The Rivalry: Cleveland EAST VS WEST

[James Wise]

If you talk to a local you would know that Cleveland is very much a city divided. Us west siders don't go east and those east siders don't go west. It is just a fact of life, and for those of us who live and grew up here we couldn't imagine it any other way.

As the owner of The Holton-Wise Property Group I interact with both Clevelanders and investors from around the country on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, I interact with out of state investors so much that a little over a year ago I created The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods.

With almost 14,000 views as of the writing of this post i'd say The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods is a pretty popular article.

Do you know what one of the most common questions I receive from out of state investors is?

What about the East Side? 

They ask me that because I left it out. Yup, thats right, the owner of the largest turnkey-esq providers on BiggerPockets just left off half of the greater Cleveland area. That is A LOT of investment properties to simply write off! 

Take a look at the map below there several popular Cleveland area suburbs you will not see.

• Euclid? Nope.
• South Euclid? Negative.
• Cleveland Heights? Notta.
• Shaker Heights? No way.
• Mayfield? Absolutely not.
• Willoughby? Are you kidding me?
• Eastlake? JUST STOP!

Locals get it. We totally understand. If a guy from Shaker Heights created The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods you can bet that you wouldn't see Parma, Brooklyn or Lakewood.

This is just how it is. Almost like instinct I grew up on the west side and I absolutly hate the east side. Everything about it drives me nuts. I feel the same way about driving to the east side as a 4th grader feels about being driven to the dentist.

For those of you who are on the outside looking in and simply don't get it please check out this article written by Billy Hallal it will really open up your eyes into the psyche of us Cleveland natives and our strange divide. 

(After you read the article please check back and answer the 7 questions below)

WHAT'S REALLY BEHIND THE EAST & WEST SIDE RIVALRY

Question 1: Do you live in Cleveland? If yes, East or West?

Question 2: Did you grow up here or were you a transplant?

Question 3: Did Billy's article accurately describe the East & West divide?

Question 4: Do you invest on the East or West, or both and why?

Question 5: Are your properties on the East or West, or both and why?

Question 6: Do you use a property manager? Will your property manager take on the East and West?

Question 7: How many properties do you have? Do you want more and will you ever change sides?