We might need to move from Columbus to the Cleveland area to be closer to my job (not in Cleveland, but in Northeast Ohio), and are looking for a nice neighborhood with good schools, as we have a son in kindergarten. Since we are city people, we would prefer to live in the city if possible, but as we are totally unfamiliar with Cleveland, we have no idea what the various neighborhoods and local schools are like. Here is what we are looking for:

 

- a walkable urban neighborhood, preferably not on the far east side (where I work is southwest of Cleveland).

- a neighborhood with public schools which have good ratings from the elementary through the high school levels

- a neighborhood with good community spirit & with many families with kids

- bonus: a neighborhood that has a farmer's market, is walking/biking/public transit distance from an indoor market, or is served by (a) CSA farm(s)

 

Basically what we are looking for is a neighborhood similar to Clintonville, the neighborhood in which we currently live in Columbus.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks!

We might need to move from Columbus to the Cleveland area to be closer to my job (not in Cleveland, but in Northeast Ohio), and are looking for a nice neighborhood with good schools, as we have a son in kindergarten. Since we are city people, we would prefer to live in the city if possible, but as we are totally unfamiliar with Cleveland, we have no idea what the various neighborhoods and local schools are like. Here is what we are looking for:

 

- a walkable urban neighborhood, preferably not on the far east side (where I work is southwest of Cleveland).

- a neighborhood with public schools which have good ratings from the elementary through the high school levels

- a neighborhood with good community spirit & with many families with kids

- bonus: a neighborhood that has a farmer's market, is walking/biking/public transit distance from an indoor market, or is served by (a) CSA farm(s)

 

Basically what we are looking for is a neighborhood similar to Clintonville, the neighborhood in which we currently live in Columbus.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Thanks!

Welcome

 

• Will you be working in Cuyahoga county?
  
• Where exactly is your job located?
  
• How old are you folks?
  
• What do you like to do for fun entertainment?
  
• What do you like to do as a family?
  
• What type of home are you looking for?
  
• I know you say you're city folks, but for clarity are you saying you want to live in the city as oppose to the 'burbs?
  

Based on what you wrote there are only three in city neighborhoods that definitely offer that.  Shaker Square, Tremont and Ohio City.  Detroit-Shoreway, University Circle/Little Italy/Murray Hill and AsiaTown might be areas to consider.

 

Cleveland schools are hit or miss based on where you live.  You could live in a neighborhood with good elementary schools but a sub-par junior high/middle school.  Or a sub-par bad middle school but a high school with decent to good ratings.

 

Others with definitely chime in.

There are some on here that live in the Ohio City neighborhood of Cleveland that can give you info on good schools that I think have a waiting list. 

 

Otherwise the neighborhood of West Park would be a good option (it is a neighborhood of Cleveland). 

Its pretty quite and safe and has a farmers market and is close to the great metroparks (emerald necklace).  Not a ton going on there but there are many Irish bars/restaurants.  A good location if you work south west of the city.

 

You might want to check out Lakewood as well.   

 

Otherwise I would have recommended the Shaker Square area or Cleveland Hts (the east side), but those are likely not the best location considering where you work.   

 

 

• Will you be working in Cuyahoga county?
  
• Where exactly is your job located?
  
• How old are you folks?
  
• What do you like to do for fun entertainment?
  
• What do you like to do as a family?
  
• What type of home are you looking for?
  
• I know you say you're city folks, but for clarity are you saying you want to live in the city as oppose to the 'burbs?
  

 

I will not be working in Cuyahoga county; my husband (hopefully) will be.  My job is located in Wooster.  I am 38; my husband is 41; our son is 5 (and currently in kindergarten).  Fun for us primarily revolves around our son right now; so, lots of outdoors stuff (camping, hiking, biking, swimming, etc.) and hanging out with our neighbors while our kids play.  Eventually we would like to do grown-up stuff as well (movies, theater, arts-related stuff).  We would like an older house, preferably one built between about 1900 and 1920, definitely with a porch, and preferably in a neighborhood with a fairly high population density (in our current neighborhood, the houses are about 15-20' apart; in our previous neighborhood, we lived in a rowhouse.).  When I say that we are city folks, I mean that I really hate modern suburbs where no houses have porches, where you have to drive 10 minutes to buy a gallon of milk, and where there is nothing but houses as far as the eye can see.  We are looking for the kind of neighborhood where there is a mix of housing and retail (not necessarily on the same street) so that we could walk or bike to pick up groceries, go to the hardware store, and frequent local stores and restaurants.  We would not necessarily have to be in Cleveland proper; an inner ring/older suburb would be ok.

There are some on here that live in the Ohio City neighborhood of Cleveland that can give you info on good schools that I think have a waiting list.

