Wooster vs. Mansfield (Cleveland, Akron, Canton: crime, houses, neighborhoods)

[Castle256]

Hi everyone.

I am considering relocating my family to a smallish town (30k - 50k people) that is south of Akron. I like smaller towns but I also want to be close to retail stores and restaurants which is why I have the the population requirement. I will be moving from a similar size town (about 35k people) in Central TN. I also like being close to a larger metro area, right now I am just about an hour or so drive from Nashville.

I have visited Wooster briefly and liked it. It has a very nice downtown area and some great, older neighborhoods. I have not been to Mansfield, only read about it and looked at houses on Realtor.Com. Home prices seem to be very similar between the two towns.

I guess my question is if you had to pick one which would it be and why? I am married and have a son (not in school yet) and work as an IT person if that helps, my wife is a banker. I am no stranger to cold, snowy winters (I am from Nor'IL originally).

Thanks in advance.

[JR_C]

Personally, I would choose Wooster. It's closer to the Massillon Canton area and Akron.

I've never visited either, but from the pictures I've seen Wooster seems to be in much better shape than Mansfield.

[CortlandGirl79]

I've never heard anything good about Mansfield and it seems a lot further away from the action to me. BTW, I hope you have jobs before you move!

[Buckeye in SC]

The only advantage to Mansfield is it's right in the middle (an hour either way) of Cbus & Cleveland w/easy access to both via I-71. However, w/US 30 pretty much up to Interstate standards from Canton to Upper Sandusky now, has made getting to and from places out of Wooster easier (also note that Mansfiled is along that expressway as well). Mansfield is a little bigger - close to 50k people - while Wooster is closer to 25k people. You will probably have a little easier time (if there is such a thing in our current economy) living in Wooster finding jobs as you will have more IT opportunities in Akron or Canton and you may even look at Smucker's in nearby Orrville.

[Orwelleaut]

Wooster has a lot lower a crime rate, from what Mansfield area folks have to say, than Mansfield does. Mansfield seems reasonably safe, but it does have some rougher areas.

As far as the economy, the closing of ARMCO AK steel in 1999 or shortly thereafter seems to have hurt Mansfield. This was a big deal when that plant closed, as it was very large. The old plant has recently been completely razed and leveled, though, so maybe the city is looking at building a new plant there??

[truemuck]

I lived in Wooster, its a nice little town and you're much closer to bigger cities like Akron, Canton, and Cleveland than what you would be in Mansfield.
Since you're a family man, you might like Wooster better than I did. As a young single guy, it wasn't the most ideal place to be, but I digress.....
That said, its way nicer that Mansfield, which really is a stinkhole. The only thing decent about Mansfield is that you're much closer to decent shopping than what you are in Wooster.

[Orwelleaut]

Have you considered Ashland?? This is a lovely little town between Mansfield and Akron, a college town of about 15,000 people. It seems to be very clean and quiet, and has a beautiful downtown

[Castle256]

Thanks for the replies everyone. We haven't looked into Ashland, I will today though.

[erfmommy]

Ashland is definitely a good option, but if you prefer a larger selection of retail stores/restaurants/entertainment options, Wooster is your best bet. I have lived in the Wooster area my whole life and love it. As far as Mansfield vs. Wooster goes, Mansfield is definitely a more run-down area, but has a bigger variety when it comes to shopping. However, Wooster is a short (30 minute) drive to Canton, which has much better shopping than Mansfield. I would stick with the Wooster area.

[Cleveland_Collector]

I dated a Wooster area native for a few years and made the drive from the outer-ring suburbs of Cleveland almost weekly. While I have nothing truly bad to say about the area, I will tell you that there is not a whole lot going on there. Consequently, we wound up going to Cleveland or Akron much more often when we wanted to actually go out. If you are into small town living, you will absolutely love it. If you want a shopping mall within 15 minutes of your house, you likely won't. It's a matter of perspective.