Johnstown, PA (Bethlehem, Oil City, Venango: high crime, house, buy)

[mystree]

In Cambridge Springs, why are houses so expensive for a small town?

Cambridge Springs is a nice safe town,you know everyone and if you want to walk down to the dairy mart a small 24 hr convience store at 2am you can feel safe. Also it is next to Edinboro which is a college town. Waterford is on the other side of Edinboro and a real easy drive to Erie/MillCreek 15/20 minute drive to the MillCreek Mall.Waterford is also a nice,safe town.

[mystree]

Its a low crime area, right? The whole of Oil city is low crime.

I never felt afraid in Oil City,I lived there a year my sister lives there now. She lived there about 4 years moved down to SC for 2 and returned back to OC and has been back in OC for almost 4 years.She has absolutely no problems there and she has 4 young boys.

[Need_affordable_home]

Originally Posted by mystree66

I never felt afraid in Oil City,I lived there a year my sister lives there now. She lived there about 4 years moved down to SC for 2 and returned back to OC and has been back in OC for almost 4 years.She has absolutely no problems there and she has 4 young boys.

Great to hear! That city has some of the best housing deals. What do you think of that $16k house I showed you a picture of? Theres 51 houses for less than $50k. If I do a search for no maximum, the number increases to 112 houses. I have concluded the median house price is $55k! Not bad! What kind of catches are there? The only catch I can see is the economy sucks, but thats a nonissue for me(self employeed) and the other catch is it gets cold with alot of snow but ill deal with it(maybe even enjoy it )

[mystree]

The only catch I can see is the economy sucks, but thats a nonissue for me(self employeed) and the other catch is it gets cold with alot of snow but ill deal with it(maybe even enjoy it )

The economy would be the biggest thing,also alot of those homes are older homes so some updating may be in order.

[PAman]

outdoors? you're in the right state for that. Go two miles outside pretty much any town except philly suburban sprawl and you're there.

Nanticoke is a clean town, I had family from up that way, it's a very nice town, again, like coal region towns are, economically down, but I think NEPA is turning the corner bigtime, and Nanticoke has the Kanjorski center downtown, nice complex. You may want to know also that nanticoke is 50% polish, so get used to pronouncing names like Kudzakowski and pierogi & polkas by bands like the "pennsylvania coalminers" at street fairs, church festivals etc...Which actually rings true for a lot of the state...Where I am it's not a good fair without pierogi and polka...

The whole French Creek area up in northwestern PA is nice, Conneaut Lake is nearby, as is Lake Pymatuning( pi-ma-toon-ing). Erie has a nature preserve at presque isle park, the kinzua dam in warren is worth a trip, route 6 across northern PA is a must for wildlife and scenic view people. Just be careful of the occasional detour for construction like I encountered this summer...I was afraid with the detour I was either 1.) going to drive off into the gorge or 2.) end up in Elmira because it seemed so far out of the way..

Johnstown's close proximity to the laurel highlands is nice. The Gallitzin state park is up that way, as are some scenic train spotting places like the tunnels in Portage, the Cassandra overpass and the Cresson overlook.

[turboredcart]

the places seemed nice there.... in teh pics.

the poster who commented about real estate taxes- you really have to watch them in PA! an improperly assessed house can be a drag.

ill compare this with Chicagoland. in teh 80s cook county had teh quadrennial assessment. every 4 years- your home was reassessed. well they changed that, now it is the triannual assessment- so you get hit every 3 years, not 4 as in the past. for 7 years- i lived in Sunbury PA- my rent was lower then my brothers taxes in Chicago! Northumberland county., last assessment was in 1962. Snyder county, 1954. if they reassessed here- teh gun toters would be fit to be tied. when i came here in 88 you never seen forclosures- etc. now you do. they do this thing with mills.
in terms of services expect very little snow removal in PA.

7 whole years- i rented at aprox what my bros house taxes were. i got my teeth fixed took trips it was great!!!

but PA is changing. trickle down mandates are effecting every county. new schools and new prisons are the yodel of the day.

if you are retired or disabled there is a prorated $500 rebate rent or tax rebate one files via the state.

[mandyh]

This is the web site of the local TV station http://www.wjactv.com/
It might give you some helpful info on the area.

[SayNo2PA]

J-town is under the impression that it's doing well. NOT. you are taxed beyond belief. It's Murtha land & that's pathetic... full of old folks that vote D but are anything but open minded!
It's old Union mentality & filled with people that don't look past the state for info. There is no progression here. If you are a Dr, teacher or similar, you'll do well. Kinda snooty for a depressed small town
I was in a Denny's the other day & there was 3 old men that came out of a car with a bumper sticker "Vets 4 Jack" & boy were they complaining about the "N" word people that were "invading" their areas.
I told them that word offended me & 1 told me to "F" off in front of my 3 yo.
This is my hometown that I moved back to after 35 yrs & boy am I sorry.
You have some lovely affordable homes but the crime is getting bad here.
If you can live in your own bubble & keep yourself from the crap - it can work
People are complaining about showing IDs for cold pills but wait til the meth hits here hard.
OH. Cambria Co Judges are some of the worst..They are not tough on crime.
They will settle on a lesser charge with home arrest & work release.
There's a TEacher from a nearby area that killed someone while he was DUI & the Pres Judge let him have house arrest after less that 280 days in jail - for KILLING someone then he gets work release.
There are all kinds of serious criminals floating around you & that's OK.
YOU get a DUI here, just be able to pay all your fines.fees upfront & you buy house arrest with work release.
Many of these people are committing crime while on work release
My DH has been a Cop all over this state for 20 yrs & this is the worst Co. so far.

[Need_affordable_home]

Positive reputation for you! I was suspicious of Johnstown but you confirmed my fears. Other people had said "oh dont worry" but I checked the crime index and its twice the national average! Um that is high! Yes the crime is still lower than most metro cities but very high for a small city! Also theres alot of "rude" people there and the taxes are out of hand as you say.

mystree66 speaks good about Oil city and a crime report shows the crime to be half the national average. I think this is a reasonably low crime, low enough that id feel safe without eyes on the back of my head. I still wont be careless and leave the door unlocked or the keys in the car, exercise common sense but I also know there isnt someone waiting in the bushes to mug everyone that passes by.

[mystree]

The areas I spoke of are safe,I wouldn't mislead you. The problem is the economy with all the higher paying jobs taken or harder to get.