Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with housing and moving

I'm moving moving, out out, to Cali Cali

Never Better — Fri, 29 May 2009 13:01:51 -0800

Moving from Milwaukee, WI to take a job in Carlsbad, CA - what should I know, and where should I live? I just found out I will be changing positions at my job, which entails a move across the country to work in Carlsbad, California. I need to start planning, but I do not have a ton of time to research everything I normally would in making such a move.

As far as I know the city of Carlsbad is expensive to live in- are there cheaper areas close by where I could get by making about $2,000 a month on average? I realize this is not much, but I am intentionally keeping it a conservative estimate. I will likely bring in more than that, but I want to plan economically.

I am looking to live in a younger neighborhood (I'm 24) - I like art and music, lots of good cheap food (I can taste the burritos already) and just a fun scene to be around. I do not mind commuting, though I would rather keep it at a minimum. I have a car, but would love to use public transportation as well.

Crime is a rather important aspect as well. Though I've grown up in bad neighborhoods by Midwest standards, I would rather not live anywhere where I need to have barred windows or constantly have to watch out at night. I certainly don't need an idyllic situation, but something reasonable.

I would like to keep rent, including utilities capped at about $1,000 / month. I really have no idea if that number is fantasy land by that area's standards, so if it is, let me know. I am not 100% opposed to moving in with others really, though as an introvert I would prefer my own space.

If anyone has experience with a similar move, please fill in your experiences. I've been all over California before doing road trips and what not, but is there anything special I should know/expect going into a full move out west?

Where should a young, social guy live in the Denver area?

pennstatephil — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 07:37:35 -0800

I'm a 22 year old engineer who recently visited the Denver area, loved it, and decided after living in upstate NY my whole life (minus college) to try city living. Where should I look? I went to Penn State so I am used to being around a lot of young people and really enjoyed it, so I'd prefer an area where there are more people my age (recent college graduates/current grad students). It doesn't have to be downtown Denver, but I don't want it to be a pain to get into the city if I do end up in a nearby suburb (like Englewood), as I expect many activities that interest me (concerts, sports, etc) will be in the city.

I am not looking to buy any real estate, I figured I'd start with renting a nice apartment for a year (know any good properties?) and if I do enjoy it as much as I hope I will, maybe look into more permanent options.

I'll be working in Littleton (a little off 470), but have heard great things about the light rail, and would be happy to save on gas (maybe just using my car on the weekend).

O great Denver meFi-ers, I throw myself on the mercy of the hive mind!

putting everything together

streetdreams — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:23:30 -0800

Moving out of my own apartment into a communal house (again). Best practices? I can't afford this place anymore, and I'm tired of living by myself, so after a decade or so of living alone with (now-ex) partner and our kids, I'm moving back into the kind of big lefty communal housing situation I lived in before. I'm thrilled about the house, about the people I'll be living with, and about living communally again in general. That said, it's been a while.

Specific things I'm wondering about:

1) I've accumulated a lot of stuff in the intervening years. Much of it is just random junk I'm planning to get rid of outright, but I also have some stuff - furniture, books, etc. - that I'd like to keep. I don't know if there will be room for it all in the house, though - in fact, it seems unlikely. Would getting a storage space be the way to go?

2) What can I do to make this transition the best it can be for everyone? My kids are fabulously social and are excited about living with housemates, who are all childless friends of ours, but how do we deal with discipline and other such issues when it comes to them? My future housemates also have animals (cats and a dog), and my kids have never lived with any before - should we be doing anything in particular to help prepare them? As for me, what can I be doing to relearn how to be a good roommate, since it's been a long time in which I haven't had to be?

Any tips or ideas, especially from those who have been in similar situations, would be great!

Don't sh*t where you eat?

adamk — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:32:06 -0800

RoommateConflictFilter: I'm a guy in my mid-20s living in a bachelor pad with two other similarly-aged guys. The two roommates have had a huge falling out (over a girl, naturally) on month two of a twelve-month lease, and after days of constantly talking about it, it seems like the only solution is for one of them to move out. The only thing that we've agreed on is that I'm not going anywhere. So now what? We're all on the lease, and I want to make sure that nobody gets burnt any worse than has already happened. A bad attempt at keeping a long story short... I apologize, because I normally grumble at these kinds of posts :)

I've been friends with "Mike" for five years (college buddy), and we've lived together off-and-on in the past with no problems. Most recently we had spent a year each living with other people from our group of friends, but were both extremely excited to start living together again.

