joethestuff and Devil's Advocate, I wish I could give you guys some good fact-based advice, but I'm simply not in the loop, because I'm not nearly as far along as you guys.
One thing I can tell you is that the Clinic, while being a well-respected hospital, is not exactly known as a teaching hospital (if that really makes a difference). Although, they are trying to change that....
Second, the Cleveland hospital market is very consolidated. The Clinic has almost two-thirds of the market share,and UH has most of the rest. So, with the CC being the major referral center, you should be able to see it all in terms of patient load. You should also have enormous research opportunities (more so than at UH). Anyway, I'd love to hear your impressions of the program and the hospital in general.
joethestuff: Cleveland is not for everybody. It is cold. It is very blue-collar. Coming from Columbus, a very white-collar town, it was a bit of a shock for me. I was used to a much more commercialized, upper middle-class suburbia.
Housing here is reasonable. I pay more than most: $730 for a 2 bedroom with a view of the lake, University Circle (CWRU), the Clinic, and downtown. Not bad, IMO. You can find places that are considerably cheaper. If you're into the nightlife, the Flats are groovy. There are plenty of good restaurants and Little Italy is a neat area (although be careful if you're a minority). All that being said, I recently committed to four more years here (after four of undergrad) when I probably could have gone to another more amiable location if I had wanted to, so I guess it all depends on the person.
Sorry that was so long.
