I am interviewing for my dream job. It happens to be located in Cleveland. I don’t know anything about Cleveland. But if I get this job, I’m taking it.
What are the best neighborhoods for someone to live in who is mid-30s, single, no kids, wants a short commute to downtown Cleveland, and a walkable neighborhood. I’m reading good things about Lakewood–it seems like what I’m looking for.
I’d be moving from Des Moines, Iowa.
Some questions I have:
–What can you tell me about Cleveland in general?
–Good neighborhoods?
–What’s the housing market like right now?
–Anything else that a person who is clueless about Cleveland should know.
A Cleveland tourism video, just in case you haven’t seen it already.
But in all seriousness, I don’t know much about they city. My friend says the video is pretty accurate, but hopefully some Cleveland(ites?) will jump in with more info. Good luck on the move!
The winters suck. But I imagine Des Moines isn’t too great in the winter either – check me if I’m wrong. Road construction never ends. Summer is glorious. Summer is spectacular.
The lake is awesome. We have terrific restaurants, great parks, the best hospitals, libraries, theatres. The orchestra and art museum are second to none. Just about every performer hits Cleveland on tour.
Join us in our never-ending, inexplicable devotion to our sports teams, who never seem to pull out a championship.
Lakewood is great and sounds good for you. Diverse, lots of beautiful houses (every time I go there I find myself just driving up and down the streets saying I could live in that one, I could live in that one and it’s a buyer’s market.
The job market is bad. Slowly getting better. If you’re interviewing for your dream job, that gives me hope. Good luck!
As a native of southern Ohio, I would say that Cleveland is the only place in the state that has a real urban culture. There are a lot of nice neighborhoods with relatively cheap houses, especially near the university.
Not only does Cleveland have its own good culinary life, it’s also within a reasonable distance of Columbus, which has some fantastic restaurants, particularly in the German Village neighborhood.
Ten years ago I would have said that being in Cleveland should automatically disqualify it from being your dream job. I actually live about 2+ hours from Cleveland, but I have a lot of friends there. Sigmagirl in post #4 has it pretty well covered. There are lots of very nice suburbs surrounding Cleveland and the downtown area has vastly improved over the last 10-15 years. I’ve been to the Rock n Roll HOF, all major sports teams games and seen some great exhibits at the Great Lakes Science Center. You should never have any excuse for boredom.
My brother and sister in law live in Ohio City, which is the neighborhood that was the original town in Cleveland. They are walking distance to a huge, amazing food market (fruit vegetables, meats, chesses, spices, everything) and a lakeside park. Oh, and a microbewery! ETA: and a Cuban bakery with the most kickass flan.
There are some really good museums. Including my favorite, the USS Cod, a museum submarine. A growing foodie scene. Proximity to Cedar Point!!! It’s a nice little town. it is a bit run down in parts but it has really come up quite a lot. My bro is a native of New York City, and SIL hails from San Francisco. They both have really enjoyed living there.
In fact, they are selling their adorable house because SIL has her medical residency in another city. If you’re looking.
Yeah Ohio City is the place to be right now. Lakewood will always be good for young people (well young liberal people). I have a few friends in Cleveland Heights, which is making a resurgence. Houses in the suburbs are super cheap. Houses in some of the older neighborhoods closer to downtown are practically free. I was walking down a side street off Coventry the other day and was surprised to see all the apartments for rent. I would have guessed they’d be full up since it’s such a happenin’ place.
I looked at your profile and I see you are my age and like snow. And are a scientist. I have some friends you’d probably want to hang with if you came out here! So PM me if you are looking to hang out in Cleveland.
I will take you to an Indians game any time you want, too
Heh, had to go look at my profile to see what gave you these ideas about me! I wrote that profile during a particularly snowy winter when I was stuck inside. Anyway, I’m a few years older now. I am not a scientist, but I work with them and generally prefer their company to folks from my own field (lawyers, ick). Am hoping to go to work for a non-profit in the environmental area.
If I end up getting the job, I will probably take you up on the invitation to hang. I don’t know anything or anyone in Cleveland.
I’m from southern Ohio, and I’m a Reds and Bengals fan. But, even I know that Cleveland is a much better place to live than Cincinnati, the Alabama of the North.
Wow that’s weird…the group of girls I’ve been hanging out with lately are a lawyer, a person who works for the Cleveland bar, a scientist and a park ranger. We’re all 30-33. So uhm…you might fit right in! If you’re not an asshole
I really enjoyed the 2 years I lived in Cleveland. I would have been willing to stay there and settle down but my husband got a residency in the Boston area, so here we are.
It snows a lot, but I love snow, so that was a plus for me.
PS We lived in Independence, which is a great town, but a bit on the older side (lots of older residents, etc) and there isn’t much to do there. But we didn’t lock our door the entire 2 years we lived there. The city has a daytime population of around 30,000 but only about 7,000 residents, so it has tax money to spare. Thus there are a ton of really cool free amenities provided by the city (and, for example, they plow the roads the minute the first flake hits the ground, they plow the sidewalks, etc).
Yes, Lakewood is a great place to live, especially since it has a very large gay population . . . which means great neighbors who keep up their homes and yards.
Also the eastern suburbs, especially the “heights.” Generally, the farther out you go, the more expensive.
And if you’re into the arts, Cleveland has a world-class art museum, orchestra, and a very lively theatre scene . . . plus the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.
And Little Italy is the place to go for art galleries and great restaurants.
And lots of sports.
In short . . . if you are offered a good job here, take it.