Mike met "Dan" a few months ago and they got along well enough where Mike suggested that we all move in together. He is a reasonable guy, but I don't know him that well, and would probably never have lived with him if it wasn't for Mike vouching for him. We found an amazing house that we can reasonably afford with three people, but certainly can't afford with two.

Awhile after we moved in, Mike started dating Dan's friend "Jen". Before this Dan and Jen were extremely close, with her coming over multiple times a week to hang out, eat dinner, etc. Their friendship that was describable as platonic but had enough flirting where an outsider (like myself) couldn't know for sure.

Dan seemed cool with Mike and Jen's new relationship, but was constantly asking to tag along or be included when they hang out because they were "his two best friends". They played along for awhile, but eventually got uncomfortable and said something along the lines of "hey buddy, we've got our own thing going on, you can't expect to hang out with us ALL of the time". This makes Dan sulk for awhile, but it seemed to blow over.

Until a few days ago, when the shit finally hit the fan. A generic domestic argument over a party mess resulted in a fight in which it was made clear that Mike and Jen no longer wanted to deal with Dan's influence in their relationship. Extremely harsh words were exchanged, Jen got hysterical and things almost got violent between the guys.

Days later and nothing has improved. Both parties are sure that they did nothing wrong, and won't budge. The only thing that they've agreed on is that someone needs to move out. Coincidentally, Dan is leaving tomorrow for a 10-day vacation, and we're going to figure out what needs to happen for when he gets back.

So, now what? I don't think anyone is being evil or unreasonable in all of this. I see where everyone is coming from, it's just one of those unfortunate situations. I don't mind the girl or the relationship and would really prefer to live with my friend, but it seems a bit rough to kick out the guy who claims that he tried to do a good thing and lost two friends over it. Then again, I don't know him that well, and he really seems to be in denial over everything.

What's the best way to decide on who needs to leave if nobody volunteers? What precautions do we need to take as we attempt to find a new roommate? If the landlords would go for it we may be willing to remove the person who leaves from the lease (a big if). Plus, due to how difficult it is to have these problems while the current three of us on the lease, I'm not sure I'd want to put a random Craigslist stranger on the lease in place of the person who leaves.

Any advice/anecdotes would be appreciated.

Moving to Wilmington, NC

sara is disenchanted — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:28:56 -0800

We're moving to the beach! But, I would like a few specifics about life in Wilmington, NC. Hope me Wilmington Mefites! I was offered a career position with the City of Wilmington last week, and now my husband and I have three to four weeks to relocate from Winston-Salem, NC to Wilmington, NC.

I grew up on the Delmarva shore and my husband spent most of his summers and free time visiting the coast from Wilmington down to Myrtle, so we have a decent understanding of coastal living. We're even familiar with where we like to fish and eat and drink and visit when we're in the greater Wilmington area.

What we would love to have is information regarding "lifestyle and living" questions.
-What neighborhoods are best for a married couple (who does not plan on expanding the family any time soon) that earns combined $60K? We're going to live in an apartment from 6 months to a year just to become oriented and save some money, but we would like to purchase a single-family house in the future.
-Any recommendations as far as apartment/condo complexes that are safe, comfortable, and dog-friendly? Any to avoid?
-Does anyone have a suggestion for veterinarians and/or doggie daycare? My schedule is so that we would only need to take the Rocky dog to daycare up to 3x per week. He's 5 years old, healthy, and blind (he gets around just fine, but sometimes we think we should buy him a little helmet!).
-What is traffic like on a regular basis? Is this a bicycle-friendly area (i.e., will I have trouble riding my road bike to work?)?
-What tasty vegetables and fruits can I grow in my garden?
-Best tackle/fishing shops in the area?
-Safe running trails and areas? Good mountain bike trails? Or will I be riding my road bike more with the terrain?
-We're both interested in hopefully joining an adult sport league (he's looking for flag or contact football, I'm more interested in ultimate, soccer, or tennis), and I've found some interesting leads, but do you have any clubs/teams you'd specifically endorse?
-Is there anything that you wish you would have known before you made the move to Wilmington?

