I'm interviewing for a job in Cleveland and was wondering about some advice on moving there. I've already read some of the posts and looked at the relocation guide here on the forums and other sites.

 

I'd like to move somewhere where there'd be younger people (I'm 26 and would be moving there on my own.) and generally stuff to do. I also don't have a car so I'd have to rely on the train (which I also read about). I'm in DC now and have also lived in Philadelphia (so I'm familiar with and really like cities.)

 

And...how cold is it really? >_>

 

Thanks!

 

Welcome to the forum (and possibly Cleveland!). Could you give us a little more information about the following:

 

1. Your budget (guesstimate) for monthly rent.

2. Approximate location of your future employer - no need to disclose the company name but if we know the general vicinity, that would help.

 

As far as cold - I'm a freezebaby (aka, if it's lower than 30F, I put on the thermals!) but it hasn't been too bad this winter. The biggest hurdle is to dress for the weather, and pay attention to forecasts.

Downtown and east of downtown have worse winters than west and SW of downtown due to the position of the lake.  The further east you go (closer to the Lake), the worse the winter.  It can be lightly snowing downtown, while there is no snow in Lakewood, the first suburb W of downtown, and a blizzard in Lake County, way east of downtown. 

 

RTA runs the trains and buses, both of which you'll need to rely on, as the trains go limited places. 

 

Where will your job be, is the most important question. Then we can recommend some specific places for you.

 

Sorry! Um, I'm not sure about the budget yet but I'd say probably a thousand a month? I pay 1200 now for my dinky apartment :'D

 

Let me see...by the Lake, in the area of the Stadium, so Google maps tells me.

 

I could very likely get a car after moving, I suppose. But not right away, so the carlessness still stands.

I'd recommend Ohio City neighborhood.  There are a lot of shops, restaurants, a grocery, and the rents will be a little cheaper than downtown, but only 1 stop on the rapid to get to/from.

There is also the Detroit-Shoreway area just west of downtown, a redeveloping area, or Lakewood, just west of downtown. In this case, you wouldn't be taking the train, but there are a number of bus routes that would make for an efficient and direct commute.

Sorry! Um, I'm not sure about the budget yet but I'd say probably a thousand a month? I pay 1200 now for my dinky apartment :'D

 

Let me see...by the Lake, in the area of the Stadium, so Google maps tells me.

 

I could very likely get a car after moving, I suppose. But not right away, so the carlessness still stands.

 

Okay, in that case I would recommend either downtown or Ohio City. You may have reverse sticker shock since $1000 can get you a sizable apartment in a decent building. Both are well-served by transit, and have plenty of cool places. If you live downtown, you'll probably be able to walk to work. Ohio City will probably be less expensive, and is the first Red Line RTA station west of downtown.

 

Just so you know, Cleveland has a carsharing program similar to Zipcar/I-Go called City Wheels - http://www.mycitywheels.com/ If you find yourself only needing a car for an occasional errand, that might work for you. They have cars available in the University Circle and Shaker Square neighborhoods - both are on main transit routes.

 

While bjk is correct that Detroit-Shoreway and Lakewood are great places, Cleveland's RTA - like many transit agencies across the nation - is proposing cuts to service. The further away from downtown Cleveland you go, the more impact those route cuts might have on your lifestyle.

It sounds like you might like downtown best, and nearly all one-bedroom units are in your price range. It's pretty safe, but there are yellow-jacketed downtown ambassadors around who can escort late-night workers as well do various clean-up duties and are trained to help people find their way. But you should also consider other locations. Ohio City, Edgewater, and Lakewood are more Chicago-like in that they tend to be more laid back and are neighborhoods right on the lake (great if want access to the beach, parks, biking, jogging, etc). There is 24-hour bus service to downtown on Detroit Avenue, Lorain Avenue and West 25th. Ohio City is near to Steelyard Commons (http://www.steelyardcommons.com/main.asp) that includes Target, Best Buy, WalMart, Marshalls and lots of other stores. Steelyard is accessible by bus 24 hours a day to Ohio City and downtown -- this will not change as a result of the transit budget cuts.

