My son has chosen YSU. (Youngstown, Warren: lease, appliances, schools)
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My son LOVES rust belt cities. We didn't find Youngstown THE CITY to be depressing at ALL!
He does NOT want to go to college in West Virginia. Two of his cousins did and he hated each of their campuses - WVU and West VA Wesleyan.
I am not worried about the city.
I am worried about the commuters and non trad students.
This post WAS NOT MEANT TO BASH YOUNGSTOWN AT ALL!
Just wanted to say that I think your son has his head screwed on pretty straight. You really have to give him credit for knowing what he wants. It seems as if he really doesn't want a traditional college experience so he may not even notice that a lot of students aren't around on the weekends.
I am guessing the BFA as opposed to the BA in Art is a big deal for him. A kid form the neighborhood had a similar requirement in that he wanted to go to an Art School (Parson in NYC), perhaps for the same reason.
I graduated from YSU about fifteen years ago. There have been some major changes since I've been gone, but it seems to be mostly a commuter school still. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, since he'll get exposure to more ideas than just traditional students - workers, older people, whatever. There is something good to be said for having classmates that are not clones of your other classmates. If your son is looking for more of a real life experience than a college student isolated community experience, he'll probably like YSU just fine. There are some small local bands and a lot of DIY ourself types there (out of necessity rather than ideology, in many cases), but he will want to go to Cleveland or Pittsburgh to catch some larger acts and get out sometimes. Since I've been gone, the strip of ick between the university and downtown seems to have been chipped away, but I would not recommend walking anywhere north of campus unless it's directly into his apartment.
I wouldn't want to live there again, but it was a good experience.
I graduated from YSU about fifteen years ago. There have been some major changes since I've been gone, but it seems to be mostly a commuter school still. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, since he'll get exposure to more ideas than just traditional students - workers, older people, whatever. There is something good to be said for having classmates that are not clones of your other classmates. If your son is looking for more of a real life experience than a college student isolated community experience, he'll probably like YSU just fine. There are some small local bands and a lot of DIY ourself types there (out of necessity rather than ideology, in many cases), but he will want to go to Cleveland or Pittsburgh to catch some larger acts and get out sometimes. Since I've been gone, the strip of ick between the university and downtown seems to have been chipped away, but I would not recommend walking anywhere north of campus unless it's directly into his apartment.
I wouldn't want to live there again, but it was a good experience.
When I first read the bolded sentence, I thought you made a typo, and meant Wick, because that also seems true. The university is razing the church across the street from Jones Hall, and the Peck House; I'm sure there are other buildings on Wick they have demolished over the last 15 years.
As far as walking north of campus, I wouldn't worry about it during the day. But, I would recommend a little caution at night. If he's walking home after dark, I'd suggest walking with a buddy or 2.
a BFA - the most coveted of degrees in the Art field. The professional Art degree.
a bachelor of fine arts is neither professional nor considered terminal in any of the fine arts fields. you should have been thinking of an mfa of which ysu only offers in creative writing. neither are especially coveted because there are so many students out there in the real world that have both.
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Originally Posted by TheYO
You have a good point about being inspired by the blight.
that's normally called "rust porn". that facebook page is not updated too often; guess there are only so many shots worth taking of mill creek park.
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Originally Posted by TheYO
There's a decent selection of bars on/near W Federal Downtown (Lemon Grove is by far my favorite - it's kind of the hipster bar)
bars are the only regular attraction downtown. the lemon grove and cedar's share the attempted hipster clientele. youngstown is too many years behind trends to have actual hipsters in real time. lemon grove attracts attempted hipsters that want to play activist as well (the activist money that could have been put to better use was instead wasted on a kickstarter project to put up decorations inside of a new building). cedar's gets the attempted hipsters that recognize that they really just want to get drunk along with out-of-town hipsters.
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Originally Posted by drankthetea
I wouldn't want to live there again, but it was a good experience.
the university part would have been the good experience, and not the desolate city.
a bachelor of fine arts is neither professional nor considered terminal in any of the fine arts fields. you should have been thinking of an mfa of which ysu only offers in creative writing. neither are especially coveted because there are so many students out there in the real world that have both.
that's normally called "rust porn". that facebook page is not updated too often; guess there are only so many shots worth taking of mill creek park.
bars are the only regular attraction downtown. the lemon grove and cedar's share the attempted hipster clientele. youngstown is too many years behind trends to have actual hipsters in real time. lemon grove attracts attempted hipsters that want to play activist as well (the activist money that could have been put to better use was instead wasted on a kickstarter project to put up decorations inside of a new building). cedar's gets the attempted hipsters that recognize that they really just want to get drunk along with out-of-town hipsters. the university part would have been the good experience, and not the desolate city.
a bachelor of fine arts is neither professional nor considered terminal in any of the fine arts fields. you should have been thinking of an mfa of which ysu only offers in creative writing. neither are especially coveted because there are so many students out there in the real world that have both.
that's normally called "rust porn". that facebook page is not updated too often; guess there are only so many shots worth taking of mill creek park.
bars are the only regular attraction downtown. the lemon grove and cedar's share the attempted hipster clientele. youngstown is too many years behind trends to have actual hipsters in real time. lemon grove attracts attempted hipsters that want to play activist as well (the activist money that could have been put to better use was instead wasted on a kickstarter project to put up decorations inside of a new building). cedar's gets the attempted hipsters that recognize that they really just want to get drunk along with out-of-town hipsters. the university part would have been the good experience, and not the desolate city.
