Hi there!

 

I'll be starting grad school at Case Western in August, and I'm so glad to have found this forum - I know nothing about the midwest, let alone Ohio/Cleveland! For the moment I'm trying to figure out where I should be looking to live and just trying to wrap my mind around what it's like to live in the midwest in general. I would love some pointers about neighborhoods and living in ohio.

 

Some context:

-I have lived on the west coast my entire life. I currently live in a large city in the pacific northwest. I am a single woman who will be living alone, with no pets. (though the option later on would be nice!)

-The main factors that are most important to me are: a safe neighborhood, quick/easy commute to Case, parking, and nearby services (grocery, coffee, bars, restaurants, etc.)

-Some extras that would be great: indoor parking, in building laundry, a deck/balcony, maybe a den/extra room.

-I'm not sure how much in loans I'm going to receive just yet, but I'm willing to spend a little more to ensure a decent quality of life, cut down on unnecessary stress, etc. I'm guessing the high end of my range would be $700-750. Also, I'm willing to extend my commute a little bit to get more for my money...around a 20 minute drive would probably be the limit.

 

Some questions:

-I've heard from some locals that public transit is rarely utilized, and can be unsafe. How true do you consider this?

-Looking at apartment listings, I've noticed some features advertised that I'm not familiar with at all. For example, storm windows. What do they do, and why are they important?

-It seems like a lot of the rentals are done through major realty companies. Are there any ones that are especially good and/or good to avoid?

-So far the neighborhoods I've been pointed to are the 'heights' surrounding university circle: shaker heights, university heights, cleveland heights, etc. Any words about the distinct characteristics/personality of these neighborhoods?

-For those of you who left milder climates, is there anything I should know about? I've heard the winter can be kind of insane.

-Honestly, I'm a little apprehensive about picking up and moving to an entirely new region. If any of the long-distance transplants could share their experiences, and what they love about cleveland, that would be really helpful!

 

Thanks so much in advance, everyone! I know some of these questions are probably ridiculous...but I'm a planner and there's a lot to plan for with this upcoming move! :)

Welcome,

 

:wave: :wave:

 

To answer a few of your question, where exactly are you moving from?  Portland?  Seattle?

 

the more information you give us the better we can help you?  ;)

 

There are quite a few Case Students here on the board that can give you first hand information.  You'll love the area, it's gorgeous.

 

 

---

 

Some questions:

-I've heard from some locals that public transit is rarely utilized, and can be unsafe. How true do you consider this?

-Looking at apartment listings, I've noticed some features advertised that I'm not familiar with at all. For example, storm windows. What do they do, and why are they important?

-It seems like a lot of the rentals are done through major realty companies. Are there any ones that are especially good and/or good to avoid?

-So far the neighborhoods I've been pointed to are the 'heights' surrounding university circle: shaker heights, university heights, Cleveland heights, etc. Any words about the distinct characteristics/personality of these neighborhoods?

-For those of you who left milder climates, is there anything I should know about? I've heard the winter can be kind of insane.

-Honestly, I'm a little apprehensive about picking up and moving to an entirely new region. If any of the long-distance transplants could share their experiences, and what they love about Cleveland, that would be really helpful!

 

Thanks so much in advance, everyone! I know some of these questions are probably ridiculous...but I'm a planner and there's a lot to plan for with this upcoming move! :)

 

• Public Transportation.  Ignore those idiots.  A brand new BRT route was built on our main street (Euclid) and it's heavily utilized.  The area has several bus routes and two train stations.  If you google "university circle Cleveland, ohio" and zoom in you'll see the amount of buses that run through the area
  
• Storm windows are a second set of windows on the outside of the house that help with insulation during the winter/bad weather.
  
• Rental units.  There is a list here.  If you look at the Cleveland relocation information or search "case western" or "Cleveland clinic" it should appear in one of those threads
  
• Shaker Height and Cleveland Heights are suburbs on the border of Cleveland.  Very nice garden suburbs with apartments and homes that range from middle class four square to huge mansions.  Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights are practically the same.  University Heights is a smaller suburb that is more middle class.  If you look in our photo threads you'll see photo tours of these cities.
  