 

But you will find that east-side areas have East Coast tendencies in terms of architecture, attitudes and ethnicities (more Jews, Italians). So if you like koshier foods or authentic Italian dishes, those will be harder to find on the west side and even downtown. So you might search Little Italy, University Circle, Coventry, Cedar-Lee, Cedar-Fairmount and Shaker Square. The downside is that transit transfers between bus and train are required to get downtown for some of these areas, namely Coventry, Cedar-Lee and Cedar-Fairmount. But I think you would love Coventry because of all the shops, clubs and vibrancy. Shaker Square is directly served by rail service downtown and has a full-service grocery store, first-run movie theater, restaurants, and more. University Circle and Little Italy have lots of students attending nearby Case Western Reserve University and is right on the HealthLine 24-hour bus rapid transit route to downtown. There are lots of shops, restaurants and bars, plus many musuems. There are no grocery stores within walking distance but there are grocery stores along the HealthLine.

 

The quality of the housing downtown is pretty remarkable, especially for the price. Here's a sampling (I chose searching via this site because it has photos, even some video, of the housing and surrounding areas).........

 

The Bingham (Warehouse District)

http://www.forrent.com/apartment-community-profile/999909562.php

 

Bridgeview Apartments (Warehouse District)

http://www.forrent.com/apartment-community-profile/1030658.php

 

Crittenden Court (Warehouse District)

http://www.forrent.com/apartment-community-profile/1001590.php

 

The Residences at 668 (Gateway District) ...just opened!

http://www.forrent.com/apartment-community-profile/1000057159.php

 

WT Grant Lofts (Gateway District)

http://www.forrent.com/apartment-community-profile/1000003614.php

 

Huron Square/The Osborn Building (Gateway District)

http://www.forrent.com/apartment-community-profile/1030655.php

 

East Fourth Neighborhood

http://www.forrent.com/apartment-community-profile/1000000400.php

 

Reserve Square (Theater District)

http://www.forrent.com/apartment-community-profile/1001529.php

 

I hope this helps. If you want more information, just ask. There are no bad questions.

On the cold topic, I think that one big thing to note is the amount of wind you will be dealing with.  Downtown can be a bit of a wind tunnel at times, which makes the cold much more biting than in neighborhoods with narrow tree lined streets.  Ohio City, Tremont, and Detroit-Shoreway are good in that regard.  The compensating virtue of Downtown is that if you do have a car, most of the apts have garage parking, so no shoveling or scraping your window, plus the car is warm in the morning.

 

Otherwise, I would say that Downtown may be your best bet.  It's hard to beat the convenience of being able to walk to work.

One drawback of downtown is that there is no full-service grocery store, but there are two decent neighborhood-sized grocery stores. One is in The Bingham in the Warehouse District and the other is in Reserve Square. See the links to these buildings in my previous message.

 

There are also full-service groceries just west and east of downtown. Both are Dave's Supermarkets. The one east of downtown is in Asiatown -- this area is not as identifiable as the Chinatowns in Washington DC or Chicago but it may surprise you with its offerings. See: http://www.asiatowncleveland.com/  The other Dave's grocery store is in Ohio City, which is also home to the West Side Market -- a large, European-style market house. See: http://www.westsidemarket.org/

 

And, of course, you can always take the #81 bus route from downtown to Steelyard Commons to get to its many big box stores. Steelyard is also the northern terminus of the Towpath Trail, a hiking-biking trail that extends into the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. See: http://www.nps.gov/CUVA/index.htm  And yes, all RTA buses are equipped with bike racks. You can also take bikes on trains except when trains are jammed (train driver's discretion).

So helpful! Thanks so much for all this input. It's very much appreciated.

And actually DC doesn't really have much of a Chinatown as one may think. >_> It's somewhat pitiful. : (

 

On the food note, how easy is vegan/vegetarian dining?

Yes Penny, the Clevelanders are especially nice and helpful!  I think if you make the move you'll find the locals rather warm and helpful after being in DC (one of the many things I miss most).

 

FYI, there are still quite a few things you can find in Cleveland that I havent found in DC in my time here.  Little Italy and certain ethnic foods are among them. 

 

Cleveland is working on the vegan end.  There is a new place in Lakewood, and possibly soon in downtown Cleveland.  Many of the other restaurants try to be sensitive to and make their best efforts to accomodate though. 

Even though there are few pure vegan restaurants in Cleveland, you will find many with at least half of their menus are vegan while many others have vegan choices. Try Google or start with this list....

 

http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.net/usa/Cleveland-Vegetarian-Restaurants.htm

Treehugger's Cafe is also great and not listed on that link: http://www.myabcspace.com/treehugger/

 

Also, Greenhouse Tavern each day features both a vegetarian AND a vegan selection, which is nice:

www.thegreenhousetavern.com

 

It's colder than Philly in the winter... but not THAT much colder.  Average yearly tempature is about 5 degrees colder.  Average winter temp might be a little greater in disparity, but not more than a couple of degrees.  I would also say that Philly is probably muggier in the summertime.