Is this based off observation or an assumption? I only ask because it seems like you wouldn't step foot in downtown Ytown based upon your hate of this area.....Are you saying Youngstown needs to be like downtown Cleveland? Or Pittsburgh?
This thread is so off topic, but I feel the need to defend Youngstown and YSU!
Yes, SorryImovedback, the West Virginia schools are more "southern". And that is a good thing how? In what way? We are not southerners, and my son, who is into punk rock, skateboarding, urban art and veganism, would be happy where? At a country music concert? A rodeo? A huge southern frat party? Going out with southern belles? The girls he dates dress in black and wear doc martens. Not frilly get ups or big hair. (Oh my, what rock did y'all crawl out from under. Maybe Y-Town will not even be grungy enough? Perhaps it's not too late to try Detroit schools. Charleston would be far too urbane and sophisticated for him, for certain. Have a naaaaaahce day, y' hea-ah.)
And this "find a mate at college" thing - where did that come from? Oh, perhaps the South, because it sounds very 1950s to me! I went to college decades later and I knew of one person who actually found their "mate" at college. (they're divorced) The other ones I know of are my husband's sister who is a rabid right wing Pentecostal and met her husband in her sophomore year from the wonderful pool of desirable mates at Oral Roberts University, down in Tulsa. That's what Southerners and Southern wanna bees do I guess. The more you say, the more I just think you are a foolish and impractical woman. I am just trying to look at the long-term ramifications, and think it all through for you, I reckon. But I'll quit now, though. ;-)
I like the city of Youngstown and I see great promise there. The architecture of the homes in the video that you intended to be derogatory, was awesome! I thought, as did CortlandGirl that it was pretty positive! Sure, it's AWESOME. And vacant. And occupied by squatters and stripped and torched at alarming rates. And most of it continues to decay, because except for a few "urban pioneers who are mostly blacks who can deal with the circumstances and be reasonably safe living there, there is little preservation and reinvestment and active repair and revitalization. The efforts to slow/stop the decay are admirable, but will not do the job, long-term.
If you are sorry that you came back, perhaps you should think about leaving!
Life is too short to life where you hate. Can't agree more, Dahlin'. Crime, poverty, drugs, gangs and continued decay are just not for everyone, lol. I've sold the property I owned, and will definitely be leaving.
What's Charleston and the South offer? Well, a whole lot less tattoos, Harleys, and badly-aged hippies, and antiquated bossy Catholics, for a few things. Perhaps YOU confuse sophisticated urban and affluent and well-educated South with something you've seen in the movies?
Rodeo is rural and more of a rancher thing. But a rodeo did actually come to the Charleston Civic center, once.
Besides, didn't I tell you that lots of New Yorkers send their children there? Some of them got biz degrees at UC and then MBA from one of those Northern schools like the Wharton School of Business, and became real actual stock brokers and bank executives and such.
If you / he want the Rust Belt, and your alternative lifestyles or whatever, you can have it. But at least two of us on this board have tried to warn you, so if it all "goes South," so to speak, at least you can't say that nobody warned you. I hope it all works out, he meets a lot of whatever floats his boat, and lives happily ever after.
Last edited by SorryIMovedBack; 06-23-2012 at 09:25 AM..
What's Charleston and the South offer? Well, a whole lot less tattoos, Harleys, and badly-aged hippies, and antiquated bossy Catholics, for a few things. Perhaps YOU confuse sophisticated urban and affluent and well-educated South with something you've seen in the movies?
Rodeo is rural and more of a rancher thing. But a rodeo did actually come to the Charleston Civic center, once.
Besides, didn't I tell you that lots of New Yorkers send their children there? Some of them got biz degrees at UC and then MBA from one of those Northern schools like the Wharton School of Business, and became real actual stock brokers and bank executives and such.
If you / he want the Rust Belt, and your alternative lifestyles or whatever, you can have it. But at least two of us on this board have tried to warn you, so if it all "goes South," so to speak, at least you can't say that nobody warned you. I hope it all works out, he meets a lot of whatever floats his boat, and lives happily ever after.
I believe SorryImovedBack lives in the Sharon, Pa. area, so although I"m sure she has experience on this side of the border, she doesn't live here, just FYI.
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