Cleveland

DH wants to rank them super high. Who knows if we'll even end up there. But in terms of ranking, can someone anyone please tell me super great positive reasons for wanting to live in Cleveland for 6-7 years. I have lots of negatives-- the weather, the city, the weather, it's not CA, my crazy g'ma lives in Dayton. I am trying to be open minded so it would be great if someone can pep me up. He is really pumped about their program. He tells me the city is not much different than StL except the weather is crappier. SUPER. Any input would be great. Thanks!!

[DCJenn]

My aunt lives in Mentor and they love it. I understand that Cleveland has made great strides from it's Rust Belt days and you can find all kinds of cultural stuff and pretty good restaurants. and the Rock and Roll hall of fame.

My aunt used to be a realtor in Cleveland- let me know if you need/want to run areas past her.

Jenn

I have only visited for a few days, but I was fascinated by the architecture. The buildings there are still the beautiful ornate office buildings, for the most part. And a friend who lives there is in a neighborhood that is full of Victorian homes and cute little cafes.

I don't know if architecture interests you or anything like that, but my friend who lives there seems to enjoy it. He is a doc, but I am not sure what hospital (actually friend of DF) but if you would like, I can grill DF about it a little. Best of Luck to you!!

[Flynn]

I'm not a fan but I have limited experience with Cleveland. Other people on this site have much more credible opinions than I do.

For a "PRO" if the program is high powered and well respected, it might be easier to land wherever you want to when you're done.

With that being said, our experience when finding a job was basically -- do your residency/training at the best program available OR in the general area you want to end up for future networking -- maybe both of these categories are one and the same depending on the program. This would be ideal.

Not many places are like CA. The match is fickle. Try not to get your heart set on any one place to save yourself some anxiety!!

born and raised there. there are things that I love, but don't know that these are things i would feel are good reasons to relocate. the architectural references are interesting. there are some gorgeous old houses for sure, but i was never struck by the local architecture being more interesting than other cities from the same era. i don't know much about st. louis, but they do strike me as very similar.

here are a few points:

diverse - a very large african american community, asian community, east indian community, a fast growing hispanic community, old (dwindling - but still vibrant italian community w/great restaurants and bakeries in Little Italy), a good-sized Jewish community (on the east side), even a pretty strong "eastern European" - Polish, Hungarian, Serbian (my downfall in high school was a guy named Vlad). Fresh perogies made by old Polish women are a delight!

DCJenn is right, it has experienced a resurgence from the "rust belt" days, but is also on a bit of a down tic sadly, due to several large industries leaving town. The housing market is VERY tough (for sellers), and our recent visit there (last weekend) just showed that that has not changed at all. The number of the houses on the market is really staggering. In my adult life, downtown / the warehouse district / the flats have really been built up -- but now the flats at least is on a definite downward turn. Lots of good restaurants though.

You can pretty much find the kind of community you want. The west side of town is "newer" (although it's aging now, too). Most of the western suburbs have houses that are 20 yrs old or younger. The eastern suburbs have some spectacular old homes - from the 1900's and earlier. I'd guess the average age of home on the east side to be around 50. Much more interesting houses to choose from.

Depending on the hospital you're looking at, and specialty, MOST residents choose to live on the east side. UH and CCF are both a 10 - 15 minute ride from Cleveland Heights / University Heights. Surgical residents at UH (not sure for CCF) also spend a fair amount of time at the VA and at Metro. Some of those folks - and residents based at Metro - choose to live in Lakewood - or single folks may look to Ohio City. Our own NanTan hails from the west side - and since they may be leaving this spring, she'd probably give you a great deal on her beautiful home.

The weather sucks. There are more grey days in Cleveland than Seattle. Fall is beautiful, but sometimes horribly short. Spring is ... wet ... and sometimes horribly long.

I grew up on the west side, lived as an adult on the east side, and have friends all over town. Let me know if you have any more questions -- I should be able to answer them for you.

Davita -

By the time I finished my post, I'd forgotten who asked the question. The options for where to live are seriously squished when looking w/school-age kiddos. Cleveland Heights / University Heights schools are really awful I'm sorry to say. When I was a kid they were VERY well respected, but they have really taken a dive in the past 10-15 years. Just in the 6 years we were homeowners there, they'd gone through 3 superintendents, and the high school was set on fire 4 times. My friend who owns a paint-your-own-pottery studio around the corner from Heights High told me there was a shooting there last week.

For similar, affordable housing WITH kids, I'd suggest Lakewood. It's just west of Cleveland, and while it's a slightly longer commute to CCF or UH, it's worth it for the peace of mind. There are good school districts on the east side for sure - but you will be SERIOUSLY paying for it real-estate wise.

I realize you're far from making a housing decision - but wanted to add that before I forgot.

Whether it's "worth it" really depends on which hospital / program he's looking at. CCF is clearly very prestigious, but has it's own faults. There is a post in Pediatrics about CCF vs. UH and many of the pros and cons. Also - you're always very welcome to PM me.

[madeintaiwan]

Thanks for all the input and info. Especially Jenn with all the details (if we match there I will definitely PM you). It is CCF that he interviewed at and apparrantly they are top 5 for ortho. The trauma guy at his home program went there. I suppose I just want to know that residency there is doable ... that others have gone and come out at the other end mostly sane. I know that I will make it work wheve ever we end up. Really, where we rank them isn't really going to matter unless they rank us to match. Thanks again for all the replys.
Davita

It is CCF that he interviewed at and apparrantly they are top 5 for ortho.

Be sure he knows that CCF is infamous for not letting interns / residents - even FELLOWS do a lot of hands-on stuff. The place is such a machine and focused (largely) on the names of their docs that often the teaching component gets less focus than at other places. I'm sure it can vary from specialty to specialty - we've just known a few people who went through CCF & came out w/a VERY strong CV but not a lot of hands-on experience.

It is the largest single employer in the city of Cleveland. They have their own zip code, phone prefix, and cover at least 5 city blocks (but were digging up another one when I drove by last weekend.

[madeintaiwan]

Thanks Jenn. I'll be sure to pass this on to DH. As he wants to get the most hands on experience possible.