This topic is to discuss parenting related news or information for our urban areas.  Often you hear about "raising a family in the suburbs" but this ain't for that!  This is for our city moms and dads out there who want a place to discuss urban parenting.

And I know a couple of mods who would like to share stories, news, and ideas about parenting in the city so knock yourself out!

Great thread! Can't wait to find the time to contribute. Kids, you know...

Or activities/places that urban-minded folks might take their kids, etc. Heck, maybe activities/places that an urban-minded "uncle" could take some of the better-behaved rugrats! ;-)

The Cleveland Zoo has free admission on Mondays for Cuyahoga County residents, just something to consider.

Our "urban baby" will be arriving this summer.  I can't wait to hear from others that have babies and small children in the urban core. 

Congrats!

Give it a couple more years for an urban baby broc, heh.

What would be a good idea is a "splash park" for downtown Cleveland (any downtown really).  We have one around us where they filled in a public pool with concrete, put down a rubber mat and installed all different kinds of sprinkling devices the kids run through.  That one is rather big.  My Dad's neighborhood in Charlotte has a much smaller one, probably about 20x20, gated in and built in as part of a playground.  But, for these to really work, there has to be a strict age limit of 10 or so.

 

Our "urban baby" will be arriving this summer.  I can't wait to hear from others that have babies and small children in the urban core. 

 

For Clevelanders, Children's Place at TC is not a bad place to shop for clothes.  I have found the clothes to be pretty good quality.  Much better than the stuff you will find at the big box stores IMO.  Lots of sales.

Our "urban baby" will be arriving this summer. I can't wait to hear from others that have babies and small children in the urban core.

 

Congrats, Melanie! We have a 5 month old up in Prospect Hill! It's awesome and can't wait for Spring.

 

Great idea for a thread, Chris!

Wasn't my idea.  You can thank another forumer(s) for this one!

Isaac!

 

^ He is cute!

So what are the best neighborhoods in the city of cleveland (city proper) for raising kids--in terms of safety, schools, other kids to play with, low traffic, etc...?

Well i may be biased - but I would say Old Brooklyn.  Our first child (a boy) is due in about 6 weeks.  My street has tons of children on it and is a very active neighborhood (at least the western side where i live).  We benefit by having the Brookside Metropark at the end of our street as well as can easily WALK to the zoo.  We've been zoo members for years so it's nice to have the close proximity even just for a weekend afternoon walk.

 

The schools in OB are some of the best in the City - Ben Franklin and William C Bryant are often rated one of the best - as is Rhodes High School.  The neighborhood also benefits from several catholic schools.  Lots of the kids near me walk to St. Thomas Moore (actually in Brooklyn).  St. Leo on broadview has a very active school.  Our Lady of Good Counsel (pearl rd.) has a stable school as well - and they accept the city vouchers.

 

The neighborhood is safe and benefits from having a lot of children in it.  But again, i'm biased because I live there!

I think Westpark is a very good neighborhood for kids as it has a lot of families, and (traditionally) is pretty safe because of the amount of police/fire peeps living there.  If we were to move into the city proper, that's where we'd look.

I think Edgewater is another.  Even though Clifton Blvd. isn't exactly low-traffic, the side streets are.  Louisa May-Alcott is a blue-ribbon elementary, and you can't beat walking with your kids down to Edgewater Park for an afternoon at the beach.

Young families are definitely a growing demographic in some close-in Cincinnati neighborhoods, like Mt Adams and Clifton.  Glad to see this thread.

 

We are raising our kids in downtown Cincy and wouldn't trade it for anything.  Here are a few pics of the kids around town: building an igloo in Over-the-Rhine, walking in the Gateway Quarter, and going to Melt in Northside:

thanks all for your insight!

I don't know if downtown Medina counts, but we are raising our 4 kids off the square threre.  In the summer, we walk to the farmers market in the square every Saturday.  The Amish come up and set up stands with fresh produce, cheeses etc.  After the farmers market, they have sidewalk chalk competition in the suare where all thie kids come eqiupped with their sidewalk chalk stuff and try to draw the coolest pictures.  It's fun for the kids.

