It was a just over a year ago that my wife and I came to Cleveland on an apartment hunting adventure. That trip led me to write Why I’m Moving to Cleveland, a post that still lives at the top of my blog because it remains evergreen. That’s blog speak for perpetually relevant content so it still ranks high on search engines when people use terms like ‘moving to Cleveland’.
Most days, it’s a small number of new visitors, but it still makes my heart happy when someone stumbles on my words and decides to leave a comment. Some of the comments are from people about to make the move themselves:
Oh goodness. Reading the article itself was fantastic enough to make it easier on me to decide to move to Ohio [college grad wanting to get out of Jersey] but the comments made it so much easier to make my decision. It seems like the community is absolutely friendly and all open arms. ~ Naki on May 28, 2013
Thank you for this great article! I’m in the process of moving to Cleveland and after reading this it makes me feel that I’ve made a right decision. ~ Chris on Jan 31, 2013
Some are from Clevelanders thrilled to read how newbies see their city:
Love your list–and welcome to Cleveland! I moved here in the mid-90s. When my marriage fell apart, there was no question in my mind that I was staying here. I ended up buying a house in Lakewood. The combination of big city amenities and friendly, small town feel in Cleveland just can’t be beat. I’m a lifer. ~ Kim on June 19, 2012
So, on a day when I’m questioning my existence, what I’m doing with my life, why I am living in Cleveland, and contemplating whether or not to move to a different state (yes, state) within the next year, I read this post and things are put back into perspective for me. I realize that haven’t taken full advantage of all that this city has to offer. Maybe my restlessness will be satisfied by seeing what I’m missing in my own town instead of finding a new one. I just wanted to say thanks for reminding me of why I love this town. Good luck with the move and welcome home! ~ DixieCJ on June 15, 2012
And even a few nay-say-ers chime in from time to time:
Sorry, but I left Cleveland for the NYC metro area and have no intention of coming back. Your experience in Cleveland does not match mine. I’m loving it in Jersey. My income taxes are lower, enterprise zones have stores with 3.5% sales tax, and Manhattan is right in my backyard. Oh, and I get real beaches with salt water and fresh local seafood. Can’t ask for anything more. ~ John on June 15, 2012
I’ve welcomed and approved 99% of the comments, deleting only three for being overly aggressive or downright rude! Everyone is entitled to an opinion and some of the best back and forth dialogues resulted from the nay-say-ers chiming in; Clevelanders were quick to come to the defense of their city and offer addition insights. Bravo Cleveland! Bravo!
In the last two days, my post has seen a huge upswing in traffic thanks to my wife mentioning it during an interview with Grant Segall; who then published a Q&A style article on Cleveland.com. I’ll give you the link in a moment. Keep reading here for now.
My wife was featured on My Cleveland because she’s new to Cleveland and truly loving her new city. As a former New Yorker (a fact she can’t help but identify with since it was her home her entire life) she uses NYC as her reference point when talking about Cleveland. Anyways… she was interviewed and photographed and even responded to email requests for follow-up information – weeks ago. The article was finally posted online Saturday and appeared in print on Sunday. Then something unexpected happened.
I got pissed off!
As with most online forums there is a comment field at the bottom of her article. I get it. I have a blog. Comment fields should be used. They should be used to express a wide spectrum of opinions and not all of them have to be positive and supportive. They should, however, generally be laced with some opinion on the subject matter. Any opinion. Well… some of the comments being left on her article are simply rude and even border on abusive.
I’m talking really pissed off!
I want to write back. I want to comment on every homo-phobic slur and tell every cocky SOB who thinks they know her from reading a few hundred words, “You don’t know her!” I want to school them in how a short article came from a long interview process and how the question and answer format made it seem like these are printed quotes when they are just Segall’s condensed version of many things she said and stories she told. I want to tell them how much she loves Cleveland and how she chose to come here because the city is vibrant and the people are friendly and how many are even overjoyed that non-Clevelanders are choosing to move to Cleveland.
For the record, I am still pissed off!
She didn’t want me to comment, so I didn’t. And I won’t. I won’t comment on the article: Roz Quarto ditched her native New York for Cleveland: My Cleveland. But this is my online forum – so thanks for coming and hanging out with me this morning as I sit in a Starbucks and digest my anger with a little coffee to wash it down.
I’m not pissed anymore… but I’m still disappointed.
And my southern-sassy-self wants to write “Bless Your Heart” on every single one of those narrow-minded, un-informed, and assumptive comments. But I won’t. Will you?
Oh wait, a good article should bring everything back to the beginning and draw some elegant conclusion. F it. This doesn’t have to be a good article. It’s my blog post so here’s the conclusion:
If you comment on something online, whether you agree or disagree, keep it about the subject matter and make your point – otherwise keep your fingers off the keyboard. Please and thank you!
99% of your comments are welcome below so I invite you to leave a reply…