Thank you in advance...this totally might be an excuse for a meetup.

Homeward bound. Well, temporarily.

miss lynnster — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 19:36:46 -0800

Sublet/short term (dog friendly) housing in Los Angeles. Suggestions? I've been waiting for a job to come through in LA & it's been taking forever... I'm not comfortable signing a lease on an apartment until my employment has been confirmed, though. I don't want to commit to a neighborhood or rent until I know I'm firmly booked. When I moved to the Bay area, I lived in temporary housing for 7 months (I rented a variety of rooms and apartments all found through craigslist, mostly with very nice people over 30) and that worked great. I didn't have a little dog back then, though. With my pup, I have to be a little pickier and there are places that I know won't welcome her (if I didn't have her with me, I would probably stay with friends but I don't want to impose on them). I want to make sure our temporary home is one where we're both very comfortable and welcomed, even if it's only for a few months.

Other than craigslist, what are the best ways to find decent, reasonably priced (a lot of short term summer places are super price hiked for tourists) short term housing, room rentals or sublets in LA? I'm wondering if there are any new local resources I'm unaware of since I've been gone a few years.

Thanks.

How to avoid unwanted roach passengers in a move, and the ethics of informing potential tenants

yellowbinder — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 09:50:56 -0800

2 questions about cockroaches and moving house, one practical, one moral. All right. So our apartment has cockroaches, we've lived there about a year and they have been a fairly constant presence. It's not a full blown panic now infestation, but it's not nice. We see one or two at least 3 times a week. We've used boric acid, roach gel, and found and removed a major food source. (Who the hell leaves a giant, open bag of rice in a roach friendly furnace room???). Regardless, they're still around.

My man and I are both finally working full time and bringing in enough money to move to a slightly nicer place. Target move date is in two months.

So the questions are:

1) How do we make sure they don't move with us?
2) Judging from how I found the place, it will be my responsibility to list and show the apartment. Should I disclose the nasties to prospective tenants?

The girl who showed me the place mentioned "a few bugs" when I asked if there was anything wrong with it. Didn't realize that meant creepy crawly roaches. The apartment is otherwise not that bad, nothing special but dirt cheap.

Indy, Indiana, not Louisiana, Paris, France, NY or Rome

DiscourseMarker — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:01:54 -0800

Moving to Indianapolis, need neighborhood recommendations. Posting this for a friend: Mrs. Friend just accepted a job located near the SW corner of the greater Indianapolis tri-county area. They are currently in South Dakota (Brookings). Mr. Friend is looking for suggestions on where to live. They need a good school system (1 middle-school aged kid) and a house. They also need housing in Indy for grandma who is now in a HUD supported senior apt complex in Brookings. They like the college town vibe, but I think Bloomington is too far of a commute. Mr. Friend is a freelance writer/audio producer/stay-at-home dad.

Please give suggestions for good neighborhoods, MLS numbers, zip codes, etc where they can look. My friend thanks you!

Moving to Houston, eh!

arcticseal — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 09:10:49 -0800

So after 5 years of swimming in the cold waters of Norway, the arcticseals are migrating to the warmer zones of Houston. Which brings us to the obvious question that all newcomers ask: Where should we live? I've been in Houston a few times before on courses etc. with work and I do have colleagues whose brains I've been picking, but would dearly love to hear what the hive mind have to offer. I've searched AskMeFi for previous questions, but most seem to be over 2 years old and I'm looking for more up to date information.

There's the 2 of us, married, mid-30s, Canadian/British, Asian/Caucasian, liberal outlook, arriving in mid-April. I'll be likely working near Dairy Ashford, and have gotten used to a 15 minute commute in Norway, so we'd prefer not to live in the suburbs.

Areas we're looking at (so far) are Mid-town, West University, Montrose, Bellaire and Sugar Land. We're looking for quiet & safe neighbourhoods, with walking access to shops, prefer to be close to the arts, movies, parks and generally cultural hangouts.

Type of place we're looking for is a condo, apartment or townhouse, with the intention to rent short term and then buy, budget TBC but in the range of $250-400k, need to look at finances first. Credit should be ok as I'll likely be getting the mortgage through the company credit union, so initial worries about credit rating should not be a big concern.