• If you're looking for an apartment I would look in University Circle proper, Little Italy/Murray Hill, Cleveland Heights, Shaker Square and Shaker Heights.  Each of those neighborhoods has all the wants needs you list.
  

I would also definitely suggest the Edgewater Park area of Cleveland or Lakewood as well...both urban, safe, and walkable neighborhoods...very close to the waterfront, and not that far from Case.

Hi and welcome!  Some answers below, from one of UO's few female members (for what that's worth).  I also lived on the W coast for awhile (SoCal) so hopefully my comments are helpful.  I'll start out by saying that the E and W side are pretty divided and I have never lived on the E side.  However, I worked at Case for a number of years, my Mom just retired there after 20 years and my Mom lived on the E side briefly so I'm familiar with the area, though not as familiar with particular housing units and such as people who live over there.  Now, some comments, see the asterisks**

 

-I've heard from some locals that public transit is rarely utilized, and can be unsafe. How true do you consider this?**Ignore them, that is ignorant and stupid.  We are still a very car-dependent area in a lot of ways, but if your schedule works and you live close to the bus and/or rail lines that make up our public trans system and have a predictable schedule, it's 100% possible to use public trans to get to and from a lot of places.  Generally speaking, the highest frequency is during the weekdays and during rush hour.  If you're trying to get from point A to point B after 7pm or on weekends, it can be more difficult. But I have been using public trans to get to and from work downtown and to basically all of the western suburbs/western parts of Cleveland for almost 20 years.  The only time I drive to work is when I have a doctor's appointment or if I know I'm going to be working particularly late.  I have a bit of a complicated medical history and have had a lot of medical appointments and treatments at both University Hospitals (shares real estate with Case) and the Cleveland Clinic, which are both "east side" and almost always take public trans to and from appointments.  As MTS said, the new HealthLine is one of our recent, great improvements and maybe you can utilize that.

 

-Looking at apartment listings, I've noticed some features advertised that I'm not familiar with at all. For example, storm windows. What do they do, and why are they important?  **"Storm" windows means there is a solid window that slides shut over the screen in addition to the fixed window itself; when it's warm and you open the window from the inside, you keep the storm window slid back and just have the screen. When it's cold, the storm window provides an extra layer of insulation; this is supposed to help keep the heat inside better than if there were just a screen.  The main reason someone would advertise this is if you have to pay for heat in the apartment, as if they were good storm windows, you might be paying less for heat than in an apartment without them, which could be more drafty/cold by the window.

 

-It seems like a lot of the rentals are done through major realty companies. Are there any ones that are especially good and/or good to avoid?  **I can't speak to particular companies on the E side, the ones I have experience with only have properties on the W side, sorry.  Many rentals are actually only advertised with a sign in the yard, that's why finding them can be tough if you are stuck with online searching only.

 

-So far the neighborhoods I've been pointed to are the 'heights' surrounding university circle: shaker heights, university heights, cleveland heights, etc. Any words about the distinct characteristics/personality of these neighborhoods?

-For those of you who left milder climates, is there anything I should know about? I've heard the winter can be kind of insane.**If you want a dedicated parking space, I would almost completely eliminate all of Cleveland Heights.  There are a lot of students but the vast, vast majority of the units rely on street parking.  Don't let anyone tell you that finding a spot on the street is "never a problem" because it IS.  I lived in a western suburb similar to Cleveland Hts for several years and in the apartments I had that didn't have a parking lot or parking structure/garage, where you were forced to find spots on the street, it was a NIGHTMARE.  There are particular hours and days you can park, you can't park on this side at one time, you can't park on the other side on opposite Tuesdays, there are street cleaning days, snow ban days when they can tow your car even though there's nowhere to move it to, etc.  Honestly, anyone that doesn't have a lot or a structure, I urge you to look elsewhere.  I *personally* find parts of Shaker Hts not great and some other parts are just fine.  I would beware of anything that looks like a really good financial deal in shaker - if it's really inexpensive, there is probably a reason.  My Mom lived in Shaker when she lived on the E side and there were a lot of car break-ins and things like that in and around her building.  But it depends on where you live, some areas are great. I will let the E side people give you more of their opinion on which of those areas to live in.

