Anyone know anything about Barberton (Akron, Wadsworth: crime, house, safe neighborhood)

[joyce3001]

I found a reasonable house there and was wondering what the area is like especially about being safe neighborhood to live.

Thanks

[gentlearts]

I don't live there, but a few towns away. Barberton is a blue collar town. Modest older homes and a decent school system.

[Robhu]

I have lived in Barberton for over 20 years. Raised 6 kids here.
The east side over around the hospital is a nice area. The west side is nice also. Barberton is an older town and seems to have alot of community pride and the people in general are friendly. It has a fairly good school system and a good hosptal. In most areas it gets real quiet at night. Grocery stores and shopping are close in town or in Akron if you prefer. Barberton is kind of a low keyed, laid back type of little town with not alot of bad stuff going on compared to some other places. I feel safe walking my dog at night. One thing that has always impressed me is the way the townspeople band together to help if there is a house fire or other tragedy to help the people involved. I like it here. I have no regrets about raising my family here. I guess I'll be here till I die.

[joyce3001]

Thanks, it sounds like the best place I've found so far and a place i would like to live.

[Donna7]

Originally Posted by Robhu

I have lived in Barberton for over 20 years. Raised 6 kids here.
The east side over around the hospital is a nice area. The west side is nice also. Barberton is an older town and seems to have alot of community pride and the people in general are friendly. It has a fairly good school system and a good hosptal. In most areas it gets real quiet at night. Grocery stores and shopping are close in town or in Akron if you prefer. Barberton is kind of a low keyed, laid back type of little town with not alot of bad stuff going on compared to some other places. I feel safe walking my dog at night. One thing that has always impressed me is the way the townspeople band together to help if there is a house fire or other tragedy to help the people involved. I like it here. I have no regrets about raising my family here. I guess I'll be here till I die.

I'm intimately familiar with Barberton, having grown up one city away from it, until I reached 18 and my mom bought a house in Barberton; (I am now 45); my husband and his siblings, his mom, dad, aunts, uncles, grandparents - all from Barberton. I agree with you that Barberton is a blue-collar town, lots of civic pride, and that safe places are on the East side and on the West side; I think that the "West Side" needs to be qualified, as I don't consider all parts of the West Side to be safe at night to walk your dog. I'm not sure where you live in order to make that statement. I don't want the original poster to think that all parts of Barberton are a safe, bedroom community. She can check the crime stats for Barberton; I was quite shocked to find out that not all of Barberton is as safe as one thinks. I was walking around Lake Anna Park a few weeks ago and I saw an old pair of tennis shoes hanging off a tree. I was told that it meant that drugs were being sold in the neighborhood.

Barberton does have a lot of cheap housing, that's for sure; this could be a good thing or a bad thing. To me, it signifies a lack of good-paying jobs. Barberton is investing in itself by having built a brand new high school as well as the new YMCA. It has an abundance of churches and a sense of community. It's doing a good job of reinventing itself. Most of the people there are good salt-of-the earth type people; many have moved or are moving due to lack of jobs, which reflects the economy in most of NE OH. For people that want to move to Barberton or surrounding communities, I hope that they have a job in place if that's an issue.

I don't know where all the grocery stores are besides Giant Eagle on the east side and Save-A-Lot at the Barberton Shopping Center. There's a bakery in downtown Barberton and a meat market. There's a meats/sweets market on the West Side. I wouldn't consider Barberton a shopping mecca by any stretch of the imagination (nor would I consider any of the surrounding communities a shopping mecca either, so I'm not knocking Barberton). I guess it all depends what one is looking for and what one is happy/satisfied with. If I was a newcomer to NE OH and wanted to stick to an area that is relatively close to Barberton, I would move to Wadsworth. (I don't live in Wadsworth, so don't have any personal agenda here). There is no public transportation there, whereas, most of Barberton does have public transportation if that is an issue. The schools are better in Wadsworth for those that have children. GreatSchools.net can provide stats. To be fair to Barberton, it does have a wider diversity and a wider socioeconomic status; all which contributes to school ratings/testing results.

Barberton, in my opinion, is in the process of revitalizing itself, after being down for a while, having had it's heydey during the heavy industrial period; most of which is gone now. If I was a young person starting out, looking for opportunity, Barberton would not be my choice, neither would most cities in NE OH (I've been here 36+ years). However, I'm sure that there is a segment of population that is looking for low-cost housing and a decent living. If that is the criteria, Barberton will fit the bill. Just my opinion; everyone decides for themselves what they are looking for.

Happy Holidays.

[campiductor]

There is an old coal boiler in my city of Perm (Russia), it was manufactured in 1943 in Barberton, Ohio by "Babcock & Wilkcock"/ There is a legend? that first of all a boiler was made for a cruiser, but a ship was torpeded by japans - so the boiler had been taken away and send to Russia. Can anybody tell me about the possibility of manufacturing cruise boilers in Barberton? Sorry for my english.

[CityGrrl77]

I believe that you are speaking of Babcock and Wilcox a company that is still around today. Here is a link from their site - it's their timeline page with the history of the company...scroll down to the dates of 1941-1945:
About B&W: History - B&W

Hope this helps!

[CityGrrl77]

And yes there are locations in Barberton, altho I do not know the specifics:
About B&W: Locations - B&W

[Sam_in_ND]

Originally Posted by campiductor

There is an old coal boiler in my city of Perm (Russia), it was manufactured in 1943 in Barberton, Ohio by "Babcock & Wilkcock"/ There is a legend? that first of all a boiler was made for a cruiser, but a ship was torpeded by japans - so the boiler had been taken away and send to Russia. Can anybody tell me about the possibility of manufacturing cruise boilers in Barberton? Sorry for my english.

It is very possible that the boiler in your town was built for a naval ship in barberton, OH. Babcock and Wilcox was and I think still is one of the largest makers of maritime boilers. During the Second World War I'm sure that the company produced thousands of boilers For use in ships. So the legend about the boiler being built for a cruiser, and the ship being torpedoed by the Japanese is surely feasible, and more than likely true.