My husband and I are relocating to Cleveland at the end of July. We'll be working in the Tyler building and we've narrowed down where we want to live. We'll be there June 16th - 20th to look around and sign any leases, etc.

 

We're looking around the W112th & Clifton and the W117th area. We're looking for houses or townhomes to rent and they must be cat friendly (as we have 4).

 

We've made a couple of appointments for our time out there and if we can arrange the one we want, that'll be great. But we'll also be looking for a gym, grocery stores, doctors, banks, and most importantly, a new Vet for our cats.

 

Any help with that would be great

I'm not as familiar with housing out in Edgewater, but I can recommend a good vet in the City: Gateway Animal Clinic on Abbey Avenue (between West 25th and West 14th).  Reasonable rates, really good with cats & dogs (and people), and I've heard nary a complaint.

Thanks.. that's the second recommendation for them I've had today.. I'll have to check them out

Just a heads-up, Clifton-Edgewater is overwhelmingly more skewed toward apartments than townhomes/single-families, but there are some options. Here are two decent-looking places (at least from the photos, I can't vouch) in the vicinity of Clifton/West 117th - note that if you live in Lakewood but live in Cleveland, you'll pay income tax in Cleveland as well as Lakewood. If you live in Cleveland proper, you only get "ding-ed" once.

 

http://www.pluggedincleveland.com/rentals/view.cgi?num=5849

 

http://secure.adpay.com/clicknbuy.aspx?pid=4659637970636A466F5936537255675463504E7577773D3D&adid=CLE2085728

 

Also, the Clifton-Edgewater neighborhood is one of those areas where it might be easier to find something by driving around for a day.

I agree, driving around is crucial as a LOT of people just do lawn/sign advertising instead of a paid ad.  And I agree with mayday in that the area you're focusing on is HEAVILY skewed towards apartments.  It is also now common in greater cleveland to charge "pet rent," where you have to pay a fixed monthly fee on top of your rent for each animal.  this can vary from place to place but could be an additional $20 per animal so be sure to ask this of any townhome or apartment complex (I don't think this would be the case in a house you might rent, though they might ask for a deposit).  Many places also require a hefty deposit ($200-300) and have a limit as to how many animals you can have.  I would think with 4 cats you're going to have trouble in a townhome or any apartment complex and agree you should try to find a house for rent. 

 

There are a lot of "half doubles" in Lakewood but most are just a tiny bit west of where you're looking - only a few streets.  You might find the flexibility you're looking for in a half double as they might not mind the pets or charge a pet rent and you get a "home" feeling.  There are TONS of these and most can be found by driving up and down the north-south streets throughout Lakewood, I would suggest streets West of Cove would be where they'd begin.

I'd recommend Gateway Animal Clinic as well.

Don't forget that Cleveland is now included in Google Maps Streetview, with most of the area around Clifton-Edgewater covered. Not the same as seeing it in person, but you'll have a basic feel for the specific area.

 

*EDIT* No idea if this is in your price range, but at $1500 a month, this home is in a gorgeous location on Edgewater Drive: http://www.realtor.com/rentals/search/listingdetail.aspx?zp=44102&ml=3&bd=3&typ=40&sid=cab6449a4a57497bb0527f247591deaa&lid=1098671387&lsn=5&srcnt=5#Photo

it IS gorgeous and out of our pricerange for now ..but thanks

 

we'll know more after our week out there in June. We're currently looking at a townhouse location (thank you google maps street view) and the location looks pretty good and the square footage is more than sufficient. we're just trying to get a few in mind in case something doesnt work out

Be sure to visit the neighborhood in the evening to make sure you feel comfortable there, and if possible, check out the neighbors getting home.

I've lived in a high-rise condo the West 117th-Clifton area for 12 years and highly recommend the area.

 

Veterinarian:  I have two cats and have been going to the Lakewood Animal Hospital and their companion facility, the Cat Clinic since I moved to Lakewood. Both vet facilities are on Madison Avenue in Lakewood, but separated by about two miles. I love those people!

 

My favorite grocery stores:  West Side Market, The Sausage Shop (both of those require some traveling), and for local everyday foods (especially produce) at Marc's in downtown Lakewood.

 

My doctor:  at Kaiser Permanente but I haven't seen him in a decade or so.

 

My bank:  I like Charter One but my sister swears by National City. Both are available in the area of West 117th/Clifton, as is Huntington but I hate those guys and their nickel-and-dime fees.

Be sure to visit the neighborhood in the evening to make sure you feel comfortable there, and if possible, check out the neighbors getting home.

