Written by Rich Swerbinsky

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I love living in Northeast Ohio. And I'm never leaving. Cleveland gets a bad rap nationally, but in my view ... there's no better place on this Earth to call home. In my latest, I brag about our town, giving all the reasons Cleveland is a phenomenal place to live and raise a family. I am never moving away from northeast Ohio. EVER.

I absolutely love it here. Ohio, and more specifically Cleveland, gets a bad rap nationally. The governor of Ohio and the mayor of Cleveland have been a joke for the last 30 years ... which doesn't help. That’s one area Ohio has sorely lacked: talented politicians. And that’s a big part of the reason why the city is sometimes perceived poorly from those not lucky enough to live here.

I grew up in Willowick. Then moved to Euclid. Lived in Kent for a while before moving to Twinsburg. Spent 3-4 years in Mayfield Heights, then moved to Mentor … where I lived for nine years. And I just came back to Twinsburg, where I bought a home. I’ve been all over the east side. It’s a great place to live.

And the weather doesn't even get to me. We have no natural disasters, a beautiful change of seasons, warm springs and summers with no humidity, snow on Christmas, and we sit right on one of the biggest lakes in the country.

Between our much maligned weather, our lack of a pro sports championship in 42 years, and the buffoons we elect to run this state … rarely do you ever hear a positive thing said about our town from the national media.

I’m about to give you a number of reasons why this is a great place to live.

~You can buy a very nice and spacious home for under $200,000. Try and do that in Chicago. In most other major Midwest cities, that will get you a 2 bedroom condo if you’re lucky. On the coasts? You can’t get anything for 200k.

~We have amazing golf courses all over the area that you can play for less than $30 on the weekend if you walk.

~We have a great parks system that rivals those of any major Midwestern city.

~We have three professional sports teams, all with venues less than 15 years old.

~We have LeBron James and an exciting professional baseball team with a great young nucleus of talented players that also happen to be good guys.

~We are 2-3 hours from Columbus, Detroit, and Niagara Falls. Easy drives to New York, Chicago, Washington D.C.

~We have maybe the nations best amusement park in Cedar Point. Geauga Lake. A handful of solid water parks.

~Put In Freaking Bay. Is there a greater place in the entire state of Ohio?

~Great, great steakhouses. From Hyde Park, to Ruth Chris, to Morton’s, to The Chophouse, to John Q’s. And that’s leaving out Shula’s, XO, Braza, and Flemings.

~An excellent Little Italy, with a number of great places to eat.

~The best hospital system in the world. In the world. My son was born seven weeks premature, and I got a chance to see first hand just how special and incredible the health care system and it's employees are in Cleveland.

~The Pro Football Hall of Fame just down the road in Canton.

~Did I mention we have LeBron James?

~Events downtown on the lakefront like the Air Show, Cleveland Grand Prix, and Rib Burn Off.

~Great schools like Case Western Reserve and John Carroll. Cleveland State downtown, which offers a great venue in the Wolstein Center for concerts, the NCAA Tournament 1^st and 2^nd round games, and other events.

~Live horseracing right off Route 271 at two different tracks, one that races during the day and one that races at night.

~An improved downtown featuring Browns Stadium, The Q, The Jake, The Science Center, The Rock Hall, and Playhouse Square.

~The city is very easy to get in and out of without the traffic nightmares that plague most of the other large cities in this country. I leave work in Beachwood, 20 miles away, at 4:30 for a Cavs or Indians game. I am parked, saddled up to the bar, and knee deep into a Dortmunder on draft at Harry Buffalo a half hour later.

~Finally, the town has a tough Midwestern feel with real people, not those god damn fruitcakes wearing those earpiece phones, drinking smoothies ... looking at you like a criminal if you are smoking a cigarette. This is a great town with great suburbs, and a great place to raise a family.

Give me a pro sports title and a huge casino right in the middle of downtown and I'd have absolutely no complaints.

I love this town, and it will be my home for the rest of my life.