I first posted this over on the city-data.com forums, and someone over there said I may have better luck posting it over here.

 

Sorry for yet another "Where to live in Cleveland?" style thread. Here's the situation: Me and a couple friends are looking to go in together on a house or apartment in Cleveland. We're all students; I'm at Tri-C now and transferring to CSU in the fall, the second is starting at CSU in the fall, and the third is at Tri-C now and is looking at transferring to Virginia Marty College of Art & Design. We also have a fourth person who may or may not join us in the fall.

 

Where would you recommend looking for apartments? I'm currently staying at my uncle's in Lakewood near the Lakewood/Cleveland border and thusly we've been walking around the Cudell/Edgewater neighborhoods taking down numbers, but we havn't found anything large enough yet (most of the responses have been 1 or 2 bedroom units). We're looking for a house or part of a duplex, kinda leaning away from the managed buildings because they tend to be more expensive.

 

We did check out a house over in the Clark/Fulton area, but I don't know that area very well and I've heard some not-so-good rumors about it. Driving down the street (W 41) it seemed nice enough, well-maintained lawns and houses, no boarded up places and no vacant lots. But that doesn't say everything.

 

We want to be in Cleveland proper for voting reasons. So what are the best neighborhoods and what are the worst? Also, which ones have good access to public transportation? Which have easy access to useful things like restaurants and grocery stores? Which are more oriented towards pedestrians vs. those that are auto-centric?

 

I know the west side better than the east side, but I don't know either side overly well. Thanks.

Welcome to the board, rpb.  If I were you, I'd check out Ohio City first and foremost because it probably has the best access to both Lakewood and downtown, but also Tremont, Detroit-Shoreway and Edgewater (which you are already looking at).  All of those neighborhoods have lots of houses/duplexes and should have some in your price range.  Take a look through previous threads on this and the photo pages to get an idea of these neighborhoods, as they've been discussed a lot on this forum.  There is a search function at the top of the page that will help.  And of course, you can always come back with specific questions.  There are a lot of people on this forum who love to help.

Honestly, don't forget about Little Italy....for the past 25-30, the neighborhood has been renting out to college kids (case, CIM, CIA, CSU...etc).  You may be able to find a heck of a location and house at a reasonable price. 

 

 

EDIT SIDE NOTE: for whatever reason, little italy apartment has hardly ever listed online (hell even even the restaurants I've worked at weren't even listed until this year).  If your considering the possibility, you may need to come scout it out and look for FOR RENT signs.

 

Especially for college age kids, it definitely be a great place to consider.

Shaker Square!

 

Seriously, what are some of your interest?  Activities?  What dollar range are you looking at?

Welcome to the forum!

 

Given that one of you will be looking to transfer to Virginia Marti, the Edgewater area is probably a good bet. I say that because the #55 line gets the CSU people downtown quickly, and VM is in relative walking distance. I used to live on Lake Avenue - I think your best bet for that area would be to take a day and collect numbers, as a lot places don't advertise in the paper or online. There are specific buildings I would avoid and I can send you those via private message. I would try to find a place as far north from Detroit Avenue as possible - those tend to be better kept. Also, that puts you in walking distance from the Giant Eagle at West 117th and if you're in a jam, the Convenient on Clifton carries the basics (and a great beer/wine selection to boot). That also puts you near Clifton with the #55, and the closer to West 117th you get, you can also pick up the Community Circulator which takes you into Lakewood and to the Red Line station at Madison/West 117th.

 

The Clark/Fulton area is well, an area in transition and personally I would avoid living there. There have been some newer homes built along Marvin Avenue but the area's crime rate isn't exactly desirable.

Our top line is $600, but that can be increased a bit if we can find a place that has utilities included.  We're hoping to score a downstairs unit of at least 3 bedrooms.  We have a ferret and would like to get a cat, so it needs to be pet-friendly.  Being close to public transportation would be useful but not necessary.  We'd like a grocery store to be nearby.

 

I currently live at my uncle's near Clifton/W 117th and like the vibe of the area.  But the stuff we've been looking at around here seems to be either too small or too expensive.

Man, whoever has money right now...start building townhomes around Cleveland State....they will come!

 

It is kinda sad we're all recommending places that require a commute, even if it is the the rapid.

^Well, apartments at CSU wouldn't help the person who is going to Virginia Marti. I agree with Edgewater. There are some cheap houses in Lakewood. My co-worker is getting a 2BR duplex near Warren and I-90 for $600. My rent is now $650 in the "exclusive" Gold Coast ;)

^Well, apartments at CSU wouldn't help the person who is going to Virginia Marti. I agree with Edgewater. There are some cheap houses in Lakewood. My co-worker is getting a 2BR duplex near Warren and I-90 for $600. My rent is now $650 in the "exclusive" Gold Coast ;)

 

the premium you pay to live in a "tony" neighborhood

If you have someone going to Virginia Marti, you should definitely stick to the west side.  Although Little Italy and Shaker Square are great neighborhoods, it would really be asking a lot of your friend to commute all the way across town.

 

All things being equal, I would first suggest Edgewater or Cudell, although parts of Cudell can be kind of rough (generally the southern half, I think.)  Like other forumers have said, Ohio City, Tremont, and Detroit-Shoreway are good bets, too.

