Both born and raised in Lakewood, Sarah and Dom first met amongst a gathering of friends at The Root Café (formerly The Lakewood Phoenix). Though they both went to Lakewood High School, Dom is two years older than Sarah, so the two didn’t get to know each other until that fateful day at The Root when sparks just flew.
Fast forward a few years and the birth of one spunky son, Sarah and Dom knew that something in their life was missing—and that turned out to be the positivity, energy, and multitude of experiences that come with living in the heart of Downtown Cleveland.
As soon as the trio moved into the Stone Block building in October of 2019, they simply knew it was the right decision. In fact, Sarah felt so inspired by the architecture, expansiveness, and picturesque surroundings of their new home that she even started painting for the first time. (You can check out her amazing artwork here!)
From walking to the Great Lakes Science Center in the summer to taking a midday stroll while their eight-year-old son, Zsoltan, rides his scooter, this young family is making the most of life in the Warehouse District.
Check out our interview with Sarah below to discover why the powerful energy and varied culture of the Warehouse District offers an experience for young families unlike anywhere else.
First, please share a little bit about yourself!
So both my husband, Dom, and myself were born and raised in Lakewood. We both went to Lakewood High School—he's two years older than me, so we didn't run into each other until we met at The Root many years later, which used to be called The Phoenix. Then we got married and had our son, Zsoltan, and continued to live in Lakewood for many years.
When I was a little girl, I always talked about moving to the Warehouse District — it was always so glamorous! But we’d assumed the suburbs would be better for raising a family, so we stayed in Lakewood.
It wasn’t until last summer that Dom and I made the decision to try something new and move Downtown, and the minute we moved down here, we just knew it was the right thing.
In a lot of ways, it took moving Downtown to really understand how special this city is. The energy, the vibe, the positive feeling that's genuinely everywhere. All the people here just seem to want to contribute to the positivity. For us, it was shocking to get into a neighborhood in the city and for it to immediately feel like home.
What would you say was the biggest contributor to your family's decision to move from Lakewood to the Warehouse District?
Variety. After spending so many years in the suburbs, Dom and I got to the point where we were craving a different experience for ourselves and for our family. We had come Downtown for a couple of events before we moved here and were super inspired by the city in general. We decided to seek out a living situation so we could be able to experience that variety on a daily basis. It’s great to see so many different points of view firsthand, and that’s really what we were looking for.
What do you like best about living Downtown? What types of resources are available because of your location in the Warehouse District?
For me, the architecture is what draws me down here and keeps me getting outside everyday. It’s stunning. The amount of work that they're doing Downtown -- from sprucing up the flowerbeds, to creating art on the sidewalks -- adds to the beauty. The inspirational views, the lake, the buildings; it all creates such a powerful energy.
About six months after we moved here, we were so impressed with the trolley and the RTA system that we actually went car-less. The free trolley takes us everywhere we need to go! We hit the library probably three times a month and spend time on the tenth floor’s amazing observation deck. That’s probably our favorite resource in the city.
I tell people all the time it feels like Paris to me down here! It's a big city, but it's not overwhelming. Plus, all of the green spaces are great—the big ones and the secret ones. We're big into playing catch and we’re always looking to sneak to a park. We often play catch in Mall C and take up the whole park! It really feels like we’re living in the epicenter, and it’s been such a wild ride so far.
What sets The Warehouse District apart from other areas of Cleveland in your opinion?
First, I have to give a shoutout to our management company at Stone Block. From day one, our experience with our management has blown us away. They are so on top of it! Maintenance is here all the time—they're always working, updating the units, changing the lights, the list goes on and on. They're responsive and incredibly friendly, and it’s made our whole experience that much better.
Our favorite thing about the Warehouse District is really just the laid back, peaceful feeling. Of course, the events that happen Downtown are very exciting and lively, but in terms of a family environment, the district is pretty peaceful and quiet most of the time.
When I asked Zsoltan what he loves most about living here, he said it’s “roomy.” That’s exactly how it feels—living in the midst of Cleveland’s skyscrapers and being on the top floor of our building with lake and sky views, it feels wonderfully expansive and airy.
What else do you love most about life in Cleveland and the culture here?
Again, we really enjoy how varied the culture is. For us homeschooling Zsoltan, we wanted to make sure we were giving him more of an “experiential” living experience. It's about that learning process—getting out and seeing something you're learning about and making connections between himself and a greater population of people and the world.
As for me, my journey to painting actually started after moving into the Warehouse District! A little over a year ago, I started managing my anxiety and depression with painting. I was so inspired by the energy down here and how picturesque it is. Those two things came together, and it enabled me to spend the last year amassing a huge number of paintings. It's been the most incredible journey and I feel so lucky to be able to be in an environment that inspires my work.
If you’re interested in checking out Sarah’s paintings, you can follow her on Instagram or Twitter!