 

We also enjoy walking up to Dans Dogs.  Great little hotdog diner in the square.  Kids love that place as they can pile their dogs with whatever they want.  I know my wife walks the kids to the public library in the square every Tuesday and Wed for singing, puzzle, story classes....in the good weather of course.  If you haven't seen the new Medina Public Library, I consider it a must.  It truely is a great Library on the square and offers alot for the kids.  Its a four story building at the southeast corner  of the sqaure next to the new parking garage.  You can't miss it if you drive in on Route 18.

 

So, I don't know if it counts or not, but there are plenty of Urban neighborhoods around medina. 

 

And of course, we take the kids to alot of stuff in Downtown Cleveland and UC.  We try to stay away from the restaurants though, just becasue all 4 are under 5 yo. 

gotribe, I don't believe the powers that be/the majority on the site think that Medina counts since I think that's considered an exurb, but I appreciate the information and think it's relevant to the thread since we get a lot of people considering relocating to a wide variety of areas on our site, not just the city of cleveland proper.

^^I think it counts.  While its certainly different than living in Cleveland, downtown Medina is a great, walkable neighborhood.  More small town than urban, but thats ok.  And its a far cry from living in The Reserve or something like that.

I don't think this thread should be limited to only those living in the big cities.  I personally enjoy hearing the stories of their kids in urban areas, whether or not they live there or just enjoy visiting.  Most people posting on this site have one thing in common - liking urban areas.

 

I've already done some lurking on a Cincinnati Moms website, and I have a feeling I may not have a lot of common with many of the forumers there.  :(  Many of them consider central Cincinnati to be the area around Kenwood Mall, and I've seen screen names such as "MiniVanMom" or "MasonSoccerMom."  I'm curious to see what the reaction will be when I say that I actually live downtown, and I don't plan on moving when the baby arrives!

The Cleveland Zoo has free admission on Mondays for Cuyahoga County residents, just something to consider.

Or if you really like the zoo, membership isn't that much and the crowds are much smaller the other days of the week.

And of course, we take the kids to alot of stuff in Downtown Cleveland and UC.  We try to stay away from the restaurants though, just becasue all 4 are under 5 yo. 

 

I hope you have at least one set of twins  :-o :-o

 

I would recommend a zoo membership to anybody with kids, its a great way to get of the house for a few hours in the winter to run the kids around. It wouldn't be worth it to pay full admission, but a couple of those short trips pay for themselves over the year. Also lot of the animals are active on a nice 30 degree sunny day as opposed to when it's warm and they just sit there sleeping. We were there a few weeks ago and watched the reindeer butting antlers for 15 minutes because they were really getting into it. And if the weather is really crapastic you can take them to the rainforest at the Cleveland zoo. 

 

 

Folks, there's no "ohhh, well you're not living downtown, it doesn't count" in this thread. It's simply a place where those who DO choose to raise their kids in the city can exchange ideas (without the "OMG! In the city?!?" hysterics common on other parenting forums), ALONG WITH those raising their kids in the 'burbs but want to expose their kids to what the city has to offer that's accommodating of rugrats  ;-)

 

Heck, gotribe's post might give someone an idea for a family weekend outing away from the city - even I know it's healthy to get outta dodge every now and then :-)

Downtown Medina is more "urban" than a lot of big cities these days.

 

I raise my kid in the inner-ring in a fairly dense neighborhood.  Does that count?

I would recommend a zoo membership to anybody with kids, its a great way to get of the house for a few hours in the winter to run the kids around. It wouldn't be worth it to pay full admission, but a couple of those short trips pay for themselves over the year. Also lot of the animals are active on a nice 30 degree sunny day as opposed to when it's warm and they just sit there sleeping. We were there a few weeks ago and watched the reindeer butting antlers for 15 minutes because they were really getting into it. And if the weather is really crapastic you can take them to the rainforest at the Cleveland zoo.

 

I agree.  I never really cared for the zoo, still don't too much, but it is sooo convenient to have a membership to the zoo and a few museums around town for rainy days, snow days etc.., and with a membership you can pop in anytime for just an hour or so.  And if you go to the zoo in February, you practically have the place to yourself.  The Cincy zoo is open 365 days a year, so it is a perfect standby.

^I covet Cinci's zoo, and you can't beat the location for Urbanity. [Witholds scathing, well-worn comments about Columbus' sprawltastic zoo].

