>Staying in Cleveland depends on if you like Cleveland or not.
This. I have no experience myself living in Cleveland, so I have no opinion on it, but from the outside it doesn't seem to have a lot to recommend it. In fact it's sometimes used as an example of a generic city. [1]
BUT if you [OP] have a strong network of friends there, that alone could be reason to stay.
If you're at all considering starting something new instead of just looking for another job, there are advantages to staying away from the coasts. With Google and others offering developers $200k+/year in compensation, it's hard to find good people to work with -- and you'd be farther from your network if it's primarily located in Cleveland.
But look at your network and figure out where it's concentrated. If you do know a lot of people in another location, it's a prime opportunity to move there.
And if you are looking for a new job, the coasts are great for that. I know I could have my choice of job if I were willing to work on the coasts. I'm in the Boulder area now, though, and I'm not leaving -- though I'm working remotely for a company on the coasts. [2]
For me, I decided to move to Boulder because Boulder is awesome. I grew up in California, but hated the congestion and insane housing market. The K-12 schooling system left a lot to be desired as well (again, if you're looking at kids as an eventuality).
But Boulder was partly an attraction because I have family here; take your own situation into account and figure out what you want. There is a lot of tech in the Boulder/Denver area, so that's one option, but there are fewer big companies offering crazy salaries (Google has a Boulder office, but it's not nearly as huge of a presence here).
Good luck!
[1] e.g. “America has only three cities: New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Everywhere else is Cleveland.” -- Tennessee Williams
[2] Full details of my working arrangements are more complicated than that, but not relevant.
"We have never been to Cleveland, know nothing about it, but you shouldn't live there".
No. No. No. No. No.
Don't move because other people don't think your city is cool enough. Move because you want to.
I live in Northeast Ohio and have never had trouble finding a job. There are plenty of opportunities locally and you always have remote options. OP lives here, has seemingly been there long enough to evaluate it, and should be able to figure out what location makes sense for him!
If you'd be happier elsewhere, or think there are more interesting companies elsewhere, you should move. But people's uninformed opinions need not be considered.
Cleveland's tech ecosystem isn't great but it's improving.
You do make a very good point that there are opportunities outside of Cleveland -- and Boulder is awesome! -- but Cleveland does have things to recommend it.
My sister-in-law works part-time for a tech company in Cleveland. The cost of living is insanely low (like $400/mo for an entire house in some places) and that allows her to be a full-time artist without needing a full-time job to live. I'd imagine the low cost of living would also make it easier for a freelancer to be selective about clients, should OP choose to take that route.
Many of these Rust Belt and Midwestern cities are becoming centers of hipsterdom. Who would have thought ten years ago that you would see young people moving to Pittsburgh, Detroit, Des Moines, or Omaha to start trendy restaurants and open art galleries? But now I see the reason: it's cheap to live, you can probably afford to buy a house, the public schools are decent, and there's a small community of likeminded people who'd rather do meaningful things than stay on the work treadmill to afford SF or NYC. The same thing is happening in Cleveland, at least from what I've seen.
The Cleveland food scene has had a pretty remarkable renaissance over the past few years. Downtown is growing as more people live there (occupancy rates upwards of 99% as apartments can't be converted fast enough to meet demand). We have seed accelerators. The arts are perfectly fine here. University Circle has more cultural and art institutions within one square mile than any other square mile in the country. There is plenty of live music and touring acts come here frequently.
Its funny that you brought up that Tennessee Williams quote because I have heard people in Cleveland try to twist the words around to sound like an endorsement of Cleveland. I am not one of those people, for the record.
This. I have no experience myself living in Cleveland, so I have no opinion on it, but from the outside it doesn't seem to have a lot to recommend it. In fact it's sometimes used as an example of a generic city. [1]
BUT if you [OP] have a strong network of friends there, that alone could be reason to stay.
If you're at all considering starting something new instead of just looking for another job, there are advantages to staying away from the coasts. With Google and others offering developers $200k+/year in compensation, it's hard to find good people to work with -- and you'd be farther from your network if it's primarily located in Cleveland.
But look at your network and figure out where it's concentrated. If you do know a lot of people in another location, it's a prime opportunity to move there.
And if you are looking for a new job, the coasts are great for that. I know I could have my choice of job if I were willing to work on the coasts. I'm in the Boulder area now, though, and I'm not leaving -- though I'm working remotely for a company on the coasts. [2]
For me, I decided to move to Boulder because Boulder is awesome. I grew up in California, but hated the congestion and insane housing market. The K-12 schooling system left a lot to be desired as well (again, if you're looking at kids as an eventuality).
But Boulder was partly an attraction because I have family here; take your own situation into account and figure out what you want. There is a lot of tech in the Boulder/Denver area, so that's one option, but there are fewer big companies offering crazy salaries (Google has a Boulder office, but it's not nearly as huge of a presence here).
Good luck!
[1] e.g. “America has only three cities: New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Everywhere else is Cleveland.” -- Tennessee Williams
[2] Full details of my working arrangements are more complicated than that, but not relevant.