 

Could you tell me about these schools?  Are they public or private?  I have heard good things about Ohio City...

I'm thinking Lakewood, West Park nr. Warren Village,  or W.117th/Clifton/Edgewater are good bets.  Lots of porches, homes with character, neighborhood stores, easy access to 71 down either 117th to Bellaire or Warren Rd to 150th onramps.  Wooster is a hell of a commute though... you're doing that from Columbus now?

 

Are you looking to rent or buy?  Duplexes OK or single family only?  Lakewood has tons of up/down duplexes with porches/balconies...

 

 

and great single family homes:

 

 

 

Or you could go all out with a mansion if you've got $1.5 mil sitting around:

 

 

 

 

 

You may want to consider Akron...

 

Both Lakewood and Cleveland are better than an hour drive time and 55 and 62 miles respectively to Wooster (so says Mapquest, so I'm sure it's city center to city center with lack of a proper address)

 

Akron comes out as at 49 minutes (which seems a touch high to me, having made the drive more than a few times myself) and 35 miles. Also, commute times for your husband to Cuyahoga county would presumably be in the half hour range or so (depending how far north his job turns out to be...

 

A neighborhood like Highland Square might fit the bill. There's a ton of homes built between 1900 and 1920 - some well maintained, some not so much. It does have a real city neighborhood feel. There's a few dodgy areas, but I really like the area. Plenty of parks located fairly close by too.

 

I think you'd do well to consider it

Wooster is a hell of a commute though... you're doing that from Columbus now?

 

Are you looking to rent or buy? Duplexes OK or single family only?

 

Right now my commute to Wooster is almost 2 hours one way, so anything closer than that would be great.  As far as renting vs. owning goes, it all depends on how soon my husband finds a new job; he was just laid off due to the economic downturn.  We currently live in a duplex (though in Columbus they are side-by-side, not up-and-down), so either a duplex or a single family home would work for us.  There are only 3 of us, so we don't need that much space.

With your job being in Wooster, I'd recommend Medina.  It's an old county seat, so in addition to the sprawl it has become known for, there is a nice old town square area surrounded by streets of historic homes.  Cleveland suburbs and Akron suburbs are both in commuting distance.

Why not live in Wooster itself? It has fair proximity to both the center of Cleveland/Akron, Its a pretty nice place...historic square...older homes. I worked in sales that required me to travel every last corner of the N.E. part of the state...and Wooster is where I had to deal a lot. Also, maybe the Fairlawn area of Akron... Rt. 18 not far from Stan Hywett Hall...Or, if you want to be closer to the S.W. of Cleveland....  Maybe even Olmsted Falls.. Just depends on how much you're willing to commute a bit..  But if you're commuting from Columbus now...any suggestion on here is going to be much better.

If you're looking to live in Cleveland, I'd definitely second (or third or fourth, whatever we're at now ;)) the West Park neighborhood.  It's very family-oriented, right next to the Valley (Rocky River Reservation- an enormous metropark!) AND I-71 runs through the neighborhood (the exit is at W. 150th.)  The neighborhood public schools are decent (Riverside Elementary is a blue-ribbon school) and there are also multiple private school options.  Much of the housing stock was built in the 20s era, too.

Working in Wooster, I would restrict your search to the areas west of downtown.  Based on the info you provided, I would agree on West Park and Lakewood as good fits.... but, if you can afford it, I would definitely check out Rocky River.

West Park and Lakewood are decent suggestions, as is Medina. But you might also consider Berea as a place to live. Berea is a 19th century farming center that got swallowed up by the city. There are some farms nearby that are open to the public, including Cossel Farms in North Royalton and http://www.redwagonfarm.com/ plus farmers markets like S&R Market on Snow Road in neighboring Brook Park.

 

Berea has some great old housing stock and cute little downtown. And the presence of Baldwin-Wallace College gives the city a decidedly young, hip, urban feel. But the college's 100+ year old stone buildings gives central Berea the sense of a much older community. There are also lakes, metroparks, bike paths, county fairgrounds, Hopkins International Airport, IX Center, Southwest General Hospital, Strongsville Toboggan chutes, and good schools. Berea is near I-71 for a quick drive south to Wooster. It is easily accessible to downtown Cleveland via the Berea Freeway & I-71 or the RTA #86 bus to the Brookpark station (big park-n-ride lot too) on the Red Line rapid transit. Also on the Red Line is the West Side Market at the Ohio City station, or you can take it to the east side to University Circle, or connect to other rapid transit lines.

 

Here are some photos of Berea......

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=Berea,+Ohio,+photos&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=-9D3Ss-AAZbi8AbloOXzCQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBQQsAQwAA

 

This is downtown Berea, looking north up Front Street...

 

Coe Lake, immediately south of downtown....

