Why We Live in Cleveland - Part I

Alex

The Real Story - Part I

The first obvious conclusion is we came for the pierogies.  Anyone...and I mean anyone who has been at the Taste of Chicago with me knows that I will gnaw your hand off if you happen to come too close to my pierogies. We do have great food here in Cleveland but that's not it.

For our family reading this, it's because of you, and you can stop reading about here.

One Friday night in the Fall of 2011, Dan and I found ourselves with two offers on our condo.  A pretty nice situation to be in but not what you think.  Housing prices were down at that point and it was still a buyers market.  We loved our place.  It was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath condo in a 8 flat style building on the Northside just blocks from Wrigley Field.  With 3 boys, we just couldn't live above anyone anymore.  We had been diligently looking all over Chicago.  We had zero'd in on Old Irving, Edgebrook, and some other miscellaneous North side locations.  It's very interesting how a couple's relationship works when you're buying a house.  Dan and I have bought and sold four houses together.  Dan is always the one who comes through with the sense of reason, is not risk averse and picks out something nice.  I am always the one who wants to cheap out, driving the price lower, loves to negotiate, and wants to take a jack hammer to the place and add on 57 bedrooms.  It's an awesome dance that we've done 4 times!

While looking in Chicago, there was this one house that we kept driving by in Edgebrook.  It did not have a front door, and it was very expensive.  Here's what went down next:

I said, "Lets just buy this one." 

Dan's response, "It doesn't have a front door." 

Me, "So, no solicitors will come to the front door.  Sounds awesome. "

Dan's response, "It doesn't have a front door." 

Me, "The side door is right there, close enough to be the front door and the side door.  Look it has a drive way!  A drive way in the city!"

Dan's response, "I am not buying a house without a front door."

Nick 

Me, "You can put a front door in if it bothers you that much. OK, fine. What should we do then?"

Alex at play

Truth is if that house had a front door, we'd probably still live in Chicago.  I cannot stress enough how much we loved Chicago.  We couldn't find anything that would fit us, and we had this new terrible diagnosis of Hunter Syndrome. Carrying three boys up and down 4 flights of stairs was wearing us out, and we just needed an easier life. We also really didn't know what kind of medical bills that diagnosis would bring.  The first year of diagnosis was the worst.  You're getting used to medicine costs, hospitals, specialists, huge surgeries that require custom apparatus, weekly day hospital infusions, etc. How could we leave our doctors and genetic counselor? Would life in Chicago just be about medical stuff?  We were just totally overwhelmed. We just couldn't find anything that would make us feel good about our future.  

Then we did something extremely gutsy!  Well if not Chicago, then where?  We needed our family and we needed a yard!  Yes, a yard's just what we need to get 3 boys out and running around!

Jack hugging a tree at one of his favorite parks in Chicago

We had two hometowns to pick from Northern California and Northeast Ohio.  I was sleeping at my desk and had just taken on a new role. We didn't have time for a huge move, and some of Dan's family was spread out all over Cali. We started to look in Cleveland. Homes were beautiful and way less expensive, and they had tons of green stuff called grass that wasn't 4 flights of stairs, and 5 blocks away.  My brother tried to get us to look in Tremont, which is an awesome place but we were down with something much more suburban, much more rural.  We just need more room to roam like a herd of cows, and it was clear Cleveland was going to give that to us!  Keep in mind I hadn't lived in Cleveland for 17 years, and this was going to be a great homecoming but a big change for all of us.

So if we were going to Cleveland, how would we get medical care for a rare disease?  What about our home health treatments?  Oh, and Dan had a job he loved, doing what he loved in Chicago. I wasn't a factor because I could do my global job from anywhere.  

Dan left his job, his dream job.  So we could move.  Wow!  I don't know many who would do that, this man is one of a kind!

Let me tell you.  He did everything.  He did the whole move.  I was working the day of the move, and was hiding in a home office of a friend while the move was in progress. Dan was downstairs to pick me up from work that day. My friend had to literally push me out the door.  All I had to do is jump in the car, and go off on our new adventure.  He picked out our house, with a little input from me. It has a front door!!  So that's good.  

When we got to Cleveland, he didn't have a job for six months!  These six months were some of the best months of my life, and the kids' lives! For the whole first year, I was gone 90% of the time traveling internationally to 4 different countries. He took care of everything.  When I was home, and working countless hours, he would make and deliver lunch to my desk!  I cannot cook anything so this is priceless. Those of you who have a parent who stays at home, you know what I am talking about!  It's a thankless job, but it makes life incredible.  He was one of the most motivated job seekers you'd ever see, he landed a great job, his love, in just a few short months!  

With his always direction-ally challenged wife, Dan found his own way around our new surroundings.  He would always say, "didn't you live here before?", and I'd say, "no, this was a cow pasture when I lived here."

We're celebrating our 2nd anniversary in our home in Cleveland!  In Part II, we'll talk about what we found when we settled into Cleveland!

The Cherrstroms