What I Like About Cleveland, Ohio

Welcome to Cleveland, Ohio, Blogtrotters!

We actually live in Parma, a suburb of Cleveland which is another good thing about Cleveland--it has lots of suburbs.  Cleveland/Parma has a lot of things that I like and is a good place to live in my opinion. I like having things so conveniently accessible. Churches (all kinds from which to choose), libraries, schools, tennis courts, ball fields, stores, fast food chains, donut shops, a bowling alley, Laundromat, restaurants and ice cream places are all within walking distance of my house. You don’t have that in the country! Everyone isn’t as well located as we are, but I’m pretty sure most Clevelanders could get to all these places by car in a half hour or less driving.

With the Regional Transit Authority, I can take the bus to work downtown or to special events and places of interest. There are at least four major highways that make traveling by car convenient too. From what I hear, our rush hour traffic is not near as bad as Chicago, New York or Los Angeles.

Cleveland has much to offer in entertainment such as theaters, rec centers, and professional sports teams, including the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Browns, and Cleveland Cavaliers.  We also have a minor league hockey team--the Lake Erie Monsters. Youth sports is big here in Cleveland too and includes baseball, softball, volleyball, basketball, football, swimming, tennis, golf and hockey. If you are into drinking, there is no shortage of taverns and sports bars around. There are plenty of neighborhood movie theaters too.  If you have younger children, you must take them to our amusement for for little kids--Memphis Kiddiepark.  It was opened in 1952 and is still going strong.  It is small with just fun rides for the little ones, except for the carousel and Little Dipper.  Bet you didn't know there was an amusement park in Cleveland!  

The Cleveland Zoo is very big with lots of animals--a fun and relaxing place to bring a family. The Cleveland Metroparks are throughout the city and provide plenty of woods for hiking, bike trails, creeks, hills, and even horseback riding, swimming, sledding, and tobogganing at certain locations.

There are also many special events that come to Cleveland, such as the circus, concerts, big ships, air show and fairs. Even dog sledding which Gerard paid $5 to do.  One day one of the dogs that played the part of Marley in the movie "Marley and Me" even came to Cleveland and let people get their picture taken with him at Tower City downtown.  I took off work early that day so I could go.

There are several colleges and museums including the Art Museum, Museum of Natural History, Money Museum, the Great Lakes Science Center and the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame. For those who love the country, Parma even has Stearn's Farm, an historical landmark right on a main road down from Parmatown Mall, just about 15 min. from our home.

If you like the beach or just like watching the boats, Cleveland is right by Lake Erie. I can actually walk to the pier during my lunch hour if I want to since I work downtown. I have a view of the lake from my office windows. Edgewater park provides a beach, swimming and fireworks over the lake on July 4th.

It is also nice to have a hospital close by with a Cancer Unit affiliated with The Cleveland Clinic, one of the best hospitals worldwide! Cleveland has quite a few hospitals and plenty of police and fire stations around. I like the fact that if we would ever have an emergency, help is very close by. There are both public and private schools that give parents lots of choices as well as preschools throughout the city, as well as an extensive network of home schoolers.

We have a variety of weather during the four seasons. Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes are seldom seen in Cleveland. We do get a fair amount of snow during December-March and usually one snowstorm in April but on the whole, Cleveland weather is pretty nice most of the year. The only downside to Cleveland is the snow and even that provides some fun if you want to look on the bright side.

What city do you live in and what do you like about it?  I wrote this post because I was asked to write about Cleveland for Blog Trotting.  Links contained in this post will lead you to posts directly related.  So, click some links and enjoy your visit with us in our city!

I added this to Saturday Samplings at Half-Past Kissin' Time. Check it out for more "posts of the week."


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