Honestly, I would limit your search to Medina, or Wadsworth.  Both have a somewhat historic feel with some charm.  You can take 585 from Wadsworth, or Rt 3 from Medina.  Anything in Cuyahoga county is too far for Wooster, and you could definately plan on a 2 hour commute with traffice from the west side suburbs of Cuyahoga county.  The problem with Wooster is that it is a terrible town to commute to via interstate simply because there is not an interstate cutting through there.

I would also suggest Berea.  It has a bit of a college town feel with Baldwin-Wallace College located in the center of town.  Wallace Lake in the Metroparks is within walking distance of much of Berea and the downtown is charming.  The schools are good and you should be able to find housing fitting your tastes.

I have to travel a lot to Wooster from my job in Westlake (which is a westside community on the border of Cuyahoga County) and it takes me about 55 to 65 minutes from Westlake to that shopping area in Wooster. I would expect places such as West Park or Berea to range somewhere between 30 to 40 minutes into Wooster. You shouldn't worry about traffic either because you'll mostly be going against the commute into the city. By the way, the easiest way into Wooster from I-71 is to take it to Rt. 83 south which is mostly 55 all the way into Wooster. Hope that helps.

I find it funny that people are suggesting locations in Cuyahoga county for someone who is working in Wooster.  We constantly put people down for working downtown, and living way out in the suburbs.  Kind of a reverse sprawl reccomendation given to he poster.  Honestly, Medina, Seville, Wooster or Wadsworth is a logical solution, not anything in Cuyahoga County. 

 

Well the OP didn't ask for Wayne County neighborhoods, it says "Cleveland" in the title.  I personally love my 1.2 mile commute each day, but if someone wants to commute 60 miles, who am I to judge?

Well the OP didn't ask for Wayne County neighborhoods, it says "Cleveland" in the title. I personally love my 1.2 mile commute each day, but if someone wants to commute 60 miles, who am I to judge?

 

I listed Medina county neighborhoods to put them inbetween Wooster, and The Cleveland/Akron Markets.  I am very afraid that this person will hate living in Northeast Ohio with a 60 mile commute in the winter.

I find it funny that people are suggesting locations in Cuyahoga county for someone who is working in Wooster.  We constantly put people down for working downtown, and living way out in the suburbs.  Kind of a reverse sprawl reccomendation given to he poster.  Honestly, Medina, Seville, Wooster or Wadsworth is a logical solution, not anything in Cuyahoga County. 

 

Well given that the poster is "a city person, who would prefer to live in the city if possible" and specifically requested locations "near/in Cleveland with a walkable urban neighborhood similar to Clintonville", I find it funny that you would suggest most of the above.

 

As Boffo indicated it isnt that much of a stretch to have both here.  If sts about a 45 minute commute, I would think that it isnt that much of a stretch (again people there being spoiled by their easy and short commutes)  Sounds reasonable to me. 

• Will you be working in Cuyahoga county?
  
• Where exactly is your job located?
  
• How old are you folks?
  
• What do you like to do for fun entertainment?
  
• What do you like to do as a family?
  
• What type of home are you looking for?
  
• I know you say you're city folks, but for clarity are you saying you want to live in the city as oppose to the 'burbs?
  

 

I will not be working in Cuyahoga county; my husband (hopefully) will be.  My job is located in Wooster.  I am 38; my husband is 41; our son is 5 (and currently in kindergarten).  Fun for us primarily revolves around our son right now; so, lots of outdoors stuff (camping, hiking, biking, swimming, etc.) and hanging out with our neighbors while our kids play.  Eventually we would like to do grown-up stuff as well (movies, theater, arts-related stuff).  We would like an older house, preferably one built between about 1900 and 1920, definitely with a porch, and preferably in a neighborhood with a fairly high population density (in our current neighborhood, the houses are about 15-20' apart; in our previous neighborhood, we lived in a rowhouse.).  When I say that we are city folks, I mean that I really hate modern suburbs where no houses have porches, where you have to drive 10 minutes to buy a gallon of milk, and where there is nothing but houses as far as the eye can see.  We are looking for the kind of neighborhood where there is a mix of housing and retail (not necessarily on the same street) so that we could walk or bike to pick up groceries, go to the hardware store, and frequent local stores and restaurants.  We would not necessarily have to be in Cleveland proper; an inner ring/older suburb would be ok.

