Conneaut- tell me about it! (Warren, Ashtabula: crime, how much, house)

[RomaniGypsy]

It's no secret that my wife and I have been looking at moving back to the Northeast. Ohio has three areas on the short list and one is Conneaut - mainly for its location and its colder summer weather. (I know its winters can be epic - that's fine by me. I have to deal with that if I'm going to get the not-so-hot summer.) Conneaut has the advantage of being somewhat removed from fracking operations as well. It seems we could get a workable house there for $40K or less, which is also a plus.

It's been ten years since I last drove into the town of Conneaut, and it was at night so I remember very little. What's it like? Here's what I'm interested in finding out:

1) Safety / crime (what crimes are most prevalent? Are there any areas that should be avoided? Would you walk the entire town at 3 AM without a gun? Drugs? Burglaries? Robberies?)

2) Local government (how does the population feel about the town government? Has there been corruption of note?)

3) What you like best about Conneaut.
4) What you dislike most about Conneaut.

5) Are there any other towns nearby where we could get the same things we said we like about Conneaut?

I don't care about schools as my wife and I have no kids.

[5Lakes]

I lived in Conneaut growing up, but that was back in the 80's. My parents still live in Ashtabula County (where Conneaut is located). It was a good place to grow up at the time.

Conneaut has declined since then and the town is economically depressed, but it's not a complete dump or anything. It's certainly safe and you can walk around at any hour without worry. Any crime there would probably be related to teenage troublemakers or minor thefts.

One nice aspect is that it's on the lake and it has a good lakefront park area. It also offers some good fishing if you're into that sort of thing. One negative is lack of shopping, but Erie is only 30 min away. Although I think the town may lack a decent grocery store these days.

Some nearby towns to consider that are probably nicer:

Geneva, OH
Madison, OH
Warren, PA
Franklin, PA
Girard, PA
North East, PA
Edinboro, PA
Westfield, NY
Fredonia, NY

[RomaniGypsy]

Originally Posted by 5Lakes

I lived in Conneaut growing up, but that was back in the 80's. My parents still live in Ashtabula County (where Conneaut is located). It was a good place to grow up at the time.

Conneaut has declined since then and the town is economically depressed, but it's not a complete dump or anything. It's certainly safe and you can walk around at any hour without worry. Any crime there would probably be related to teenage troublemakers or minor thefts.

One nice aspect is that it's on the lake and it has a good lakefront park area. It also offers some good fishing if you're into that sort of thing. One negative is lack of shopping, but Erie is only 30 min away. Although I think the town may lack a decent grocery store these days.

Some nearby towns to consider that are probably nicer:

Geneva, OH
Madison, OH
Warren, PA
Franklin, PA
Girard, PA
North East, PA
Edinboro, PA
Westfield, NY
Fredonia, NY

I appreciate the suggestions but I was also looking into Conneaut / the area for its "fresh start" aspect. I used to live in northwest PA, back in the day when I was married to she who is now my ex. Since I'm not a fan of seeing shadows of that failed relationship and the related pain all over the place, I was hoping for a fresh start.

As for New York... nope. They don't allow you to own a gun easily, concealed carry is almost impossible to obtain, open carry is illegal, taxes are ridiculous, etc. I don't think we could do New York. We're too conservative for that.

[Ohiogirl81]

I haven't been to Conneaut in ages, although I do have some friends who live in town, and they seem to like it all right.

Originally Posted by RomaniGypsy

As for New York... nope. They don't allow you to own a gun easily, concealed carry is almost impossible to obtain, open carry is illegal, taxes are ridiculous, etc. I don't think we could do New York. We're too conservative for that.

Oh, I don't know. Some of those southwestern New York counties along the Pennsylvania border are almost the Wild Wild West compared to the rest of the state.

[RomaniGypsy]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

Oh, I don't know. Some of those southwestern New York counties along the Pennsylvania border are almost the Wild Wild West compared to the rest of the state.

Agreed. My wife and I just finished touring through NY for about five weeks. Whoever prints those "REPEAL NY S.A.F.E. ACT - Honor the 2nd Amendment" signs is making a killing up there. However, it's still New York. If you're a rip-roarin', gun-totin' conservative, even in the overwhelmingly conservative counties, you still have to go through the rigamarole and expense of a state firearms license and whatever else they want out of you in order to own a firearm legally. When I bought my gun in Texas, they called the federal background check agency, found that I'm a law-abiding citizen, and I walked out of the store with a gun about 20 minutes after I'd selected the one I wanted. In NY State it can take weeks. Yes, they must, by Constitutional law, allow you to own a weapon if you are a law-abiding citizen. But nothing ever said they had to make it fast, easy, or cheap to do so.

I discovered one thing about Conneaut that I really don't like. They have occupancy permits and municipal inspections in order to be able to occupy a house. That's a load of *bleep*, if you ask me.

[Townes Van Zandt]

Conneaut isn't bad. You're far from everything, but it sounds like that's what you're looking for. Also, have fun with the snow! You're going to get hammered(even by Northeast OH standards!).

[RomaniGypsy]

I'm going to bump my own thread here because I recently got some information from a Conneaut native that I want to run by y'all.

A lady who lives there called it "the meth capital of Ohio". Do they have a meth (or any other drug) problem in Conneaut or is she exaggerating?

[JR_C]

Originally Posted by RomaniGypsy

I'm going to bump my own thread here because I recently got some information from a Conneaut native that I want to run by y'all.

A lady who lives there called it "the meth capital of Ohio". Do they have a meth (or any other drug) problem in Conneaut or is she exaggerating?

I have no idea. But I will say that you can probably find someone in any small Ohio town that will call their town "the meth capital of Ohio." Our self-deprecation isn't limited to our cities.

[5Lakes]

Ashtabula County has a meth problem but so does a lot of rural America. However, if you don't get involved in those circles you will pobably not see it. I grew up there and have tons of family there, and it has never impacted anyone I know.

Sheriff: 67 people indicted in Ashtabula County meth lab bust

[RomaniGypsy]

Originally Posted by 5Lakes

Ashtabula County has a meth problem but so does a lot of rural America. However, if you don't get involved in those circles you will pobably not see it. I grew up there and have tons of family there, and it has never impacted anyone I know.

Sheriff: 67 people indicted in Ashtabula County meth lab bust

Dare I ask how these people continue to make and sell meth? Who has the money to buy it in a depressed rural area? Where do people get the chemicals to make it? (You can't even buy over-the-counter drugs containing pseudoephedrine at a drug store anymore, without giving them your ID... and even still, you're limited as to how much you can buy in a certain time period!) How do they mask the odor (which I've heard is powerful and nasty) from the manufacture of the drug? And with people who use meth tending to go crazy, how do they keep their usage hidden from the authorities or those who would report it to the authorities?