 

-Honestly, I'm a little apprehensive about picking up and moving to an entirely new region. If any of the long-distance transplants could share their experiences, and what they love about cleveland, that would be really helpful!

**One of the best tips I can give you that you will have PLENTY of time to prepare for is that our winters can be very bad if you're not used to a very bad winter.  Not just very cold, but lots and lots of snow and ice and very, very gray days for months upon end.  The #1 thing you can do to make winter better is to outfit yourself really well for the weather.  I over-bundle myself up compared to a lot of my friends but you see them hunched over in the wind and freezing their butts off in their fashionable coats while I am toasty and warm.  We had some really cold stretches this past winter and I can tell you I am the ONLY person at the location where I pick up my train each day that waited OUTSIDE for the train every single day instead of in the building, and I was never uncomfortable, neither too cold nor too warm.  My main weapon of choice is a long, down coat from Land's End.  They don't seem to have the exact coat on their site right now since it's not in season, but I believe it's the chalet coat, you can see it on this site:  http://www.thisnext.com/item/15B82CA7/744C6747/Lands-End-Down-Coat.  I encourage you to get one of these as soon as coats come out in their catalogs.  Also, do not buy a dressy, pretty looking hat/scarf/gloves set from Target or Macy's, you need something real that will actually keep you warm.  I have a very warm fleece bucket hat I got at Eddie Bauer that will NOT blow off my head, see Fleece Bucket Hat on this page: http://www.thefind.com/apparel/info-fleece-bucket-hat.  The scarves I wear are very warm and all wool - my sister knitted me one of the scarves I wear, and another one I got at a craft fair.  I also have very warm boots with "Thinsulate" lining and a fleece interior that keep my feet not only dry but very warm.  I don't look like a model going out but I can tell you I am WARM.  When I put my hat on and then pull my hood up over my hat, no weather can bother me.

 

Outside of being out IN the weather, for example, during a commute or while running errands, it is otherwise largely manageable.  Our traffic gets worse in the winter because there are a lot of accidents but it's still nowhere near as bad as most major cities on a good day.  Main roads and highways are kept clear the vast, vast majority of the time - how well the side roads are kept clear depends on the city you're living in. Where I live, they take crap care of the side roads and when you drive 50 feet into the next 'burb over, where they pay a lot more in taxes, the roads are always much better, so it depends.

 

I would encourage you to find a place that includes free heat if at all possible; there are many such places and people who come from W to E use the heat a lot more than those of us who have been here awhile and are more used to it.

 

Now, with the bad (weather) out of the way, I will say that we have a lot of great, great things here in Cleveland.  We have a ton of great, small, independent theaters that consistently put out interesting and good work, as well as the big "touring" companies that bring in the big musicals and such to downtown theaters.  We have a real "foodie" food scene that rivals anywhere else in America if you ask me.  While there are a few ethnicities that are only sparsely represented if at all, we hit the vast majority of the rest of them and there are tons of great choices, from Turkish to authentic Chinese to Korean to Italian, Middle Eastern, you name it.  We have a lot of immigrants in Cleveland and our food scene thrives and is getting better all the time.  Downtown and the E side are where the bulk of our best restaurants are so you will not lack for dining choices, and you will likely be shocked at how affordable it is to eat out here compared to other, larger cities.  The cost of living here is much lower than many other places; you will see your grocery bill be less, the cost of registering your car will be less, etc.  If you are into sports, which I am not, we have a thriving, dedicated group of sports fans that follow all our local teams and many social outings are planned around attending sporting events.  That aside, we have a wonderful parks system (the Cleveland Metroparks) which offers endless options for walking, trail hiking, biking, bird watching, you can even find places to rent horses and trot them around in the parks system.

 

We have access to top healthcare here by virtue of the Cleveland Clinic, university hospitals and metro health medical center.  You will never have to be stuck with some crappy doctor you don't like because there isn't anyone else around.  This has been pretty valuable to me given my health history.

 

Our Cleveland Orchestra is known around the world for being one of the top orchestras in the nation.  In the summers, their home is a beautiful outdoor "shed" venue called Blossom Music Center which is about 45 minutes away from Cleveland near Akron.  Packing a picnic basket and going to sit on the lawn and listen to them play is divine and extremely affordable.

