I have now lived here for about 9 months and this is my impression of the city: Just like any other large city in the U.S. there are good spots and bad, if you come here, you'll have plenty of colleagues to inform you of which parts of town to avoid. The surrounding towns where many of the dental students live are great and have relatively low crime. I have a wife and a two-year-old and live in Cleveland Heights, and I honestly have NEVER felt that me or my family have been in danger. As far as "fun" things to do, there is something for everybody (i.e. great parks, museums, events, bars, historical sites, etc.) True, come end of December/early January it's cold as hell and miserable, but you're in school most of the time so what do you care? As far as the school goes, as has been said in previous posts, it is top notch. Being in the class of "guinea pigs" for the new curriculum has been a hassle at times, but next year's class will have it much better. I turned down other good schools (Michigan, UNLV, Nova, Indiana) to come here and have not regretted it for one moment. And,,,,,,,,,,,,, if you get here and decide you really do hate Cleveland, then just stay inside and bust your balls studying and daydreaming about four years down the road when you'll be a practicing dentist somewhere warm like Arizona or San Diego!!!
