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Renting an Apartment in Cleveland
Cleveland is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in
the U.S. state of Ohio. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the
southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately 60 miles (100 km) west of the
Pennsylvania border. It was founded in 1796 near the mouth of the Cuyahoga
River, and became a manufacturing center owing to its location at the head of
numerous canals and railroad lines. With the decline of heavy manufacturing,
Cleveland's businesses have diversified into the service economy, including the
financial services, insurance, and healthcare sectors.
As of the 2000 Census, the city proper had a total population of 478,403, making
it the 33rd largest city in the nation and the second largest city in Ohio.
Recent estimates from the United States Census Bureau show it to currently be
the 36th largest in the nation. It is the center of Greater Cleveland, the
largest metropolitan area in Ohio, which spans several counties and is defined
in several different ways by the Census Bureau. The Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor
Metropolitan Statistical Area has 2,250,871 people and is the 23rd largest in
the country. Cleveland is also part of the larger Cleveland-Akron-Elyria
Combined Statistical Area, which is the 14th largest in the country with a
population of 2,945,831 according to the 2000 Census.
City residents and tourists benefit from investments made by wealthy residents
in the city's heyday, in arts and cultural institutions, and philanthropy also
helped to establish a robust public library system in the city. More recent
investments have provided the city with tourist attractions in the downtown
area, such as Jacobs Field, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Playhouse Square
Center. In studies conducted by The Economist in 2005, Cleveland and Pittsburgh
were ranked as the most livable cities in the United States, and the city was
ranked as the best city for business meetings in the continental U.S.
Nevertheless, the city faces continuing challenges, in particular from
concentrated poverty in some neighborhoods and difficulties in the funding and
delivering of high-quality public education.
Residents of Cleveland are usually referred to as Clevelanders. Nicknames used
for the city include The Forest City, Metropolis of the Western Reserve, The New
American City, America's North Coast, Sixth City, and C-Town. Its 20 sister
cities include Volgograd, Russia; Bratislava, Slovakia; Ljubljana, Slovenia;
Miskolc, Hungary; Bangalore, India; Alexandria, Egypt; and most recently Fier,
Albania.
Cleveland's downtown architecture is varied. Many of the city's government and
civic buildings, including City Hall, the Cuyahoga County Courthouse, the
Cleveland Public Library, and Public Auditorium are clustered around an open
mall and share a common neoclassical architecture. Built in the early 20th
century, they are the result of the 1903 Group Plan, and constitute one of the
most complete examples of City Beautiful design in the United States. The
Terminal Tower, dedicated in 1930, was the tallest building in the United States
outside New York City until 1967 and the tallest in the city until 1991. It is a
prototypical Beaux-Arts skyscraper. The two newer skyscrapers on Public Square,
Key Tower (currently the tallest building in Ohio) and the BP Building, combine
elements of Art Deco architecture with postmodern designs. Another of
Cleveland's architectural treasures is The Arcade (sometimes called the Old
Arcade), a five-story arcade built in 1890 and renovated in 2001 as a Hyatt
Regency Hotel.
Running east from Public Square through University Circle is Euclid Avenue,
which at one time rivaled New York's Fifth Avenue for prestige and elegance.
Known as "Millionaire's Row", Euclid Avenue was world-renowned as the home of
such internationally-known names as Rockefeller, Hanna, and Hay.
The countywide Cleveland Metroparks system, often referred to as the "Emerald
Necklace", includes four parks in Cleveland. In the Big Creek valley sits the
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, which contains the largest collection of primates of
any zoo in the United States. The other three parks are Brookside Park and parts
of the Rocky River and Washington Reservations. Apart from the Metroparks is
Cleveland Lakefront State Park, which provides public access to Lake Erie. Among
its six parks are Edgewater Park, located between the Shoreway and Lake Erie
just west of downtown, and Euclid Beach Park and Gordon Park on the east side.
The City of Cleveland's Rockefeller Park, with its many Cultural Gardens
honoring the city's ethnic groups, follows Doan Brook across the city's east
side.
Downtown Cleveland includes mixed-use neighborhoods such as the Flats and the
Warehouse District, which are occupied by industrial and office buildings, and
also by restaurants and bars. The number of downtown housing units in the form
of condominiums, lofts, and apartments has increased over the past ten years.
Cleveland residents often define themselves in terms of whether they live on the
east side or the west side of the Cuyahoga River. The east side comprises the
following neighborhoods: Buckeye-Shaker Square, Central, Collinwood, Corlett,
Euclid-Green, Fairfax, Forest Hills, Glenville, Payne/Goodrich-Kirtland Park,
Hough, Kinsman, Lee Harvard/Seville-Miles, Mount Pleasant, Nottingham, St.