 

We also have a lot of cultural activities and ethnic festivals, and are still close enough to "farm country" that we have thriving and fun county fairs if you are interested in that type of thing.  In smaller, rural towns, the 4H is still a very big deal and children raise animals for judging for prizes and for sale.

(http://4-h.org/ in case you don't know what that is)  Others make crafts or food to be entered into judging contests and each county has their own unique twist on entertainment for their fair, from demolition derby to tractor pulls to country music entertainers.  We travel to several different counties to attend their fairs during the summer, and hit a lot of ethnic festivals, including all the Greek festivals (I'm of Greek heritage) as well as the Italian festival (Feast of the Assumption), the Romanian festival and an Irish festival.  I would encourage you to sign up for AAA the Ohio Automobile Association; in addition to towing/emergency vehicle services, they put out newsletters about what's going on during the coming month including a list of festivals and fairs across the state, all year long.

 

Lastly I will say that Cleveland is a lot like a really good thrift shop.  Things are cheaper than at a high-end store, and if you are patient and know who to ask as to which store is the good one to shop at, you can find a lot of bargains and wonderful surprises that you wouldn't expect; under that stack of old purses may be a beautiful vintage sweater in perfect condition that you get for a quarter - that's how Cleveland is.  You just have to know where to look.  You can find or do just about anything you want here. If you want high end dining with an impeccable wine list, you can have it.  If you want to visit a great brewery with great food, you can have that.  If you want to go clubbing and mix with a lot of younger people, you can find that.  If you want a more "family" centered life with barbeques and backyard pool parties, you can find that too. 

 

Let us know how else we can help you!

I don't really have much to contribute other than to say welcome to the forum, and enjoy Cleveland. It's a great city with lots of stuff to do all year round.

Go R&R!  Good answering.  For now I'll only add that I lived in Seattle for 3 years, so if you live there, you can list a few neighborhoods there that you would like to live in, and I could point you towards a few that are similar in Cleveland.  If you live in Portland, well, I can try, but I don't know it nearly as well.

I would encourage you to find a place that includes free heat if at all possible; there are many such places and people who come from W to E use the heat a lot more than those of us who have been here awhile and are more used to it.

 

Best advice of ALL! 

Check out the Cedar Fairmount area of Cleveland Heights.  It is within easy walking distance to Case's campus.  The main streets with apartments are Cedar, Surrey, Lennox, and Derbyshire.  Older, block style apartments.  Starbuck's and a grocery store within 2 minute walk.   

 

Little Italy is as safe as you can get and it too is in walking distance of Case.  It is also on the new bus line and has good Rapid access.  Downside is that a lot of the rentals are older.  The landlords know they can get a good buck from Case kids because of the location.  There are great restaurants and coffee shops and it is rated as one of the 10 best Little Italy's in America. 

 

There are also apartments at Euclid and Mayfield that are in a great location.  Check out universitycircle.org

 

Coventy is an area in Cle Hts that is very close to Case (maybe a 5 min drive).  It is a little more collegey, however, and if you do not like to be disturbed on your Friday and Saturday nights, maybe check out somewhere else. 

 

Euclid Hts Blvd has very nice apartments and is pretty much in between Cedar Fairmount, Coventry, and Little Italy.

 

I do not know Shaker Square, but have only heard good things about it. 

 

I do not want to irritate anyone, but I would not recommend University Hts.  It is not young and is more suited for families.  Also, it is a tweener bw urban and suburban. 

 

Also, regarding price, I think $650 will be the lowest you will find.

 

**I should note that I did not list downtown, Tremont, or the west side.  I did not list downtown bc of your price range. 

 

Best of luck in your hunt.  If you have any questions, ask here, as I guarantee someone will know the answer.

Holy crap! You guys are AMAZING. Thanks so much for your thoughtful replies, each of you! To respond to what was discussed:

 

-I'm in Seattle currently. Neighborhoods that are my speed are along the lines of Capitol Hill, Ballard, Wallingford, & Fremont.

-Ethnic and cultural diversity is super important! I'm ethnically Russian, and also really enjoy any sort of international foods.

