How Do Clevelanders With An Inferiority Complex to Get Over It? (Columbus: house, purchase)

[QCongress83216]

As we all know that a certain group of Clevelanders battle with a major inferiority complex, I battle with it at times. Some talk negative about the city, some feel that the city or they are inadequate to bigger cities or internalize what the media, social media and people in other cities think. Need some advice. So, how do myself and those Clevelanders get over it?

[216facts]

Visit Dallas

[jfre81]

You just do you, Cleveland.

The fourth coast by James Fremont, on Flickr

[gouldnm]

Originally Posted by QCongress83216

As we all know that a certain group of Clevelanders battle with a major inferiority complex, I battle with it at times. Some talk negative about the city, some feel that the city or they are inadequate to bigger cities or internalize what the media, social media and people in other cities think. Need some advice. So, how do myself and those Clevelanders get over it?

Do what I did. Live on either the East or West Coasts for a few years and you'll understand why people like me (who grew up in the Midwest) are so eager to return.

If that isn't an option, do a search on all my posts and you will find plenty of reasons why I prefer Cleveland to many other places.

The saying "The grass is always greener" seems particularly applicable to Clevelanders.

Honestly, I find the Cleveland inferiority complex to be extremely sad.

[OHdanIO]

People have no idea. Cleveland has one of the cleanest downtowns in the country, a world-class medical presence, fantastic food, a recent NBA championship, a recent World Series appearance, put-in-bay, an hour drive from the football hall of fame, the UFC heavyweight champion (coming up on 2 years as champ) Stipe Miocic representing CLE, we’re not far from Cedar Point/Kalahari, we hosted the RNC, great festivles, a variety of affordable housing, and SO much more!

[QCongress83216]

Originally Posted by 216facts

Visit Dallas

Did you used to live in Dallas? If so, how long? Why didn't you like it?

[HueysBack]

Following other people... visit/live in other places. To be fair, this kind of thinking exists everywhere by the born and raised. Though it does seem especially strong in NE Ohio. The amount of people FROM HERE who've stared dumbfounded at us like we're aliens, asking "why did you move here?" is just weird. I'm talking our realtors, nurses/doctors, waitresses, plumbers/electricians, etc.

I reply, "we're economic migrants".

Like, I get that CLE has been through a lot of hard times, it's pretty obvious. And there is still a ton of work to do. However, do you not realize how expensive other mid-sized and large cities are? We couldn't afford to live in the nice areas of the Bay Area, Minneapolis, Chicago or even Madison, WI. It's prohibitively expensive for young families. For the price of a 1 bedroom in pretty rough areas there, we bought a nice sized house in a very safe/quiet east suburb here. Now we take a 5 minute drive to University Circle, visit awesome museums, have access to really good health care facilities, etc. And we're like 20 minutes to downtown where I can easily catch a football/baseball/basketball game, go to a great play, visit the lakefront, etc. Just got back from the Westside Market actually and it's awesome! And we're surrounded by great shopping amenities too.

My neighbor mentioned to me that CLE suffers major "brain drain" though. The manufacturing base left. The brightest of their kids went off to college and then never came back. Companies see no value in rooting foot here because of that, and of course the high taxes. So what's left is a large concentration of low to lower-middle class workers and an rapidly aging population. This is a real problem that the area has to figure out. How do you attract young, vibrant minds without a major university or booming tech sector?

[Peregrine]

I don't have an inferiority complex.
When my buddy spends an hour in traffic to get to work 24 miles in Charlotte, I just smile and enjoy my 15 minute 9 mile commute.

[QCongress83216]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I don't have an inferiority complex.
When my buddy spends an hour in traffic to get to work 24 miles in Charlotte, I just smile and enjoy my 15 minute 9 mile commute.

I was referring to Clevelanders that do have it sometimes I wrestle with it. How does your friend like Charlotte?

[216facts]

Originally Posted by QCongress83216

Did you used to live in Dallas? If so, how long? Why didn't you like it?

Yes, I used to live there for a couple of years back in the 1980s, I left in 1989. I've been back several times since. Dallas has a lot of things that people look for: job opportunities, reasonable housing costs, big city amenities. And that probably sums it up for the most part, reasons why people will move to Dallas or Houston, or Austin. I had a great, and I mean great, job and career path when I was living in Dallas. I was young and bold (some say stupid) but I left because I didn't want to live there. Simple is that. I married the Texas girlfriend, quit the job and moved back to Ohio - all in about 2 weeks time, and without having any kind of a job to go to. I won't bore you any more with my life story.

What Cleveland offered me that Dallas didn't:
1. The greenery of forests, hills, streams, augmented with nature centers and hiking trails. The metroparks and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. We are so blessed here when it comes to these amenities, so many cities do not have anything comparable. Being able to drive from Lakewood to Strongsville and then to Brecksville and then to Solon and then to Eastlake all the time being on a metro parkway (for the most part, there are a few small breaks) is fantastic. Having 14 "reservations" to go to for hiking, biking, mountain biking, etc. Many of the reservations are 2000 to 3000 acres of preserved forest land. Paved bike trails that basically encircle the city. We have a publicly funded metro park system of the highest quality that is continuing to purchase land and build the system. This is something I require in my life. I hike multiple times per week, 52 weeks a year.

2. Great medical institutions. Few cities can boast of a hospital system as great as the Cleveland Clinic. We also have University Hospitals and Metro. There are some years when both the CCF and UH make the top 20 list of best hospitals. Only a select few cities have 2 hospitals on that list (Boston, NYC, LA, and sometimes Cleveland.) CCF is regularly in the top 4 in the country. Having the confidence that you're being treated by a research hospital is comforting to me.

3. Lake Erie. I like going to the beach just to hear the waves and see a sunset. I love going to Edgewater and walking around on a summer evening, seeing people play and have fun, have a brew, looking at the sailboats out on the lake. I also enjoy fishing.

4. Proximity to other great cities I like to visit like Pittsburgh, Columbus, Cincinnati, Detroit, Toronto.

5. Proximity to other great areas to go hiking, camping, fishing: Southern and Central Ohio, PA, NY, KY.

I could go on, but there's my top 5. Oh, 6 - microbreweries, we do pretty well there too.