Recommendations on areas, good realtors, good building inspectors, places to go, things to see, the good and the bad deals on phone, cable, internet, things to look out for and tips on things to do. We're also planning on getting a dog since we'll finally have our own place, so pet friendly is a must.

Will also need to buy a couple of cars, so recommendations on good car dealers also appreciated.

I apologize for the brain dump, it's going to be a busy couple of months! Feel free to MeFi mail me with any questions.

North-central Massachusetts

mr_crash_davis — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 07:43:43 -0800

May be relocating to north-central Massachusetts. Areas to avoid? Looks like our on-again off-again flirtation with moving to Mass. may be on again, and may require a pack-and-move-immediately strategy. I'm looking at central Mass. this time, specifically the towns bordering the Worcester/Middlesex county border (picture a circle centered in Marlborough and outward for a radius of maybe 20 miles). We have two teenagers at home, (boy, 16 and girl 14). Would like to stay under $300K for a house with a little bit of land (acreage would be nice but not necessary).

Suggestions? Warnings?

Seattle's Best...Family Housing?

hrbrmstr — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 18:54:49 -0800

Where to start looking for older, affordable family housing in Seattle? In mid-June, my wife and I will be in Seattle over the weekend (2-3 days). The visit is to both interview in person for a position and to scope out housing options. There are six of us and a golden retriever that are potentially moving from a 200 year old Victorian farmhouse with barn+outbuilding on a 1-acre lot. Despite how the property+house sounds, the whole deal was below $200K.

Where should we start looking for older/affordable homes in and around the Seattle area? I'd prefer not to have a hellish commute (for my current job here on the east coast, I drive ~50 miles one way to work...ugh) and we'd prefer non-newer homes (we just like older homes and see no need to perpetuate the environmentally & economically harmful building craze).

We don't need the land, per-se, but the 6 folks in question are mom, dad, daughter, son, toddler and grandma, so we need some room.

(Now that I've typed that question out, I'm calling my sanity into question for even thinking of moving...)

How can I find housing in a city I've barely visited?

moooshy — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 17:20:22 -0800

[Chicago Filter] Moving to Chicago in June. Start work 2 days later. No time to go to Chicago before the move. What's the best way to find an apt? (Everyone on CL wants to meet me first, which isn't possible.) I just found out that I have to move to Chicago for a full time job. The job starts approximately 2 days after I move there, and there's no way I can get to Chicago before June to scope the joint, so to speak.

I know nothing about Chicago, aside from what I've read online -- and I've posted/read Craigslist ads, but everyone wants to meet me first, understandably. I'd like to meet them first, too -- but I can't. This makes securing housing somewhat difficult, and I can't afford a hotel.

Ideally, I'd sublet for the summer before making an attempt to get a longterm lease in the fall -- but if I could find something longterm and decent now, I'd be a happy camper.

I have never moved across the country, nor have my parents -- so we're kind of in the dark about this. I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for such a move, and what might be the best way to proceed (My employer is small, and all of the employees live in the suburbs, so they're not going to know...)

Finding a place to sleep near the fishes...

QIbHom — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 19:35:03 -0800

Should I hire someone to find me a rental in Baltimore? I'm going to have less than two weeks to move to Baltimore. I want to live in the city, with my dog and two cats, near public transportation, for under US$1,000 a month, preferably near Charles Village, Wyman Park or Hampden (although I'm open to other areas). I'm coming from Detroit. I start work on 7 May, last day of work here is the 23rd. I will be in Baltimore from the 25th to the 28th for the physical and house hunting.

How hard is it going to be for me to find and put a deposit on a suitable place in the time I have? Should I just hire someone? I know that business folks do something like that. I don't have a ton of money, but I don't have a ton of time, either. If hiring someone is an option, how do I find these people and what should I pay them?

moving to Sydney with kids

BaugusC — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 09:34:39 -0800

My husband has just been offered a job in Sydney, Australia. We have two sons, 6 and 9. We currently live in the US. While we are extremely excited about moving, we know nothing about Australia. Ive read the travel books, but am trying to find out about schools, housing, etc. we should be moving in late June. Any info would be great. Thanks in advance!