-Looking at rental postings, one of my concerns was the 'cheap but not safe' factor. I'll be making a trip out in July to find a place, so I guess the best thing to do is just see it for myself! It's also good to know that the majority of rentals aren't posted online. I'll be sure to drive around and look for signs!

-Rockandroller, thanks for so much information! Coming from the northwest, the gray definitely won't bother me. But I'll be sure to get some proper cold weather attire.

-I will definitely look at the photo tours. Whoever thought of that idea is a genius, and I am very appreciative!

 

Here's another probably ridiculous question - having visited the area once (for admission interviews), I couldn't get over just how flat it is. What's with that? I can see that being a legitimate adjustment issue. Where do you guys get in touch with nature without mountains? Actually, I guess that's not even a question, just more of a...wtf...  :laugh:

Mountainous terrain you will not find.  However, there are tons of parks, the lake, and a host of other nature-type things.

Palijandro, that reminds me - I've heard that the Cuyahoga river (I think that's spelled correctly) has had major pollution issues in the past. That feeds into the lake, yes? What's the story now, are the beaches swimable? Is that a common activity?

I am not an expert on this, but I know there are still pollution issues.  However, when the Cuyahoga caught on fire, that was in 1967, so things have been greatly cleaned up since then.  If you want good lake access, your best bet is the westside, as Edgewater Park is the most used beach (however, once again, I think it gets shut down at times bc of pollution). 

 

Boating is much more popular than swimming.

Welcome!  :wave:  I'm a third year (female) grad student at Case (and I also went to Case for undergrad).  I've lived on campus and in Shaker Heights, and I currently live downtown.  People have covered your questions pretty well, so I don't have too much more to add other than I've had a Case parking permit for the past three years, and now that I live within a "one seat trip" (no transfers) from my house to Case, I'm ditching my parking permit to take the bus.  If you see a place you like in July around the eastside, chances are I can dig up some dirt on the landlord for you :-D.

We have a pretty big Russian Orthodox community, there are quite a few Russian Orth churches if you're interested, our most famous one being the "Deer Hunter church" as locals refer to it, where some exteriors to the famous movie of the same name were shot: http://cleveland.about.com/od/architectureandbuildings/ss/tremontchurches_10.htm

 

AFAIK though, there are no Russian restaurants, though we have good representation of some other close-by cuisines like Hungarian, Polish, etc.

"Here's another probably ridiculous question - having visited the area once (for admission interviews), I couldn't get over just how flat it is. What's with that? I can see that being a legitimate adjustment issue. Where do you guys get in touch with nature without mountains?"

 

I will tell you that "nature" is a completely different thing in this part of the country than it is in any mountainous area.  If you'll allow a broad description, nature here is generally better appreciated on a closer, more intimate level than in a sweeping grandeur kind of level like places with mountains.  So instead of mountain climbing, you trail hike and what's most interesting is learning about the different foliage, seeing the variety of birds, butterflies, animals, etc that we have.  Now as you travel about the state there are definitely a variety of great things to see that are unique.  Canoeing (central ohio has some great locations - Loudonville for example) can be a great way to experience nature.  The caverns at Hocking Hills in southern ohio, for example, or a weekend trip to Niagara Falls.  We also have a thriving Sierra Club chapter and they schedule a lot of hikes and outdoor events, you might want to join up and see what they have planned.  Nature itself here doesn't present her challenges to us in the form of hills and mountains, she presents it in weather.  So you grow up learning that unless it's lightning and thunder, if it's warm enough, your pool will probably be open even if it's raining in the summer because if they closed every time it rained, they'd hardly be open at all.  And our farming resources and agriculture industry are still very big; you can get back in touch with nature by visiting a place like Malabar Farm where they allow volunteers to help out with different activities, for example.  Malabar Farm is near Loudonville, about an hour away from Cleveland and is a working farm - it was the childhood home of author Louis Bromfield and the house on the property is where Bogey and Bacall got married so it's worth a trip to see their whole complex.  We go to look at things IN nature instead of just nature itself a lot, if that makes sense.  Like the buzzards coming home to roost in Hinckley, or going to watch maple sap being gathered out of trees.