Clair-Superior, Union-Miles Park, University Circle, Little Italy, and Woodland
Hills. The west side of the city includes the following neighborhoods: Brooklyn
Centre, Clark-Fulton, Detroit-Shoreway, Cudell, Edgewater, Ohio City, Old
Brooklyn, Stockyards, West Boulevard, and the four neighborhoods colloquially
known as West Park: Kamm's Corners, Jefferson, Puritas-Longmead, and Riverside.
Three neighborhoods in the Cuyahoga Valley are sometimes referred to as the
south side: Industrial Valley/Duck Island, Slavic Village (North and South
Broadway), and Tremont.
Several inner-city neighborhoods have begun to gentrify in recent years. Areas
on both the west side (Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit-Shoreway, and Edgewater) and
the east side (Hough, Fairfax, and Little Italy) have been successful in
attracting increasing numbers of creative class members, which in turn is
spurring new residential development. Furthermore, a live-work zoning overlay
for the city's near east side has facilitated the transformation of old
industrial buildings into loft spaces for artists.
Cleveland's location on the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie proved providential in
the growth of the city and its industry. Cleveland experienced explosive growth
after the opening of the Ohio and Erie Canal, establishing the city as one of
the manufacturing centers of America. Steel and many other manufactured goods
were major industries.
The city was hit hard by the fall of manufacturing, but the city has diversified
its economy to include service-based industries. Cleveland is the corporate
headquarters of many large companies such as National City Corporation, Eaton
Corporation, Forest City Enterprises, Sherwin-Williams Company, and KeyCorp.
NASA maintains a facility in Cleveland, the Glenn Research Center. Jones Day,
one of the largest law firms in the world, traces its origins to Cleveland, and
its Cleveland office remains the firm's largest.
Cleveland has also become a world leader in health care and health sciences. The
world-famous Cleveland Clinic, the area's largest employer, is one of the
highest-ranked hospitals in the United States as tabulated by U.S. News & World
Report. Cleveland's healthcare industry also includes University Hospitals of
Cleveland, a noted competitor of the Clinic's which is ranked #25 in cancer
care, and MetroHealth medical center.
Cleveland is emerging as a leader in biotechnology and fuel cell research, led
by Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Clinic, and University
Hospitals of Cleveland. Cleveland is now one of the top areas in receiving seed
money for biotech start-ups and research. Case Western Reserve, the Clinic, and
University Hospitals have recently announced plans to build a large
biotechnology research center and incubator on the site of the former Mt. Sinai
Medical Center, creating a research campus to stimulate biotech startup
companies that can be spun off from research conducted in the city.
Additionally, city leaders stepped up efforts to cultivate a technology sector
in its economy in the early 2000s. Former Mayor Jane L. Campbell appointed a
"tech czar", whose job is to actively recruit tech companies to the downtown
office market, offering connections to the high-speed fiber networks that run
underneath downtown streets in several "high-tech offices" focused on the Euclid
Avenue area. Cleveland State University hired a Technology Transfer Officer to
work full time on cultivating technology transfers from CSU research to
marketable ideas and companies in the Cleveland area, and recently announced the
appointment of a Vice President for Economic Development that will be working to
leverage the university's assets in expanding the city's economy. Case Western
Reserve University is also involved in technology initiatives such as the
OneCommunity project, a high-speed fiber optic network connecting all nonprofits
in the area at high speeds, intended to breed collaboration among the area's
major research centers and produce jobs for the city and region. OneCommunity's
work attracted the attention of Intel and in mid-2005, Cleveland was named an
Intel "Worldwide Digital Community" with Corpus Christi, Texas, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, and Taipei, Taiwan. This distinction will eventually bring to the
region around $12 million for use in marketing and expanding regional technology
partnerships, creating a city-wide WiFi network, and developing a tech economy.
In addition to this Intel initiative, in January 2006 a New York-based think
tank, the Intelligent Community Forum, selected Cleveland as one of its seven
finalists for the "Intelligent Community of the Year" award, the only city in
the United States that was chosen. The group announced that the city was
nominated due to the OneCleveland network and its potential broadband
applications. OneCommunity is working with Cisco Systems to deploy a cutting
edge wireless network that could eventually blanket the entire city with
wireless access to the OneCommunity Network. Cisco is using the network to test
various new technologies in wireless "mesh" networking. OneCommunity and Cisco
officially launched the first phase of this network in September 2006,
blanketing several square miles of University Circle with wireless connectivity.
Additionally, Cisco Systems acquired the former Aironet Wireless Networks, which
was based in the Greater Cleveland area, to form the basis of its wireless
networking product lineup, and maintains a facility in the region.