 

You will see a significant increase in snow.  Cleveland gets an avg of about 50-60 inches of snow per year, while Philly gets about 20.  However, we usually don't get those massive all of a sudden snow storms of 2-3 feet like the east coast of the country gets.  We rarely go above 1 foot in any given snowfall.  Usually just a couple inches at a time, albeit they can pile up if we don't have a thawing in between. 

 

The east side of town does get more snow... but the "snow belt" is far east and a bit south of the lake.  Contrary to what was posted above, the snow does not increase as you get closer to the lake, although the windchill might.  It is quite the opposite actually.  The snowbelt does not begin in the cleveland area until you are several miles off the lake.  No part of the City of Cleveland or any of its inner-ring suburbs are in the "snowbelt"

Just my experience from living here for almost 20 years, but downtown gets more snow than the west side, and parts east of downtown get more snow than downtown.  So, as you progress eastward, there is more snow.  I never said downtown was the "snowbelt," but there are many times downtown has snow and I do not, down on the SW side of town, or that I did not when I lived on the W side.

I guess this is probably a silly question but I'm assuming snow removal etc. is good? DC is just awful for it.

I'm originally from farther north in Pennsylvania so I can handle a bit colder weather. Though I think DC is spoiling me for winter. But not summer D;

 

Thank you all again for all of this great info! I have a lot to go on, thanks to you all. Takes a load off my mind. 

What are your interests/hobbies in your free time?  That may also help us direct you to the most compelling neighborhood.  Also, anything you can't live without having nearby or access to?

Snow removal downtown is pretty decent, but can be lacking on some side streets in the city neighborhoods. When I go to cities that don't usually get as much snow as Cleveland does (ie: Columbus, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia), I am surprised at their poor efforts. And I don't remember the last time Cleveland Hopkins International Airport was shut down due to snow.

 

FYI....

 

http://www.worldbook.com/wb/Students?content_spotlight/climates/north_american_climate_ohio

 

Sorry RR, I must have misread.  I thought you were saying that the winter on the east side of town gets worse as you get closer to the lake.  I never said that you said downtown was the "snowbelt" 

 

The east side of Cuyahoga County varies in terms of snowfall.  At lake level (Cleveland, East Cleveland, Bratenahl, Euclid) you will get less snow than when you go up the hill to the inner ring (Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, South Euclid).  Snow will noticeably increase as you leave the inner ring and head towards Mayfield.  But the snowbelt does not begin, in my mind at least, until you are either as south as Bedford or Solon or heading east out of Cuyahoga County into the Chagrin River Valley.  Once you get out to Chardon... well, you might as well live in Syracuse.

Snow removal is GREAT around the Cleveland area compared to most other cities I have been to.  I wouldn't worry about it.  The temperatures are pretty much the same all around Northeast Ohio.  We get some very cold stretches in January and February mainly, but then some not so bad ones where it's 40s and sometimes hits 50.  I actually enjoy the snow.  I'd rather have snow over cold, possibly freezing rain any day.  Unless you're east of I-271, I wouldn't worry much about the snow, just enjoy what we do get.

I say check out the Shaker Sqaure neighborhood!

We get some very cold stretches in January and February mainly, but then some not so bad ones where it's 40s and sometimes hits 50. I actually enjoy the snow. I'd rather have snow over cold, possibly freezing rain any day.

 

I'd rather have Cleveland's 30 degrees with windchill than DC's 95 degrees with high humidity.

We get some very cold stretches in January and February mainly, but then some not so bad ones where it's 40s and sometimes hits 50. I actually enjoy the snow. I'd rather have snow over cold, possibly freezing rain any day.

 

I'd rather have Cleveland's 30 degrees with windchill than DC's 95 degrees with high humidity.

haha, yeah DC's summers are pretty miserable. (it was 70 degrees here yesterday for some reason.) plus the bugs >__> which would be another question. how's city bugs up there?

 

i was asked above about hobbies? um, museums, music shows (live music, like small clubs or such), movies, book stores, little coffee shops are all places i like to go to/be around. i'll also be moving there totally on my own, so i'd like to be able to you know, meet some people :'D

 

i can't say enough how helpful all this is! are people as nice in-person? : D

Bugs aren't too bad in the city, though we do get 1-2 annual hordes of mayflies from Lake Erie.  They're tiny and harmless and they all die in about a week. 

