For local media personality Mark Nolan, moving downtown three years ago was actually a repeat performance.
“The first time [I lived in downtown] was 20 years ago, and I did for three-and-a-half years,” says Nolan, a Kent State grad who moved to Burton in Geauga County after his first downtown stint. “The transition [back] was easy. The downsize was exhilarating. It was great to get rid of a lot of junk and simplify.”
Nolan splits his time between radio and television gigs Monday through Friday. You can hear him on the 105.7 Majic Morning Show with Nolan, Malone, Kullik and Tracey from 5:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. That means a reverse commute out to Majic’s studios in Independence in the wee hours of the morning before he heads back downtown for lunch and a quick nap. Then it’s over to Cleveland19’s television studios where he co-anchors the 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. news Monday through Friday with Romona Robinson.
“If I didn’t have to drive to Independence for the radio show, I’d probably only drive once every few weeks,” says Nolan, a self-professed car nut whose hobbies include motorcycles and hot-rod gassers. “When I lived down here in the '90s, I had two car batteries die due to lack of use.”
With Nolan’s hectic schedule, “convenience is the key,” he says. “Convenience in everything from work, to restaurants, to entertainment.”
And that’s just what Cleveland delivers, convenience. It’s also why so many young adults are attracted to downtown as a place to live.
“The entertainment is endless,” says Nolan, who also does his fair share of entertaining friends and family who visit. “They love having a place to stay or call home base when they come down. My mom throws in a few more ‘be careful’s here and there, but that’s it.”
The walkability of downtown is also important.
“If I have a drink or two, I don’t have to worry about how I’m going to get back home,” Nolan says.
It’s not just younger folks who are moving back. Older folks are enjoying the convenience and entertainment options now afforded by the inner city.
“But in many cases, I think it’s a second place, like a crash pad,” he says. “It can get a little noisy on Saturday nights, but I guess I’m just getting a little old, too!”
Does that mean he has plans to move back out to the green acres of Geauga County for a repeat performance there?
“I have no plans to move,” Nolan says. If there are any drawbacks to living downtown, “ says, “I haven’t found one yet.”