Portsmouth area

[OH2GA]

I moved out of Portsmouth w/my Father in 1996. The rest of my family is still in Portsmouth and even though I miss them dearly I THANK him all the time for showing me that there are more things out there than want this small town has to offer! Everytime I come back to visit I notice that everyone still looks and thinks the same way they always have.

[centre]

My husband left there 15 yrs. ago (still has family there)....Would be a good retirement area, nothing else.

[BeeS]

Originally Posted by bluegrassb

I was wondering how the jobs are in the Portsmouth area? Are there places that are reasonable to rent? I am hoping to move in the summer to this area.

There are reasonable places to rent in the Portsmouth area for around, say $425/a month. Depends on what you want, but for something nice that would be about the range, maybe a little more.Anything less, would not be as nice. Try to get something with a secure lighted area for parking and always be careful where you park as, according to the local newspaper, about 4 grand theft autos are being reported nearly weekly for over the past few months. Having a garage would be safest. Not many jobs are in the daily news help ads either. It is a very scenic county on the plus side, not much in the city.

[SouthernOHsoccerplayer]

Portsmouth is not a good area at all...I've lived here all my life and i wouldn't recommend anyone move here..Especially if you have kids in high school that play sports,The kids who play are picked specifically on their last name not ability.The drug abuse in Portsmouth is rampant.Portsmouth could be a great metropolitan if they completely wiped out the government and cops and started new.Sure Shawnee State Forest is beautiful and so are the parks but the rest of the city is a dump.I hate to say all of this but it's true..

[dumpcity]

Portsmouth and the Scioto County area has had such a tragic downfall over the years. Yeah, the place is, like everyone keeps saying, beautiful because of the scenery, but jobs are hard to find. The only decent job down here is Walmart. =/ They are trying to build Portsmouth back up, but it's not going so well. Everybody knows everybody and everybody don't like everybody. Prostitutes run a muck. Drugs are rampant. Crimes decently average. But, avoid shopping or going downtown on the 1st of the month. This county has to have the HIGHEST WELFARE RATE in the state of Ohio. The people down here are LAZY. Nobody wants to work and they expect everything be given to them. I would not recommend moving down here. If you like cheap, cheap as in 'rent' and as in 'structure', places to live, sure move here. But other then that. DON'T. Move to Waverly. Waverly is much nicer than Portsmouth. Portsmouth is slightly bigger but Waverly is relatively close to Chillicothe. It's only 20 mins away. Hope that helps. =]

[jallie]

Portsmouth, Ohio is looking for and will be REALLY good to the "new settlers".
As pointed out by previous posts, it is a remarkably beautiful area, truley the foothills of Appalachia. There's a LONG standing relationship between poverty and Appalachia and Portsmouth shares that, too. But it's a relatively distinct population who remained in Portsmouth or other parts of Appalachia becoming more dependent of the government, drugs and crime over two generations. Those who could and wanted to GOT OUT and made good lives. Of those who remained behind, some went to school or got trained in some way and made a nice life and the others suffered and declined. Their poverty was further complicated by the staggering number of people who are overweight & or smoke. No wonder the medical system is flourishing & the biggest employer. Until just recently. There is a vigorous and enthusiastic alignment of enterprise, creativity & limitless potential for those who are in Portsmouth when the new boom begins. Several new corporations have either opened or are set to open in the next year, housing in really affordable and the schools are fabulous. But it will be the new influx of settlers and pioneers who will be on hand to re-create this river town. The culture and heritage of Appalachia is firmly embedded in the town. So to are the problems of long time poverty but the place is poised to make a comeback.
For non-smokers, energetic, hard working, upwardly focused people willing to get educated, stay healthy and desire MORE for and of their kids. This is the place.

[Cincyman]

Originally Posted by Kereczr

I've lived in Portsmouth for close to my entire life and I would NOT recommend that anyone move here. It is beautiful, granted. We are surronded by amazing forested hills on almost all sides and the vegitation in the town itself is also quite nice. However there are VERY few jobs, unless you have a medical background. The town is basically one large hospital with NOTHING else except a walmart. It is a very depressed area. Not much culture, jobs, fun, etc. However if you really don't care about a social life/fun nights and have a degree or something that enables you to work at a hospital, by all means move here. You will find the area very pretty, but other than that Portsmouth has very little going for it.

I used to work at that hospital and WHEW! , I am so glad I left that poorly run hospital and the town it was in. My only regret was that I didn't leave sooner.

