Greater Cleveland's population is more than 2.7 million, making it the 12th largest metropolitan area in the country and one of the nation's largest consumer markets.
Within five miles of every Greater Cleveland home, there is parkland. The 18,500 acre Metroparks system, Cleveland's "Emerald Necklace", offers scenic footpaths, hiking and biking trails, picnic areas, fishing, five nature interpretive centers, over 800 miles of bridle trails and three stables, and six golf courses. In the winter, there's cross-country skiing, tobogganing, snowmobiling, and ice skating. If you enjoy outdoor activities, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo offers them. The zoo, which recently opened one of the world's first exhibits highlighting the importance of the world's rainforests, is open throughout the year.
Cleveland has more lake shore than any other metropolitan area in the world and more yacht clubs than San Diego. Swim, fish, boat, ski or picnic at Cleveland Lakefront State Park or at any number of inland reservoirs. Each summer, hundreds of races and regattas are held, and scores of wineries, caves, campgrounds and beaches wait to be explored.
The newest jewels in Cleveland's impressive skyline are the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and the Great Lakes Science Center. The Hall of Fame and Museum, built to pay tribute to rock and roll legends, profiles popular music from its very beginnings through the present. After all, the term "rock and roll" was coined right here in Cleveland! The Science Center, one of the largest science museums in the United States, features more than 350 interactive exhibits and an OMNIMAX Theater. Visitors can choose to pilot a blimp, enter virtual reality, analyze their baseball swing or have other high-tech fun. The Center is located right next to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Cleveland's North Coast Harbor.
Town and Country magazine reported, "Perhaps no American city is blessed with a more generous choice of elegant, comfortable and safe suburbs...with excellent police protection and other city services, and the best public and private schools..."
Yet, as the cost of housing rises nationally, Cleveland's remains affordable. Clevlanders spend 28 percent of their incomes for housing, while housing in Miami, Phoenix, and New York City consumes 40 percent of personal incomes. Cleveland's cost of living for a four-person family within an intermediate budget is ranked below other major cities, including Boston, New York and San Francisco.
The residential communities of Cleveland Heights, University Heights and Shaker Heights are within easy walking, driving or bicycling distance of Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital. Although these suburbs are known as affluent communities, a closer look reveals a diverse population with representation from a wide range of ethnic, religious, racial and social groups. Most house staff live in these communities.