"If you'll allow a broad description, nature here is generally better appreciated on a closer, more intimate level than in a sweeping grandeur kind of level like places with mountains."

 

That is one of those "I've never thought of it that way" quotes.  Superb.

Palijandro, that reminds me - I've heard that the Cuyahoga river (I think that's spelled correctly) has had major pollution issues in the past. That feeds into the lake, yes? What's the story now, are the beaches swimable? Is that a common activity?

 

Like any populated body of water, there is some level of pollution, but it is nothing like in the past.  The silver lining in the decline of Cleveland's heavy industry has been greatly improved water and air quality.  As far as swimming in the lake goes, there are several beaches in the area, and they tend to be quite popular, especially on hot days.  I would only have reservations about going in the water after heavy rain, which causes storm sewer overflows.  If you're not sure, you can check the water quality advisories. 

 

That said, welcome to Cleveland!  :wave:  I hope you enjoy living here!

Capitol Hill reminds me a lot of Cleveland Heights.  The big difference would be no "Pike/Pine" like area and that "Broadway" is cut up into a number of smaller neighborhood centers- Coventy, Cedar-Fairmount, Cedar-Lee, a few smaller ones.  It'd be a bit quieter in terms of streetlife, too, though Coventry has a fairly busy street scene.  Exact amenities would vary depending on which you are closest to.  All have cafes, restaurants and bars.  Coventry and Cedar Fairmount have grocers.  Cedar-Lee has a drugstore and an independent theater.  Cain Park is a great neighborhood park with an amphitheater that is well used for concerts.

 

Fremont reminds me of, well, Tremont.  And not just because they have similar names.  They are both "artists and the yuppies who love them" type neighborhoods with lots of galleries and cafes.  Tremont also has great restaurants and some nice neighborhood taverns/pubs.  A few new bookstores and vinyl shops as well.  No troll, but I'd bet someone has a statue of Lenin hidden somewhere. Nearby Ohio City (similar housing, less artsy, and also worth considering) has the nearest grocery, plus the Westside Market, which has any fresh food you could want. 

 

Tremont is directly south of Downtown, west of the Cuyahoga, and would be within 20 minutes to Case.  Most likely you'd want to stay east of 71 and north of 490.  It can get a little rough around the edges outside of that.  Ohio City is SW of Downtown, and would also keep you under 20 minutes to Case

 

Wallingford's commercial strip along N 45th reminds me of Larchmere, but with more traffic.  Larchmere is located just NW of Shaker Square, within walking distance.  It has some nice local restaurants and taverns, and Shaker Square has more of those, plus a grocery and drug store.  Shaker Square will actually have more of your rental options-Larchmere is mostly surrounded by single and double houses.  Shaker Square also has a small neighborhood theater.  Shaker Lakes are nearby for jogging/biking/etc.

 

Nothing's popping into mind that reminds me of Ballard, meaning mostly the little downtown area.  The small area of worker's cottages to the south of the neighborhood is like countless areas of Cleveland, though.  And the more modern housing to the north is like countless areas of Cleveland's suburbs and a few of it's outer neighborhoods.

 

Lakewood, Little Italy, and University Circle itself could be good options, as well.

AFAIK though, there are no Russian restaurants, though we have good representation of some other close-by cuisines like Hungarian, Polish, etc.

 

www.restauranteuropacleveland.com (absolutely lame website - menu link is at the top right)

 

Russian deli/specialty shop:  Yeleseyevsky Deli at 5870 Mayfield Rd in Mayland Plaza

I'd bet there are some Russian restaurants in or around Mayfield Heights.  They saw a large influx of Russian immigration in the 90's, though I think it has slowed since.

I did see an article on msn.com a couple of days ago that listed the Cuyahoga River as the #1 environmental recovery in the US.  I think there are something like 45 species of fish swimming in the river today whereas there were 0 in the 60's.  Anyway, I'm trying to say people do swim in the lake and a couple of the beaches can be dirty but that is usually because of the idiots who leave all their crap there (at least from the limited times I've been there).

 

I also must say that Great Lakes Brewery (Ohio City) is a fantastic asset to Cleveland.  However, I am a guy who loves dark beer so keep that in mind.