 

As far as Medina goes, every Saturday, the Amish set up over 50 stands on the square downtown and sell produce forme their farms.  Medina has a fairly young population with several new schools, young kids, and young parents.  Several blocks off of the square offer many older homes with lots of charm and character.  In addition to tat, there is new housing if you change your mind.  There is a local hardware store on the square, along with local restaurants that have been around for years.  Medina is along route 3, which is the same road that leads you into Wooster.  I think raising kids in Medina would be a great as it offers sevreal ammenities for kids, a new rec center, along with a new library that offers several learning programs for kids.  All in all, the way I look at Medina is a town that tries to sell itself omn the amenities that it offers young families with children. In addition, it is a relatively short commute to Wooster, along with a commutable distance to Cleveland and Akron.

I find it funny that people are suggesting locations in Cuyahoga county for someone who is working in Wooster. We constantly put people down for working downtown, and living way out in the suburbs. Kind of a reverse sprawl reccomendation given to he poster. Honestly, Medina, Seville, Wooster or Wadsworth is a logical solution, not anything in Cuyahoga County.

 

Well given that the poster is "a city person, who would prefer to live in the city if possible" and specifically requested locations "near/in Cleveland with a walkable urban neighborhood similar to Clintonville", I find it funny that you would suggest most of the above.

 

As Boffo indicated it isnt that much of a stretch to have both here. At a 30 to 45 minute commute, I would think that it isnt that much of a stretch (again people there being spoiled by their easy and short commutes) Sounds reasonable to me.

 

I don't care what anyone says, or what mapqest may say, Wooster is at least an hour if not more, from West Park or anywhere around West Park...JMHO.

Gee, and I felt I was pushing it when I suggested Berea, when the person making the inquiry specifically wanted to live in the city. But I thought Berea was a compromise worth considering. Usually when someone asks me for suggestions on where to live, I generally try to listen to their preferences. That's something you might consider doing too, gotribe.

Well whether its 45 minutes or an hour (which is still much less than my commute in DC)  I think people are responding to the types of areas that the poster requested (not sure why that is funny).  Im getting that they may take the tradoff of a 45 minute to hour commute (currently which is 2 hrs) to to be in an area like they requested as opposed to a small town in Wayne county.     

I don't see any problem with everyone presenting any good options they see for zhenni to look into, so why don't we all do that and let her decide which to investigate further instead of arguing about who's suggestions have merit?

I guess I have no concern where the person decides to live, but suggesting that a person live several miles, more than 60, away from where the work is contradicting anything that this forum is about.  With the standards that the OP put on the table to begin with, there are much more, in my opinion, logical suggestions before stating the Westside suburbs of Cleveland.  And like I said, I truely believe a commute from Westpark to Wooster is not much different than Columbus to Wooster.  And KJP, Come on man, I do listen to people.  I think it is something I did consider prior to my sugestions. 

Im guessing not since they stated that their current commute is nearly 2 hrs (Im sure you'll debate what their experience is though). 

I can see how you would think providing suggestions of urban places to live in or near Cleveland would seem contradictory on Urban Ohio though. :wtf: 

I find it funny that people are suggesting locations in Cuyahoga county for someone who is working in Wooster. We constantly put people down for working downtown, and living way out in the suburbs. Kind of a reverse sprawl reccomendation given to he poster. Honestly, Medina, Seville, Wooster or Wadsworth is a logical solution, not anything in Cuyahoga County.

 

I would personally love the kind of commute that I could do on foot or bike.  But, while I have a job in Wooster, it would be impossible for my husband to find a job there.  Since I am an academic and have to commute only 8 months out of the year, whereas my husband would be commuting virtually every day, it makes sense to me to find somewhere reasonably close to Wooster (and remember, "reasonable" to me at this point is anything closer than Columbus) to live so that he has much less of a commute...

I find it funny that people are suggesting locations in Cuyahoga county for someone who is working in Wooster. We constantly put people down for working downtown, and living way out in the suburbs. Kind of a reverse sprawl reccomendation given to he poster. Honestly, Medina, Seville, Wooster or Wadsworth is a logical solution, not anything in Cuyahoga County.

 

Well given that the poster is "a city person, who would prefer to live in the city if possible" and specifically requested locations "near/in Cleveland with a walkable urban neighborhood similar to Clintonville", I find it funny that you would suggest most of the above.

 

As Boffo indicated it isnt that much of a stretch to have both here. At a 30 to 45 minute commute, I would think that it isnt that much of a stretch (again people there being spoiled by their easy and short commutes) Sounds reasonable to me.

 

I don't care what anyone says, or what mapqest may say, Wooster is at least an hour if not more, from West Park or anywhere around West Park...JMHO.

 

Well, I can get from my house on Lakewood-Westpark border to Rt 18 and 71 in exactly 30 min, which is a little more that halfway there, so I'd say 50-60 min would be about right.  And there wouldn't be any traffic because of the reverse commute.  Zhenni, Lakewood or Westpark (specifically near Kamm's Corners) would match what you're looking for.  Lakewood has better schools, but Westpark would shave some time off your commute.