Oil City, Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, Erie, Aliquippa: sale, real estate, crime)

[m4birchtrees]

Doesn't anyone talk on this site anymore.?
I would like to here from you.
What do we have to do to get the home owner's of these run down houses, to be taken care of. Etheir you fix them up ( or ) level them out.
The Mayor should come out of his shell, and do something about these home's. I was looking into buying two of the run down houses. Only to be told that people own them, and are paying their taxes on the property.
This was a shock for me . AFTER THE SHOCK WENT AWAY , I got upset
We do pay taxes you know!!! Let's get the mayor off his butt and do something.

[m4birchtrees]

Ok, I'm sure that know one talks on this web site. What a shame!!
Oil City is a good little town and I love the town.
I just feel that its getting a raw deal. Like no-body gives a hoot any more.
Or am I the only one that is willing to Tell my true feelings.
Come-on the mountains are beautiful ..
Yes, every small town has its problems. Even the big cities has its own concern's, but at least they have job's....

Why in the hell are we voting people in office that only care about their own pocket books!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello is any out there? are is just me on this web site.?
Still waiting to hear from you.

[m4birchtrees]

Originally Posted by remo

Interesting to read these comments on Oil City where I grew up and left in the 60s. Going back in Summer is best and enjoying the rails to trails conversions ... 25+ miles along the river and through the woods to bike. It seems that the river properties have increased nicely in some areas. I guess you have low initial home costs and taxes but I would not expect much savings beyond that. I expect I would be on the road a lot if I lived there to get to places for dining out and shows, etc. and spending money on gas.

Big old victorian remodeling...I had seen those opportunities in other locations and they do take commitment and money. Ongoing large costs. Some people do enjoy the space and character to make it worthwhile.

I read a while back that the hospital was one of the largest employers in the area. At one time the town was headquarters for both Pennzoil and Quaker State.

Oil City always had something going in the arts it seemed. Local theater group and now an active arts community. The local paper, The Derrick, is online and a good way to get to know the issues there. Nice photography by the way in the Derrick.

There was a coffee house at the foot of Central on the south side when I was there. Really nice place for locals ... view of street outside and some excellent baking. Library is across the street.

I ended up in the coastal carolinas for retirement. Lots of former PA, OH, NY residents here. Low taxes, utilities, mild winters. Summers can be toooo humid but overall its fine. New single families cost 150k and up. Schools are around US avg. in prospering areas. realtor.com is a good source for listings in US. Check out spoletousa.org sometime to see about Charleston's annual arts festival.

Good luck with looking into relocation.

Its sad that so people are jumping ship/

[Becca's on the lookout]

Oh, oil city...

Oil City is a very slow paced place to retire and a very safe place to live and raise a family. There is relatively no violent crime. A few months ago while a man was walking his dog, it was sadly attacked by two other dogs. This made the front page of the newspaper for 3 days straight.

As lifelong citizens of the area, my husband and I are raising our 3 young children here. We are both 20-somethings (in the minority of the population) and have felt stifled by the area. Oil City is almost always grouped together with Franklin and Cranberry.

oil city has very cheap home prices. part of the reason is because there are very limited employment options in the area. most people drive to franklin which is 20 - 30 minutes away.

It's true that there are very limited employment options, but people are NOT commuting to Franklin (only about 10 minutes away) for high paying jobs.

they have a walmart, lowes and big lots.

We do not have a Lowes - we have a Home Depot which is located in Seneca along with Walmart and the mall. Big Lots is in Franklin. OC has no major stores (possibly The Dollar Store?) and most people in the Franklin/OC vicinity shop in Seneca. The new hospital in Cranberry/Seneca and Walmart are two of the biggest employers in the area. Very very very few blue collar jobs are left. The Joy (they produce mining equipment) is one of the last large blue collar job employers and the layoffs are becoming more and more frequent. All the major industry - Quaker State, Pennzoil, Wolf's Head - is gone.

My husband is commuting an hour one way (by one hour, I mean no traffic on the interstate - 50 miles one way) in order to have a job that allows me to stay at home (he's in the sales field).

