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LIVING IN SOLON OHIO
Alex Kolesar
Moving to Solon Ohio Tips - 2021
Published February 2021
This article is a complete tour of Solon Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland Ohio and is one of the best places to live in all of Cuyahoga County! Maybe even one of the best places in all of Ohio. The population in Solon is around 23,000 which is a fairly decent sized city when compared to surrounding cities. In Solon, there are a bunch of restaurants, coffee shops, parks, and biking trails to keep you entertained. Oh, did I mention that Solon also has one of the top ranked schools in all of Ohio?! If you're interested in learning more about Solon, make sure you watch the video below.
Best Place to Live in Cleveland Ohio
Cleveland Magazine actually ranked Solon as the number one spot in Cleveland’s best places to live. The nationally rated school system and the extremely safe neighborhoods are a huge reason why Solon ranked in the number 1 spot. Because it’s voted the best school district in the Cleveland area, Solon has become one of the most desirable places to live and all of Ohio, and I bet all the Soloner's can contest to this.
Solon Schools Are One Of The Best In The State
Is a good school system is important to you and your family? I am a local Realtor in Solon and I can personally tell you that people move to Solon just to enroll their children into the schools here. Solon School district is NOT open enrollment. Out of 605 schools districts, Solon city school district ranked as the #2 best school in Ohio, #2 best places to teach in Ohio, and #3 in districts with the best teachers in Ohio.
The drone video shows the Solon School district campus. Almost all of the schools are centralized in one central area. The only school that is not on the "main Campus" is Dorthy Lewis Elementary school which is located just north of the city Center. Solon has one high school, one middle school, and four elementary schools. If you're planing on raising your children in this charming city, you can be absolutely positive that they will receive quality education from teachers who care about the success of their students.
Cost of Living in Solon Ohio
Home Prices
Because the demand is so high, Solon homes are going to be a little more expensive when compared to the surrounding cities. In 2020, the average sales price was around $347,000. Now when you compare that to 2015, homes prices were $288,000!! Thats a 3.7% increase in property values every year. It's safe to say that if you purchase a home in Solon, you're making a good investment.
Property taxes
Let's be honest, NO ONE wants to pay more in property taxes! Solon doesn't have the highest taxes around, but since the homes are more expensive in Solon, you're going to pay a lot in property taxes. Annual residential property tax in Solon is 2.32%.
$200,000 x 2.32% = $4,640 a year in taxes
Overall, housing is going to be the most expensive ticket item in Solon. Other than housing, the only other thing I noticed to be more expensive is grocery shopping. My grocery bill is normally $15 more expensive than if I were to shop somewhere else... but it's not that big of a deal.
Buying a Home in Solon Ohio
I love Solon! The neighborhoods are extremely safe and the homes here are stunning. If you're looking to move to Solon and not sure where to move, in my opinion, there is not a bad part of town. You just have to determine what's important to you. Do you want to be in a quiet neighborhood away from neighborhoods, walking distance to schools, or in community driven development with great amenities?
One of the most affordable areas to live in Solon is the ABC streets right next to the high school. Why is it called the ABC streets? Take a look at the map, starting from Som Center rd going left, the street names are in alphabetical order, from A to G. For a 3 bed / 2 bath, you're looking at $225,000.
Solon Developments
Thorbury - Thornbury is an upscale neighborhood located off of Bainbridge rd and offers amenities like a public playground and a walking trail. Thornbury is one of Solon's more expensive neighborhood with the median home price around $600,000. The homes here are large, boasting around 4 beds/ 5 baths!
