Hi everyone,

 

I'm from Boston and I'm moving to Cleveland this December-January for work. I am a young professional. My office will be in Mentor, but I would like to live in downtown. I am looking to spend hopefully no more than $550-600 on rent, so my options would be a studio or finding an opening in an apartment with roommates. I hear living in Cleveland is pretty cheap and I would love to be able to live in a loft style apartment or somewhere walkable to shopping/restaurants.

 

If my budget doesn't work for living in downtown, what are some good alternatives that are still fun/lively to live in, convenient of getting into the city and towards the same direction as Mentor? (where I'll be commuting to work). Some people told me that Ohio City, University Circle, and Shaker Square good places to live.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions on places to live that are within my budget, in the city or very close to the city, convenient, and has a fun vibe for a young professional? I really do not want to live in a suburb!

 

Also - does anyone have any experience with "Crittenden Court" apartment? Good, bad?

 

Thanks!!

^ I had some friends live in Crittendon Ct and enjoyed living there.  I think if you're going to live by yourself that will likely be the only place downtown that fits in your price range.

 

Working in Mentor, the other place I would suggest looking would be in Cleveland Heights, around the Coventry area (Coventry Rd and Euclid Heights intersection).  You can find places in your budget there as well - and its a fun urban neighborhood close to universtiy circle & little italy.

^^I live in Crittenden Court and I think it's the best value downtown.  The apartments are standard fare and there aren't a lot of amenities, but the location is great and the price is right.  The building is very quiet and well insulated which isn't something to overlook as many of the warehouse conversions can be loud and drafty.  Parking is also relatively cheap in the attached garage ($85/month).  There are new owners as of about a year ago and they've been putting some money into the building too (new workout equipment, expanded workout room, extended office hours, landscaping improvements, etc)... so things are looking up.

 

I would also recommend Coventry as a nice urban neighborhood.  I'm also a big fan of Ohio City, but I'm not sure of the options there in your price range.  Good luck and welcome to Cleveland!

^If he lived Downtown, he could quickly jump on the Shoreway. In Cle hts, it would be a longer hike to work, I think, even though he'd be starting out further east.

 

Downtown, I'd check out the Warehouse District. That's probably the best residential district downtown, though there are others. Cleveland State is nearby (about a mile away) so there may be some potential roommates from there to broaden your pool of roommates if you end up going that route. 

If you would like to see what some downtown apartments look like, you should check out:

 

http://www.apartments.com/Ohio/Cleveland/Downtown

 

The prices and availability of units listed at this site are often out of date, but it still gives you an idea of what housing product is out there. However, finding a single-bedroom apartment or studio in downtown Cleveland will be very challenging as there are waiting lists for many of the better buildings. Overall, single-bedroom units downtown have an occupancy rate of 95 percent. You may do better finding someone willing to rent out a second bedroom downtown.

 

Is there a Boston neighborhood you really like? We may be able to find you a Cleveland equivalent. For example, if you like the area around Cambridge, you might like the University Circle area of Cleveland.

 

FYI: Cleveland is divided culturally between east and west. The east side especially University Circle/Little Italy, Shaker Square, Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, University Heights, etc. is more East Coastish as its architecture, attitudes and pace may remind you of Brookline, Longwood or Brighton. The East Side has more synagogues, kosher restaurants, Italian neighborhoods and shops, and other features that may remind you of home.

 

But so might some areas of the West Side, as it is where many of the region's Irish settled and where their descendants still live and have businesses, pubs and churches. In Cleveland, they're not Southies -- but Westies! As in West Park. The southwest is where you will find many Eastern European enclaves and churches (except for Hungarians which settled on both sides of town), plus some of the largest Latino neighborhoods and the best Latino foods.

Awesome, thanks for the help everyone.

 

As far as areas go, I'm looking for either right in the heart of downtown, or something that would compare to Cambridge/Allston/Somerville in relation to Boston.

 

The places you guys mentioned - Ohio City, University Circle, Shaker Square - are these places convenient to my commute to work (Mentor)? And far is it from downtown?

 

Thanks!

You could get a studio at Reserve Square for close to that price point, provided one's available. The building is close to 100% occupancy.

Have you ever visited?  If not, you may want to consider doing that before committing to a neighborhood.  While you won't experience the culture shock as you would have moving to either a southern or more midwestern city, there still are some stark differences with Boston.  The two cities were built up during different eras.  Cleveland is more of a "turn of the century" type city, whereas Boston has a much older feel.  Also keep in mind that Cleveland is one relatively small (land wise) city surrounded by over 50 smaller political subdivisions.  Some places, like Cleveland Hts and Lakewood, offer better walkable neighborhoods than the city proper.  FWIW, I still think of downtown as a destination, not necessarily a neighborhood.  I hesitate to recommend it to new transplants.

 

What I do recommend is you doing a little exploring before deciding on a place to live.  There is no great walkable neighborhood anywhere within spitting distance of Mentor.  Point being, you are going to have a decent drive (by Cleveland standards) no matter where you live.  You should check out:

At the price you listed I think you're going to have to look a bit, but it's possible. I'm sure there's something available downtown, but I'll let everyone else suggest individual buildings.

 

I'll second the suggestions of Shaker Square, Coventry and University Circle. They'll have the urban feel you're looking for, but none are really convenient to your commute.

 

Ohio City seems like a good option, fairly easy commute, close to downtown.

