Moving to Meadville ... any tips? (Pittsburgh, Scranton: for sale, how much, house)

[don]

Actually, I'm looking for a nice place to live in the general Meadville area, leaning more towards Cochranton, or even between Greenville and Franklin.

We'll probably sell our home for around $125,000 to $140,000, so we'll likely try to buy a house from $125,000 up to $175,000.

We'd like to get below the snowbelt into a milder climate than Bradford, where we've been living for some time.

- Don

[Autobot032]

I was raised in Meadville and now live just on the outskirts of it. Please, do not waste your time in coming here. There's nothing of any worth to you here, I promise you that.

1.) You won't avoid the snowbelt until you get past the Crawford County line heading south on I-79 (near the Sandy Lake/Greenville exit).

2.) Cochranton is a small backwater dump of a town, overrun by cops who keep a tight leash on the citizens past a certain time of night. (My dad was escorted home one night because he walked down to the corner store to use a payphone at 2:15 in the morning. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.)

3.) The unemployment rate and economy is terrible in Meadville and pretty much all of Crawford County. There are no jobs available (they put ads in, but no one gets hired.) We have little unnamed sounds offs in our local newspaper and at least 3 I can remember pertained to this subject, by people more than certified to do the job they applied for, yet they get turned down. The only reason anyone gets hired (and the keyword *if*) is because the management of said employer is desperate and absolutely needs the help. Here's an example...a friend and his family are on food stamps (he lives with his parents) and they were going to take the stamps from the family because he's under their roof without bringing any income in and he's not a child. Almost a week later, they sent a letter to his home stating "We at this time have gone over our records and have concluded that we cannot deny you assistance. With the economy so low, and the unemployment rate so high, we know it is next to impossible for anyone in the county to find short or long term employment of any kind. Thank you for your assistance." When the Welfare office (which has programs to help people find work) can't do it's job...well then that's a terrible sign.

4.) Meadville's not the quaint, nice, old fashioned town it used to be. Drugs, violence, strip clubs (one in town, one about 12 miles west of it), etc. I hate being here, and as such I'm trying to plan my escape. lol

Go to Greenville. It's small enough that you don't have a terrible amount of hustle and bustle, there's plenty of shopping options nearby*, and you're out of the snow belt. Believe me, you'll like it much better than Meadville. Oh and don't get me started on the weather. We're overcast day in and day out for the majority of the year. Whether it be rain, snow, or just clouds...our sunny days are a treasure and a limited one.


*= Shopping and locales:
PA:
Franklin: Big K-Mart, Cranberry Mall, Wal-Mart Supercenter (30 miles east)
Greenville: Wal-Mart Supercenter
Grove City: Grove City Factory Outlet Shops (22 miles southeast, Sony, Bose, etc shops), Wal-Mart
Hermitage: Wal-Mart Supercenter, Shenango Valley Mall (11 miles south)
Meadville: Big K-Mart, Wal-Mart Supercenter (25 miles northeast)
Sharon: Big K-Mart (this town's residents also use Hermitage, only 3 miles west of Herm.)

OH:
Youngstown/Niles/Warren/Boardman: multiple Targets, Wal-Mart Supercenters, Toys "R" Us stores, Eastwood Mall, etc. (I'd be here all night trying to pinpoint all of their stores. Ridiculous amount, but almost guaranteed to find what you're looking for.) (22-35 miles west and southwest of Greenville)

Not to mention, Meadville Medical Center is not the best place to be taken. Greenville's is a much nicer place and it's part of the UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) family.

Good luck in your choice, and please...for your sake...don't make it Meadville, or anything Crawford County. You will regret it in time.

P.S. Cable and Phone options for both Crawford and Mercer Counties:
(I don't know what's used all over the entire counties, but the companies I know of cover most, if not all ground in said counties...)

Crawford: Armstrong Cable (Cable, Digital Cable, HDTV, Internet, Pay-Per-View, and On Demand Programming.) ALLTel (Phone, ISDN, ADSL)

Mercer: (Greenville) Time Warner Cable (Cable, Digital Cable, HDTV, Internet, On Demand Programming, Pay-Per-View, and Vonage Internet Phone which includes unlimited local and long distance along with other regular calling features.) Verizon (Phone, ADSL)

I highly recommend TWCable. They've even got a promotion known as TWC Smart House. Cable, Internet, and Phone all for $130.00 a month, installed free. (once you add up the fees and surcharges...it's a nice savings.)

Hope this helps!

[don]

Thanks! I'll lean towards Greenville. Do you know if Greenville has Direct TV and Verizon DSL?

- don

[danj]

Don,

Don't waste your time in Greenville. I have lived here for the last 8 years and I'm now getting out.....Time for a new location. If you can, drive around in the Greenville area. There are a TON of homes for sale and most of them are overpriced dumps. The burough is run by a bunch of loosers and it really is turning into a town of trailer trash.

Drugs are becoming an issue and there are no jobs. Werner ladder, is your typical union facility with over-payed illogical workers, is on its way out. Rail and car is gone...I wonder if that site will fall superfund??

If you don't need to come to this Godforsaken region of the earth....stay away. I'm hoping to get out ASAP.....I just wonder how long, and how much of a loss the sale of my house will be.

Cheers....

[klm9707]

Hi Don,
I live in the Franklin area. I am on the outskirts and have a Franklin zip code. Thankfully we are not in the snowbelt. Finding a home in your price range would not be a problem here. You should be able to find something very nice in that range. There is Direct Tv and Alltel DSL (I have both). I do not know about Verizon DSL. Hope this was helpful. Good luck with your decision.

[danj]

Don,

I forgot, Greenville does have Verizon DSL.

Cheers

[italianma06]

hello. i am from Scranton, in northeast pa, and i love it here. i have visited some friends in meadville a few times and to me it seems very unfriendly. they dont like it , and they want to get out. to me it seems like a boring "hick" own with nothing to do. their big hangout is a walmart full of rednecks. ive also heard stories about the KKK influence in that town. whenever african americans are looking to move in, the neighbors will do anything in there power to stop it . and if they do actually move in, the people are nasty to them. the few times i was there i got many dirty looks from people. everyone seems to have a chip on there shoulder. its also one of them small towns where everybody know everones business. just goin to the store ur bound to run into some meddling busybodies that will try to pick ur brain for gossip. if your going for a small town, peaceful atmosphere, i suggest you pick somewhere other than meadville, like the poconos or pa dutch country. this place seems like what used to be an old fashioned victorian town that is now going down the drain. ive noticed a lot of empty builings left behind by stores that went out of business. and if you want the excitement and convenience of a more metropolitan city, definately DONOT go to meadville. i hope i helped you out, even tho im from the other side of the state. just thought u would want to here a visitors *****pective.

[mystree]

used to work in meadville,lots of snow

[don]

What about Franklin? Any suggestions?

BTW, I'm will be working 1-2 days a week in Meadville. Also, I'd like to get into an area where the taxes aren't so high.

- don

[mystree]

franklin/oil city could be quite a drive to meadville in the winter.