I moved downtown to the Warehouse district after living in Cleveland Heights (Overlook Road) for two years. Although I am farther away from campus, the management team is friendly and responsive, my apartment has central heating and air, I have an in unit washer and dryer, and it is close to the train station and bus stops which run every 15 minutes. I live alone in a studio, and it is more than enough space especially given the price and location. I pay for gas and electricity separately, which is around $60-80 a month in total depending on the time of year. Internet is also not included in the rent. Covered parking is expensive, but it is affordable on the current grad student stipend at Case.

The apartment is located right next to a bunch of restaurants and bars, so it can get loud and crowded on the weekends and Browns game days, but management was very upfront about that before I signed a lease. If you are a light sleeper or sensitive to noise, I would invest in a pair of noise cancelling headphones or avoid the area altogether.

The Hat Factory is a well maintained, relatively affordable apartment building on West 6th St in downtown Cleveland. Because it is on West 6th, it is a nice spot to be if you like going out to downtown bars, clubs, or higher-end restaurants.

However, as a medical student, I have found that there are some drawbacks to living in downtown Cleveland. First, it is close to a 30 minute drive to CWRU from downtown. Additionally, covered parking downtown costs $150/month. Also, because the building is on a street with several bars and nightclubs, you can expect it to be noisy late into the night. I have found that the worst nights are Sunday (particularly when the Browns are playing), Wednesday (don't really understand this one), Friday, and Saturday. That being said, it has never gotten in the way of me getting a good night's sleep. (This is probably because I live on the fourth floor. I would definitely avoid moving into a second floor apartment.)

I have nothing but nice things to say about the Greg, the landlord, and the superintendent. The management is very responsive and things that we have reported have been fixed in a timely fashion.

I have never felt unsafe in our building. There are two locked doors that you need to cross before you even reach the elevator to go up to the apartment units. The safety of the area around our apartment building is somewhat of a different story. Recently there was a shooting in The Archer apartment building on West 9th (the street over). I won't go into detail but you can google it if you want. There was also an armed robbery that made the news in the last month. That being said, police are almost always walking up and down our street or parked across from our building. I have found this reassuring. Still, for my own safety, I do not walk anywhere around my apartment by myself after 7pm (or whenever it gets dark).

Overall, these apartments are reasonably priced for the area, with cool details like exposed bricks, high ceilings, and huge windows. I have nothing bad to say about the building or its management. It has been really fun to be able to walk to new restaurants and explore the different things that downtown has to offer. Before you live here, I would suggest that you first consider the daily commute you will be making, the additional expenses you will have from parking, and the additional noise that comes with living on the biggest street for Cleveland nightlife. Also keep in mind that safety is a little more of a concern here, which I suppose often comes with living in an urban setting. As long as you know these things and accept them, you will probably have a great experience living in the Hat Factory!