Cleveland or Akron? (Commute) (Canton, Cleveland Heights: how much, houses, neighborhood)

[sans undertale]

Thinking about making the move to northeast Ohio and I need help deciding between if I should live near Akron or Cleveland. Which one would I be better off commuting to?

Criteria:

• Fun things to do
• Relatively safe for big city standards
• Little traffic
• Doesn't feel run-down (might be a bit challenging for a couple rust belt cities like those)

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by sans undertale

Thinking about making the move to northeast Ohio and I need help deciding between if I should live near Akron or Cleveland. Which one would I be better off commuting to?

Criteria:

• Fun things to do
• Relatively safe for big city standards
• Little traffic
• Doesn't feel run-down (might be a bit challenging for a couple rust belt cities like those)

There are areas of both these places that have all this. Anything more specific?

[sans undertale]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

There are areas of both these places that have all this. Anything more specific?

Nice scenery also comes to mind. Also I'm talking about the cities as a whole, not just certain parts.

[bjimmy24]

I think it probably comes down to if you want a bigger or smaller city then. Cleveland and Akron's metro areas kinda bleed into each other, but Cleveland still does feel at least 2x bigger than Akron, no matter how you look at it. When it comes to scenery, both have easy access to Cuyahoga Valley so that's a draw, but Cleveland has the distinct benefit of being right on the shores of Lake Erie.

[WRnative]

Cleveland has far superior cultural activities to Akron and all of the pro sports venues in northeast Ohio. Cleveland has much larger and better entertainment districts. And it has Lake Erie and related activities and vistas. I can't think of an advantage that Greater Akron offers over Greater Cleveland except Stan Hywet Hall, one of the best historic mansions in the U.S. The University of Akron and Kent State University generally have better Div. I university sports teams than Cleveland State University, which even lacks a football team.

Cleveland has the best hospitals in Ohio with the main campuses of both the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals.

Cleveland has better mass transit, with many miles of rail rapids and bus rapid lines.

My impression is that Cleveland's downtown, Ohio City, and University Circle are much more dynamic than any areas of Akron, with all undergoing construction booms. In-fill construction is taking place in the Midtown Corridor that connects downtown and University Circle in Cleveland.

Like Greater Cleveland's five county metropark systems, Summit County Metro Parks are very good.

https://www.summitmetroparks.org/

Hudson is very charming and is a suburb of both Cleveland and Akron.

Your decision probably comes down to how close you want to live to Cleveland's cultural and sports amenities and to Lake Erie.

Again, as you're interested in annual snowfall, you'll want to live in the snowbelt which is east of the City of Cleveland and north of Akron.

Traffic in most of northeast Ohio is not an issue, except for a few bottlenecks such as IMO Route 91 through Solon, the intersection of I-480 and I-271, and the Innerbelt through Cleveland. The latter two mostly are rush hour issues.

[SlideRules99]

Agree with the others…advantage Cleveland.

One thing in Akron’s favor is its proximity to Blossom Music Center for outdoor concerts, drawing world renowned musical talent and big name groups. I’ll admit it is mildly inconvenient to make this trip from Cleveland (vs. Akron).

The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton is an easy jaunt from Akron, if that is your thing.

As was noted above, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park is equally convenient to either city. South of Peninsula (closer to Akron) features some wonderful trails.

But yeah, clear advantage to Cleveland IMO.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by SlideRules99

Agree with the others…advantage Cleveland.

One thing in Akron’s favor is its proximity to Blossom Music Center for outdoor concerts, drawing world renowned musical talent and big name groups. I’ll admit it is mildly inconvenient to make this trip from Cleveland (vs. Akron).

The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton is an easy jaunt from Akron, if that is your thing.

As was noted above, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park is equally convenient to either city. South of Peninsula (closer to Akron) features some wonderful trails.

But yeah, clear advantage to Cleveland IMO.

Several eastern and southern Cleveland suburbs are very convenient to Blossom, more so than some Akron suburbs.

Personally, I would visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton once every five years, assuming changes/improvements have been made. I haven't gone back in decades as I'm not a fan of staring at busts, somewhat sarcastically. A return visit is overdue given the great enhancements in just recent years. Historical NFL footage is available on the internet, let alone cable sports networks.

Cleveland cultural amenities, such as the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall, the Cleveland Institute of Art's Cinematheque, Playhouse Square, even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, are much more dynamic with constantly changing exhibits and attractions, especially collectively. Cleveland has additional attractions such as the Great Lakes Science Center (Steamship Mather), Cleveland Natural History Museum, Cleveland Play House, Karamu House, Beck Center, Holden Cleveland Botanical Garden, U.S.S. Cod, Cleveland History Center, International Women Air & Space Museum, Lake View Cemetery, Dittrick Medical History Center (COVID restricted hours) and the West Side Market.

https://holdenfg.org/cleveland-botan...an-your-visit/

https://iwasm.org/wp-blog/

Note Dittrick gallery openings in October.

https://artsci.case.edu/dittrick/

The E.J. Thomas Hall in Akron is very good, especially now with the Playhouse Square-administered Broadway Series, and probably with Stan Hywet (annual holiday events including "Dazzle"), the Akron attractions most visited by me, along with the very worthwhile Akron Art Museum especially for some exhibits.

