Dem. Judges & Looking to network NE Ohio

[MsMagnificent]

First of all, who are the Dem-backed judges for the NE Ohio, Trumbull Co. area?
I remember one prospective judge sending us a package to vote for her (With a seed package of Forget-Me-Nots!) but in her literature she prominently displayed a RW-talking point promise that she 'wouldn't legislate from the bench'!

The rest is a NON-POLITICAL POST (for the most part : ) but IMPORTANT!
I hope this part of the post is acceptable to DU -- moderators, if not, please remove but let me know why so I don't repeat the mistake.

We are desperately seeking a country home within an hours commute of Mayfield Heights
-- if anyone can help with ads or even just links to their local papers/pennysavers to peruse their ads. Set up for horses a plus, but not necessary at this time. Multiple acres not necessary at this time, but will have direct bearing on the future purchase of property.

Presently we live in the far NE Ohio country (Trumbull Co. Cortland area, 10mi. from Sharon PA). Husband got new job in Mayfield Heights, a E-SE suburb of Cleveland) and on top of it, the owner of the 20 acre farm we're renting (Just lived here a year, we're relatively new Ohioans from beautiful blue NY) has decided to sell the house outright. He once was amenable to a rent/option or Land Contract (as it seems to be known here) but now he wants all the money at once. Even with the long commute, ordinarily we'd stay -- but that doesn't seem possible now.
We're a professional couple, no children, 1 show dog always 'in bed' (crated) when not directly with us, a few cats, looking for country property to rent or rent w/option in NE Ohio. Will not be able to buy for a few years to make sure we want to stay in this area & put down roots, plus we still have to sell property in NY. Husband is an engineer, I work from home.

Prefer less-or-equal than 1 hour commute to Mayfield Heights. Geauga County would be ideal, but open to other areas such as Lake, Summit, W Trumbull & Portage Counties. If we could find a good country home, we'd commute from most of Summit County too, and beyond -- from Mapquest, I'd say the rough boundaries would be Geneva, Middlefield, Orwell, Parkman, Ravenna (Bloody Corners? *shiver* Wonder how that name came about!), & Portage Lakes-Green.

Links to good resources for finding desired home would be most welcome! Even better, if you KNOW of a property for rent, our gratitude would be immense & a fine dinner is in store for you! :)

It's quite a culture shock coming from NY to this place. One thing I immediately noticed is the incredible road rage around here! (Is this indicative of the Ohioans basic unhappiness? Yet they still vote Republican!) Even in NY, there is a modicum of courtesy on the road, i.e. people take their rightful turns at a 4-way stop, drivers from the opposite direction often wave you in if you're turning left -- not so in this area! In fact, a few times when we've waved people in they've been so grateful they make an incredible effort to get near our car and signal their thanks for something so small as if it's a truly rare and great thing. Unfortunately it seems that IS the way it is here! :(

But, moving from a Blue state to a Red state gives us the chance to REALLY make a difference in our voting. In NY our votes were in the safe majority, and while they counted, they weren't something that could effect change -- here in Ohio our votes CAN make much more of a difference so it's quite exciting
...If COUNTED correctly, that is!

We're mailing in our absentee ballots today, first ever Ohio votes, straight Dem ticket across the board! We just hope the tabulator they're scanned on is true!

Anyhow, if anyone can assist with the Judge info &/or links or advice on finding a house, we would be MOST appreciative!!!


TYVM in advance!

[liberal N proud]

1. It's quite a culture shock coming from NY to this place

You should have moved from rural Missouri to this place? 7 years later and still not quite adjusted.

We live on the west side - Lorain county so might be just a little too far for the commute.

Here is a link that you can do some research on http://www.paintohioblue.com/index.php?page=display&id=90
Click on the county and at the bottom there is a sample ballot

[Kolesar]

2. No real bargains near Mayfield Hts., although I would recommend the area

The Chagrin Valley is the wealthiest part of Ohio and that drives the property values up. I suppose you could move to the farther communities you described. I find a false economy in moving farther out for low home costs when you might find yourself spending $500/month on gasoline. Not good for the atmosphere either. You will also be commuting through areas that get 100 inches of snow in a heavy year.

Actually, Mayfield is near a lot of horse properties. Metroparks even has a polo field and bridal trails in parks. The closest properties would be Russell Township and that area.

Outside of horse properties, prices get better north or south of where you are going.

You could peruse such locales at: http://realtyone.realliving.com/Default.aspx

You must have run into some really bad drivers if you rate the drivers worse than New York. (You will be able to buy cheaper car insurance here.) I would describe Mahoning Valley residents as being pessimistic and morose. The residents you live near certainly don't vote Republican, though.

My best advice would be don't move to a town where you have to commute on I-480. There is an intensity and density of traffic there that is frightful. That's where the collisions and tie-ups are.

[we can do it]

3. Drivers In Ohio ARE WORSE Than NY - Worse Than Most East Coast States

Hardly anyone pays attention, or does what they are supposed to do.( i.e. - acting confused at 4-way stops, stopping when they have no stop sign, while waving on someone who does, ignoring directions given by flaggers at construction, driving very slowly in the left hand lane, stopping on opposite side of 4 lane highway for school busses, stopping 100 feet behind cars at intersections, ignoring pedestrians in crosswalks....). I could go on. It is not unusual to have all of the above happen on any given day here in NE Ohio.