Any experience with the Oil City Artists Relocation Program? (Pottstown: rentals, houses)

[installers]

My wife saw an ad in "Craft Reports" magazine for the Oil City Artist Relocation program. It cetainly looks attractive, but before I start spending weekends getting to know the area, I was wondering if anyone has worked with the program and what your experience with it was.

[mmmorganlady]

Hi, I went out because I saw an ad in the Arts Calendar magazine. I fell in love with Oil City and the people that I met. My husband and I bought a house on the North Side and we are in the process of remodeling it so that when we sell our house here, just outside of Boyertown (close to Exeter), we can move to Oil City. We only paid $33,000 for our 4 bdroom 1 1/2 bath house with a 3rd floor apt and a 3 car detached garage. A small back yard is all we need at this point. we have been mowing 1 1/4 acres, so we are looking forward to less landscaping responsibilities. The area is very picturesque and if you love the outdoors, you can't get much better. Bike trail right downtown and lots of hiking and xc skiing and snowmobiling trails at Oil Creek S.P. or Cook Forest S.P. And don't forget the Allegheny River for Canoeing/Kayaking, boating. There is a Marina right in town. It's a quiet hamlet where everyone is friendly, laid back, willing to talk and proud of their town. I can't wait to move there.

p.s we didn't go through the artist relocation program, but I believe that it would have been a good experience. Everyone I have talked to regarding the program was very informative and willing to give me the information I needed. I am the 9th artist to move there in the past year and there are 5 others waiting for their homes to sell so they can buy a home in OC.

[PeterRabbit]

If you'd like to see photos of the place there's a thread full of them somewhere. It's a photo tour of the town. Search for something with Oil City in ite title.

[dugdogmaster]

ARTSOilCity (http://www.artsoilcity.com/html/index.htm - broken link)

[Becca's on the lookout]

My husband and I left Oil City about a year and a half ago (I can't believe it's been that long...) when this program was just taking off. I'm really interested in the progress of the program.

mmmorganlady, maybe you can answer this question - What kind of artists are relocating? Are these all visual artists? What different kinds of mediums? And are they all strictly full-time professionals?

Oil City and the surrounding area was a lovely little place to grow up in, although ultimately, not where we chose to settle. BUT - if there's one thing I miss...it's the tight-knit thriving little arts community.

[sr1234]

I have been looking at the Oil City region for awhile now. It has potential, but there is a huge problem with blight. A recent article in the local paper said there are over 400 houses that need torn down or rehabed.

[Becca's on the lookout]

Once again, I feel this has to do with the decline of the area itself. sr1234 - these are not just homes that have been condemned and are sitting empty.

There are people living in these houses under less than ideal conditions. The people that own the homes either don't have enough money to fix them up themselves or the landlords that rent out the homes wouldn't see enough of a return on their investment. Spend $15,000 on renovations to see a $50/mo increase on their rentals? Or a minuscule increase in their asking price?

Because of the way Oil City is laid out, the run-down houses aren't exclusively in the shoddy neighborhoods. There are lovely streets and neighborhoods with massive turn of the century eyesores waiting to be demolished.

This has been an ongoing topic for as long as I can recall. There has been talk of taking care of the blight issue for ages and I'm not quite sure why nothing ever gets done..local government, lack of funds? It's a shame really...

[Mokeyjoe]

My wife and I moved to Oil City in August from Pottstown, PA to be near our daughter who is attending Clarion and playing on the women’s basketball team. We have fallen in love the area, the people and the history, not to mention the beautiful Victorian architecture.

[pinetar10]

Originally Posted by Mokeyjoe

My wife and I moved to Oil City in August from Pottstown, PA to be near our daughter who is attending Clarion and playing on the women’s basketball team. We have fallen in love the area, the people and the history, not to mention the beautiful Victorian architecture.

was it easy to get jobs in oil city, and what type of work did you find?

[Renaldo5000]

Hahaha. You will not find a job there, trust me. Maybe you could try to get on welfare? Everybody else who lives there is on it.