html) and the floors were a sort of polished gray concrete with the requisite potted plants of that era.

 

BTW cbarnes14, just ignore mts's snooty remarks. If there's no Barney's (or Prada pop-up store) it's beneath his "station" to even enter the building--lol

We loved the feel of Oak Park, IL there right outside the city of Chicago.  Being that we like to walk places opposed to drive, we lived 5 minute walk from Navy Pier in Chicago so never drove anywhere.  The house's there though were more of that straight up City look.  Who wants a three story house with twin kids!  So we kind of ruled that out --- to me the cities here have a bit more character than chicago suburbs which besides Oak park area all look the same - taco bell, Kfc, strip malls boom!  Unless you want to dish out a MIL --- which I do not.  Were looking for a home we can get a good price on and throughout the years make changes to what we like.  Im a big cook so I need a nice sized kitchen I can update later if needs be. So we really want to love the look and shell of the house and put our money into the re-do other than the mortgage.  Which is why I want some land to have options for later expansions etc..we get a lot of voisitors so want that spare room.  We like outside activities so want the deck for entertaining.  things like that...all in a great school system and reasonable priced! not to much to ask :)

 

 

 

Oak Park??? MyTwoSense -- I can't believe you didn't suggest Shaker Square!! When I've taken the train through Oak Park, that's what it reminded me of. Especially the areas just east the square along Shaker Boulevard, or the single-family residential areas north of Shaker Boulevard between North Moreland and Coventry. There is new and old homes with different sizes -- some with lots and others without. Of course, the perfect house for you might be there, yet not on the market. The tudor-style architecture, high-density walkable areas, the trees and landscaping, the nearby parks and shopping. Shaker Square, even though it is in the city of Cleveland, is in the Shaker Heights school system. It has been rated as an effective district the last two years, which is good but not excellent. There is good diversity in the district. There are also private schools in the area with excellent reputations.

 

Here on UO, there are numerous descriptions of the Shaker Square area, as well as Coventry, Cedar-Lee, Cedar-Fairmount and other commercial/mixed-use districts in the area. Check some of the relocation assistance threads in this section. I recommend a drive through the overall area, and getting out and walking in areas that interest you. Nothing gives you a good feel of a neighborhood like walking. Sounds like you already agree!

 

As for commuting to Solon, if you lived in this area, you would be driving relatively fast city streets, most likely Van Aken to Northfield to Harvard to I-271 to US422.

Shaker Square we do like the Shaker area....thats will be added to our list for sure!  We've been to Grotto over there...great place. 

 

 

We loved the feel of Oak Park, IL there right outside the city of Chicago.  Being that we like to walk places opposed to drive, we lived 5 minute walk from Navy Pier in Chicago so never drove anywhere.  The house's there though were more of that straight up City look.  Who wants a three story house with twin kids!  So we kind of ruled that out --- to me the cities here have a bit more character than chicago suburbs which besides Oak park area all look the same - taco bell, Kfc, strip malls boom!  Unless you want to dish out a MIL --- which I do not.  Were looking for a home we can get a good price on and throughout the years make changes to what we like.  Im a big cook so I need a nice sized kitchen I can update later if needs be. So we really want to love the look and shell of the house and put our money into the re-do other than the mortgage.  Which is why I want some land to have options for later expansions etc..we get a lot of voisitors so want that spare room.  We like outside activities so want the deck for entertaining.  things like that...all in a great school system and reasonable priced! not to much to ask :)

 

The Cleveland Heights/University Heights/Shaker area feels pretty similar to the Oak Park/River Forest/Forest Park area of Chicagoland.

 

Oak Park generally has better schools though, except for maybe the Shaker Heights district. If you went with Cleveland Heights or University Heights you may want to consider private schools when the time comes, at least beyond the elementary school level. Cleveland Heights has the most walkable areas of the the communities that I mentioned.

 

I live in Chicago by the way, and am very familiar with both areas.

 

 

If you are going to look in CH, many of my friends rave about Fairfax elementary and the feeling of community in that neighborhood in general.  Satisfaction with the other elementary schools seems more modest.  The middle schools are also more so-so.  The high school experience depends more on the kid.  An intelligent, self-motivated kid can truly excel and they offer great programs to achieve excellence.  But it would not be the best place for a kid that will more follow the crowd and get lost in the shuffle.

You might also want to check out Hudson.  It is close to Solon, has some pretty good restaurants, good shopping, good schools, and has some homes - like in Chagrin - that are close enough to walk to town.  The town square has some kind of event almost every weekend (bands, farmers market, etc).  And it's a bit less expensive from a taxes and insurance stand point b/c it's in Summit County.

Yea, Hudson is a good place to look at.  Other benefits of Hudson are proximity to the Cuyahoga Valley as well as another urban area in Akron and metro parks to explore.  Its a fairly cosmopolitan town because of the western reserve academy. There are a lot of doctors and executives from both cleve and akron area companies that live there.  So if one is looking for a low key New England town to live in that would certainly be a great choice.

Checked out Hudson....looks very interesting - My wife and i going to drive over there this weekend - see what the feel is.

 

Thank you for all your help!