You know it’s going to be an interesting night when the first person who introduces themselves at a gathering of new to Cleveland women says, “I also have a podcast, but it’s in my native language of Portuguese” and 3 of the 15 on the patio say, “I speak Portuguese”.
Every year Executive Arrangements invites professional women who recently relocated to our town to connect over wine and appetizers. This gathering is always held at one of our homes to help us showcase the Midwestern friendliness we all brag about and which can not be duplicated at a bar or restaurant.
Some women relocated to our town less than a week prior, while others have been here a few months. Each shared their story: where they thought of as “home”, where they had relocated from (rarely the same city), where they settled in CLE, and what their hobbies/interests are outside of the workplace.
And as we have always known, it doesn’t matter if you moved to CLE from 50 miles away or you moved from another country, you still feel like the new kid on the block and gatherings like these are designed to help them feel at home. Our guests relocated to CLE from:
- New York City, NY
- St. Louis, MO
- Miami, FL
- Phoenix, AZ
- Lausanne, Switzerland
- San Paolo, Brazil
- New Orleans, LA
- Toledo, OH
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Athens, GA
- Rochester, MN
They have found homes and apartments in:
- Orange Village
- Rocky River
- Cleveland’s Larchmere & Shaker Square neighborhoods
- Brecksville
- Pepper Pike
- Beachwood
- Cleveland Heights
- The Warehouse District in Downtown Cleveland
- Cleveland’s University Circle neighborhood
Their origins made this cocktail party a melting pot as they described their family roots from the following places:
- South Korea
- Japan
- Venezuela
- Peru
- Portugal
- Turkey
- Michigan
- Atlanta
Before the night is over we told them “this is your first Girlfriend Group in Cleveland” and encouraged them to use the guest list that we sent afterwards to grab a new friend to experience a hobby or passion together with in Cleveland. A lot of interests were shared including: dogs and cats, singing, classical music, hiking, biking, parks, jazz and rock concerts, paddle boarding, museums, cooking, dining out, tennis, beer tastings, local festivals, book clubs and finding volunteer spots.
If your organization could benefit from partnering with Executive Arrangements to woo candidates to Greater CLE/AKN or to professionally on-board them to our town once they have accepted the offer, call us at 216.231.9311. EA Connects is just one of the many ways we help newcomers set down roots and fall in love with our town