Why I Love Cleveland

I am from Cleveland, Ohio and proud of it. Cleveland was such an amazing place to grow up. I spent summers on Lake Erie learning to sail and swim. I spent my falls and springs playing soccer in the Metroparks and the winters taboganing and sledding every day after school. Cleveland is so underrated. And not only is it a paradise in the summer, there are so many different kinds of people that call it home.

I remember calling my mom when I moved away from home to go to college in Boulder, Colorado and telling her there weren’t any “real people” there. At the time, I didn’t even know what I meant by that, but as I sit today in my favorite ‘cafe’ in Lakewood (suburb of Cleveland), I am realizing that people from Cleveland aren’t really trying to prove anything to anyone. I think Clevelanders encompass all cultures and that is what makes the people feel so real.

See, Clevelanders are something special. The people that live here, love it. As my friend Scooter says, “There is a humbleness to Clevelanders and they wear their love for this place on their sleeve.”

I’ve been asking some of my Cleveland friends what it is that they love about Cleveland, and I’m looking forward to posting their responses in the coming weeks.