Chagrin Highlands - located just off the highway, Chagrin Highlands is conveniently located and is an easy drive to downtown Cleveland or to the Air port. There are around 175 homes in this established community. Homes sit on around an acre of land with wooded lots, providing homeowners with tons of privacy. Even though the homes are spread out, there is still a huge sense of community here. Personally, I love driving down the streets of Chagrin Highlands, one... because the homes are gorgeous, and two... the residents are always out on the sidewalks jogging, biking, kids out playing, and walking their dogs. Chagrin Highlands, Thornbury, and Signature of Solon are the most expensive communities in Solon. Average home price is around $610,000
Rollingbrook - The community of Rollingbrook is the ultimate neighborhoods of privacy and luxury! All 37 homes are located on 5 acre lots and the homes are so private that many of homes can't be seen from the road. Since there is limited homes in the development, they don't come on the market often.
Heritage landing- Heritage Estates of Solon is a relatively small subdivision located off Som Center Rd and is actually connected to a larger subdivision, The Preserve. The homes here are affordable with prices ranging around $450,000 with homes boasting 4 beds and 3 baths. These homes are more popular for empty-nesters who desire low maintenance homes and first floor master bedrooms.
I only covered a small portion of available developments here in Solon. If you're looking to buy a house in Solon, make sure you reach out so we can point you in the right direction!
On the flip side, one of the most expensive communities in Solon is Signature of Solon. Home prices here are around $700,000 up into the millions. Talk about luxury!
Situated on 600 pristine acres, the Signature of Solon Country Club serves as the spectacular centerpiece to the gated luxury community of Signature of Solon. Surrounded by a captivating championship golf course, social and recreational amenities, the club is recognized as one of Northeast Ohio's most acclaimed private golf and lifestyle clubs.
What To Do In Solon Ohio
To be 100% honest, Solon doesn't offer that many recreation activities. Solon home days (community block party) is one of the biggest events in Solon and is held at the Solon Community park. The park is awesome and is actually located near the Solon School District on the south end of the city.
In Conclusion, Who Is Solon Right For?
Solon is for someone who wants to live in a community that is safe, friendly, has great schools, and wants to live in quiet area that is still close to everything. Solon is a luxury community and residents absolutely love it here! The taxes and home prices are going to be the biggest road block for a lot of families looking to move to the area. If you're looking to move to the area or buy a house in Solon Ohio, make sure you reach out to us so we can help you make that transition.
Communities Served
Right down the street from the park is the Solon Community Center. This state of the art facility offers an indoor and outdoor pool, gymnasium, jogging track, meeting and banquet rooms, aerobics studio, free weight room, rock climbing wall and a fitness area that includes virtually every type of exercise machine available.
My favorite part about Solon is the amount of trails that the city offers. If you're interested in viewing Solon hiking and biking trails, click here.
Solon focuses heavily on safety and improving health and wellness for the entire community. 77 percent of the community that was surveyed agreed that “it’s important that Solon does focus on becoming a bike- and pedestrian-friendly community.” In the near future, Solon plans on creating an active transportation network for everyone that lives in the city. Below is the bike path from Solon community park to the community center.
In addition to outdoor activities, Solon offers a pretty large downtown area that offers a bunch of restaurants and retail shops so you never have to go far to get what you need. The great thing about Solon is it's location to near by activities.
Top golf is only a 20 minute drive away
South Chagrin reservation is only a 10 minute drive away
If you enjoy gambling, Jack's Casino is only a 25 minute drive
Downtown Cleveland is only 25 minutes away
Cons of living in Solon Ohio
Every city can't be perfect and glamours... But Solon is close! I touched on a few of these points earlier, but the biggest cons in Solon is:
- Rush hour during the morning and evening. The main roads in Solon gets very packed since you hop right off the free way into stop lights.
- Even though there are a bunch of hiking trails, the city itself is not very walkable. You need a car to live here, or atleast a bike.
- Weather.... Hot summers and cold gray winters. Fall is AMAZING!
- Although the commute to downtown is only 25 minutes, it can be a pain in the butt with traffic.
- Not a huge night life. If you like to go to bars or clubs, venturing to near by cities can be normal. For some people that means Solon is a boring suburb town, for others, it means Solon is an amazing city with quiet neighborhoods. Can't please everyone!
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