American moving to the GTA

the dief — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 06:32:56 -0800

American moving to the greater Toronto area... I've landed what is quite possibly my dream job in Hamilton, Ontario at McMaster University and am moving up there in August. So this is not the typical "American-looking-to-emigrate" sort of ask mefi, because unless something terrible happens the move absolutely will happen, and my employer is going to give me assistance with the immigration stuff. However, I've got loads of questions apart from that. Let's get started, shall we?

1) I'm married. My spouse is Canadian, so there shouldn't be any (legal) problems on that end. However, the SO doesn't drive, and I'm trying to work out the logistics of where would be the best place to move so that my commute to Hamilton won't be so long, but the SO will have as much access to transit and thus employment/fun stuff as possible. Just looking at a map suggests something like Oakville, but if you've got better or different suggestions, I'd like to hear them. If I too can get away with using transit as opposed to driving, big bonus!

2) I've got a car. It's pretty late-model, never failed any sort of emissions testing. Is it possible to import it into Canada? Would I have to pay some enormous importing fee? If so, should I just sell it before I go?

3) Doctor stuff. My health is generally excellent so if there's some delay in getting me on OHIP no real harm, but the SO has prescriptions that absolutely must be filled or Very Very Bad Things happen. SO's OHIP has long since lapsed having lived outside Canada for many many years. Is there anything I can do to make sure the SO gets doctors and the necessary medication in a timely fashion? I know it can take some time to see specialists in Canada; I'm not sure if I can, say, persuade the doctors here to fill out a bunch of prescriptions in advance and have them filled at Shopper's.

Thanks a lot for reading this far! I'm completely stoked about this move and your advice will help out a lot.

Fun places to live in Madrid.

slimepuppy — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 04:53:19 -0800

What is a fun area to live in Madrid? La Latina? I'm moving to Madrid in May. I've been there on a (very busy) familiarisation trip for three days a few weeks ago. This brief visit is the only experience I've had of Madrid or of Spain in general.

Now I need to decide where to live. I'm not setting up permanent residence, this will be for one or two years.

My work is located near San Lorenzo metro station, so a relatively easy connection via metro/bus is essential. I don't mind a bit of a walk to the station, however. We were shown some properties near Nuevos Ministerios, Salamanca and Colombia. NM and Salamanca both seemed a bit too pricey and, well, a bit sterile. Colombia was more like it, as I'm interested in a place that has an active night life, mostly in the way of bars and restaurants. I'm in my mid 20s, so an area with a similar crowd would be good. Madrid seems nice and compact (in comparison to London at least) so the distances to fun areas aren't too critical but a some good local hangabouts are absolutely essential. Also, as my budget is somewhat limited, the most expensive areas are out.

From the brief bus tour of Madrid and the information I can muster up, La Latina looks ideal. Any other areas that are similar in 'feel' that anyone can recommend? Personal experiences of living in Madrid would be greatly appreciated.

Additionally, if you can draw comparisons between areas in London to give me an idea of the feel, I would greatly appreciate it. (For example, Sol was like Piccadilly Circus, touristy and good for shopping...)

Twin Cities housing recommendation

caution live frogs — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 13:33:20 -0800

Attention Minneapolis mefites: Looking for housing advice. The wife and I are moving to Minneapolis in May (new job starts June 1). We are trying to find suitable housing. The caveats:

I'll be working at the VA hospital. We don't know where she will be working yet.

We have only one car. Proximity to public transportation will be important to us. (I am up to bike commuting so long as I don't freeze off anything vital.)

We have two indoor-only cats. We will definitely need to be in a cat-friendly location.

We will be on a tight budget, at least until my wife finds employment. I don't think we will be comfortable with payments over $1000/month and would be much happier in the $700-$800 range.

We both enjoy running, so some neighborhood that is amenable is a plus (park or trail proximity even better).

The final bit - we have a lot of crap. Furniture, bikes, etc. that we would rather have on hand. On-site storage (garage? basement?) would be best if possible.

We have been OK with apartments but happiest with townhomes/single family dwellings due to the inevitable space and noise issues.

Any help at all is appreciated!

Moving to FL

libelula — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 13:06:46 -0800

Hi, I wondered if any of you knew about where to live in Naples, Florida. My husband and I are in our mid-thirties, with 6 month baby. If the web is to be believed the average age is 137 and all there is to do is shopping and hurricane boarding and hoarding. We are a pretty hip couple moving from Brooklyn NY. We really enjoyed our neighbors and sense of community in Brooklyn but now our husband's job is moving us down to FL. We will probably rent in the short term and would like to be within walking distance of the beach and shops. Any advice would be great, thanks.

