Cleveland has advantages that surprise transplants

(Letter to the Editor, Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 25, 2004)

Two years ago, my husband accepted a job offer in Cleveland, recruited from a similar position in Chicago. As we began to tell family and friends about our impending move, we heard every joke in the book about the "mistake on the lake" and the river that catches on fire.

But we made the move anyway, expecting a great new adventure for our family. Has the move been everything we thought it would be? Heavens, no. It's been much, much better than anything we could have imagined.

Our cultural life is far richer than anything we could possibly afford, in terms of both money and time constraints, in Chicago. Our social life is better; people here are friendlier. Our outdoors life is more exciting. We can hike the Cleveland Metroparks, rent a boat to go water skiing or just sit in our back yard without the constant mosquitoes. And believe it or not, the air is cleaner here. The colors are more vibrant. The hills are a joy. And our house here is roughly twice as large as the one we sold in Chicago for the same price. Restaurants here abound; museums are inexpensive and accessible; and strangers we've met in line at bakeries or restaurants have invited us to their homes and become good friends. Is everything perfect? No. I read the papers. I know what's going on, even if I don't know all the political history that created the problems. But I can tell you one thing, Cleveland's reputational problem has a lot more to do with public relations than reality. And anyone would be lucky to be recruited by a Cleveland business.

Maps and Driving Directions to Cleveland and Major Legal Services®