The Great Lakes Science Center is a fantastic place for kids. Because it is an interactive museum, you can just sit on a bench and watch your kids play and play and play.

gotribe, I don't believe the powers that be/the majority on the site think that Medina counts since I think that's considered an exurb, but I appreciate the information and think it's relevant to the thread since we get a lot of people considering relocating to a wide variety of areas on our site, not just the city of cleveland proper.

 

The town is nice, it's the stuff around it that is crap.  I would be willing to bet that the majority on here really like the town square and immediate neighborhoods in Medina.

 

No kids here yet, but when we do, I hope we have family photos in environments resembling Jskinners'.

It's out in Eastlake, but if Cleveland parents of young children have not found Zero Gravity yet, they really need to.  $6 for each kid to play for 2 1/2 hours.  Parents are free.

 

http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/attraction/zero-gravity-and-party-extremes-34675-melinz-parkway-eastlake-oh-44095-us

 

I personally don't have any kids but I take my little cousins to Memphis kiddie park and the Cleveland Children's museum and they love both of them. I also would second Old Brooklyn being a great neighborhood for children as my street and the streets I pass daily are always littered with children.

Our "urban baby" will be arriving this summer.  I can't wait to hear from others that have babies and small children in the urban core. 

 

Same here, Mr and Ms will be increasing 1 extra person in the family unit this summer as well. I grew up on a culdesac and cant wait to see how our kids develop being able to use public transportation, walk to jobs, walk to the movies, walk to the library and be able to play in all the parks.

 

One question are you going to include your baby in the census ?  I relay feal like I should count it.

Why young families leave the city and go to the suburbs:

1.  It is the norm.  It is what is expected and known.

2. Worries about the public school system

3.  Feel a large private yard is necessary for proper raising of children.

4.  Worry about peer quality (if your urban neighborhood is poor)

 

How to address these issues:

1.  Publicize success stories of other urban families.

2.  Strenghthen the magnet school system and publicize their great success.

3.  Firstly, many urban houses do have small yards that are actually more than enough for kids.  Young couples don't realize this and think they need more space, when they really don't. Also, push for more programming in the parks and push for more patrols and money for park staff.

4.  Young couples worry about the unknown.  We need to show them that just because some people on your block may be poor does not mean that your children will start bad behaviors. You kid's peers end up being schoolmates, cousins, kids at church, kids on the soccer team, kids at scouts etc etc, not necessarily the immediate neighbor.  And some interraction with poor neighbors is also good IMO.  We meet lots of our neighbors at the pool, playground or even walking down the sidewalk, but they are not our sole playmates.

 

I think that young couples worry that there will be too much bad influence on their children and that they need to thoroughly control their surroundings.  Of course, this results in moving to a homogeneous neighborhood.  It is hard to demonstrate to people that this is not necessary. 

 

Jskinner, that's awesome ... good for you! Us Downtown Cincy parents should all meet up for coffee during the Summer?

I like this thread!  I have a 4 year old daughter and recently moved back to Euclid.  I would love to hear of the different things to do for her in the City!

 

I guess this is breaking the rules- but McDonald's Hill on E. 222nd close to Euclid Ave. is a great sledding hill for kids, and best of all, it's FREE.

Jskinner, that's awesome ... good for you! Us Downtown Cincy parents should all meet up for coffee during the Summer?

Definitely!  We know many of the Prospect Hill families on Milton and Walker Streets aka Noel and Damon and others. We see each other at parades, b-day parties etc...

Why young families leave the city and go to the suburbs:

1. It is the norm. It is what is expected and known.

2. Worries about the public school system

3. Feel a large private yard is necessary for proper raising of children.

4. Worry about peer quality (if your urban neighborhood is poor)

 

How to address these issues:

1. Publicize success stories of other urban families.

2. Strenghthen the magnet school system and publicize their great success.

3. Firstly, many urban houses do have small yards that are actually more than enough for kids. Young couples don't realize this and think they need more space, when they really don't. Also, push for more programming in the parks and push for more patrols and money for park staff.

4. Young couples worry about the unknown. We need to show them that just because some people on your block may be poor does not mean that your children will start bad behaviors. You kid's peers end up being schoolmates, cousins, kids at church, kids on the soccer team, kids at scouts etc etc, not necessarily the immediate neighbor. And some interraction with poor neighbors is also good IMO. We meet lots of our neighbors at the pool, playground or even walking down the sidewalk, but they are not our sole playmates.

