5 years
Cleveland is the best of all the cities I’ve lived (Rochester, NY, Albany, NY, Troy, NY and Durham, NC) and combines them into one.
My friends. I also love working out at Hurricane Jiu-Jitsu!
People always think of a struggling blue collar, manufacturing town. While Cleveland is heavy in manufacturing, its not your grandfather’s manufacturing. Cleveland is not struggling and our driver industries are cutting edge.
Do your research and pick your neighborhood carefully as all areas have their pros and cons.
I’m originally from Rochester, NY but relocated here from Durham, NC.
Tremont
I live in North Olmsted. The taxes aren’t bad and I can get most places in Northeast Ohio fairly easily.
I’m close enough to home to visit family with minimal planning. Now I can visit home without losing two days of travel (or purchasing plane tickets for me and my family). I also just love CLE!
6 years (since returning)
The cost of living is great, but we love Cleveland over other cities for many reasons. The theater and arts are top-notch, you can get anywhere you want in less than an hour and no other city has the same caliber of restaurants we do.
It is a hidden treasure to us. It has great theaters and museums, but I can also take a 40-minute ride and get to Amish country. We love the urban, suburban, and rural areas we can visit and explore.
The best decision we made was to come back. Cleveland is a great place to raise a family and build a career.
Scottsdale, AZ, and Chicago, IL
Playhouse Square, Detroit Shoreway area, Little Italy, Crocker Park, Edgewater, or any of the Metroparks.
Strongsville – we love the family atmosphere and access to many shops and amenities, but most of all it is near the airport and my mother-in-law, who helps with our child care.
Cost of living and family support.
6 years
The people are just the BEST — they make you feel welcome everywhere you go.
I adore the architecture of the buildings and the homes — they are so unique and have so much history and they all tell their own stories.
The lake, the food, and the people. It’s a very manageable big small city rolled into one!
You hear people say it all the time, but the cost-of-living cannot be beat. You have the perks of a big city and everything you need at your fingertips, but getting around and blending in is much easier.
Originally born in India, raised in Oklahoma and have lived in Arkansas, Cregon, Chicago, DC and Texas (twice).
I have an itinerary for anyone who comes to visit! Start off at Lakewood park, swing by Barrio for tacos, then hit up Mitchell’s and the West Side Market, end over by the Cleveland Museum of Art or a hike down in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
We live in a west side suburb after many years living in Downtown Cleveland and then near Edgewater. We love the proximity to the Metroparks, and the incredible amount of local restaurants that we get to explore.
I originally moved here to work at News 5, then moved back to work at News 5 again! (and to marry my Akron native husband) — just couldn’t stay away from Northeast Ohio.
Been in Cleveland for 5 years
Cleveland to me is the perfect blend of big city amenities (professional sports, high-end and varied dining, historical cultural attractions) with Midwest sensibilities (hard-working and polite people, low cost of living), and potential (a growing downtown with a shifting demographic that is only getting younger and more dynamic).
I lived in South Bend, IN while attending Notre Dame Law School.
Getting to help clients solve unique problems and seeing the tangible impact that my work can have on a client’s business.
For me it’s all about the accessibility of the city as a whole. Not many other cities offer such a broad array of things to do – from the lake in the summer, to the Art Museum and Cultural Gardens, to high-end restaurants like Marble Room and Pier W. The best part is that none of it feels unattainable in the way attractions in other cities can – ask the typical young professional when the last time they got to go to Broadway in NYC or the nicest restaurant in LA and you’ll quickly see we take for granted how available Cleveland makes all of its best attractions.
When I was deciding where to live after law school I had heard that Cleveland did not have much going on downtown and for the most part was a place that did not have a dynamic life available to young professionals. My experience with Cleveland has been that with this city more than most, you get what you put into it. I’ve been to over 30 states and countless cities, Cleveland is one of the few that allows you to choose the pace of life you prefer and create that life for yourself. If you want to have the urban experience where you take public transport to work and have happy hour in the city with other young professionals that’s possible. If you decide you would rather live in the suburbs and get to know each of your neighbors, that’s an option as well. I have been pleasantly surprised that Cleveland offers the ability to choose a lifestyle that fits your personal goals more than most.
Provided it makes sense to do so from an employment standpoint, you really have nothing to lose. The low cost of living, variety of world-class attractions at your disposal, and ability to create the life you want means that your downside is limited and you have all the upside in the world.
It depends on the person but when I have visitors I always take them to Tremont for the variety of restaurants and ability to walk around casually from place to place.
I live in Tremont and my favorite part of being there is getting to have an urban lifestyle without the usual headaches that are associated with city living. I can walk to all my favorite bars and restaurants, but my commute to the office is still less than 10 minutes.
I looked at a couple other options in big cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington D.C. when I was leaving law school, but ultimately I chose Cleveland because I thought my quality of life here would be higher than anywhere else. The accessibility to the entire city and surrounding areas on any given day, world-class entertainment options, and low cost of living made it a no-brainer for me.