Coolest neighborhood in Cleveland

By the time I leave, I'll have spent just over a month in the City of Crippling Depression. All jokes aside, Cleveland is actually quite an interesting town. Despite a mass exodous of industry in the last 50 years, the art scene here is quite thriving due to the "old money" here. Instead of investing in the infrastructure or economic development of the city, these wealthy families have continued to pour money into the museums, symphony, and the like. Which, for a visitor is great since I get to experience all of this amazing culture without getting involved with the negative aspects of a city that had a bleak economic future before the recession hit. As a result, there are not too many people moving to Cleveland (at least not by choice). Without an influx of new blood, you really get to see the true face of a community. There is nothing to hide behind, no new crowd taking over the neighborhood to complain about. Just the nitty gritty. It's like you took all of the jokers out of the deck - along with most of the face cards - and are just reshuffling the cards that you have left. So the cool neighborhoods aren't spoiled, and they do not turn into Park Slope or Silverlake (not that those neighborhoods are not cool, but they are definitely quite gentrified). One such neighborhood that I have come to enjoy here is Waterloo.

It's quite the mix here, and definitely would not be considered "nice" by any means. Now, new blood does not necessarily connote gentrification, but it's a fine line. The Beachland, a music venue, has apparently been around for a while, but just recently a few new spots have been popping up, one of which is the Waterloo Cafe (www.waterloocafe.com). I came last weekend after the Waterloo Arts Festival. Little did I know that that weekend was the cafe's grand opening! And now I am back typing away thanks to their free wifi! While here, me and my two cohorts have enjoyed a breakfast burrito, a cold brewed coffee, a draft beer, a tex-mex wrap, and one of their working-on-becoming-infamous Waterloo Cookies, all of which have been just delicious (especially the beer!). It is actually connected to the Community Art Center, which exhibits local art (and was a part of the Arts Festival). This neighborhood definitely has the feel of one of those neighborhoods that is yet "undiscovered" and taken over by the new class of yuppies, ie hipsters. With a lagging economy there's only so many of them to go around and they cannot immerse themselves into every nook and cranny of the city. I'm sure it will be found (possibly with the aid of this post) soon enough and there will be more fixed gear bikes and skinny jeans than you could shake a stick at. But for now, for my final days in the Cleve, I will enjoy Waterloo for all it's splendor.