 

I think that young couples worry that there will be too much bad influence on their children and that they need to thoroughly control their surroundings. Of course, this results in moving to a homogeneous neighborhood. It is hard to demonstrate to people that this is not necessary.

 

Hear hear!

Why young families leave the city and go to the suburbs:

1. It is the norm. It is what is expected and known.

2. Worries about the public school system

3. Feel a large private yard is necessary for proper raising of children.

4. Worry about peer quality (if your urban neighborhood is poor)

 

How to address these issues:

1. Publicize success stories of other urban families.

2. Strenghthen the magnet school system and publicize their great success.

3. Firstly, many urban houses do have small yards that are actually more than enough for kids. Young couples don't realize this and think they need more space, when they really don't. Also, push for more programming in the parks and push for more patrols and money for park staff.

4. Young couples worry about the unknown. We need to show them that just because some people on your block may be poor does not mean that your children will start bad behaviors. You kid's peers end up being schoolmates, cousins, kids at church, kids on the soccer team, kids at scouts etc etc, not necessarily the immediate neighbor. And some interraction with poor neighbors is also good IMO. We meet lots of our neighbors at the pool, playground or even walking down the sidewalk, but they are not our sole playmates.

 

I think that young couples worry that there will be too much bad influence on their children and that they need to thoroughly control their surroundings. Of course, this results in moving to a homogeneous neighborhood. It is hard to demonstrate to people that this is not necessary.

 

Good analysis.  But you have to realize that some people just like their "space" more than others.  They don't want their neighbors right on top of them. 

 

There are many, many reasons certain people just don't like "urban" living in their family raising years.  It doesn't really say anything bad about them in my mind.  I am kind of between.  I like a walkable neighborhood, but I am one of those people who don't want my neighbor's house within an arm's reach of mine.  I also have a very large dog who would be severely pissed off with a typically small city yard.

 

While I don't absolutely love my house, I do find its setting ideal for me.  Walkable neighborhood where I can walk to about anything I want.  Nice family street without much traffic, and it is horseshoe shaped so the backyards (especially mine being on a curve) fan out and are much bigger than the front.  My back yard is wooded with a creek running behind it.  Very natural looking. 

 

 

  "I think that young couples worry that there will be too much bad influence on their children..."

 

  Children are often mentioned first when people talk about their decisions on where to live. Good schools, big private yards, quiet streets, etc., are generally what brings people to the suburbs.

 

    Did anyone ever ask the children what they think about this? One of my favorite lines is "A good place to raise kids isn't necessarily a good place to be a kid."

^and a cul-de-sac might be OK for a toddler or a kid learning to ride a bike, but for the older kids (ages 9-18), they really need to see more of the world and gradually they need to explore the world on their own and even walk to jobs etc..

...Did anyone ever ask the children what they think about this? One of my favorite lines is "A good place to raise kids isn't necessarily a good place to be a kid."

 

^You're paraphrasing our own Urbansurfin' there (and my favorite UrbanOhio quote of all time).

 

The kids thing is extremely tough. Balance is incredibly important. Outer-ring suburbia (and exurburbia) are ultimately harmful to children because they overindulge a parent's security instincts. Just watch the clots of teens, shambling along the shoulder of the road between the subdivision and stripmall, or more tellingly, not shambling along.

 

However, many urban neighborhoods, as they exist now, do have a dubious mix of playmates. Just about the only families in our neighborhood (Italian Village) are scattered and transient. We find lots of families over at Goodale park, but even there, we're all escorting our children, and the next social interaction--if there is one--is a pre-arranged suburban-style playdate. I think we'd all love to let our kids run wild with instructions to be home by the time the streetlights come on, but it's simply not going to happen.

 

Ultimately, it's a matter of critical mass. Urban neighborhoods COULD raise a child when there were large families in every other house. Now--at least in Columbus in the Villages where singles, DINC, and emptynesters are the desired residents--it's a bit more challenging.