It's true that the housing is ridiculously affordable, but it's not uncommon for a house to be on the market for 18 - 24 months. The large mini-mansions that someone had talked about are for sale because the working families that own them can't afford the upkeep on the salaries that OC can provide.

Industry is not being brought to Oil City because there are two huge population groups here. Retirees and people living on government assistance. The schools are losing HUGE numbers. My graduating class had 86 students (in one of the smaller nearby school districts.) Seven years later, that class size has fallen to 47. And as a parent of a child in the OC school district with years of experience in the childcare field, many of the students are coming from economically disadvantaged homes and are increasingly harder to teach. I'm not sure if the local districts are up to standard or not...

Although the arts community, while not yet thriving, is really trying to find a niche for OC. I would say overall, they're trying much harder than many small cities in the area. The local artists are really trying to make huge gains where local politicians and government officials have not been able to make any headway for the city. Maybe the arts will really help revitalize and reestablish what the city needs. I wish them the best of luck.

[srsmail1]

i'm just curious. do you live in oil city? if so, get out and search for the answers about city government yourself.

i live in oil city, 1 1/4 years now, and i know the answers to most of your questions/comments. i went out and found them... ]all on my own

let me know what you find out.

scott

[m4birchtrees]

Sorry, if I upset you Scott.. Its no big deal !!
I just think OC is a great place to live ( Hint )
I feel, that its not right for home-owners to be alloud to let their homes go to unliveable shacks, and then I find out that these so-called property owner's don't live in the area.
On one street alone, you can count ten or more empty homes, and these homes are unliveable shacks.
Since you live in OC. doesn't this upset you as a home owner, or do you rent?
I hope to hear back from you..

[Oiler]

Oil City area has a great potential to have a boom here once again, but the problem is that the local government here actually hinders business with miscellaneous taxes and regulations that limit the types of jobs that come into the area. If Oil City would actually get some decent officials, like a mayor and other city officials that would make it more business friendly then job a plenty would be here. Oil City was the former HQ of Pennzoil and Quaker State who relocated to Dallas-FT. Worth Area. Oil City area has been home to some celebrities or their significant others. Sharon Stone grew up just down the road in Pleasantville. Weird Al Yankovic grew up on a farm in Cherry Tree just 3 miles from Oil City. Most recently, Tim Allen found his bride, home grown here in Oil City after she completed college and became a physical trainer to the stars.

Right now Oil City is host to two colleges and job wise there are two telemarketing firms in the area and a variety of fast food and other retail opportunities. Most job opportunities are in nursing, mental health, and other service related jobs. Overall, Oil City is an Ideal place to raise a family. If you do not have a family to raise then try some where else to live. If you are an entrepreneur and looking for a challege... Oil City is the place for you too.

[J-Man]

I was just in Oil City a few weeks ago. It is a damn mess! The town is literally falling apart at the seams, Old, decaying buildings, empty storefronts downtown, and a messy, decaying, infrastructure. The houses are also falling apart. I went and located the houses of some relatives of mine (who had lived there decades ago). It's a good thing these relatives aren't alive to see what has become of their old places. It's awfully sad.

There is a reason that the cost of living is so low in Oil City. No one has any money to afford things anyway! It was once actually a prosperous town with the oil industry and several rich families. Those days are long gone. It's now a decaying, dying town with mostly old folks.

On the other hand, Franklin (the city right next to it) is the exact opposite in terms of appearence. Franklin is very impressive in how it keeps itself up. The downtown probably looks better than the downtown in 90 percent of Pennsylvania small towns. It's vibrant, neat, doesn't have empty storefronts, has a nice theatre, restaurants, and a very active arts and activities culture that keeps people coming downtown for events. It's clean and handsome and will make you smile to see it.

But you look at the downtown of Oil City and compare it to Franklin and you couldn't find two places that look more opposite.

[m4birchtrees]

I couldn't of said it better myself.

[m4birchtrees]

Hi Oiler,
I enjoyed reading what you wrote. I can understand where you are coming from. But it really upsets me that no-one enforces the property owner's of the run down home's to do something with them.