https://www.playhousesquare.org/broadway-in-akron

Persons should remember that Akron's Summit County is adjacent to Cleveland's Cuyahoga County; downtown Akron is only 40 miles and a 40 minutes drive from downtown Cleveland; the Cleveland Metroparks and Summit Metroparks collectively own a large portion of the land encompassed by the Cuyahoga Valley National Park; the great Towpath Trail runs through Akron and has its northern terminus in Cleveland and now, with the completion this year of the Wendy Park Bridge, is connected to Lake Erie; and the Indians/soon Guardians Triple A franchise plays at the excellent Canal Park stadium (a relative pro baseball bargain for families with young kids) in Akron. Culturally and politically, Cleveland and Akron are close siblings with very little rivalry and competition to my knowledge, exclusive perhaps of the separate airports of the two cities and between Cleveland State University and the University of Akron, even though my understanding is that both universities increasingly share programs and perhaps even faculty, with the potential of much greater cooperation in the future (some day a combined, renamed university with northern and southern campuses, and a major Div. I football team with some games played at First Energy Stadium and certainly a very good Div. I basketball team?).

https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/...dy-park-bridge

https://www.ohioanderiecanalway.com/...a-summer-hike/

https://www.ohioanderiecanalway.com/...towpath-trail/

[SlideRules99]

Originally Posted by WRnative

Several eastern and southern Cleveland suburbs are very convenient to Blossom, more so than some Akron suburbs.

Personally, I would visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton once every five years, assuming changes/improvements have been made. I haven't gone back in decades as I'm not a fan of staring at busts, somewhat sarcastically. A return visit is overdue given the great enhancements in just recent years. Historical NFL footage is available on the internet, let alone cable sports networks.

Cleveland cultural amenities, such as the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall, the Cleveland Institute of Art's Cinematheque, Playhouse Square, even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, are much more dynamic with constantly changing exhibits and attractions, especially collectively. Cleveland has additional attractions such as the Great Lakes Science Center (Steamship Mather), Cleveland Natural History Museum, Karamu House and Beck Center theaters, Holden Cleveland Botanical Garden, U.S.S. Cod, Cleveland History Center, International Women Air & Space Museum, Lake View Cemetery, Dittrick Medical History Center and the West Side Market.

https://holdenfg.org/cleveland-botan...an-your-visit/

The E.J. Thomas Hall in Akron is very good, especially now with the Playhouse Square-administered Broadway Series, and probably with Stan Hywet (annual holiday events including "Dazzle"), the Akron attractions most visited by me, along with the very worthwhile Akron Art Museum especially for some exhibits.

https://www.playhousesquare.org/broadway-in-akron

Persons should remember that Akron's Summit County is adjacent to Cleveland's Cuyahoga County; downtown Akron is only 40 miles and a 40 minutes drive from downtown Cleveland; the Cleveland Metroparks and Summit Metroparks collectively own a large portion of the land encompassed by the Cuyahoga Valley National Park; the great Towpath Trail runs through Akron and has its northern terminus in Cleveland and now, with the completion this year of the Wendy Park Bridge, is connected to Lake Erie; and the Indians/soon Guardians Triple A franchise plays at the excellent Canal Park stadium (a relative pro baseball bargain for families with young kids) in Akron. Culturally and politically, Cleveland and Akron are close siblings with very little rivalry and competition to my knowledge, exclusive perhaps of the separate airports of the two cities and between Cleveland State University and the University of Akron, even though my understanding is that both universities increasingly share programs and perhaps even faculty, with the potential of much greater cooperation in the future (some day a combined, renamed university with northern and southern campuses, and a major Div. I football team with some games played at First Energy Stadium and certainly a very good Div. I basketball team?).

https://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/...dy-park-bridge

https://www.ohioanderiecanalway.com/...a-summer-hike/

https://www.ohioanderiecanalway.com/...towpath-trail/

I did say “advantage Cleveland”…twice LOL. Just that downtown Akron is closer than downtown CLE for Blossom outings.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by SlideRules99

I did say “advantage Cleveland”…twice LOL. Just that downtown Akron is closer than downtown CLE for Blossom outings.

Not disagreeing with you, just enhancing your observations with my personal perspective.

As you know as well as anyone, I'm a big fan of living close to University Circle attractions/offerings given the sheer level of very worthwhile, high quality activities offered, especially with easily available mass transit (rail rapids and Healthline bus rapid) to downtown and Ohio City's Market District.

BTW, now that you do live in Cleveland Heights and relatively close to UC, how often do you visit and how much has your proximity changed your quality of life? Do you have any regrets about not choosing Chagrin Falls for your relocation destination?

[SlideRules99]

Originally Posted by WRnative

Not disagreeing with you, just enhancing your observations with my personal perspective.

As you know as well as anyone, I'm a big fan of living close to University Circle attractions/offerings given the sheer level of very worthwhile, high quality activities offered, especially with easily available mass transit (rail rapids and Healthline bus rapid) to downtown and Ohio City's Market District.

BTW, now that you do live in Cleveland Heights and relatively close to UC, how often do you visit and how much has your proximity changed your quality of life? Do you have any regrets about not choosing Chagrin Falls for your relocation destination?

All good! We love it here in CLeveland Hts! Great walkability to shops/restaurants in Cedar Lee, Cedar- Fairmount, and close enough to Larchmere for some bohemian vibe. Neighborhood has an awesome old world charm, but an earthy/artsy vibe we love. Lower Shaker Lake and the nature center are practically at our back door.

We do enjoy UC and Little Italy and we have favorite restaurants and such. We have visited most of the museums and gardens and love it.

We do visit Chagrin Falls and enjoy the village. However, sometime in our search we realized many of the small shops etc. were charming to look at, but of dubious practical value to us. And of course, we got better home value in CH.

Bottom line, very happy! For others, YMMV of course.

OK ‘nuff about me, back to CLE vs. Akron…lol.