Moving to Youngstown Ohio from Florida need info. (Boardman, Austintown: real estate, sex offenders)

[StephandTerry4]

We are moving to Youngstown Ohio during Christmas break and we are looking for information about the area. What are good area's? What are bad area's? How hard is it to find a job? What are the seasons like there. about how much does the electric bill run? is the gas propane or natural. how is the crime rate? what is the school's like. If possible please answer our questions as if it were you seeking the information. If anyone knows of any good websites that might have pictures of the area please let us know the link we would love to check them out.

Stephanie and Terry

[JR_C]

Good areas and bad areas:
Basically, the only really bad areas are in pockets on the south and east sides of the city. But, if you're concerned about schools, you probably don't want to live in the city anyway. I guess the good areas are in Poland and Canfield. From my experience, Austintown and Boardman are like the city, but the schools are much better.

I hear it's hard to find a job here. But, it depends on what your profession is.

The seasons:
I like the seasons. We experience warm weather (highs in the 70's or above) from the end of May to the middle of September or beginning of October. Winter is rather cloudy and dark. Cold weather (high temps in the 30's or less) runs from the end of December to the beginning of March. We usually have a couple really cold snaps where the high temp doesn't go above 15. But even in the coldest parts of winter, it rarely gets colder than 0.

Utilities:
Natural gas is prevalent around here. If you're far out in the country, you will probably use heating oil. I'm single, and live alone, so your results may vary. For some reason, my bills always seem to be much lower than what other people claim to have. So, hopefully, they will also respond. Last year, my electric bill never went above $60. My gas bill never went above $200.

Crime rate:
The city of Youngstown has an extremely high murder rate. But they are almost all drug and gang related. The rate for the other types of crime are comparable to that found in many cities--especially in the rust belt.

Schools:
As I said earlier, the city schools are in real trouble. But the surrounding schools are fine.

This site (City-Data) has a lot of the information you're looking for.
The city of Youngstown:
Youngstown, Ohio (OH) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news, sex offenders
There are also pages for many of the surrounding communities. (Austintown, Boardman, Canfield, Poland, etc.)

Here is the Youngstown2010's website outlining the neighborhoods in Youngstown. Most neighborhoods don't have their own page, yet. But some of those that do, have pictures. Youngstown 2010 - Neighborhoods

[1phwalls]

I don't know if you can back out, if you can you should. Youngstown is a dump! The schools are horrible (which is not the schools fault). Parents around here dont care about what their kids are doing because they are too busy with their own lives. Some have to work 2-3 minimum wage jobs, others are on drugs/alcohol. People here do not care what there kids are doing. The teenagers drop out of school and run the streets, and the 2 to 10 year olds are not supervised. They run all day with no one watching, or should I say from noon to midnight, and yes, I mean 3 year olds!

The murder rate is very high! We have a population of around 75,000 and there were around 40 murders last year. I know there was 33 in November, I didn't pay attention to the final tally.

If you must move to this area, live in Boardman, Austintown, Canfield or Poland, with Canfield and Poland being the best. Companies are closing in Youngstown and moving to the townships listed above. There is nothing in Youngstown worth coming here for.

[Mikieo415]

Just out of curiosity... What brought you to decide to move to Youngstown? Boy you are in for a real treat!!!!!

[vader]

Hmmm

I too would like to know why your moving there before I give any advice. I just find the whole move from Florida to Youngstown very peculiar..

[StephandTerry4]

Originally Posted by vader

Hmmm

I too would like to know why your moving there before I give any advice. I just find the whole move from Florida to Youngstown very peculiar..

I hate Florida and have wanted to move out of the state for a long time. Me and my husband made a deal and now it's time for me to get to live back up north. My husband actually choose the place to move to.

As to moving to youngstown we are actually looking at the surrounding area's because we just want the more quiet side of life. We live in Jacksonville Fl and it is a fast paced city and we just want to slow things down abit.

For those of you that need to know I am in the medical profession and was wondering how are the medical profession type of jobs?

Thanks for all the reply's
Stephanie and Terry

[JR_C]

Yep, there are plenty of nice quiet places around here. But I'm a city guy, so I can't really help you much.

I think it's fairly easy to get a job in the medical profession, but someone else would have to verify.

--edit--

Take a look at Cortlandgirl79's photo tour of Cortland for an example of what it's like out in the country here:
Cortland, Ohio Photo Tour

[StephandTerry4]

JR_C thank you for all your reply's I couldn't ask for more than you can give. I also checked out that thread and looked at the pics. I also sent her a private message I hope she can get back to me she seems like she is not only a person with lots of knowledge of the area but someone who is involved in the area. I am actually looking for a pin pal so that way I can start gathering all the info that I need. My family and I are so excited about this move. I can't wait to get back to the north and my children are excited about seeing snow.

Thank you again
Stephanie and Terry

[CortlandGirl79]

Steph and Terry,

We might be able to help you better if you could answer some of the following questions:

Do you want a city, suburb, small town or rural area?

How close to shopping and restaurants do you want to be?

What type of homes are you searching for?

Do you want a big yard, city lot or some acreage?

What kind of schools are you looking for?

My suggestion would be to find a job first, then pick a location near you're place of work that will best suit you.

Oh yeah, and what type of healthcare job or facility are you looking to work at?

[StephandTerry4]

Originally Posted by CortlandGirl79

Steph and Terry,

We might be able to help you better if you could answer some of the following questions:

Do you want a city, suburb, small town or rural area? suburb, small town or rural area. We live in a big city now and that is part of the reason we are moving we want to focus on family life since we have a 9 and 10 yr olds.

How close to shopping and restaurants do you want to be? It really doesn't matter I mean if there close that is good, but a little drive to them won't hurt.

What type of homes are you searching for? Older homes are more our style, but it really doesn't matter.
.
Do you want a big yard, city lot or some acreage? A big yard or a couple of acres would be nice. We want something that our children can go outside and play in with out them playing in the streets.

What kind of schools are you looking for? Good schools are a must we want to provide the best education that we can because that is where there future is, but can't afford private so we want to find a good public school system for them.

My suggestion would be to find a job first, then pick a location near you're place of work that will best suit you. I plan on looking for work first, but we are moving like I said around the first of December.

Oh yeah, and what type of healthcare job or facility are you looking to work at? I am a medical assistant so I can do MA work or front office work. I can also do home health aid work also.

Like I said we have every intentions of researching and gathering as much info as possible. I have every bit of faith that what we intend is more than possible.

Thanks for the reply
Stephanie and Terry