looking for a gay friendly neighborhood in Cleveland, priced around $50-$60,000 for a smaller house...?

Question

An "up and coming" artsy, younger neighborhood.... more centrally located if possible.

Answer 1

Generally speaking, the near west side is pretty gay friendly and where you'd want to look. Those neighborhoods include Edgewater, Ohio City, Detroit-Shoreway and Tremont. They all kind of border eachother and blend into eachother, but there are some slight differences and some parts are better than others.

A very nice established gay friendly community has existed in the Edgewater neighborhood on and near Clifton Boulevard. This is a great place to rent because its such a great neighborhood convenient to everything, pretty safe and secure, and cheap rent, but I don't if you'd be able to buy for around 60k.

Ohio City has been an up-and-coming neighborhood for sometime now and its great! Its very multicultural and trendy now. But, I doubt you'd be able to find a house there now for $60,000. Definately check it out, but the neighborhoods already "made it" if you know what I mean. The lower end homes are probably going for around $100,000 and the upper end homes are over $400,000. Ohio City is known for its ethnic food, the West Side Market, and beer (Great Lakes Brewing Company).

Tremont is right next to Ohio City and very similiar. There are a lot of smaller older homes, as well as new townhouse construction. The situation with housing is also the same. You might be pressed to find a house that cheap now, but definately give it a shot. Property values in both neighborhoods have been going way up. Tremont is known for its art galleries, monthly artwalks, contemporary restaurants, and unique watering holes.

Detroit-Shoreway is sandwhiched between Edgewater and Ohio City, and there is more and more of a sense that this will be the next Tremont. Small real estate developers and shopkeepers are building up a commercial center around W.65th and Detroit. Cleveland Public Theater is located there as well as some gay clubs and gay bars, and people are working really hard to establish this as an arts community. This neighborhood is a little rough along the edges, but now might be a great time to buy considering what is happening around the neighborhood and what people are doing now.

Check out the forums on www.urbanohio.com for more information, and ask your question on there. You will get a lot of enthusiastic assistance from people who live in those neighborhoods and know all about them.

Answer 2

For what it's worth, do NOT ask your realtor. By law, they are not allowed to tell you things like "This neighbor is perfect for a gay person/couple." It's called "steering". They also can't tell you NOT to move into a neighborhood, because they don't like gay people there. It's like a Jewish person saying they have to live within 1 mile of a Synagog. They have to find the Synagog they want to be associated with, and THEN ask the realtor to look for houses within a one mile radius.

The only thing I can suggest, is that you visit the area, and then ask your realtor to show you houses where you might want to live. Good luck, and happy house hunting. :-D

Answer 3

I hear Ohio City and Lakewood is pretty gay friendly. Ohio City is very close to downtown Cleveland and has very pretty houses. Good Luck!