 

As far as Clark-Fulton goes, I know there's a lot of crime around Metrohealth, which is in the eastern part of the neighborhood, but I'm not sure about where you were looking.  If you're interested in the house you mentioned, your best bet is to talk to your potential neighbors.  They'll know more about crime in that area than any of us do, and if the houses and yards seem to be well kept-up, I'd bet they're fairly active in and/or concerned about their community and would be happy to give you an honest assessment.

 

Good luck, and please keep us updated!

We're missing the fact that him and one of his roommates are going to CSU. So an ideal place would be somewhere between downtown and the Lakewood-Cleveland line. Affordable homes might best be found in the Detroit-Shoreway area, especially around the up-and-coming Gordon Square arts district near West 65th. There's a grocery store a couple blocks south at Franklin and West 65th, and a few specialty grocers farther east along Detroit. Check out some of the apartment buildings around there (Gordon Square Apartments has some pretty affordable units), as well as some of the duplexes. Since the area is still up-and-coming, there's still some down-and-out homes and streets here are there. So choose carefully. Ohio City and Edgewater are booth good options, too, like the others said.

$600 for a 3 bdrm is going to be real tight, I would think.  Are you finding anything at that price?

^I agree.  My friends used to have 1/2 of a duplex in Lakewood (3 bedrooms) for $950 or $975.  It was pretty run of the mill and that was a few years ago. 

 

You may find something that low, but for 3 bedroom I would expect it to get closer to $750 minimum.  I'm no expert though...

We're finding them, just in the unsavory parts of town :-P  We could probably deal with a large 2-bedroom as well.

I'm too lazy to read the above posts, but have you looked into the Clifton area of Cleveland?

although they one of the group will attend VM, have you looked in ChinaTown?

What about Old Brooklyn/Brookside Park area?  There are a lot of rentals around the zoo - Fulton Rd bridge being out is a big pain, but otherwise the housing is more affordable than Edgewater, and it's an easy commute from Memphis to W 117th for Virginia Marti, and CSU isn't too horrible of a drive/ride.  I don't know how great the area is north of the zoo along Archwood/Denison - looks sketchy to me for the most part.  I don't know what the price range is, but I'd also look for rentals near the Triskett rapid and north of Lorain Ave west of W 117th.

ChinaTown area was our original ideal spot, and we had a place on E 47th that we thought we were going to get.  Then the landlord sold it the day he wanted us to put down the security deposit.

 

We do need to just park over there and walk around taking down numbers.

ChinaTown area was our original ideal spot, and we had a place on E 47th that we thought we were going to get.  Then the landlord sold it the day he wanted us to put down the security deposit.

 

We do need to just park over there and walk around taking down numbers.

 

Maybe eightshades of Grey knows of places in the area. there are a couple of forumers in that area.

I live in Asiatown. Walking around taking down numbers is definitely the only way to go in this neighborhood. In addition to checking "For Rent" signs in front of houses, I'd go into the Asian markets and cafes, where people post flyers about spaces to let. Three specific places to try:

 

1. Tink Holl, on E. 36th Street just south of Payne (there's a board inside the parking lot entrance)

2. Koko Bakery, on Payne and E. 37th

3. Asia Plaza, Payne and E. 30th (there's a community board toward the back of the mall)

 

Since at least one of you sounds artsy (the clothing designer), you might look into live-work loft space. Contact Artspace Cleveland, based in Asiatown, at http://www.artspacecleveland.com, or Rose Management at http://clevelandspace.com. Even if Rose doesn't have anything that looks right for you listed on her site, give her a call. She's always got new stuff, and some great spaces in the neighborhood.

 

As for safety -- the neighborhood feels extremely safe to me, though things go downhill fast once you're east of E. 55th Street. I'd try to stay west of E. 45th.

^ I echo all of the sage advice offered by my Asiatown brethren above. The real estate market in Asiatown is very much owner-organized. I would definitely recommend checking out some of the live/work options available. You might also put in a call to St. Clair Superior CDC (www.stclairsuperior.org)... their staff is really quite helpful, and if you explain exactly what and where you're looking (as well as price range), they might be able to put you in touch with some rental opportunities. I would highly recommend the area E. 30th to E. 40th, both in terms of safety (it's an unusually quiet neighborhood, actually) and proximity to transit (the 55 is accessible from, I believe, E. 14th or so on ... your VM roommate would be able to walk down Superior to catch a bus over or could catch the 326  right from Superior and either transfer downtown or ride it all the way to Lakewood ... along Superior and St. Clair, you are also extraordinarily close to Shoreway access). And, as an FYI, you'll have ample grocery options, with Dave's at E. 33rd and Payne, the grocery in Reserve Square relatively close at E. 13th and Superior and about 5 Asian groceries if you're feeling more adventurous or looking for specialty items.

 

If not Asiatown, I'd definitely recommend either Edgewater or Detroit Shoreway. As X noted, wherever you're looking, a 3-bedroom for $600 is going to be REALLY tight. I live with two roommates, we got an unbelievable deal because our landlord is AMAZING, and our space would still not be in that price range. I have a good friend who has a 3-bedroom in a house in the 90s along Clifton, and it runs her and her roommate $750/month. As a final note, many of the live-work spaces on the Near East Side are surprisingly affordable, but utilities are very rarely included. Keep in mind that industrial spaces (as well as many older homes) are quite drafty in the winter ... in our space, our rent is very reasonable, but our utilities spike up toward $500 in January and February.

 

Good luck, and hope to see you in Asiatown!