Starting over in Cleveland, OH

In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :

Thank you for your words and support.  It definitely was a nasty situation we were thrust into without any warning - as I said months ago, my parents had spent the week dealing with my stepmom's brother, who is a hardcore drunk.  They came home in a bad mood, got drunk, and took it out on us.  Stepmom screamed in my face how much she hated me, my wife, and our baby, and my dad basically stood there and cowered.  In this past month my father has apologized to my wife, specifically for acting the way they did and for treating us how they did.  From another family member I have been told that my stepmom has lashed out at others since then as well.  These crazy mood swings look to be a regular occurence of hers.

Had that not happened, I would probably be buying a house in Tampa right now, with several thousand dollars extra in my savings account.  So for someone to say that I'm better off because of this just makes me scratch my head.

Stampie said:

In reply to infinitenexus :

You could use Steve as a positive.  Make sure you raise Avi not to turn out like Steve and you're good.

Now that is some solid advice!

Yeah, I will absolutely make sure my son never turns out anything like you.   Now, I will ask you a second time to just go away.  

glad you edited your post and added your "I'm going to bow out now after saying more negative trash." 

In reply to infinitenexus :

Welcome to Cleveland! Glad it's going well so far.

I grew up in the Heights, went down to Florida for college and came back up here. The weather totally sucks in the winter, no getting around it and if both my wife's family and mine weren't primarily here I'd force a move. But, as you're probably realizing about now, the summer here is very, very pretty. Worth the E36 M3ty winter? No, but nice. 

That said, Cleveland really is awesome all things considered. Great people of all backgrounds, lots of culture, tons of amazing food, good cost of living (current silly housing market notwithstanding), etc. 

I'm still on the east side and in Cleveland Heights all of the time, if you need anything, give me a shout. 

In reply to AxeHealey :

We live in Cleveland Heights, right on top of Cain Park.  Howdy neighbor!  The winters don't actually bother me, as I love snow.  I've read a lot about the eateries here in Cleveland and my wife and I have checked several out and been very impressed - Foodhisattva, a vegan place right south of us is absolutely incredible, and we went to Taza, a Lebanese restaurant in downtown Cleveland, which was also incredible, and a few others.  Cleveland doesn't seem to really "wow" me very much but it's warming up and showing me that it does have plenty to offer, it's just not flashy and full of skyscrapers or located in the middle of wine country like other places I've looked at.  Right now we're researching neighborhoods to move into hopefully around next March.  Once covid cases calm down a bit more we'll have to go autocrossing or something!

Steve_Jones said:

infinitenexus said:

glad you edited your post and added your "I'm going to bow out now after saying more negative trash." 

Negative trash? What's not true? You were unemployed, crashing at your fathers, broken car in the driveway, and got pregnant. Truth hurt? 

In a few years you might be mature enough to think, maybe Step-mom was right. Maybe you were on a dead end path. I hope so for your kids sake. 

Instead of making sure you kid does not turn out like me, put effort in to make sure he doesn't end up crashing at your house, with no job, and blame you for it. 

Steve, you often make good points about hard truths. But more often than not, it is lost in the shiny happy personry of the delivery. Whether or not that is your intent, I'm not sure it matters, but the message that is received is "berkeley you, you suck". It doesn't help anything. 

I never said you said that. I said that that is the message that is received. 

And yes, username bias is a thing, for everyone. I'm not sure why that is a shame, but then I'm not an expert in human behavior or psychology or anything like that. Are you? 

In reply to Steve_Jones :

When someone is ready to receive a message, they will listen.  You have said your piece several times.  When (or if) the OP is ready, he may be willing to consider your points.  Until then, harping on how you are right (damnit) doesn't change his situation or his relationship with his father.  Futher comments are not constuctive, period.

At this point, best to let it go.

infinitenexus - No one knows what happened except the people involved.  Do what you think is best for your family and your mental health.  Be happy.

In reply to infinitenexus :

Go through a few Cleveland winters and then tell me you love snow.  It's not the snow there that's the issue, it's the fact that it's grey and crappy every single day.  And that the snow sticks around and turns black. 

The 4 years I spent there were long enough...

Guys, we all know Steve is a troll with a bad attitude.  Let's not feed the trolls, okay?  I'd like to keep this thread positive and I'd rather not have a mod lock it because Steve thinks he knows everything.  He's already doing a pretty good job of ruining it.  And he can't seem to stay away from me.  Mild obsession, maybe.  

In reply to docwyte :

People keep saying that to me, but honestly I do love snow.  And I've lived in places where it was cloudy almost every day and I enjoyed it.  To me, 3-4 feet of snow is wonderful.  Even more is better!  And when next winter comes, I'll be able to work remotely so it's a non-issue.  

In reply to infinitenexus :

Cleveland charms, it definitely does not "wow", so don't wait for it to do that! Part of what makes Cleveland, Cleveland are the distinct neighborhoods and the vastly different vibe each one has. Although downtown is much more of an attraction than it used to be, it's never going to have the excitement of a big city downtown.

Taza is great, there's also a location in Woodmere FYI. Since you liked Taza, you should also try Aladdin's and Zhug if you haven't already. A Cleveland vegan/vegetarian staple you should also definitely try that is right in your neighborhood is Tommy's on Coventry. 

Lots of good autocross, track day and just plain old good driving road options in our area. I haven't been out this year but NEOhio SCCA was very good with COVID protocols last summer.

In reply to AxeHealey :

I'll make sure to pass those places along to The Wife so we can check them out!  Someone else has told both The Wife and myself about Tommy's, so that's definitely on our list.  We checked out the autocrossing in Eastlake a few weeks ago and I'm hoping to get my old Mk2 Jetta in shape for that within the next month or two, although the birth of our son might jumble those dates around.  Once everything gets sorted I'm really looking forward to getting back into motorsports and raising our son around cars.

docwyte said:

In reply to infinitenexus :

Go through a few Cleveland winters and then tell me you love snow.  It's not the snow there that's the issue, it's the fact that it's grey and crappy every single day.  And that the snow sticks around and turns black. 

The 4 years I spent there were long enough...

It hardly snows here anymore though, not like when I was a kid.

Also... grey and crappy?  Having the sun low in the sky ALL THE TIME, and then bright at night when there is snow cover... I like the dark of summer 

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Love the Cliff Burton quote.  RIP.

One thing I like is how it's still daylight outside at 9PM right now.  Makes it easier to work on a car after work.

I'm born and raised in Florida which makes it even more strange, perhaps, but I do truly love snow.  To me, the sight of 4 feet of snow on the ground is gorgeous.  I enjoy shoveling snow as well!  Although I'm about to turn 40, so sometimes my lower back disagrees.  Driving in snow kinda sucks but that's an excuse to get an all wheel drive car!

Having lived way down south (Louisiana) and up north (Ohio and New Jersey) I still like the snow and have never had an issue with the "gray" weather.  

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Yeah, grey and crappy.  I've lived all over the country, Cleveland was the least favorite place to be. Boston area was cold and snowy but wasn't as grey and depressing.  Denver is incredibly sunny year round and really not cold at all.