Being from Oregon I'm adding the bipolar weather. How does the saying go? "If you don't like the weather in Cleveland wait ten minutes." Its seldom the I-don't-need-an-umbrella drizzle you're used to, rather 20 minute bursts of rain that fills the quota for a fortnight.

 

Remember how snow used to be that pretty stuff you would see in the montains, far far away from you (for the most part)? Imagine you now live on mt. Mckinley.

 

But seriously Cleveland is fantastic on so many levels.

 

Metroparks brings all the beauty of nature to the city.

The west side market is better than pike's place; it's less touristy.

A wide variety of killer independent restaurants representing a lot of cultures (my complaint about portland: 99% of restaurants were Irish pubs, Japanese, or Latino themed)

You're half a day's car drive (or train!) away from Chicago, NYC, DC, and dozens of other large metropolitan areas.

(For the most part) wonderful people, who for some reason have a collective self inferority complex. Not everyone subscribes to the "mistake on the lake" mindset, but you will run into some.

And THE BEST PART: purchasing power. If you make 50k a year here, your standard of living will resemble that of someone making 100k a year in NYC.

 

 

 

A lot of good advice given here, especially with R&R's comprehensive Travel Guide. :)  She gave you a lot of good info, but I just wanted to amend one item.  There are many apartments in Cleveland Heights and around Shaker Square that offer a dedicated parking spot.  I just didn't want you to be scared off from including Cleveland Heights in your search because you would be counting out a very large number of really nice places to live close to Case.  Good luck at Case and welcome to Cleveland! :)

Sorry for going on and on like that :)  I agree with jam40jeff - don't completely discount any particular area in your search including Cle Hts and Shaker, just be sure not to bother looking at a place if they don't have a parking lot/garage.

 

buckeye - thx for the tip about the place in pepper pike, have you ever been there? Is it good food?  I'm going to ask my lithuanian friend if he's ever been there.

Haha, no R&R I meant that in a good way, I thought you covered a lot of great things an outsider would want to know about Cleveland.  Anyways one more point I wanted to bring up about Cleveland Heights is that nearly the entire city (if not the entire city) does not allow overnight parking on the street.  This has caused many more apartment buildings to find a way to offer dedicated parking (either through an adjacent lot or garage).  There may be a few that do not have parking, so you will want to ask, especially if that is critical to your needs, but the majority of apartments should offer you a spot (although some may charge a monthly fee).

Hi Piroshki, With a name like that, you will fit right in here in Cleveland. There is a strong Eastern European (mainly west side) and Russian (mainly east side) presence in Cleveland. I am corresponding with a Belarusian woman so I am learning a lot about our ethnic community here from here (even though she's 5,000 miles away) than I did from many of my neighbors.

 

Anyway....

 

A photo collection that might be helpful to you in learning about the area is a three-part rail tour of Cleveland which includes the CWRU area (namely University Circle and Little Italy) as well as Shaker Square and Shaker Heights, and downtown. Parts 1 and 2 might of most help to you:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,16259.0.html

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,16260.0.html

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,16261.0.html

 

I worked as a reporter in Cleveland for 15 years until last month and am familiar with the nooks and crannies of the city as well as much of the countryside. I think you will find the Cuyahoga Valley National Park a remarkable natural and historical asset, as well as our terrific network of Metroparks which surround the entire city (called the Emerald Necklace).

 

Feel free to send me a personal message through this site by clicking on "KJP" on the left side of this message.

I am corresponding with a Belarusian woman

 

Oh really ;)

Ok so this may sound like pure self promotion, and it is a bit, but you were asking about ways to experiance nature in the area.  I'm a member of the Fagowees Ski Club, and while skiing is our main thing in the winter we do a lot of differenct activities during the summer.  Such as pack trips, whitewater rafting, Biking - We have weekly rides on the east and west sides.  Also do Peddle to the Point, which is a bike ride from cleveland to Cedar Point in Sandusky.  Check out our web site www.fagowees.org, obviously more info there.  Also, look into other clubs there are more than you think.

I am corresponding with a Belarusian woman

 

Oh really ;)

 

FLIRT!

