Life in Cleveland

Welcome to Cleveland!

Also known as...Believeland, Forest City, America's North Coast, The 216, The C-L-E, C-Town, and The Rock and Roll Capital of the World. We like to call it, The Best Location in the Nation! 

Cleveland is The Land that’s down for living it up. So, it's time to start living your best life in The Land!

Case Western Reserve University's campus spans 550 acres in one of Cleveland's most exciting urban areas: University Circle. Just five miles east of Downtown Cleveland! From campus, you are just a 10 minute walk to some of the city's most outstanding attractions (the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra and a plethora of museums-- some even offer free admission!

Cleveland by the Numbers

 

Living in Cleveland

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The CWRU School of Medicine Student Housing Guide

Planning a move can be intimidating! To aid in a smooth transition, we have compiled the various resources a CWRU School of Medicine student may need into one convenient housing guide. Follow the link to view and download!

Cleveland Heights

Our nearest suburban neighbor, Cleveland Heights boasts beautiful homes, excellent student housing options, great food, and 135 acres of park land.

Little Italy

Food, faith, and the famous Feast of the Assumption Festival go hand-in-hand to define this beloved Cleveland neighborhood, located at the base of Murray Hill near the campus of Case Western Reserve University.

Downtown

Located about five miles west of campus on the shores of Lake Erie, downtown Cleveland offers nightlife, shopping, restaurants, Cleveland professional sports teams, Playhouse Square (the nation's second largest theater district outside of NYC), Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Great Lakes Science Center.

Ohio City

Just west of Downtown and the Cuyahoga River, sits Ohio City. A complete, close-knit urban neighborhood, it is a rich, diverse, walkable neighborhood chock-full of businesses, restaurants, historic homes, and neighborhood events. It also houses several Cleveland landmarks, like the West Side Market.

Shaker Heights

Shaker Heights is a thriving community noted for its Georgian style architecture, sidewalk cafes, and unique gift shops.

Tremont

Old-school Cleveland meets new-school urban living in this cozy, residential-heavy neighborhood.. Tremont is known for its numerous, hip and trendy restaurants in addition to monthly art walks.

University Circle

Home to CWRU's campus, University Circle holds PhDs in education and entertainment! In addition to CWRU, University Circle houses the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Botanical Gardens...and so much more!

Interested in learning more about living off-campus? Explore our off-campus housing website!


Exploring Cleveland

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Cleveland Orchestra

Long considered one of America's best orchestras, the Cleveland Orchestra is today acknowledged among the handful of great symphonic ensembles in the world...and it is housed right next to CWRU's campus!

Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art is rated among the nation's top museums.  It offers a collection of more than 34,000 works of art, from ancient Egypt to the present. It is renowned for its superb quality and cultural breadth.

Cleveland Botanical Garden

The Botanical Gardens ponds lined with water lilies and tranquil rose gardens makes for the perfect place to study. The Hershey Children's Garden has playhouses, ponds, watering projects, and more for the little ones.

Cleveland Institute of Music

The Institute of Music offers free concerts throughout the year and utilizes an extensive outreach program of concerts and classes in the greater Cleveland area.


Cleveland Metroparks

The Metroparks, known locally as the "Emerald Necklace" are popular for everything from Sunday picnics to rigorous hiking or biking. The parks are comprised of 250 miles of hiking, bridle, and all-purpose trails. Plus... beaches, pools, toboggan runs, thirteen major fishing areas, cross-country skiing and more!

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

If it’s possible to have a pride and joy within a pride and joy, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is, quite possibly, the jewel of the “Emerald Necklace” that is the Cleveland Metroparks system.

Cleveland Museum of Natural History

The Museum of Natural History is a place to explore the natural world. Visitors can "experience" an earthquake or view one of the finest collections of precious gemstones in the country. Favorite galleries include dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures.