 

All that said, our kids absolutely DO love living in the city. We love going for epic walks just for the heck of it, and the kids are proud to be able to walk to restaurants, the grocery store, the barber shop and the movie theater and are keenly aware of the leg up they have on their friends in Dublin and Upper Arlington. In the summer we ride bikes all over the place: to several different branches of the library, to COSI, all over downtown up through campus, even all the way up to Whetstone Park in Clintonville.

 

And there, Clintonville is most likely the answer to the Columbus Urban Parent Conundrum. It's not downtown urban, but it has plenty of inner-ring streetcar surburbanity, but more important, it has a wealth of families. Many of them are still transient (lots of OSU grad/international students with offspring), but still, they're there. 

 

For now, though, we're staying put and wringing every blessed charm out of the concrete (and cobblestone) jungle, and loving it.

One of my friends and his wife just bought a home in Clintonville, or maybe a bit north of it, with the intention of starting a family there.  It's funny, because it is the closest to an urban neighborhood they have ever chosen, when most people go the other way.  I do think if they had the choice they would have ended up in Westerville.

I can't speak for the other big two, but Cleveland (the City itself) is just lacking in those "balanced" neighborhoods IMO.  There are a few on the west side like West Park and Old Brooklyn, but those are just as far out, geographically, as the East Side's inner ring and it is hard for me to consider them as being within "the core."  What I am talking about is core neighborhoods that strike that balance between "concrete jungle" and (what most non-UO Americans would consider) a "family" neighborhood.  There are plenty of families who find raising their families in apartments and townhomes stacked one on top the other works just fine for them.  But there are many, many others that want something different for their kids and themselves.

 

My Dad's neighborhood in the City of Charlotte (Dilworth) is a pefect example of a walkable neighborhood, within spitting distance of the central business district (Uptown), with (now) easy access to light rail, but still has that feel of an inner ring suburb like Shaker Heights.  30 yrs ago, some Clt residents considered it somewhat of a slum.  Now, it is one of the most in-demand neighborhoods in the entire country.  The success of that neighborhood also shows that modern-day families who move out to Solon aren't doing so to distance themselves from the core, it is just that their options are limited, if you could say they have any options at all.  I mean, where in the City of Cleveland does a family looking to spend $400,000+ on a 4+ bdrm 3000+ sq ft single family home find their dream home?  The options are just too limited and it is a missing piece in the market I am surprised Developers have not aggresively attacked, considering the success of those types of neighborhoods (whether they be newly built or gentrifications) in other cities around the country.   

 

My Dad's house on Dilworth Rd West in Clt strikes the ideal balance for me.  It is within a 5 minute walk to the new light rail, 2 grocery stores, all types of retail and restaraunts on East Blvd or South Blvd, and within a 10 minute bike ride of Uptown.  Yet, the streets and homes are just like anything you would see in the nicer parts of the Heights.  And since he bought his house in the late 1990's, it has tripled in value and did not decrease in that respect at all during the recent housing slump.  People are still buying these houses and, in many instances, sinking as much or more $$ than they bought the house for on renovations.

 

For Cleveland, the question is where can we make such a transformation.  The manufacturing history of the City certainly throws up some roadblocks considering how the City was originally constructed with so many industrial zones surrounding the core.  But areas like Tremont and Ohio City are showing promise and I hope that momentum keeps up.  But those neighborhoods are not quite what I am talking about... they are more on the concrete jungle side of the balance to make most families interested in Solon and Strongsville consider the City instead. 

 

The area that I see as having the real potential for a Dilworth-esque turnaround and becoming an in-demand family neighborhood within the City proper is Wade Park and the areas surrounding Rockefeller Park.  The infrastructure is already there.  The houses are absolutely gorgeous with solid bones.  Fixed up appropriately, they could easily sell for @ several hundred thousand a pop.  The neighborhood can play off the strengths of CWRU and UC, with all the amenities that come along with those areas and would inevitably increase with a stronger residential base.  Some people may say it is too close to the ghetto but, using Dilworth as a sample again, if you cross over South Blvd (just a few mins from my Dad's house) the ghetto begins and that fact has not frustrated Dilworth's resurgence one bit.

 

Re-creating these types of neighborhood - and that is all it would be, a "re-creation" of something we had in the past, would give families who truly want to live in the City options other than the concrete jungles we already have. 