Cleveland is home to a number of colleges and universities. Most prominent among
these is Case Western Reserve University, a world-renowned research and teaching
institution located in University Circle. Case is a private university, the top
rated university in Ohio and #37 in the nation as rated by U.S. News & World
Report, and is the home of several top-ranked graduate programs. University
Circle is also home to the Cleveland Institute of Art, the Cleveland Institute
of Music, and the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine. Cleveland State
University, based in downtown Cleveland, is the city's public four-year
university. In addition to CSU, downtown hosts the metropolitan campus of
Cuyahoga Community College, the county's two-year higher education institution,
as well as Myers University, a private four-year school that focuses on business
education.
The Cleveland Municipal School District is the only district in Ohio that is
under direct control of the mayor, who appoints a school board. It is the
largest K-12 district in the state, with 127 schools and around 69,500 students
enrolled for the 2005-2006 academic year. In the last decade there has been a
growth in charter schools in the city, with varying degrees of success, and with
nearly constant controversy.
Five miles (8 km) east of downtown Cleveland is University Circle, a 500-acre (2
km) concentration of cultural, educational, and medical institutions, including
Case Western Reserve University, Severance Hall, University Hospitals, and the
Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland is also home to the I. M. Pei-designed Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame, located on the Lake Erie waterfront at North Coast Harbor
downtown. Neighboring attractions include Cleveland Browns Stadium, the Great
Lakes Science Center, the Steamship Mather Museum, and the USS Cod, a World War
II submarine.
Cleveland is home to Playhouse Square Center, the second largest performing arts
center in the United States behind New York's Lincoln Center. Playhouse
Square includes the State, Palace, Allen, Hanna, and Ohio theaters within what
is known as the Theater District of Downtown Cleveland. Playhouse Square's
resident performing arts companies include the Cleveland Opera, Ohio Ballet, and
the Great Lakes Theater Festival. The center also hosts various Broadway
musicals, special concerts, speaking engagements, and other events throughout
the year. One Playhouse Square, now the headquarters for Cleveland's public broaclevelandasters, was originally used as the broaclevelandast studios of WJW Radio, where
disc jockey Alan Freed purportedly first coined the term "rock and roll".
Additionally, Cleveland is home to the Cleveland Orchestra, widely considered
one of the finest orchestras in the world, and often referred to as the finest
in the United States. It is one of the "Big Five" major orchestras in the
United States. The Orchestra plays in Severance Hall during the winter and at
Blossom Music Center during the summer.
Cleveland is home to many festivals throughout the year. Cultural festivals such
as the annual Feast of the Assumption in the Little Italy neighborhood, the
Greek Orthodox Festival in the Tremont neighborhood, and the Harvest Festival in
the Slavic Village neighborhood are popular events. Vendors at the West Side
Market in Ohio City offer many different ethnic foods for sale. Cleveland hosts
an annual parade on Saint Patrick's Day that brings thousands to the streets of
downtown.
In addition to the cultural festivals, Cleveland also hosts the CMJ Rock Hall
Music Fest, which features national and local acts, including both established
artists and up-and-coming acts. The city recently incorporated an annual art and
technology festival, known as Ingenuity, which features a combination of art and
technology in various installations and performances throughout lower Euclid
Avenue. The Cleveland International Film Festival has been held annually since
1977, and its 11-day run draws about 43,000 people. Cleveland also hosts an
annual holiday display lighting and celebration, dubbed Winterfest, which is
held downtown at the city's historic hub, Public Square.
Cleveland also served as the location for several noteworthy movies, including
The Fortune Cookie (1967) with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, the Academy
Award-winning The Deer Hunter (1978), and the holiday favorite A Christmas Story
(1983). Scenes for the upcoming movie Spider-Man 3 were filmed in Cleveland in
April 2006. Cleveland is the lifelong home of cartoonist Harvey Pekar and
setting for most of his autobiographical comic books. Additionally, the city was
also the setting for the popular sitcom, The Drew Carey Show which starred
Cleveland-native Drew Carey.
Cleveland is also the birthplace of the legendary comic book character Superman,
created by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, in 1932. Both attended Glenville High
School, and their early collaborations resulted in the creation of "The Man of
Steel".
Some Things to Consider When Looking for an Apartment...
When searching for a new apartment make sure to take your time to think
through what are the most important things to you in an apartment and plan your
search based on those priorities. Here are some things to consider when planning
your move:
1. Consider the areas where you would like to live
* What is the crime rate?
* If you have children - what rating does the local school system have?
* Is there area convenient shopping, health and recreation services in the area?
2. Make a list of your housing priorities
* Do you have pets?
* Do you need parking?
* Do you need to be on the ground floor?
* What amenities are important to you - swimming pool, fitness room, in unit
laundry?
3. Evaluate the building
* What is the condition of the unit and building?
* Are the grounds maintained?
* Are windows, steps, and railings in good condition?
* View the property at night. Is it safe and well lit?
4. The security of the property
* Are there security service? When is the guard on duty?
* Does the building have controlled access?
* Does each unit have secure door and window locks?
