Considering Ohio

[macoulter922]

I have lived in Youngstown, Ohio for many, many years and the older i get, the more i hate it here!! It's a very depressing area and the weather absolutley stinks!!! It's either cold or wet and hardly any sunshine ever!!!! There also are no jobs here, only minimum wage paying ones and who can live on that??? There is nothing for kids or teens to do here. I do not recommend living here unless you don't mind gloom and doom. We're thinking of moving to Tyler, Texas. My husband company wants to transfer him there when the new business is built. (They just broke ground and it'll be about one more year.) The old saying goes: The grass isn't always greener on the other side, but i have to say this: It may not be greener, but it'll be warmer!!!! And plenty of sun!!

[Mrs. P]

Originally Posted by Candra

My b/f and I lived in LA for about 10 yrs. (before meeting ea. other). When we met, we moved to AZ and hate it. He's from Youngstown, and went to school in Oberlin. We're considering moving to one of those towns. We don't need to look for jobs, as we make some $ doing art, etc. (and made some on real estate in AZ). We're looking for peace, quiet, nice people, and (for me) maybe some "artsy" people. We think we'd find more artsy people in Oberlin, but he has many "old" friends in Youngstown. But, they seem mainly obsessed with sports. I'm worried now, after reading about pollution, though. I want to avoid excessive pollution. I'm also worried about the stores (or lack of) in Youngstown (organic food, etc.). Any suggestions, info., etc. would be greatly appreciated!!

Why not go to Oberlin? I think you'd flourish better there than Youngstown.
It's a neat old college town, lots of artistic people. My father in law went to school there for music. He ended up singing for the NY Met, the president of the USA, Mormon Tabernacle Choir and others. He moved to Charlotte NC later though for a teching job, (his wife was from NC)...but he and his wife both to this day have wonderful memories of Oberlin, and said if they could move anywhere in the world, it'd be back to Oberlin. Course I'm sure things have changed, but not as much as some other places.

I would avoid Youngstown and it's surburbs at all costs.

[LancasterNative]

Originally Posted by Mrs. P

I would avoid Youngstown and it's surburbs at all costs.

Roger that! Y'town is a dump. Very crime-ridden and practically no jobs (that is, if you're looking for jobs that can be held legally).

[phoenixxphyre]

[quote=Gee;135677]

I read this story not too long ago: /quote]

Makes a nice story, and I think it's true that a lot of people who are miserable in one place are just going to be miserable no matter where they go. I guess it all depends on the nature of your complaints and if you'd legitimately be happier if they were fixed, or if you'd just find something else to complain about. Personally, I want to get out of Ohio and see somewhere different after being here 22 years. I want somewhere warmer, with beaches, but still some rain, and of course where I might actually be able to get a job with my degree. This leaves certain parts of CA and FL.

Granted, there are places in OH where I could probably find at least the better job opportunities (Columbus comes to mind as a place I saw a few opportunities), but I want a total change. Currently, I'm leaning towards FL. Will the humidity and bugs cause me to complain at times? Probably. But I've already made up my mind that being here does not make me happy, and being somewhere where I can at least enjoy a variety of things I don't have access to around here would. While I may complain about the cost of gas on occasion ($3 down there) I'd also remind myself that whatever my money problems there, they're little compared to making about 7/hr with very little room to move up here.

It's all a matter of taste though. There are people in states I'd consider "better" who hate it and want to come here, and while I think they should be forewarned that certain areas (like Toledo) don't come with a lot of opportunity depending on your specialization, while they want to escape heat, humidity, hurricanes, whatever and I think that the heat, beaches and culture would be a good tradeoff, the simplicity of this area that's driving me out just might be their idea of paradise.

[LancasterNative]

Originally Posted by Gee

some of the books and articles that rate places to live don't even have it right.

You can say that again! Many, if not most, of those "ratings" of places are based on very subjective criteria.

[Paddington]

Originally Posted by Candra

I don't know what to say, really. Except, getting a job isn't a problem, my b/f already has offers to teach at Universities there. We also have a production co. and it looks like we may be able to raise $$ to do a movie based out of there (from the 60's). My b/f wants to move to Liberty because he knows some politicians there, and has some friends who live there who are quite well off and have influence in the community. They seem interested in helping us do the movie, and he thinks that once they meet me, they'd support my theater idea. I was thinking of doing it in Youngstown since you can get grants there to start businesses, and it might appeal to the students. Although, I understand the part about most people not being very educated. My b/f (who's from there) warned me about that. How bad is the pollution? I lived in Los Angeles and Phx. I just can't imagine it being worse than that. I've gone on MySpace to try to see profiles of people from Youngstown. Mostly students. They seem to be primarily shallow. We've also discussed Oberlin. Thanx so much for all the replies, though they've been mainly negative.

Air Pollution anywhere in Ohio is a non-issue compared to places like Southern California and Arizona.

[CortlandGirl79]

Why does everyone have something bad to say about youngstown and it's suburbs? Have any of you lived here? I live about 25 minutes north of y-town and i love it here. It's quiet and contrary to popular belief there is really a lot to do here. First of all we live right between cleveland and pittsburgh, it's a 1 hr trip to both places. Is youngstown perfect? no, no place is perfect! Are you going to get murdered here? Highly unlikely considering about 98% or murders in the y-town/warren area are drug related. The suburbs here are just fine, a lot like the rest of ohio's suburbs. Lots of tree lined streets, subdivisions, strip malls, parks and all the home depots and lowe's you could ever want!!! Youngstown/Warren and the surrounding towns are filled w/older homes w/lots of character, or if you like cookie cutters or mcmansions we've go those too. Is there a lack of jobs in this area? Yes, there are a lack of jobs, but it depends what profession you are in. If you do have a good job though, the mahoning valley is a great place to live.

Here's something for everyone who says there is nothing to do here:

http://millcreekmetroparks.com/

www.mahoningvalleythunder.com

http://valleykids.org/info.htm (broken link)

www.chevroletcentre.com/

OhioHistory.org/places/youngst/

www.steelhounds.com/

http://www.cityofyoungstownoh.org/ViewLinks.asp (broken link)

That's just to list a few.............also check out the youngstown play house, the mahoning valley scrappers (minor league baseball, cleveland indians), mosquito lake, lake milton, the canfield fair, numerous festivals(greek, italian, african american), the butler institute of american art, the arms museum, eastwood field, camping, bike trails........i could go on and on!!

Defend Youngstown

http://www.defendyoungstown.com/indexa.html

http://youngstown2010.com/

[parrilla22n]

Can someone tell me about Poland, Ohio. I want to move from New Jersey because it is getting to expensive to live. Taxes are getting worse. I have 4 Kids and I want to move my business to Ohio. My business is Remodeling Kitchens and Baths. I also do a little bit of remodeling in other rooms of the house, like knocking walls out and making new walls, painting, sheetrock, and spackle. please let me know if Ohio is a good place to do buisness. and if I can make money to raise my kids.