Cleveland Is Full of Surprises (Quirky Buckeye facts)
Think you really know Cleveland? It's a city with a Rock Hall full of real Hendrix guitars, Polish Boys that somehow defy sandwich logic (kielbasa, fries, coleslaw, BBQ sauce on a bun), and Guardians of Traffic with Art Deco jawlines watching over the Cuyahoga River. Let's run through the facts, stats, and pierogis that make Cleveland, Cleveland.
Heather, Our Local Expert Guiding Your Move
Heather has lived in Ohio for 36 years, minus a brief three-year stint in Kentucky (thanks, parents). Born in Appalachian southeastern Ohio, she later moved to the city and spent years wondering where all the cows went and why everyone was suddenly in such a darn hurry. She's adapted...mostly. That culture shock taught her Ohio doesn't get enough credit for its range of flat farmland, Amish hills, and mini mountains all crammed into one state. When she's not writing copy while binging true crime podcasts, she's hunting down a "bubble" from Jackson County (if you know, you know) or stealing the last slice of pie from her husband at So Pizza in Miamisburg. She's telling you about So Pizza with reluctance, because long lines would ruin everything. At Snappy Scout, Heather writes Ohio guides that don't waste your time and occasionally drops puns that may or may not land. You've been warned.
Read moreWritten with local insight from Snappy Scout relocation experts
What Makes Cleveland Cleveland?
The weird, useful, and surprisingly relevant facts that shape everyday life here.
Common nicknames for Cleveland
The Land, Forest City, CLE, Sixth City, C Town
Local Reality Check
Rust Belt jokes vs. lakefront parks, James Beard chefs, world-class healthcare, and 80,000+ Slovenians (largest population outside Slovenia)
You're most likely moving from
Chicago, New York, Columbus, and anyone fleeing coastal rent that requires selling organs
Strangely large concentration of
Slovenian Americans (in 1914, Cleveland was the third largest Slovenian city in the world after Ljubljana and Trieste, no we're not kidding)
Music scene
Rock Hall where you can see Prince's Yellow Cloud guitar up close, Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall (one of the "Big Five" orchestras in America)
You'll have to see it to believe it
The Guardians of Traffic on Hope Memorial Bridge. Eight 43-foot Art Deco giants standing watch over the Cuyahoga like stern sentinels judging your lane changes
Unique Geography
Lake Erie shoreline, deep river valley called the Flats where old steel mills turned into breweries with waterfront patios
Cleveland is home to
NASA Glenn Research Center (we do space stuff while you're stuck in traffic)
Well known for its
Polish Boy sandwiches (kielbasa + fries + coleslaw + BBQ sauce on a bun, invented in the 1940s by Virgil Whitmore, makes zero sense but tastes perfect)
Fun history fact
First electric traffic signal installed at Euclid Avenue and East 105th on August 5, 1914, designed by James Hoge when pedestrians, streetcars, horses, and early cars were all fighting for the same intersection
Celebrity sightings
LeBron courtside when he's feeling nostalgic, MGK at 27 Club Coffee, Drew Carey at Progressive Field pretending the Browns have a chance
Noteworthy Census stat
372,624 city residents, but the metro is 2 million (we're bigger than we look)
Most interesting sub-culture within Cleveland
Lake Erie winter surfers in January wetsuits (unhinged, respected, possibly cryotherapy enthusiasts)
Population
2nd largest city in Ohio after Columbus, who we refuse to acknowledge
Cleveland is roughly the same geographic size as
Cincinnati (but we have a lake, they have the Ohio River)
A Local Event Worth Experiencing Once
Feast of the Assumption in Little Italy every August. The whole neighborhood shuts down, there's a religious procession, and food everywhere you turn. Cannoli, arancini, sausage sandwiches, people's nonnas selling homemade everything. It's loud, it's crowded, it's exactly what summer in Cleveland should be.
— Heather Taylor
Ohio Local Expert
Ready to See If Cleveland Fits You?
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