Sunday, June 14, 2009

Cleveland City workers freedom to move elsewhere


I suppose if I have a Cleveland Real Estate Blog I should put my two cents in on the latest news regarding city employees having the right to live where they choose. Just that sentence alone puts it kind of in perspective in my book. Isn't that the idea of being an American and living in The United States? The right to live where you want to? The reality is that you probably want to live somewhere else but you can only aspire to live on the lake or in San Francisco etc. That is what our country is made of Aspirations, Goals, and Dreams. The consensus is that now that the city workers some 8000 I hear can move anywhere they would like to, the city might implode! Well out of my last five sales in Cleveland on one of them "had to live in the city". The family that "had to live in the city " would of bought there anyway. They are members of a church in a community of people that draws them there. The other four sales three of them were in the medical field and they wanted to be closer to work and save on the extra taxes you pay when you work outside the city you live in. The fourth one just happened to find the house he liked best in Cleveland. No matter what you say or how you spin it. You still get a lot for your money in the city. Cleveland has pocket neighborhoods some stronger than others. Westpark,Tremont,Old Brooklyn and Ohio City are examples of areas that continue to thrive. When you travel to different cities in other towns I have found that the successful ones have these little niche places. China Town and Little Italy (which we have)can be found in New York,Toronto, and even Detroit Michigan. Taking our common interests and letting them shine attracts more attention,business and economic development. Whether it is culture,art, or religion focusing on what makes an area tick is what will keep these communities strong. Rules to make people live in certain locations may have an small impact on value but I believe it will even out. As long as you get more bang for your buck people are still going to live in the City.(picture by Hector M. Vega)