Bedford, OH

281 Apartments for Rent

Elmer Flick, a Major League Baseball player who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1963, was born and buried in Bedford, Ohio. Other notable sports personalities from this area include football players Chris Chambers of the Kansas City Chiefs, Lee Evans of the Buffalo Bills and Mike Easler, another pro baseball player.

Bedford features a population of about 13,000 people, according to the 2012 census, but they're all fairly well spread out so there's plenty of elbow room. The town carries a WalkScore of 65, which means that some errands can be accomplished on foot. There are quite a few grocery stores, like Giant Eagle, and mom-and-pop markets, coffee shops, bars, movie theaters, restaurants offering a variety of foods and more, all within a five-mile radius. Also within a five-mile radius are a number of parks, reserves and a historic district, as well as a recreation center. So if you invest in a bike, the whole town is at your fingertips.

Moving to Bedford

Bedford has a low crime rate and reportedly has two cops for every thousand people, making it a safe place to move to. The rent here isn't dirt cheap, but for its proximity to Cleveland and the beautiful parks and preservation efforts around the city, the rents are very reasonable, even for three-bedroom apartments or detached houses. If you have a pet, there may be an additional fee or even the possibility that they won't rent to you at all. You'll want to do your due diligence and check out the requirements of each rental house in Bedford you look at.

Neighborhoods

There are six neighborhoods to choose from in Bedford, some of which overlap with each other and extend out past the borders of the city.

Automile: This neighborhood encompasses about a square mile of space around Broadway Avenue and Rockside Road. There are 26 new automobile dealerships on this mile-long stretch of Broadway, which gives the neighborhood its name.

Tinkers Creek: This neighborhood is named after a tributary of the Cuyahoga River and features the 25-foot high Gates Mills Falls within its borders, as well as the Tinkers Creek Tavern. It also has the fewest number of people living in it.

Historic Bedford: This area is on the southern end of the Automile and takes up almost three square miles around the intersections of Bedford Chagrin Parkway, Broadway Avenue, Egbert Road and Gilbert Drive. It's one of the oldest parts of Bedford and features historic buildings with a lot of unique character.

Glendale: This area is about the same size as the Historic Bedford neighborhood and sits to the west of it. It encompasses a good portion of Tinkers Creek, as well as part of the Shawnee Hills Golf Course.

Kenwood: This neighborhood is south of Glendale and has the second-fewest number of people living in it,compared to the rest of Bedford's neighborhoods.

Bedford Heights: This is the largest of all of the neighborhoods, encompassing more than six and a half square miles of Bedford in its borders. This neighborhood has the largest population of all of the neighborhoods. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding a house to rent or apartments for rent here.

Living in Bedford

Bedford is serviced by bus line 76 of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, which has stops on West Grace Street, Columbus Street, and part of Broadway Avenue. Depending on where you want to go in Cleveland, it'll take you about an hour to get there by public transit, and you'll have to change buses at least once. Overall, Bedford is a great small town that takes you away from the hustle and bustle of an urban center like Cleveland, but is still close enough that getting there and back is not a hassle. Although, why leave when there are plenty of cozy neighborhood bars and restaurants where you can spend quality time getting to know your neighbors? You also don't have to travel too far to get your daily essentials, as everything is right within walking or biking distance.

The city has fairly typical northeastern Ohio weather, where it mostly rains a lot and is not sunny all that often. Also, the snowy season tends to start early and end late, but nonetheless, that is not something to deter you from relocating to this fun little town, which sits only about 30 minutes outside of Cleveland and about an hour-and-a-half from the thrills and chills of Cedar Point theme park in Sandusky.

There are a number of city events throughout the spring, summer, and fall months, with the winter and holiday season marked by a tree lighting ceremony in late November and a special Christmas in Bedford Falls event in mid-December. Bedford is not the Bedford Falls of It's a Wonderful Life, but with a small town like this and a name like Bedford, you can't really fault anyone for wanting to play it up a bit.