 

Ooo good point. And actually that will be possible as we'll be working at the Tyler building during the workday

Hi Smitten,

 

Well, as someone with a cat who has just been through what you will be doing, I can tell you what I found. I looked at apartments in Edgewater. My price range was 650 to 750. Some landlords wanted a 400 dollar nonrefundable deposit for one cat! Some wanted a 100 to 200 deposit. Some wanted a 25 extra non refundable every month!

 

The Edgewater area is really nice, beautiful homes and apartment buildings, lots of nice coffee houses and places to walk to including Edgewater park.  There are so many apartment buildings with for rent signs.  I would recommend the area around Lake Street and you can go as far east as 98th or the street just one block inland from Lake or the area around Detroit and 114th. 

 

There are many buildings with about eight stories. The apartments seem a little small but they do have balconies. I really wanted to be on the first floor but could only find vacancies on the higher floors. I got the impression that a.c. bill would be really high in those upper floors in the summer since many buildings only had windows on one side.

 

We ended up getting an apartment in Shaker Heights, one block from the square with a 100 refundable cat deposit. 

 

Good luck with your search.

OK, we're here for the week, visiting and we've found a townhouse in Lakewood near the Rocky River Park. Now we're wondering about Cable or DSL if Verizon works out here.. and banks

By Rocky River Park, do you mean the Rocky River Reservation--the big valley?

OK, we're here for the week, visiting and we've found a townhouse in Lakewood near the Rocky River Park. Now we're wondering about Cable or DSL if Verizon works out here.. and banks

 

Cable

Go with ime Warner.

 

Banks

Key Bank or National City are the two biggies in Cleveland.  Check them out along with Huntington, US Bank, PNC, Dollar, Chase, Fifth Third & Charter One

Does anyone know if any banks in the area have it working where lets say your bill is 19.50 it rounds up to $20 and puts the .50 in a savings account?

^If you mean similar to Bank of America's program - to the best of my knowledge, no.

OK, we're here for the week, visiting and we've found a townhouse in Lakewood near the Rocky River Park. Now we're wondering about Cable or DSL if Verizon works out here.. and banks

 

Cable

Go with ime Warner.

 

Banks

Key Bank or National City are the two biggies in Cleveland. Check them out along with Huntington, US Bank, PNC, Dollar, Chase, Fifth Third & Charter One

 

Lakewood is a Cox Cable town.  I think you can also get AT&T U-verse, but I don't know much about it.

OK, we're here for the week, visiting and we've found a townhouse in Lakewood near the Rocky River Park. Now we're wondering about Cable or DSL if Verizon works out here.. and banks

 

Cable

Go with ime Warner.

 

Banks

Key Bank or National City are the two biggies in Cleveland. Check them out along with Huntington, US Bank, PNC, Dollar, Chase, Fifth Third & Charter One

 

Lakewood is a Cox Cable town. I think you can also get AT&T U-verse, but I don't know much about it.

 

AT&T U-verse is great.  The future Mr. Doc Broc currently has it at his apartment in Mentor and is pissed that he's gonna have to give it up (at least temporarily) when we move downtown next month.  I'd recommend looking into it - it's got more channels and it's cheaper than Time Warner if not other cable providers too.

OK, we're here for the week, visiting and we've found a townhouse in Lakewood near the Rocky River Park. Now we're wondering about Cable or DSL if Verizon works out here.. and banks

 

Cable

Go with ime Warner.

 

Banks

Key Bank or National City are the two biggies in Cleveland.  Check them out along with Huntington, US Bank, PNC, Dollar, Chase, Fifth Third & Charter One

 

Lakewood is a Cox Cable town.  I think you can also get AT&T U-verse, but I don't know much about it.

 

AT&T U-verse is great.  The future Mr. Doc Broc currently has it at his apartment in Mentor and is pissed that he's gonna have to give it up (at least temporarily) when we move downtown next month.  I'd recommend looking into it - it's got more channels and it's cheaper than Time Warner if not other cable providers too.

 

FWIW, we almost switched to u-verse (we have TWC) but the day they came to install it, we found there were 3 channels we liked certain programs on that they didn't have.  If you're going to make the switch make sure all the channels you want are available.

What channels do they not have?  I didn't notice that....

What channels do they not have?  I didn't notice that....

 

Oxygen (which I Tivo a yoga show for every weekday), CMT (we watch Trading Spouses and the Coyote Ugly search) and one of the Crime-related channels, which Mr. rockandroller watches a lot of shows, I can't remember which channel it was, maybe CourtTV?