 

You could take a glance at N. Collinwood near Waterloo Rd. You'd definitely find something in your price range and you'd be right by 90, so it would be a short commute. It doesn't have the same feel as a Coventry or Shaker Square, it's a bit more run down, but not too bad. Waterloo has more of an artsy feel than young professional.

 

The only other suggestion I could make is Willoughby. It's more of a small town, so not really what you're looking for, but it has a lot of young professionals and is close to Mentor. It is unfortunately one of very few good options if you want to even occasionally take the bus to Mentor.

Check out

 

Asia town

Tremont

Ohio City

Detroit shoreway

Colinwood

Shaker Square

 

These are all City Neighborhoods.  They will feel much more like a neighborhood than downtown, without pushing your commute too much.  Which compared to Boston will be a breeze no matter where you live.

 

as well as Downtown and the other suggestions such as UC and the heights, lakewood.

 

For a commute to Mentor you will have/want to have a car.... for anything outside of downtown, parking becomes cheaper and/or free. The distance from Downtown to these places is 3 miles or less.  I have sorted them in the order of best/easiest/most public transportation to downtown to least.

 

Ohio City

AsiaTown/Detroit Shoreway

Tremont

 

 

Not sure of the distance to Shaker Square/University circle but both have good PT to downtown and the commute is similar if not shorter...depends on how Busy MLK is during the rushes---although you will be going opposite of most traffic.

 

2 things to avoid....

 

1) stay away from 480 for commuting if you can help it. (which every suggestion so far will conform to)

 

2) You do NOT want to be on 90 going through downtown ESPECIALLY going home from mentor....which means You only want Lakewood if you can do so near the end of State RT. 2 AKA the west Shoreway.  And makes Tremont not nearly as attractive to you.  If you worked in Independence or Solon this is a very good option.

 

 

The area near W. 117th and Clifton (117th is one of the borders between Cleveland and Lakewood) has rentals and a reasonably walking neighborhood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you like Cambridge/Allston/Somerville, then I think you would probably like University Circle/Little Italy/Murray Hill. It is a fast-growing area that has the historical architecture, parks/trails, youthful energy, street life and transit accessibility you probably enjoyed in Boston. Just up the hill is Cleveland Heights, where you might like the Coventry/Overlook area or the Cedar/Fairmount area (both refer to streets).

 

Here are some sites and UO threads that may be of interest to you:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,2977.0.html

http://www.universitycircle.org/

http://www.coventryvillage.org/

http://www.clevelandheights.com/commdist_districts_cv.asp

http://www.clevelandheights.com/commdist_districts_cf.asp

 

 

For you, the fastest commute is up MLK Boulevard through Rockefeller Park to Interstate 90 and then out to Mentor. Commute time between University Circle and Mentor, depending on weather/traffic, is about 30-45 minutes. Add 5-10 minutes if you choose to live up the hill in Cleveland Heights. Similar commute times to Mentor exist for downtown and nearby areas like Ohio City or Tremont. Driving out to Mentor is about your only option. All express bus service between Mentor and Cleveland is scheduled to get Mentor residents to their 9-5 jobs in Cleveland. If you have to, you can take several connecting buses up Euclid Avenue out to Mentor, but the trip will take a LONG time. But if your car dies or you get snowed in up in Mentor, the bus may be your only way home.

 

By the way, since you would be working in Mentor, you should know about "Lake Effect Snow." The farther east on I-90 you go, the deeper into the "snow belt" you get. It's called the snow belt due to the colder winds picking up moisture off the relatively warmer Lake Erie and depositing it as rain or snow over land. A long, narrow band of "lake effect" snow can be only a couple of miles wide but if it keeps traveling like a train over the same locations, the area under than band of snow can get several feet of snow in less than a day. Usually, the heaviest snow falls farther inland from Mentor where the elevations are higher due to the start of the Allegheny Plateau. But lake effect snow can fall anywhere depending on the speed and direction of the wind and the difference between the air temperature and the lake water temperature. If you find weather fascinating like I do, then it's amazing to see. If you hate snow, then you'll hate "lake effect." :) I realize Boston gets about the same amount of snow each year as Cleveland, but the weather is more varied here. You can have bright sunshine in Cleveland while in they could be getting whiteouts in Mentor. So in winter, don't leave your home prepared for the conditions you see outside your bedroom window because it can be very different just 10 miles east up the lakeshore. Check the weather radar and 24-hour forecast. But even that doesn't always help.... Sometimes we can get surprised with six inches of "partly cloudy."

I work in Mentor, and I can attest to the Lake effect issues, but it's not the end of the world. I haven't had a day yet where I couldn't make it into / out of work in a reasonable amount of time.

 

I agree with Pugu that commuting from the heights would create a more onerous commute in that there is no quick way to get to the freeway, short of driving down Cedar Hill and taking MLK to 90 / 2. That's also one of the charms of the Heights.

 

I like Warehouse or Asiatown if you're looking for the city proper. Warehouse gets you closer to the action, whereas Asiatown has more of a neighborhood feel, and both give you quicker access to 90.

 

I agree with KJP that some of the more popular west side options might prove difficult in that driving 90 through downtown during rush hour can be hairy, particularly during inclement weather when things get snarled up.

If your job is closer to I-90 than Rt. 2, and depending on where you might live in the Heights, the better route would likely be to get on 271 at Brainard/Cedar and head north from there.  No matter where you live in the Heights, I would recommend staying away from backtracking to MLK and the congestion of UC.  Noble Rd. to 152nd would be preferable I think.

If you're in Ohio City or Detroit Shoreway it's pretty easy to jump on the Shoreway as opposed to the traffic on 90.