23, moving to Northern Ohio and need advice badly! (Columbus, Cleveland: real estate, apartment complexes)

[thefeeels]

Hi all!

Thank you for clicking and wanting to help out. I am moving to Akron from LI, NY. I'm 23, and work in public accounting. I'm looking for advice on particular towns/areas in the Akron/Canton/even Cleveland that are known for being nice, comfortable, young areas to live in.

So if you could pick one particular town in Akron/Canton area that has some great apartment complexes and a nice community for students/young professionals (and nice people in general) I would really like to hear your input! Thanks

For the record I am probably looking for a studio apartment for about $600-1000/month . Any advice on that would be also very appreciated!

OK FIRST TO REPLY WINS.. GO!!

[JR_C]

In NE Ohio, the young places are going to be neighborhoods in the city. I've lived in Youngstown for over 16 years, so this is just what I've heard, and have no real experience with any of them.

In Canton, it's downtown that has seen new development; converting old buildings into apartments.

In Akron, I think the young neighborhood is Highland Square. My cousin lived there, and recently bought a fixer-upper house just outside of the neighborhood.

There are more choices in Cleveland. (I think there are several young neighborhoods to choose from) But, if you decide that you're interested in Cleveland, you should probably ask in the Cleveland forum.

It really depends on where you'll be working, and how much you want to commute. Since I take public transportation, I prefer to live close to where I work. And, there's no way you can comfortably use public transit to commute from Akron to Cleveland or Canton.

Hope this helps a little.

[reed303]

The info here may help you.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neighb...in_Akron,_Ohio
In addition to Highland Sq., the University Park area around the U of A might be interesting.

If work is in Akron, avoid Cleveland from a commute standpoint.

Have you tried padmapper.com for apt. listings ? Here is one possibility for a studio near UA:

https://www.padmapper.com/listings/1...akron-oh-44304

[thefeeels]

ThaNK you both. You're replies are appreciated and are really helping. I am sort of feeling free-willed and am able to move anywhere and looking to just get an apartment asap but am definetely having trouble =/

I am definetely going to look into Highland Sq and yes I am hoping to live close to my job ideally..

And padmapper actually looks like an easy place to search thank you! If you see any nice apartment complexes that you know are renowned let me know!

Thanks all. Further input as to what city might be best is helpful.

[goofy328]

Short answer, just live close to where you work and let the rest take care of itself. Cleveland is a faster pace. Akron and Canton are more family towns. To be sure, Canton is just entirely too small, and too compact for me. I grew up in Akron and always wanted to live in Cleveland because it was larger, faster, and I could lose myself. I never really felt that way about Akron.


Akron/Cleveland is one of those situations where people often live in one and work in the other. And they're trying to get something cultural that does not exist in their city, even though they live somewhere that may not be the case. For example, Cleveland has professional sports, and a night life, better museums, a better theatre scene and overall more street traffic in it's neighborhoods than you'll find in Akron, which tends to go to sleep when the sun goes down (other than downtown or at the University). So someone will work in Akron, but not really want to live there, and they'll make that commute. Which is perfectly fine until it snows or rains. Cleveland just has more of everything, and for a while was about as close as you'll get to Chicago or NYC in Ohio, although Cincinnati and Columbus have a lot to offer as well, and that is an endless debate you can get into with people on these forums.

On the other hand someone that grew up in Akron doesn't mind working in Cleveland, but might not want to live there. His or her entire extended family is in Akron, or they're married and their, or their spouses, entire family is in Akron. It is cheaper to own in Akron. So, again, they'll make that commute.

Now Akron/Canton is entirely different, as Canton can be reached in less than 30 minutes.

At the end of the day both Akron and Cleveland are interesting places to live. Akron will never be as large as Cleveland, and never offer the urban experience that you get in Cleveland but the trade off is that crime is not as pronounced as it is Cleveland, the people are nicer in Akron and you can get anywhere in Akron in like 15 minutes. Cleveland is also known for having a larger Black population and offering more in terms of different races/ethnicity/diversity than Akron, but even that is changing.

The whole (NE Ohio) region is more or less one metro area that may as well be one city. And you can get anywhere quickly, or within a reasonable amount of time, unlike where I live at now. I'm used to it now but I missed NE and SW Ohio when I first moved here.

[ahaze007]

Hi, I have lived in Akron most of my life. I think Highland Square might be a good fit. Canton is a little more removed from options of other things to do. With Akron you can get to both Cleveland and Canton with about a 30-35 min drive. If you want the bigger city feel then you probably want Cleveland.
I am a real estate agent in the area and would be happy to help.

[bjimmy24]

I think you'll find that you don't even need 600 for a studio, regardless of which city you choose. Unless you want to go to downtown Cleveland or Ohio City or something.

I would choose the Cleveland suburb of Lakewood personally. It's not very "suburban." Lots to do, plenty of young people, and just a great vibe.Easy access downtown, whether on public transit or via highway. Tough to beat. My friend lives near the high school over there and pays maybe 700 for half a house with two bedrooms. He's the only one living there.

[Mufawufa5]

I've lived in Ohio most of my life. Lived in Akron, Twinsburg, Wadsworth and a few other places. My suggestion is Twinsburg if you work in Cleveland and Wadsworth if you work in Akron. Both are very nice towns especially if you plan on raising a family one day. Lots of students live in both. Very low crime rates.

I currently live in Wadsworth and have been for the past decade. Its growing so much. The whole town is going through a huge facelift. By next year it'll be a suberb place to live. Lots of akron students commute from here. We have great schools and sports and so many apartment buildings are being put in. Twinsburg is a bit larger and closer to Cleveland. They are both pretty similar to each other. Best of luck on your search!

[ohioaninsc]

In the Cleveland area most young professionals live downtown, or in Ohio City, Lakewood, or near University Circle. None would offer a good commute to Akron but would offer the best living experience for a young professional like yourself. I'm not sure Akron has much in the way of downtown living but like has been mentioned Highland Square would work. Stay away from Canton unless you have family there...it's a real boring town that continues to lose population very similar to Youngstown.

[JR_C]

Originally Posted by ohioaninsc

In the Cleveland area most young professionals live downtown, or in Ohio City, Lakewood, or near University Circle. None would offer a good commute to Akron but would offer the best living experience for a young professional like yourself. I'm not sure Akron has much in the way of downtown living but like has been mentioned Highland Square would work. Stay away from Canton unless you have family there...it's a real boring town that continues to lose population very similar to Youngstown.

All of the cities the in the OP's poll are losing population, so they're all similar to Youngstown.