I currently live in South Florida with my wife and 2 kids with one more on the way.  Me and my wife have been considering for about a year about relocating to somewhere that actually has the seasons that change.  We've been considering Georgia and Missouri as possibilities.  I suggested to her Ohio as a possibility as well.

 

We are both 29 years old and in South Florida every city is close to each other.  Used to being in an area where all places to drive to are within 10-25mins of each other from our home. 

 

We want to be in an area where the schools are great with race being diverse.  Locations of restaurants, outdoor activities, movies etc. are not that far away and possibly walking distance.  What cities should I be looking into?  We would prefer to move into a rental house with at least 3br/2baths for around $1100 or less.  Can anyone suggest a place to look at?  I get contradicting information on Cleveland and Cincinatti on the sites that I've been on and would like a little guidance. 

 

Thanks in advance for the help.

Sounds like Lakewood, Ohio.  Just rated one of the best places to raise a family.  Diverse, green spaces, plenty of restaurants, bars, and the lake.  I live here and love it.

I'd suggest Lakewood too, which is just W of downtown Cleveland.

Thanks for the info.  I will definitely take a look at Lakewood. 

Rentals are all over.  I would look anywhere north of Detroit, but the more west you go...the more south you can go.  West of Warren you could probably look anywhere.  Every along Franklin near the high school are really nice neighbrohoods.

I'm not familiar at all where the places you mentioned are located at?  Is there a main city I should be looking around?

Deebo, the PP was talking about areas within Lakewood.

Yeah, I read the original description and thought "Lakewood" too.  Detroit Ave is a main road in Lakewood; generally areas north of Detroit are a bit nicer and like BelievelandD1 said, the more west you go within the city, the more you can expand your search south of Detroit.

 

My wife is from South Florida, has lived here for 3.5 years now and would never move back...but it's always nice to have some family/friends to go visit in the winter!

My friend from Tampa just moved to Lakewood with his family.  Pretty much echoed what shs96 said. 

Deebo16, what do you do for a job, or your wife?  Have you explored the job markets in the cities you are looking into moving to?

Truthfully, Lakewood is an old city with a ton of charm and charisma.  The downtown area is built up real nicely with a combination of original and local eats and also some national popular choices.  I really wish they would have some modern living spaces in the downtown area above Detroit avenue.

I currently do Tech Support and I should have the possibility to work remotely, so not too concerned about working for myself.  My wife is unemployed at the moment, but does have a tax company during the season down here.

 

What prices do rentals in Lakewood go for?  Are the bedrooms a decent size in the older style houses?

Hi Deebo, welcome to UO!  I just wanted to point out the photo galleries on Urban Ohio's main page.  Here's a link to the Lakewood gallery:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/gallery/index.php?album=Northeast+Ohio%2FCleveland%2FSuburbs%2FLakewood

 

There are also lots of photo threads posted by Urban Ohio members in the "City Photos- Ohio" subforum.  Again, here are a few links:

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,15548.msg267869.html#msg267869

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,17240.msg322140.html#msg322140

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,20394.msg425351.html#msg425351

 

Good luck with your hunt!

Another Lakewoodite chiming in here....

 

If you're looking for rentals, most of what you'll find are doubles and duplexes. They look like single-family homes from the street, but in reality are two apartments (one downstairs, another upstairs). Some are triples or even quads. When you are hunting for places, your neighbors can make or break whether you love the neighborhood or hate it. This is important because, since the homes are so close in Lakewood, it is very difficult to keep secrets. So if you've got an a-hole for a neighbor, it won't take long to find this out but it could take a long time to remove yourself from the situation. So don't be afraid to find out from existing neighbors what the immediate area is like.

 

That being said, I love my building and, for the most part, my neighborhood. For 13 years, I've lived on Clifton, three blocks west of West 117th. When I walk to the store or restaurant down one of the sidestreets on a summer's evening and people are out on their front porches, I can hear a dozen different languages being spoken. Most are Eastern European (Albanian, Belarusian, Slavic and Hungarian is common), Middle Eastern (Lebanese and Pakistani mostly) and Hispanic (Puerto Rican and Mexican is most common here). I have become a true fan of Middle Eastern techno/dance music and of Russian singers.

 

If there is anything else you want to know about this area, just give me a shout sometime. I've also lived for 15 years on the east side of Cleveland near Chagrin Falls (do a search on pictures of that area, which will remind you of New England!). Another area where you can truly enjoy the region's change of seasons is the Peninsula area, between Cleveland and Akron in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. There are bike paths, downhill ski areas, cross-country skiing, sledding, historic settings, hiking paths and clubs, rock climbing, camping, boating and a scenic railroad. I think it's the only national park in Ohio.

I say research Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights and the Shaker Buckeye area of Cleveland.

• Gorgeous homes
  
• Fabulous city services (yeah taxes are high, but its a trade off)
  
• Great parks
  
• Racially diverse
  
• Great public transportation
  

The Hillcrest area is the premo area in Cleveland!