5. Talk to the neighbors
* Ask other residents whether they are satisfied with the building.
6. Amenities
* Who is allowed to use the amenities?
* When are they open?
* Are the fees charged to use those facilities included in rent?
7. Ask about Utilities
* Does the owner or tenant pay the utility bills?
* Are any utilities included with monthly rent?
* Do units have separate thermostats to control heat and air conditioning?
8. Review the lease
* How much notice must you give before moving out?
* Can the rent be increased? If so, by how much and how often?
* Are pets allowed?
* What is the security deposit and cleaning costs upon move out?
* What is the responsibility of tenants for damage to property?
* Is there a penalty for breaking a lease?
9. Information too bring to a lease signing
* Credit Report
* Pay stubs/tax returns
* Reference
* Application
More Apartment Information
An apartment (or flat in Britain and most other Commonwealth countries) is a
self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building. Apartments
may be owned (by an owner-occupier) or rented (by tenants).
Some apartment-dwellers own their apartments, either as co-ops, in which the
residents own shares of a corporation that owns the building or development; or
in condominiums, whose residents own their apartments and share ownership of the
public spaces. Most apartments are in buildings designed for the purpose, but
large older houses are sometimes divided into apartments. The word apartment
connotes a residential unit or section in a building. Apartment building owners,
lessors, or managers often use the more general word units to refer to
apartments. Units can be used to refer to rental business suites as well as
residential apartments. When there is no tenant occupying an apartment, the
lessor is said to have a vacancy. For apartment lessors, each vacancy represents
a loss of income from rent-paying tenants for the time the apartment is vacant
(i.e., unoccupied). Lessors' objectives are often to minimize the vacancy rate
for their units. The owner of the apartment typically transfers possession to
the occupant by giving him/her the key to the apartment entrance door and any
other keys need to live there, such as a common key to the building or any other
common areas, and an individual unit mailbox key. When the occupant move out,
these keys should typically be returned to the owner.
Apartments can be classified into several types. Studio, efficiency, bed-sit, or
bachelor apartments tend to be the smallest apartments with the cheapest rents
in a given area. These kinds of apartment usually consist mainly of a large room
which is the living, dining, and bedroom combined. There are usually kitchen
facilities as part of this central room, but the bathroom is its own smaller
separate room. Moving up from the efficiencies are one-bedroom apartments where
one bedroom is a separate room from the rest of the apartment. Then there are
two-bedroom, three-bedroom, etc. apartments. Small apartments often have only
one entrance/exit. Large apartments often have two entrances/exits, perhaps a
door in the front and another in the back. Depending on the building design, the
entrance/exit doors may be directly to the outside or to a common area inside,
such as a hallway. Depending on location, apartments may be available for rent
furnished with furniture or unfurnished into which a tenant usually moves in
with his/her own furniture. Permanent carpeting is often included in an
apartment.
Laundry facilities are usually kept in a separate area accessible to all the
tenants in the building. Depending on when the building was built and the design
of the building, utilities such as water, heating, and electric may be common
for all the apartments in the building or separate for each apartment and billed
separately to each tenant (however, many areas in the US have ruled it illegal
to split a water bill among all the tenants, especially if a pool is on the
premises). Outlets for connection to telephones are typically included in
apartments. Telephone service is optional and is practically always billed
separately from the rent payments. Cable television and similar amenities are
extra also. Parking space, air conditioner, and extra storage space may or may
not be included with an apartment. Rental leases often limit the maximum number
of people who can reside in each apartment. On or around the ground floor of the
apartment building, a series of mailboxes are typically kept in a location
accessible to the public and, thus, to the letter-carrier too. Every unit
typically gets its own mailbox with individual keys to it. Some very large
apartment buildings with a full-time staff may take mail from the mailman and
provide mail-sorting service. Near the mailboxes or some other location
accessible by outsiders, there may be a buzzer (equivalent to a doorbell) for
each individual unit. In smaller apartment buildings such as two- or
three-flats, or even four-flats, garbage is often disposed of in trash
containers similar to those used at houses. In larger buildings, garbage is
often collected in a common trash bin or dumpster. For cleanliness or minimizing
noise, many lessors will place restrictions on tenants regarding keeping pets in
an apartment.
In some parts of the world, the word apartment is used generally to refer to a
new purpose-built self-contained residential unit in a building, whereas the
word flat means a converted self-contained unit in an older building. An
industrial, warehouse, or commercial space converted to an apartment is commonly
called a loft.
When part of a house is converted for the ostensible use of a landlord's family
member, the unit may be known as an in-law apartment or granny flat, though
these (sometimes illegally) created units are often occupied by ordinary renters
rather than family members. In Canada these suites are commonly located in the
basements of houses and are therefore normally called basement suites.
Staying in privately owned apartments rather than in a hotel is quickly becoming
popular with travelers.