Okay, folks, this seems like *the* place to ask this question.

 

When I moved to Cleveland about a year ago from Boston (after growing up in New York), I knew I wanted to live somewhere walkable. Since I'd be living alone, for the first time (I could finally afford to!), I was also concerned with being somewhere I felt safe walking around alone into the evening hours. It's important to note, I don't mean that in the sort of paranoid suburban sense. To me, a safe urban neighborhood is a neighborhood with people in it, on the streets, doing things, right?

 

Fast forward a year, and I am now planning to move in with my boyfriend, looking for a bigger place, and am considering whether to stay in the Warehouse District, which I really do like, or move to Tremont.

 

My primary concern with Tremont really is safety. There are lots of reasons I love the area (I work in the arts and I'm much more a gallery opening person than a club person), and I go there all the time, but do you think it is *as safe* as the Warehouse District for a young single girl? Having cool places in walking distance is no use to me if I'm not going to feel totally safe walking to them. Most of my experiences walking around by myself in Tremont have been weekends and Art Walk nights. What about a random Tuesday, walking home from a yoga class at Studio 11?

 

In terms of stats, we'll be looking for a two-bedroom, willing to pay up to $1500 but prefer more like $1000 or less, which is easy in either neighborhood.

 

Also: I'm thinking about Tremont Place Lofts, the new renovation opening in the Gospel Press building. Does anyone know anything about the developer or property manager? You never know with a new place ...

 

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

 

Welcome to the forum! As a resident of Tremont, I think the area is generally safe but that's my perception as a guy and as someone who is more familiar with the area. One thing that's for sure - there aren't as many people out and about as the Warehouse District but that's probably a given with the lack of high-density housing. And as with any area, the main streets are generally fine but there can be "pockets" that are problematic. If you'd like, feel free to send me a private message and we can discuss further.

 

Not sure about the Tremont Place Lofts - I like the location, but I'm not familiar with the developers/owners.

JMO on Tremont - EVERYONE has a dog.  This can make it very noisy at night whenever there's any activity because one dog barks and then they're all barking for quite awhile (I've observed this myself in walking to and from dance class or a coffee shop to my car).  As to why they all have dogs, we have several good friends that live in Tremont.  Two couples in particular have had multiple/repeat problems with car break ins.  The one couple has had their home broken into and robbed THREE times, to the point that they now can't keep anything valuable at home like iPods or laptops because they keep getting stolen.  But they "love the neighborhood" so they continue to stay, and keep trying to find more solid ways to defeat the burglers.  These 2 couples live around the area of Lucky's cafe.  I have an ex that lives on the other side of Tremont just off Scranton and there are a lot of Latinos that live on his street who drive up and down the street really slow, blasting their music really loud and giving people threatening looks pretty much every time I've been over there.  I suppose they are just trying to keep non-latinos from driving through the neighborhood or something, or maybe they are a gang, I don't know.  I always got cat calls/comments from porches or cars whenever I got out of my vehicle to go in my ex's house unless he was outside waiting for me. I never felt very comfortable staying there but they seem to like it there and they've not had any troubles.

 

Again, it's JMO and I don't live there, but from the high presence of watchdogs in the area, the stories I've heard from my friends of what they've experienced and my own personal experiences, those are good enough reasons for me to not want to live there.  Maybe some people who live there can post some contrasting stories to mine.

JMO on Tremont - EVERYONE has a dog. This can make it very noisy at night whenever there's any activity because one dog barks and then they're all barking for quite awhile (I've observed this myself in walking to and from dance class or a coffee shop to my car). As to why they all have dogs, we have several good friends that live in Tremont. Two couples in particular have had multiple/repeat problems with car break ins. The one couple has had their home broken into and robbed THREE times, to the point that they now can't keep anything valuable at home like iPods or laptops because they keep getting stolen. But they "love the neighborhood" so they continue to stay, and keep trying to find more solid ways to defeat the burglers. These 2 couples live around the area of Lucky's cafe. I have an ex that lives on the other side of Tremont just off Scranton and there are a lot of Latinos that live on his street who drive up and down the street really slow, blasting their music really loud and giving people threatening looks pretty much every time I've been over there. I suppose they are just trying to keep non-latinos from driving through the neighborhood or something, or maybe they are a gang, I don't know. I always got cat calls/comments from porches or cars whenever I got out of my vehicle to go in my ex's house unless he was outside waiting for me. I never felt very comfortable staying there but they seem to like it there and they've not had any troubles.

 

Again, it's JMO and I don't live there, but from the high presence of watchdogs in the area, the stories I've heard from my friends of what they've experienced and my own personal experiences, those are good enough reasons for me to not want to live there. Maybe some people who live there can post some contrasting stories to mine.

 

RnRoller,

 

Be fair. Most people don't consider the Scranton side to be Tremont. That side is considered by most to be Clark-Metro. Additionally, the poster is talking about Tremont Place Lofts. In a place like that, you won't have issues with break-ins.

 

If dealing with 3 break-ins were the norm for Tremont, it would not be the successful neighborhood that it is. 

I'm sorry 3231, I'm not trying to be disagreeable, but neither do I think it's fair not to relate the knowledge I have when asked.  My ex and his roommate are both memebers of the tremont west development corporation, so they very much feel a part of Tremont, whether that area is "considered" different or not, I can't tell you. 

 

I do think that based on my friends' experiences, Tremont residents are actually a little hardier and willing to put up with more stuff like car break ins than perhaps people like me who live in the suburbs.  Perhaps their hardiness is what makes the neighborhood vibrant, maybe people have a "stick with it" mentality that others don't have.  I don't know how you define a successful neighborhood, but again, only basing my experience on what I've seen and experienced myself and that of my friends, what's really "successful" there are the bars and restaurants, which are as much filled with people from outside the Tremont area (as much as some people dislike them "visiting") as they are from local residents.  You're entitled to disagree with my opinion but it doesn't make it invalid.

I have a cat.

 

But yes, the area west of I-71 along Scranton all the way from Duck Island south to MetroHealth is considered Tremont, and some part of it are rougher than others.  However, if you are looking for the more walkable part of the neighborhood, I assume that one would look for the part of Tremont bordered by 490, 90, and the Cuyahoga.

 

Based on police brevity reports and conversations with Second District officers, there is relatively little violent crime in the neighborhood, and a below-average (for the city) level of car break-ins.  The latter can be taken care of (mostly) if you have a garage (which you should be able to get for the price you are mentioning).  Tremont has gotten a bad rap regarding crime generally, but that is not to dismiss RnR's concerns or the concerns of anybody who has been a victim.  Over my eight years in Tremont, I've had one house break-in (my bad: didn't lock the deadbolt) and one car break-in (nothing stolen, but a hassle to deal with the mess).

 

My female friends in the neighborhood tend to be comfortable walking around at night by themselves.  In fact, they tend to laugh when offered a walk or ride home.  They could be hardened, but then again, I've not heard of any of my folks being victimized in the neighborhood for a very long time.

 

There are part of Tremont that are less noisy; if you are a block from Professor, Starkweather, or Literary, you likely won't encounter any ruckus.  Tremont Place Lofts is fairly off the beaten pub path, although units right on W. 7th may get some car stereo noise in the summer.

 

I'm also available for messaging, if need be.

I just wanted to say thanks everyone for the opinions! I posted my question and then ran off on vacation, so it was great to come back and have all this info. I appreciate it! We're going out looking (probably the first of a few days of it) this weekend and I feel like I have some good info to go on.