I disagree that in Cleveland Heights the vast majority rely on on-street parking.  In fact, most streets in Cleveland Heights do not allow overnight on-street parking.  I highly recommend Lennox Road in the Cedar-Fairmount neighborhood of Cleveland Heights.  I have a one bedroom and my rent is $625 per month including heat.  This is huge as heat bills can be quite expensive in the winter.  I also pay $30 a month to the City for parking in a city owned lot.  There are not assigned spaces but it is a large lot and never a problem to find a spot.  Also, you are just a stones throw from Case's campus and the neighborhood includes a Starbucks, grocery store, restaurants, and banks.

thanks corysnyder.  As I said, I'm not as familiar with the particular units in Cle Hts as people who live over there. I have known about 30 people who lived in CH at various times and only one person had a dedicated parking spot at his building, so I have the impression it's the majority of places but honestly my experience is limited to those people I've known who lived in CH.

I disagree that in Cleveland Heights the vast majority rely on on-street parking.  In fact, most streets in Cleveland Heights do not allow overnight on-street parking.  I highly recommend Lennox Road in the Cedar-Fairmount neighborhood of Cleveland Heights.  I have a one bedroom and my rent is $625 per month including heat.  This is huge as heat bills can be quite expensive in the winter.  I also pay $30 a month to the City for parking in a city owned lot.  There are not assigned spaces but it is a large lot and never a problem to find a spot.  Also, you are just a stones throw from Case's campus and the neighborhood includes a Starbucks, grocery store, restaurants, and banks.

 

$625 w/ heat!!  You lucky dog. 

 

Anyways, there are only two streets in ALL of Cle Hts that allow on-street parking overnight, the strip of Derbyshire bw Norfolk and Surrey, and .... not sure the other.  Every couple I know only has 1 dedicated spot that comes with an apartment.

As far as beaches go, I swim at Huntington all the time in the summer.  It is a decent drive from Case, its in Bay Village, but IMO its very clean and usually full of people.

Another new thread with lots of pictures showing CWRU and environs......

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,19024.msg389564.html#msg389564

My favorite beach is Mentor Headlands.  It is about 30 miles east of downtown Cleveland.  This is a mile long sandy beach that looks like a beach from the Florida Panhandle.  The water is clean and the sand is beautiful.

 

For a complete listing of Ohio beaches you can go to:

 

http://cleveland.about.com/od/clevelandareaparks/tp/beaches.htm

buckeye - thx for the tip about the place in pepper pike, have you ever been there? Is it good food?  I'm going to ask my lithuanian friend if he's ever been there.

 

Not the greatest place...

 

http://www.clevelandmagazine.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=E73ABD6180B44874871A91F6BA5C249C&nm=Arts+%26+Entertainment&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=1578600D80804596A222593669321019&tier=4&id=5B2D7CC22DC749109901B11F572F0520

I'd bet there are some Russian restaurants in or around Mayfield Heights.  They saw a large influx of Russian immigration in the 90's, though I think it has slowed since.

 

you got it! the jewish russian ex-pat migration of the 90's. it was big in cleveland, but its over now -- it dropped off in ny too at the same time. not sure but i think a lot of those folks were suburban more than in clev proper.

 

anyway good news. i think i found some restaurants, if they are still around -- this first place is azerbaijani:

 

Antalya Red Square

5131 Mayfield Rd.,

Lyndhurst, OH 44124

(440) 461-0818‎

arscafe.com

 

http://www.yelp.com/biz/antalya-red-square-lyndhurst

 

^ i hope thats not the same old anatolia chain folks is it? why am i thinking that?

 

Jubilee / Юбилейный

1341 Som Center Rd

Cleveland, OH 44124   

Phone: (440) 442-7665

 

Russian Tea Room

5100 Mayfield Rd

Cleveland, OH 44124   

Phone: (440) 461-8115

 

^is this still open? wasn't this one once the russia house?

 

Yakov's

13969 Cedar Rd.

Cleveland, OH 44118   

Phone: (216) 932-8848

 

 

anyway there may be more --- don't forget the churches too. regardless, i think overall she will love the general heavy slavic bent of cleveland. and i bet she will love that pierogies are served all over the place from pubs to gourmet (ie., symon's beef cheek pierogies at lola). heh!