Cool Cleveland Comment
Jumping In With Both Feet

In reading Mr. Kutting’s commentary [See Are We Forced To Leave? here] on his having to leave the greater Cleveland area to pursue his career, I honestly did not hear anything that I hadn’t heard before. As a Cleveland native who also was forced to relocate I can appreciate his perspective. I did not leave to find more career opportunities. I left due to my partner’s pursuit of a doctoral degree in an area that is not a specialty of any of the universities in Cleveland. If we had the choice, we never would have left, and hopefully one day we may return, but I hope that I may be able to add an additional perspective on this topic.

After high school, I also chose to stay close to home and went to both college and graduate school in northeast Ohio...a region that boasts over 20 solid higher education institutions. Upon graduation I also felt the pull to leave Cleveland and go to one of the “big cities” that seemed so glamorous and would probably provide more opportunities for employment. However, I didn’t want to leave, so I began investigating my own community and found out there was much more going on than I ever imagined. Now, I am not sure what Mr. Kutting’s major is, and it is safe to say that no city is the epicenter of every area of industry. It is a fact of life that some people will need to move out of their hometowns to be where they feel they need to be for their careers, but Cleveland has a host of resources for professionals, and for young professionals especially.

I am a professional within the nonprofit sector, and in my arena Cleveland can certainly hold its own with cities such as Chicago, Boston and even New York. In my studies and my involvement as a volunteer, intern and employee at various organizations within Cleveland, I became acquainted with the wealth of resources available to me. I also got hooked into the people and places that are seeking to get Cleveland out of the butt of jokes and into the spotlight. Cleveland is a great cultural city that is the center of many industries. It is also one of the few major American cities that is still affordable for young professionals to begin to build a comfortable life.

After college I jumped in with both feet and moved from the suburbs into the city (into Tremont) and then eventually to Cleveland Heights. I saw the renaissance of the city, which I remembered as the place where my parents worked, where we went to see a play or the orchestra, but then we left because there was nothing going on after the workday ended. Now there is so much going on, and the city (while not perfect) is more dynamic than ever. Organizations are developing programs that target the young professional population, but the word needs to get out to those who are not in the know that things ARE happening. Programs like The Cleveland Professional Twenty-Thirty Club, Cleveland Bridge Builders, iCleveland, NOCHE’s College 360, and various local foundations and corporations are actively engaging young people and the industries in which they seek to work. Other groups like the Greater Cleveland Partnership and Team NEO are negotiating with companies about the benefits of operating in this region. Cool Cleveland’s parties are another venue that is connecting people, both young and old, to network and develop connections. These are the people who are working to promote Cleveland, and I would encourage young professionals to reach out to these groups and get involved. There are many options that I don’t know are widely known in the suburbs and outlying areas of northeast Ohio, and maybe we need to do a better job at promoting ourselves in addition to our city. I would say to Mr. Kutting, and to all the other young people who are feeling the same frustrations, get involved, reach out to the resources that are available to you and if you want to stay here…there is probably a way to make it happen!

P.S. Thanks to Cool Cleveland for your great work at covering all the news and events in Cleveland. Now that I am in Michigan I rely on this newsletter to keep current on what is going on back home.
from Cool Cleveland contributor Mark Mullaney, Ann Arbor, MI mmullaney25ATmsn.com (:divend:)