[Oiho]

Portsmouth is a unique place. A true mixed bag. I lived in Portsmouth for six years and loved it. The haves have it very good. The have nots have it very bad. Fortunately I had a good job. If you have a good job you benefit from a very low cost of living. There is some extremely nice, affordable housing up "on the hill" and just blocks away a lot of very poor housing. It is depressed in many ways, but on the other hand has much to offer those who have means. There is a very good regional hospital, the largest on the Ohio side of the river between Cincy and Pittsburgh. There is a four year university with all the attached amenities. The "culture" is two faced. On one hand there is a "culture of poverty" with a high percentage of the residents on some form or another of public assistance. There is a drug and related crime problem. You sometimes find store clerks who can't even make correct change. On the other hand there are some nice cultural attractions. There is a thriving music scene, a nice little civic theater group, an outstanding community concert series, and all the events the university brings along with it. There are some nice restaurants. The physical "natural" beauty of the area is a huge plus. The man made "ugliness" of the area is striking. The city government is handicapped by a small but vocal and extremist portion of the citizenry that tries to block every effort at progress that comes along, just for the sake of having their own way. It will take an economic lightning strike and a bold, courageous, and visionary leader to remove Portsmouth from the mucky sink hole in which she has been stuck for decades. In the meantime, it's a nice place to live if you're one of the haves. Don't move there without a good job in hand.

[jhodge242004]

Originally Posted by dumpcity

Portsmouth and the Scioto County area has had such a tragic downfall over the years. Yeah, the place is, like everyone keeps saying, beautiful because of the scenery, but jobs are hard to find. The only decent job down here is Walmart. =/ They are trying to build Portsmouth back up, but it's not going so well. Everybody knows everybody and everybody don't like everybody. Prostitutes run a muck. Drugs are rampant. Crimes decently average. But, avoid shopping or going downtown on the 1st of the month. This county has to have the HIGHEST WELFARE RATE in the state of Ohio. The people down here are LAZY. Nobody wants to work and they expect everything be given to them. I would not recommend moving down here. If you like cheap, cheap as in 'rent' and as in 'structure', places to live, sure move here. But other then that. DON'T. Move to Waverly. Waverly is much nicer than Portsmouth. Portsmouth is slightly bigger but Waverly is relatively close to Chillicothe. It's only 20 mins away. Hope that helps. =]

Waverly??? Do you really think that is any better yeah it doesn't have the city size of Portsmouth but it has the drugs do you know why Domino's is no longer there? The long time manager got busted selling drugs more than pizza! So how is that any better? I worked for Domino's for a long time sad to say but I can grant you one thing about Portsmouth Domino's no drugs go out the door that didn't come in on that same person. I do like the competition level of Waverly football against my team West Senators (Siders). The last couple of years we (WEST) has been dominant over everyone around here love it. It may be short lived I hope not but you never know but last year my man 10 and 0 that is awesome with the reputation of schools like Waverly and Wheelersburg not to mention Portsmouth High School (the city school) West showed them all what grind it out football is all about! Run play after run play very few passes West was awesome. Me and my son went to Waverly to watch the West match-up which turned out to be a run-away game. I expected much more but I tied my SIDERS blanket over the fence where I was standing and some lil Baverly witch walked over and tried to untie it she didn't realize I was watching her and had she succeeded I would have knocked the p water out of her. It was a great game until it started but 49-0 I think was the final it was over with 10 minutes left in the first quarter.

[jhodge242004]

Originally Posted by Oiho

Portsmouth is a unique place. A true mixed bag. I lived in Portsmouth for six years and loved it. The haves have it very good. The have nots have it very bad. Fortunately I had a good job. If you have a good job you benefit from a very low cost of living. There is some extremely nice, affordable housing up "on the hill" and just blocks away a lot of very poor housing. It is depressed in many ways, but on the other hand has much to offer those who have means. There is a very good regional hospital, the largest on the Ohio side of the river between Cincy and Pittsburgh. There is a four year university with all the attached amenities. The "culture" is two faced. On one hand there is a "culture of poverty" with a high percentage of the residents on some form or another of public assistance. There is a drug and related crime problem. You sometimes find store clerks who can't even make correct change. On the other hand there are some nice cultural attractions. There is a thriving music scene, a nice little civic theater group, an outstanding community concert series, and all the events the university brings along with it. There are some nice restaurants. The physical "natural" beauty of the area is a huge plus. The man made "ugliness" of the area is striking. The city government is handicapped by a small but vocal and extremist portion of the citizenry that tries to block every effort at progress that comes along, just for the sake of having their own way. It will take an economic lightning strike and a bold, courageous, and visionary leader to remove Portsmouth from the mucky sink hole in which she has been stuck for decades. In the meantime, it's a nice place to live if you're one of the haves. Don't move there without a good job in hand.

I have to say you have some good points on the way if you have the money Portsmouth is a good area. If you are poor you have it rough. Is that not everywhere I've not seen or heard of anywhere that the "haves" as you call them take care of the "have nots" to make them what "equals" it's everywhere you have upper class, middle class, and lower class. Yes the government here doesn't want the city to move on and invite bigger industry they can't make as much money then if there are knowning minds here in a big industry situation. Our government officials live well enough of the makings of what they already have to rip off Wal-Mart the small mom & pop spots and of course the college. If you think I'm wrong you're crazy I have lived here all 29 years of my life except a few summers spent working in Columbus. In the winter there with all them tax payers they don't even scrape the side roads in the city?!? I was on the Channel 10 news in winter 97 stating that I'm from a little town called Portsmouth with a lot less tax payers than Columbus and they scrape our roads. This winter 2008-9 they did not in the city. Kalb kept to much money and the city could not afford salt for the roads they could only do the intersections where cars had to stop. CRAZY