Best Suburb to live in Cleveland Area (Lorain, Lakewood: best suburbs, to rent)

[Baseballfan7]

Hello,

I may take a job in Cleveland and would love to get suggestions on where to live. I have read some of the other relocation posts and the info was very helpful. My wife and have 3 children 2 boys, 12 and 10 and a 1 yr old daughter. We want to live in the suburbs and have the boys in little league, soccer, hockey etc. We are looking for great schools and a quit little town feel. We would like to rent a house until we could find our way around the area. I work in the minneapolis area now and I drive about 30 min to work and home each day in rush hour traffic so the same or less on the commute would be fine. We drive into downtown for dinner and concert etc. and the job location is in the city of cleveland. Thanks for the help

[Steve36]

Honestly, so many of the burbs in Cleveland could quailify for what you want that it would be hard to narrow the search to just one or two. It's a little more challenging in Cleveland to find a nice place in the more urban parts but finding a quite suburb with good schools and sports is pretty easy.

To get you started, you mentioned you want great schools; there were 15 school districts in Cuyahoga County qualified as excellent by the state of Ohio: Bay Village, Beachwood, Brecksville-Broadview Heights, Chagrin Falls, Cuyahoga Heights, Independence, Olmsted Falls, Orange, Rocky River, Strongsville, Westlake, North Royalton, Mayfield, and North Olmsted. All of these communities would be a reasonable commute to work although depending on exactly where your future house and job are some might create slightly longer commutes than you want. Some places like Rocky River, Beachwood and Cuyahoga Heights may or may not fit your definition of a quiet little town since they have somewhat higher population density or are near lots of industry.

Littte league and soccer programs also shouldn't be an issue. Hockey isn't huge in Ohio overall but it is pretty big in this part of the state so that shouldn't be hard to find either.

[Clevelander17]

Originally Posted by Steve36

Honestly, so many of the burbs in Cleveland could quailify for what you want that it would be hard to narrow the search to just one or two. It's a little more challenging in Cleveland to find a nice place in the more urban parts but finding a quite suburb with good schools and sports is pretty easy.

To get you started, you mentioned you want great schools; there were 15 school districts in Cuyahoga County qualified as excellent by the state of Ohio: Bay Village, Beachwood, Brecksville-Broadview Heights, Chagrin Falls, Cuyahoga Heights, Independence, Olmsted Falls, Orange, Rocky River, Strongsville, Westlake, North Royalton, Mayfield, and North Olmsted. All of these communities would be a reasonable commute to work although depending on exactly where your future house and job are some might create slightly longer commutes than you want. Some places like Rocky River, Beachwood and Cuyahoga Heights may or may not fit your definition of a quiet little town since they have somewhat higher population density or are near lots of industry.

Littte league and soccer programs also shouldn't be an issue. Hockey isn't huge in Ohio overall but it is pretty big in this part of the state so that shouldn't be hard to find either.

I really do hate the simplicity of the ODE report card ratings.

The districts named above are all very good, but I wouldn't limit myself if I were relocating. There are a number of other very good districts that, because the ODE ratings don't take into account certain nuances, get overlooked by some. I'd recommend to the initial poster that he also consider cities with school districts that are also rated "effective." That will broaden his options a bit.

[Baseballfan7]

Thanks a lot for the information! I have looked at some places online in Macedonia any info on this town and how far to down town. Thanks

[Clevelander17]

Originally Posted by Baseballfan7

Thanks a lot for the information! I have looked at some places online in Macedonia any info on this town and how far to down town. Thanks

Macedonia's nice. I'm not entirely sure about the length of commute, but I'd guess about 40-45 minutes. Not too bad, but maybe a little more than you're looking for.

Another nice area, and a little shorter commute in to town, would be Mayfield/Mayfield Heights/Highland Heights. Check those areas out and see what you think.

[Ceolas]

I currently live in Bay Village, and it's very much a bedroom community. It's about 20 minutes from downtown in normal traffic, about 30 in prime rush hour. We're on the west side. SUPER family-oriented. There's even a water park. High taxes for this area, because it's a bedroom community, there are almost no businesses to help the tax base. However, the schools are excellent, and we're right on the lake, so it's beautiful. There are a mix of incomes and housing prices. There are huge houses directly on the lake that are millions, but on my street, the range is anywhere from $130K for a small bungalow, to around 450K for a 5 bedroom, 3 bath colonial. Generally, anywhere in Cuyahoga County you're going to pay quite a bit more in taxes than you would if you were in Lorain, Lake, or Medina County. Westlake is directly south of us, which is another good choice for good schools, but lower taxes. It's a much busier suburb though, it really depends on what you're looking for. Rocky River has a lot of similarities to Bay Village, very good schools, slightly older housing stock (not in a bad way), slightly lower taxes, but the housing is more expensive. Avon Lake is directly west, in Lorain County, also lower taxes, and good schools, but you're adding another 10 minutes to your commute, depending on where in AL you'd live.

