Bolivar and/or Little Genesee (Olean, Marcellus: high crime, buying a home, job market)

[AlyMarie]

Hi,

My husband and I are looking at possible buying a home in or near Bolivar and Little Genesee.

Can anyone tell me a little more about these cities?

Are they safe?
High Crime?
Good schools?
Poor or Upper Class?
etc.

Thank you for your help!

[BigD_JT_14221]

AlyMarie,
I've looked at purchasing recreation properties near these towns so I'll take a stab at this.
Are they safe? - Yes, very safe
High Crime? - No, not at all
Good schools? Check greatschools.org. Bolivar schools seem pretty decent.
Poor or Upper class? It's definitely not upper class. Pretty rural. Many lower income. Almost 100% White in terms of racial make-up.
Let us know if you think of other questions

[AlyMarie]

Hi BigD_JT

Thanks for your reply!

My husband and I are in our 20's and are thinking of starting a family, would you recommend these towns as a great place to raise a family?
What about job opportunities? I know the economy is bad right now, but did these towns ever have good job placement?

When you say "many lower income" what does that mean exactly? I really don't mean this to sound rude, but we don't want to end up getting trapped in a poor run-down town.

We moved to NY from Arizona and we're just looking for a small town feel but still close enough to a big city to enjoy those benefits.

[BigD_JT_14221]

Job opportunities will be very limited in these towns as they are very small (appox pop. 1000 people!), but Olean might be where you'd work if you lived in either. The far Southern Tier area of WNY has had a pretty rough job market for quite some time as their economy was/is heavily based in manufacturing, but if you have in-demand skills you can find good opportunities. The great bonus is if you have a average job you can have a very good quality of life in this area.
I'd say if you like country living and have an income, I think you could do a lot worse than this area.
You can look up a whole bunch of stats on Bolivar here: http://www.city-data.com/city/Bolivar-New-York.html

[ki0eh]

Gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale is an uptick for truck drivers, welders, laborers, and especially those with industry specific skills.

[BigD_JT_14221]

Good points made by ki0eh. Depending on which way NYS goes, post-moratorium on fracking, there sure could be an influx of jobs in that area.