AT&T U-verse is great.  The future Mr. Doc Broc currently has it at his apartment in Mentor and is pissed that he's gonna have to give it up (at least temporarily) when we move downtown next month.  I'd recommend looking into it - it's got more channels and it's cheaper than Time Warner if not other cable providers too.

 

Counting seconds to MTS retort...

AT&T U-verse is great. The future Mr. Doc Broc currently has it at his apartment in Mentor and is pissed that he's gonna have to give it up (at least temporarily) when we move downtown next month. I'd recommend looking into it - it's got more channels and it's cheaper than Time Warner if not other cable providers too.

 

Counting seconds to MTS retort...

 

I have nothing to add....sadly!

What channels do they not have? I didn't notice that....

 

Oxygen (which I Tivo a yoga show for every weekday), CMT (we watch Trading Spouses and the Coyote Ugly search) and one of the Crime-related channels, which Mr. rockandroller watches a lot of shows, I can't remember which channel it was, maybe CourtTV?

 

Okay, probably why I didn't notice.  I guess it just depends on what you want to watch :).  So they have almost everything Time Warner carries.  AT&T has better options for sports, though, since Time Warner won't carry the NFL Network among other things.

I have Cox digital cable with high-speed Internet and I'm very happy with their service and cost. I've had outages only once and that was because of the way my building was wired more than 20 years ago. Cox came out immediately and replaced all the wiring in the building!

regarding vets. While I have heard good things about Gateway, waits are often long (something our kitties hate). I really wanted to use them as they are the closest vet, but when one of our cats was sick they could not squeeze us in in a reasonable time period. I have sent others there and they think the vet is great, but long waiting is an issue. We use:

Roberts & Wendt Animal Hospital

1458 W 117th St

Cleveland, OH 44107

Local: 216-521-0533

 

they are close to where you are looking-not far south of Clifton , are really  thorough and friendly, almost always see you with in minutes of your scheduled visit (worst I waited was 10 minutes or an unscheduled sick pet visit). They are not cheap, but not over the top expensive either. 

FYI:  The rental house on Edgewater just dropped to $1350/mo.  They are obviously having trouble renting it, so if it is getting closer to your price range and you like it, you may want to bargain with them.

We've signed a lease on a place just off Detroit Ave by Rocky River Reservation. Our move in date is at the end of July. Thank you for all your help. Has anyone heard anything about an office called The Cat Clinic? There's an office not far from our place.

Congrats.

 

I have a question?  We always give suggestions, but I'm interested in know were are suggestions helpful and accurate.  It's always nice to hear followup.

 

What made you decide to buy/rent where you did?

 

Check KJP's post on May 20th :-)

 

"Veterinarian:  I have two cats and have been going to the Lakewood Animal Hospital and their companion facility, the Cat Clinic since I moved to Lakewood. Both vet facilities are on Madison Avenue in Lakewood, but separated by about two miles. I love those people!"

Congrats.

 

I have a question?  We always give suggestions, but I'm interested in know were are suggestions helpful and accurate.  It's always nice to hear followup.

 

What made you decide to buy/rent where you did?

 

 

Honestly, it was partly the townhouse itself. We're coming from a house, not an apartment, so we needed the square footage. And then the neighborhood. We arrived early and drove around between Detroit Avenue and Lake and loved the houses and people sitting out on their lawns and being friendly to the two "strangers". And also while standing outside talking with our new landlord, I liked that two of the other tenants walked by and he knew them by first name as did they.

 

We also picked it because it's within biking distance of Rocky River Reservation. We drove through there and fell in love with the park itself.

 

 

We've signed a lease on a place just off Detroit Ave by Rocky River Reservation. Our move in date is at the end of July. Thank you for all your help. Has anyone heard anything about an office called The Cat Clinic? There's an office not far from our place.

 

If you're going to go there, let me know. I have a referral card where we can both get discounts. Contact me by personal message and we'll work out a way for me to get the referral card to you.

Honestly, it was partly the townhouse itself. We're coming from a house, not an apartment, so we needed the square footage. And then the neighborhood. We arrived early and drove around between Detroit Avenue and Lake and loved the houses and people sitting out on their lawns and being friendly to the two "strangers". And also while standing outside talking with our new landlord, I liked that two of the other tenants walked by and he knew them by first name as did they.

 

We also picked it because it's within biking distance of Rocky River Reservation. We drove through there and fell in love with the park itself.

 

thats great!