In Macedonia, you're in for a bit of a commute, but if you don't mind it, a lot of people are making that choice. Low taxes and cheap housing for the most part. It is a bit in the middle of nowhere though, not a lot around to do. I'd say that with traffic, the northern edges of Medina would be anywhere from 40-45 minutes in rush hour from downtown, in the winter snow you could end up driving upwards of 60+ minutes. I've heard the schools are good, but not as good as in other 'burbs in the area.

The west and south suburbs of cleveland are a lot less diverse than the east side. If you want a more diverse community, I'd recommend trying the east side (even higher taxes, usually), although the commutes can be a bit more difficult as there's somewhat more limited freeway access if you're trying to get downtown. There are rougher areas of the city itself on that side, too, but there are some extremely nice communities with great schools as you get further out, like Highland Heights, Orange & Beachwood. Housing tends to be more expensive on that side of town, as well. Most of the true "wealth" in the Cleveland area is on the east side, not including the lakefront housing that runs through both sides of the city.

In general, expect to pay at least 2%+ on every 100K of appraised property value if you're in Cuyahoga County. I pay almost 2.5% where I live.

Hope this helps! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

[jmskef2011]

Cleveland historically has been divided between east and west with a few southern burbs in between. Two sides of town have a different feel. East side is more diverse in some ways (at least has a larger black and jewish population), but the outer suburbs become less diverse. East side can be a lot snowier due to being in the primary snowbelt. West side is very white with a large slavic and polish influence in addition to the German descendants who are predominant statewide. I like the area around Orange ans Solon personally (East/South East).

[tribecavsbrowns]

Originally Posted by Steve36

Honestly, so many of the burbs in Cleveland could quailify for what you want that it would be hard to narrow the search to just one or two. It's a little more challenging in Cleveland to find a nice place in the more urban parts but finding a quite suburb with good schools and sports is pretty easy.

To get you started, you mentioned you want great schools; there were 15 school districts in Cuyahoga County qualified as excellent by the state of Ohio: Bay Village, Beachwood, Brecksville-Broadview Heights, Chagrin Falls, Cuyahoga Heights, Independence, Olmsted Falls, Orange, Rocky River, Strongsville, Westlake, North Royalton, Mayfield, and North Olmsted. All of these communities would be a reasonable commute to work although depending on exactly where your future house and job are some might create slightly longer commutes than you want. Some places like Rocky River, Beachwood and Cuyahoga Heights may or may not fit your definition of a quiet little town since they have somewhat higher population density or are near lots of industry.

Littte league and soccer programs also shouldn't be an issue. Hockey isn't huge in Ohio overall but it is pretty big in this part of the state so that shouldn't be hard to find either.

Lakewood was also rated excellent. Though I agree with the poster who said you can do better than the simplistic ODE ratings.

[romeo62186]

I'm from Strongsville and for the money...I think it's one of the best suburbs to meet your criteria. I was able to CONFIDENTLY walk all though highschool and the city with thousands worth of jewelry everyday. It your stereotypical idea of "suburbia". Very safe, most popular/huge mall in the area. 20-25 mins from downtown Cle, and 10 mins away from the Cleveland Hopkins Intl Airport. Everything from Cinemark to Walmart to Best Buy to great restaurants can be found in the city. We have since relocated to the east suburbs and f you can afford it though...I'd highly recommend East Side suburbs (which include some of the wealthiest cities in the United States, Hunting Valley is rank 6th in the US). Pepper pike, Orange, Moreland Hills are in the Orange school district which is a top rated school district would be great for your kids. Beachwood/Lyndhurt is know as a "rich" area but is little more affordable than the previously listed. and is the reason why I love the East side suburbs. With Legacy Village and Beachwood mall (saks, nordstrom)...these area surburbs is hard to beat. Closer to little italy, university, and downtown, but the downside is further from the airport. Hope this input helps. Any more questions...just ask away.

P.s. Don't forget to look into Solon also.

[wrightflyer]

Originally Posted by tribecavsbrowns

Lakewood was also rated excellent. Though I agree with the poster who said you can do better than the simplistic ODE ratings.

Not being mean, but just an FYI, those report card numbers are from 2008 at best. More likely 2007.

If someone wanted to compile a list of Excellent w/ Distinction, Excellent, and Effective school districts, it may be worth while.

For those unfamiliar with ODE ratings, it is based on NCLB (not the best rating system, and that is an understatement) with value added measures, and it also relies on state test scores for certain grade levels in each district. Excellent w/ Distinction is basically A+ and goes from there (A, B, C...).