Most of the time, bugs aren't an issue - however in the summer, you'll meet the muffleheads (also called midges) - they look like mosquitos but have two fuzzy antennae, and they do not bite. Occasionally there will be a LOT of them and you won't want to ride a bike with your mouth open, but read the following article to learn more about them. They're a nuisance, but also a good sign that the Lake is healthy http://www.sanduskyregister.com/articles/2007/05/29/front/294219.txt

 

Mayflies are a different insect, but again - harmless http://www.mayflynews.net/

 

I'll say this much about Clevelanders - they're not overly outgoingly friendly (a la "southern hospitality") but there's a down-to-earth approachability - if that makes sense. What will help you a lot is to get involved with an active group or two, such as a young professionals group or volunteering. 

"Occasionally there will be a LOT of them and you won't want to ride a bike with your mouth open"

I rofl'd :'D

I was thinking more along the lines of roaches, which I had no idea actually control the nation's capital until I moved here. Never even really saw one until I moved here.

 

Ha, we don't have any southern hospitality here either, but that's some good advice.

Only the Clevelanders at UrbanOhio are nice in person. :) Just kidding. There's lots of nice people here. And UO offers social gatherings every so often, with the next Cleveland get-together on Feb. 4. See more at:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,17344.msg457005/boardseen.html#new

 

Although I am probably not in your preferred age range (I'm 42), I would be happy to arrange more UO social gatherings in the near future.

 

For about a week every spring and fall, flying bugs called midges come across the lake from Canada to do their mating and then fly back (new tourism slogan: "Cleveland is for lovers!"). The midges appear as clouds along the lakefront and are attracted to light. I live near the lake so I get a lot of them around my building. But if you can stand them for a week each spring and fall, then you don't have to deal with them at other times.

I've lived in a large number of cheap apartments around town and only a couple have had bugs.  It's not a big issue here... DC probably has it worse.  We do have both kinds of roaches here, the large "palmetto" variety as well as the standard little ones.  We also have furry woodland creatures of all types, including coyotes. Occasionally, on the eastern fringe, small black bears wander in from PA. 

 

No tigers whatsoever.  No dinosaurs that I'm aware of. 

I'm not nice, but I can pretend to be, as I have a degree in theater.    :evil: 

 

I've never had terrible trouble with bugs.  The biggest problem in apartments with bugs are in the spring there are a lot of centipedes, and when it gets cold in the fall you get a few more bugs or ants as they're trying to get in where it's warm.  But generally, spiders, not roaches.  We have a lot of spiders in the fall and a lot of centipeds in the spring.  Have only had 1 mouse.

 

I assume by your screenname you're female - most of our UO members are male, I'm one of the few females.  Docbroc is another one.  We can point you toward female-friendly stuff if you want, and give you heads up on more chick type things that you're looking for, as well as female perspective on things in the city, which can be a little different than the men's sometimes.  I'm also up for get togethers though lunches are a lot better than anything after work/evenings for me as I have an 8 month old baby at home.

I'm not nice, but I can pretend to be, as I have a degree in theater.    :evil: 

 

I've never had terrible trouble with bugs.  The biggest problem in apartments with bugs are in the spring there are a lot of centipedes, and when it gets cold in the fall you get a few more bugs or ants as they're trying to get in where it's warm.  But generally, spiders, not roaches.  We have a lot of spiders in the fall and a lot of centipeds in the spring.  Have only had 1 mouse.

 

I assume by your screenname you're female - most of our UO members are male, I'm one of the few females.  Docbroc is another one.  We can point you toward female-friendly stuff if you want, and give you heads up on more chick type things that you're looking for, as well as female perspective on things in the city, which can be a little different than the men's sometimes.  I'm also up for get togethers though lunches are a lot better than anything after work/evenings for me as I have an 8 month old baby at home.

I think we could get along :'D

Centipedes are total fiends. We get those here too because it's humid. The first night I was in my apartment I saw a prehistoric leftover.

 

I am. Well that's because everyone on the internet is male XD That'd be great, thanks : D

 

 

 

 

"Occasionally there will be a LOT of them and you won't want to ride a bike with your mouth open"

I rofl'd :'D

I was thinking more along the lines of roaches, which I had no idea actually control the nation's capital until I moved here. Never even really saw one until I moved here.

 

Ha, we don't have any southern hospitality here either, but that's some good advice.

 

Yeah Penny, I never saw Roaches till I moved to DC, but dont forget the other thing that seems to control the nations capital, Rats.  I dont believe those are a big issue in Cleveland.