Should I pay for an apartment listing service?

jclovebrew — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 18:43:09 -0800

Should I pay for an apartment listing service? I'm looking on craigslist and these guys keep showing up. Is it legitimate/worth it?

Where in Greenville SC should my friends look for a house?

thinds66 — Sat, 11 Jun 2005 09:30:31 -0800

Some friends just accepted jobs in Greenville, SC (moving from Boston area). Before they'll be able to hook up with a realtor, they want to do some house-hunting online. Does anyone have suggestions for towns to look at or towns to avoid? They've got some dogs, so they want to buy a place with a decent-sized lot, and maybe close to parks where they can walk them. They also like sporting events (Sox and Pats fans) and artsy cultural stuff.

Looking for Housing in San Juan, Puerto Rico

buddha9090 — Thu, 09 Jun 2005 22:50:36 -0800

Help me find residential (NON-vacation) housing in San Juan, Puerto Rico please In September, I'll be moving to San Juan, P.R. for two years. I am trying to figure out the best way to go about finding housing for atleast the first month or two of my stay. I'll be in Florida until I move and I don't think I am going to have a chance to go down to San Juan before September. Looking around online yields tons of vacation rentals, but not so much for plain old residential housing. I'm open to subletting for a while or moving in with roommates, but haven't had much luck online yet. Any suggestions?

Finding a Roommate

duck — Tue, 29 Mar 2005 18:46:04 -0800

How to find a roommate: I need to find a place to live. I've always lived with friends, but that's not an option right now. I'm looking for a room on craigslist and bostonapartments.com but pickings are slim. I feel like there must be some other big sites out there, but I don't know what they are, and googling only turns up paid sites. Where else should I be looking? To complicate things further, I'm not currently in the Boston area (where I would like an apartment), which means I can't view apartments and though I can talk with potential roommates by phone I'm sure most people would rather live with someone they've actually met.

So where to look for listings and how to overcome the out-of-town handicap?

need advice for subletting my apartment

picklebird — Wed, 23 Mar 2005 10:04:12 -0800

I am going to sublet my apartment for the last three months of my lease. I saw the question and comments here , but have a slightly different set of concerns about how to do this [more inside]. I am in a strict one-year lease which ends August 1. I found someone who is willing to move in April 15th. I have my landlord's permission to sublet, but I think that the lease will need to remain in my name for the duration. (My landlord is not very accomodating). I don't know the guy who is moving in (found him on craigslist), so what information should I get from him (that won't cost me a lot of money to obtain)? And should I create a contract or document for him to sign? He has offered to give me a security deposit. And I am in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, if that matters.

Where should I buy a home in Cleveland, Ohio?

googly — Sun, 23 Jan 2005 17:14:49 -0800

[MovingtoCleveland filter] My SO and I are moving to Cleveland. We have some questions about life choices, buying a house in a new city, and Cleveland in particular. [MI] [well, OH actually]. We’re both transplants from big, cosmopolitan, coastal cities, who are moving to Cleveland for jobs at Case Western U. We are, to put it mildly, less than thrilled to be moving here but determined to make the most of it. Where should we live? The particulars:

- We can afford a house in the $2-300K range.
- We expect to live here for 5-7 years.
- Its just the two of us (and a cat) for now, but possibly another in a year or two, so we we’re thinking about 3 bedrooms.
- For a neighborhood, we value funkiness, diversity, mixed use (i.e. we’d like to be able to walk to things), proximity to Case Western and moderate safety.

So far, it seems clear that we aren’t going to find what we really want in Cleveland. And given Cleveland’s economy and recent history, things aren’t going to change any time soon. So do we buy a house in a transitional neighborhood and hope that in a few years things change? Or do we do the safe thing and buy a perfectly nice house (and good investment) in Cleveland Heights or a similar inner-ring suburb, which all seem boring and car-dependent to us? We’d especially like to hear from people who know the Cleveland area.

On a larger level, if you can’t get everything that you want in a place to live, do you take a big risk that it might develop in the future, or do you play it safe, suck it up, and make a good investment?