Calling everyone who knows about Oil city, PA (Pittsburgh, Plum: real estate, insurance)

[outaPA]

You sound like a broken record.

[stevo6]

[quote=outaPA;227866]ScrantonWilkesBarre,

Culturally, Pennsylvania is very different from one side of the state to the other. Western PA does not have that much in common with your neck of the woods. It is closer, culturally, to the Midwest than to the East. Southwestern PA also has a little bit of Appalachian mentality thrown into the mix as well.
QUOTE]

I disagree in that North East PA and Western PA are similar: we both have coal beneath our feet and therefore the same ancestors who came over to work the mines, and similar cultures. When you talk about S.E. PA and the english/german heritage - now you really have some differences!

[FightinPhils]

Originally Posted by stevo6

I disagree in that North East PA and Western PA are similar: we both have coal beneath our feet and therefore the same ancestors who came over to work the mines, and similar cultures. When you talk about S.E. PA and the english/german heritage - now you really have some differences!

I agree. Scranton is a lot closer culturally to Pittsburgh than it is to Philadelphia/NJ/NYC.

[outaPA]

Sorry, I stand corrected. I have never been to the NE part of PA and assumed it was similar to the SE, but more rural. If it is similar to SW PA, I guess I won't be visiting then.

[dovidk]

By redneck I mean people who are not to educated or sofisticated.

[chinenjim]

Outapa, it seems our opinions on this vaccum area are similar. So what do you think of the Carlisle area? I personally think it's the best area in Pennsylvania.

[Plumber1]

Oil City is a great little town with alot of nice old homes available very inexpensively. it is my opinion that the real estate market in Oil City has bottomed out and is on the rebound. Other areas close to Oil City to look at are Franklin and Seneca.
I live in Franklin and I am a self employed Plumber. i work in alot of the homes in the Oil City area. Generally, all of the homes need some attention but you can purchase a nice old home and put a few dollars into repairs and end up with a very nice home at a very attractive price.
Someone mentioned that we have a "Red Neck" feel, Maybe but for the most part you will not find better or nicer people than here in Venango County.

[wallstreet1986]

I thought Oil City was a cutesy or insider name for Pittsburgh as with New York being called the Big Apple or Chicago the Windy City. But no Oil City is some hick town (pardon me to the residents) in western PA with probably a Walmart and like 2 hours commute to the nearest city Pittsburgh.

Need-- homes wont be THAT much cheaper than in a decent pittsburgh suburb like Carnegie or McKees Rocks or something like that. Maybe you could get yourself a nice townhouse with like 3 bedrooms 2 baths or something like that. It would be a step up from your 1 bedroom 1 bath no AC condo that you can barely afford in the Palm Beach area. Plus you wont feel as sh*tty as you probably do with rich retirees flaunting their Porsche SUVs and new 1 million + dollar Mediterranean villas being developed by the thousands down there. Once you get out of Palm Beach into a more reasonable place I think you will definitely relax a bit or be happier.

I think you will miss being near bigger cities and you need to in order to gain new clients and business. Check out the pittsburgh area but NOT Oil City. It is way out in the middle of nowhere and is probably economically blighted-- thats why the housing is probably SO cheap.

Also its kind of weird too. Its like me having a fixation on god forbid Lemmon, South Dakota.

Need does sound like a broken record sometimes but I can understand a lot of the frustration and where hes coming from. But you must realize also that you arent going to get rock bottom prices right now for housing its just not the cycle. You will get good deals in some areas so check out a place like Pittsburgh or Harrisburg or hell Binghamton, New York. Check out townhomes as an option too-- good deals on those.

[lainie]

Originally Posted by Plumber1

Oil City is a great little town with alot of nice old homes available very inexpensively. it is my opinion that the real estate market in Oil City has bottomed out and is on the rebound. Other areas close to Oil City to look at are Franklin and Seneca.
I live in Franklin and I am a self employed Plumber. i work in alot of the homes in the Oil City area. Generally, all of the homes need some attention but you can purchase a nice old home and put a few dollars into repairs and end up with a very nice home at a very attractive price.
Someone mentioned that we have a "Red Neck" feel, Maybe but for the most part you will not find better or nicer people than here in Venango County.

Finally, something positive about Oil City and Venango County! I was born in Oil City, grew up there in the 50's and 60's and have many warm memories of the area. At that time it was a vital area and a good place to spend one's childhood. I left Western PA for California in the mid 70's. Right before I left the area, I was living in a little pink house outside of Franklin. (Springville). I have often thought of returning to my roots because, frankly, California is a foreign country now and too crowded for any kind of quality of life.
So, thank you Plumber1, for your positive take on the area.

[Need_affordable_home]

What if I dont like Pittsburgh? Several people had bad things to say about that metro city. Besides lets compare prices:


http://homepics.realtor.com/image8/http/pittsburghpa/submit/large/021/628993a.jpg (broken link)

80 thousand for Carnegie

http://homepics.realtor.com/image9/http/alleghenyvalley/listings/large/029/134672.jpg (broken link)

37 thousand for Oil City and the house is bigger, better.


Oil city has its own Walmart(big supprise!) and its only a little more than an hour commute to Pittsburgh. The cost in gas to commute from Oil city to Pittsburgh is pennies compared to the tens of thousands higher house prices and taxes in Carnegie. The money I save on Oil city, I can commute to Pittsburgh every week and ill still be way, way ahead. Those who are lazy to commute pay thru the nose for Carnegie.


Townhouses arent as good as detached houses and I cant afford any condo in Palm Beach County, even if I could itll be in a high crime area.
Will I miss being near a big city? Probably not, I can do without the traffic, high costs and crime. It does not matter where I live, my business is online!
I dont have to move to Oil city, im exploring my other options. Woodsfield, OH looks good