Hey Guys,

 

  My friend and I have been looking to move out of the suburbs (Beachwood) and closer to downtown.  He currently is in grad school at Case and I am at grad school at CSU.  Since he's in anesthesiology school, he needs to be near a highway entrance to get all over to different hospitals.  I on the other hand currently take the green line/health line to CSU, and would love to be able to walk it, or just take one bus.  We have looked at Statler and Reserve Square (however we were limited to 3 bdrm places at the time as there was a third roommate who has since decided not to move).  Now for the crux of the issue, do you guys have any suggestions for us as we're both incredibly busy with grad school and would love some help finding a new place!!

I'm not going to lie to you -- you're going to have some difficulty finding an apartment downtown. Thankfully, however, you're looking for a two-bedroom apartment instead of a more-difficult-to-find single-bedroom apartment.

 

Based on your commuting situation, it sounds like anything from University Circle to Ohio City and Tremont may be possible for you. Although it sounds like UC is a bit far from highways for your roomie? Ohio City and Tremont are close to highways, and most of the downtown-bound buses in those areas go through downtown to the east side of downtown -- some directly to CSU and the nearby Tubbs-Jones Transit Center.

 

What kind of housing are you looking for? Are you looking for new construction or a like-new rehab? Do you want high-quality build-outs, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, etc? Do you have pets? Or are you interested in a up-and-down double? Are you OK with on-street parking, a driveway, a garage, an underground heated garage? Do you want to be within a short walk of a neighborhood grocer/drug store and restaurants/clubs or far from them to ensure more quiet?

If you need highways plus transit to CSU, downtown probably is your best option.  East 4th St offers one-stop shopping for a lot of its apartments.  If you don't consider it too far west, the Clifton area of Lakewood has good highway access and a busline that goes straight to CSU.  Check on which other buses stop at the Stephanie Tubbs Jones transit center, because those are all your 1-seat rides.   

Id definitely say downtown is right for you.

 

I made this a while back(Edit: Wow actually one month ago from today). Maybe it could help!

 

http://tinyurl.com/DowntownCleveland

Check on which other buses stop at the Stephanie Tubbs Jones transit center, because those are all your 1-seat rides.

 

 

No disrespect to Stephanie Tubbs Jones, but this is a perfect example of why transportation stations should have geographic names (like "30th Street" or "30th & Prospect") otherwise people have no idea where it is. I don't for one, though I know the city very well. An exception to the bad naming convention may be very famous places, like "JFK Airport". Otherwise, if you said "Hopkins" without "Cleveland" preceding it, most people wouldn't know what you're talking about. If you want to use a name to honor someone, it should follow the geographic marker, like "E 30th & Prospect Stephanie Tubbs Jones transit center". Long and clumbsy, I know, but at least you know where it is.

 

I know the above doesn't answer your question, but its an important point and this topic set that off--sorry! congrats on your decision to move Downtown and getting out of the 'burbs!

 

Another option, if you want to be downtown, but can't find a rental, consider buying a place with your friend as its a great time to buy and downtown is a good investment. After graduating, hold on to it, and lease it out if either of you don't want to stay there after graduation.

 

^then again a lot of old time NY'ers thought JFK Airport was just fine when it was called Idlewild.

I think the cheaper the better at least on my end, since I'm a grad student with a plethora of student loans.  Do you guys know who to talk to about the E. 4 apartments?  The website seems incredibly unhelpful.

http://www.east4thstreet.com/contact

Downtown apartments will likely be more expensive than similar-sized places in Ohio City or Tremont, but you may still find some bargains downtown.

what about right on Euclid on CSU's campus?  THere are newly renovated apartments there...