In Cincy, the Northside neighborhood has lots of young families.  Northside is mostly houses close together and very small yards, but extremely walkable and affordable.  Our friends bought a house there for $60k, though some are in the $250 range (mansions).  Sometimes I think we should have chosen Northside, but Over-the-Rhine was our home before kids and we decided to stay.  Its not like there are large families all over, but the ones that are here, we pretty much know them all and we do lots of visiting and playdates.  In another year or two, my son may start to be able to walk a block or two on his own!??. He is very interested in walking all over the city.  We did an epic walk like the ones KOW mentioned yesterday, and he can't stop talking about it.  (we walked to Newport KY and back).  Today we took an off-trail hike in Mt Echo Park, and found lots of fossils, old bottles etc... 

Cincinnati has lots of great neighborhoods for families in the city limits. Clifton, Hyde Park, Mt. Lookout, Mt. Washington, Pleasant Ridge, most of the West Side, East Walnut Hills, all come to mind as great family neighborhoods in the city limits.

I have kind of always looked at it this way.  You can raise a kids that are 12 and under pretty much anywhere within the city, suburbia, or exurbia.  They tend to have fun with whatever Mom and Dad take them to do, and tend to follow Mom and Dad's instructions.  It the teen years tht you have to think about.  If they go to private high schools, you have to figure that most of their friends are going to be from suburbia.  I can say for Cleveland, most of the kids at Ignatius and Ed's are pretty much from the suburbs.  So, my take is, if you raise the kids in the city, to give them that actual city experience, inner city schools would be the place to send them.  I just think sending them to proivate schools within the sity would almost "de-urbanize" them if you will, due to the kids they are going to school with.  I know, as far as Cleveland goes, Ignatius and Ed's are screaming suburbia out the front doors.  House parties are in Westlake and Solon, not East Blvd and Tremont. 

 

But, I did forget to add, for us, Memphis Kiddie park is tops on our list with the kids, and we are Cleveland Metroparks Zoo season pass holders.  The cool thing is, those passes also get us in to Toledo and Akron Zoo.  And if you haven't been to Akron Zoo, and you have little ones, it is actually pretty nice as it is a bit more walkable for them.  For the older ones though, I like Cleveland the best. 

I take my kids to the Cleveland zoo for the hills! A walk up to the primate house or the bear/tigers will tire them out pretty good... Note the Columbus Zoo does not honor the Cleveland Zoo pass, I found that out last fall. We had a evening Saturday wedding in C-bus and took the kids thinking we would hit the zoo for a few hours. Ended up going on Sunday because it was going to be $50 for a little over an hour if we went on Saturday afternoon. I enjoyed the Columbus zoo though once we got there.

There are other reasons besides schools and "safety" (perceived or real concerns) that prevent some people from living in the city proper.  I have considered moving into the city several times, but I would end up driving out to the suburbs for so many things, it's hard to have it make sense.  For the things I purchase, the selection I need in places like drugstores and grocery stores and clothing stores, I'd be leaving all the time anyway.  I also have well-established relationships with all my doctors (and I have quite a number of doctors I regularly see), and I'd be driving out to see them as well.  It's not an "I love the suburbs, I hate the city" thing; the city just doesn't have what I need.

 

I can't tell you how many times I've walked to one of the CVS locations downtown to get something I need and they just don't have it.  I go to my local CVS, there it is.  And the groceries are just way too lacking/limited for me.  Yes, the WSM is here, and I get a LOT of my fresh food there, but I buy other things at the grocery and they just don't have those things at places like Dave's.  I like the smaller, more accessible libraries in the suburbs; the downtown one is such a behemoth, it's hard to navigate (especially with a small child, who will soon be walking around with me) and is quite often full of pretty undesirable characters. 

 

It's part of a whole "lifestyle" thing I think; I like visiting and being a patron of things in the city, but for practical purposes as a lifestyle, it just doesn't work for me.  It might have when I was younger and single, but I never considered it because of the expense. Now, with a husband and baby, it's almost completely out of the question.

 

I love Cleveland, and am always defending it to people.  I spend the majority of my life IN the city since I work downtown and have for almost all of the nearly 20 years I've lived here, and I pay Cleveland taxes as well, so I feel like I'm a Clevelander, even if I live 15 miles south of the city center.  I support and encourage those who want to live in the city, it just doesn't work for me personally.