Greater Cleveland Aquarium

Located inside The Powerhouse, a late 19th century landmark, the aquarium has used the historic features to its advantage: saltwater animals and bioluminescent jellyfish live in the smokestacks, and old coal tunnels! With more than 5,000 creatures both local and exotic in sets designed to be interactive and hands-on, the aquarium offers something for every one and every age-- including a walk-through tunnel nearly 200 feet in length that allows visitors to walk under and alongside finned friends!

Great Lakes Science Center

The Great Lakes Science Center sits upon the shores of Lake Erie in downtown. It offers hundreds of hands-on exhibits, interactive zones, and artifacts dedicated to science, technology, space, engineering, and math for visitors of all ages and interests. Don't feel like walking anymore? Get a ticket to the Cleveland Clinic DOME Theatre surrounded by soaring, six-story-high visuals.

Playhouse Square (The Theater District)

The largest theater district outside of New York City's Lincoln Center, Cleveland's Playhouse Square is home to the Allen, Hanna, Kennedy's, Ohio, Palace, State and 14th Street theaters. From major traveling Broadway shows to the smallest specialty artists, great entertainment can be found here all year round, with restaurants of all sizes in the surrounding neighborhoods providing food and drink for theater-goers.

A Christmas Story House

No, really, the very house in which little Ralphie and his family had their leg lamp in the window in the classic holiday film, A Christmas Story, is just minutes from downtown. Yes, you can visit, and yes, it's still in the window.

East Fourth Street

Nestled between Euclid and Prospect Avenues, in the shadow of Rocket Mortgage Field House and Progressive Field...is the block known as East 4th. East Fourth Street in Downtown Cleveland is home to several restaurants, the House of Blues concert club, and over 250 luxury apartments, carved out of the district's historic buildings. 

The Flats- East Bank

Situated on the river and the lake, the Flats East Bank is now a booming riverfront district and a wildly popular destination for locals, especially on summer evenings! It is usually packed with people enjoying the open-air dining, walking pier, fun social scene, and dozens of bars and restaurants. You can cross the river to see one of the outdoor concerts at Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica, or just hang on the East Bank and listen to the music drift over.

Maltz Museum (of Jewish Heritage)

The Maltz Museum joins an elite group of world-class institutions as a living testament to the courage and achievements of Cleveland's Jewish community. The museum has a special exhibition gallery featuring important exhibitions of national and international acclaim.

West Side Market

Established in 1840, The West Side Market is Cleveland's oldest operating indoor/outdoor market space. The market attracts a large crowd of both loyal locals and curious tourists. Through the market's history, the tenants and sellers have come from a broad base of backgrounds, representing the cultural diversity of Cleveland. The current roster of tenants includes those of Irish, German, Slovenian, Italian, Greek, Polish, Russian, and Middle Eastern descents, among others. 

Cleveland Professional Sports

Would you rather cheer on a team in the stands than catch a show or visit a museum? Then welcome home. Win, lose, home, or away, we are a sports town and we're proud of it. And we remember Every. Single. Moment in our sports history and we talk about them as though they happened yesterday. 

Cedar Point

While technically not in Cleveland, Cedar Point is just an hour's drive away. It's the Roller Coaster Capital of the World and absolutely worth a visit. Most locals make a trip at least once a summer, if not more, and then many come back for the park's famous fall Halloweekends. At the tip of a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, the 360+ acre park has 18 world-class roller coasters, which doesn't count the dozens of smaller thrill rides, family rides, and kids areas, nor the adjacent Cedar Point Shores Waterpark, with another 18 acres of slides and attractions.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Scenic Railroad

This long stretch of public greenspace between Cleveland and Akron is just a quick drive out of the city. With 33,000 acres, the park is free to the public and offers an 80-mile trail for joggers and cyclists alongside it's natural beauty and woods. If you want to relax, the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad is a vintage railroad that offers special trips between Independence and Akron (cyclists can get a quick 1-way trip for just $3 in case they don't feel like doing the 80-mile stretch twice). The park also boasts waterfalls, rock formations, and wildlife.