 

As I said above, One of the things Ive missed most about Cleveland is the people.  Very genuine, and comparatively very friendly and helpful especially after living in DC (which frankly helped me realize how very friendly NYC was)

People here are FREAKY friendly if you're not used to it.  Strangers waiting in line with you at a restaurant will talk to each other about whatever.  You can be standing at a light having a conversation about a current event and the person next to you will chime in with their opinion.  Just last week I was in line at Slyman's and the people in line with me struck up conversation.  The 3 of us (person in front of me, person in back of me) could not have had less in common - the guy in front of me was a 50 something white male, laborer of some kind, the woman behind me was a black lady in her 30s, but there we were, talking about the weather and how great Slyman's is (best corned beef in town by the way).  As you're waiting in line for takeout inside the restaurant, the employees making the sandwiches are right next to you and they talk to you as you go along the line.

Someone mentioned joining a young professionals group.  I am your age and I am going to sign up for the "Cleveland 20-30 club" this week if I get around to it.  I only knew 2 people when I moved here and although I've met plenty of people I would like to meet many more.

 

http://www.cleveland2030.org/club/scripts/public/public.asp?NS=PUBLIC

 

 

http://www.hulu.com/watch/856/30-rock-cleveland-get-away

Females will someday rule UO, muhahahahaha. 

 

Anyway......

 

One recent example of Clevelanders being nice:

 

On my way home last week, a really confused guy in town for an interview was trying to catch the bus to go to the Cedar rapid stop to go to the airport (which you can't do from that location at that time of day).  I explained to him his options, and he eventually decided to get on the #9 with me to ride to Tower City.  When he got on the bus, he quickly realized he couldn't use his credit card to buy a pass.  Before I could even pull $2.25 out from my purse, a woman at the front of the bus gives him her all day pass because she's through using it for the day.  After the guy sits down, I start talking with him about if he knew what I meant by Tower City and what it looked like and such.  I started to explain to him what it looked like and where he needed to get off and where he needed to go to catch the rapid once he got into Tower City.  About midway through this conversation, the woman behind me says "I'm going into Tower City - I can show him where to go."

 

So, three total strangers helped another total stranger get to the airport....  I'm pretty sure the guy missed his flight, though.  He was pretty worried, but he was flying to Newark (on American - I didn't even know you could do that!).  I explained to him that Cleveland was a Continental hub and if American didn't have another flight to get him on, Continental should.  That made him a bit less worried :) 

I helped a woman like this last week; she was in tower city and trying to get to key center.  I'm like, oh, I'm going over there, just come with me. 

 

Yesterday, this super coked up chick was helping this really confused girl who had been riding back and forth on the redline trying to figure out how to get somewhere, but she kept getting on going the wrong direction.  She made her get off the train and told her just where to stand and what to look for so she'd know when to exit the train.  I think she had ridden in on one of the trains that stop at public square and then it left, so she got off and then got back on another westbound train by mistake. The cokehead was explaining that only SOME trains keep going east past tower city and she needed to take one that says "Windermere."  Even the cokeheads are nice.

Unlike some threads, this one is getting better as it goes along!  :-D Where else can you find out how nice the cokeheads are!!  :wink2:

 

As for Slyman's, I've also noticed the wide variety of people there. I had breakfast there amongst painters (it wasn't hard to figure that out), hard-hats, business executives in suits, and students with backpacks. It was awesome. If the food sucked, I would still go there just for the floor show. But since the food is awesome too, it's one of my favorite places in any city.

Another small example today.  I was walking around part of public square and there was a BIG gust of freezing ass cold wind and a guy about 15 feet away from me says to me, "OOH! That was cold, wasn't it?"  And I'm like, "Yep."  People just do NOT talk to each other like this in most other cities I've visited.

I don't think it was linked from here yet, but here's a website that talks about a lot of the different Cleveland neighborhoods and real estate.

http://www.livecleveland.org/

i'm getting super pumped! i've got my phone interview for the job next week, so send me some love :'D

Yay!  Glad we got you excited :-D.  Good luck!

 

On the food note, how easy is vegan/vegetarian dining?

 

I've been eating vegetarian for almost a year now, and Cleveland is an ok place for it.  There are ethnic spots in pretty much every neighborhood.  But in terms of American, the true gems where you'll be able to have more than two or three choices are few and far between.  Most vegetarian/vegan folks dig places like Melt and Tommy's. 

 

But just let me know if you'd like me to elaborate on some of the places I'd typically eat out here.  There are a few other veg folks on UO too, that might be able to brainstorm some spots.

 

Good luck on your interview!  :-D