The Erie area (Pittsburgh, Wesleyville, Penn: fit in, houses, job market)

[happeemommee]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking on some info about the economy in Erie. My DH has been in the construction field for about 10 years (8 in residential and 2 in boat construction). We are currently living in WNC and it's dead here. He got laid off in September and hasn't even been able to find work at BK since then.there are companies closing up everyday around here. He also has warehouse and restaurant experience, but is always open to new things, (read that anything he can get hired doing that will pay the bills )

So, we are looking for somewhere safe, where he can work while I finish school. We have kids, so we'll need good schools for them,too. Snow dosen't bother us, in fact we love it!! I should be finished with school within about 2 -3 years at the longest, but in the meantime...

I appreciate any help you can give us. So I guess basically what I want to know is anything and everything about Erie. Thanks!

[PeterRabbit]

Do you want us to answer you using abbreviations you won't understand like you did in your post? BK = Burger King.

[Rtom45]

Have you done a search on this site for Erie? There's tons of information and lots of threads.
I will say this, if your husband doesn't have a job before he gets to Erie, there is very little chance he'll find something after you get here.

[happeemommee]

Peter, any info would be appreciated. Sorry about the abreviation, but why so testy?

[Ohiogirl81]

Most of the people I know have managed to stay employed, but they're employed either in education or health care. Don't know a thing about the construction outlook; probably wouldn't be easy to predict at this time of year anyway.

"Good schools" is kind of vague. What type of school system do you prefer (small or large, public or private, rural, suburban or city)? Do your kids have any special needs?

If you have any other specific questions, fire away.

[happeemommee]

Hi Ohiogirl,
We prefer a smaller public school and would probaly not want to live right in Erie.Maybe 15 to 10 minutes away, wouldn't want to be too far because of weather. My girls don't have any special needs, but are into basketball and track / CC. My little one like gymnastics and soccer, maybe ballet.

I figured this time of year would be tough to gage the construction business, but figured if there was still any houses being built, new subdivisions going in, that it would be a good sign.Literally, when we watch the news at night there are always two or three companies announcing lay offs here.

At this point, we don't have our hearts set on any one place, but just trying to check out all of the suggestions we've heard, so if you know of another place, we'd definitely be willing to look into that. Although truthfully, I'm from a town near the Maryland / Pa border and have always thought I'd be happy in Pennsylvania. I love the mountains and the water, and used to have a lot of family up there. Of course, we need to eat, lol AND have a roof over our heads, so we'd go almost anywhere.

Thanks!

[scottrpriester]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

Most of the people I know have managed to stay employed, but they're employed either in education or health care. Don't know a thing about the construction outlook; probably wouldn't be easy to predict at this time of year anyway.

"Good schools" is kind of vague. What type of school system do you prefer (small or large, public or private, rural, suburban or city)? Do your kids have any special needs?

If you have any other specific questions, fire away.

Construction, contractors, landscapers, etc, are a dime a dozen in Erie. Unlike in Pittsburgh, there are few to no major construction projects in the City of Erie. Putting all jokes aside, if anything, more buildings and structures are being torn down than put up.

[badguykc]

Unfortunately, there is practically nowhere in the area OTHER than the City of Erie proper that can be considered "affordable" (at least by me, anyway).

I'd look into Wesleyville, however. An eastern suburb that touches the city, Wesleyville can easily fit into your budget until you can afford the nicer areas (Millcreek, etc.) Some of the Erie neighborhoods to the immediate west of Wesleyville are kinda rough, but Wesleyville itself is pretty safe.

[happeemommee]

Thanks badguy, I'll look into it. Got any advice on where to find a job up there?

[RebelPhotog]

Any particular reason to choose Erie? Job market is good Birmingham. When I move to NWPA in a couple of years, I will have to work closer to Pittsburgh to make the kind of money I make in B'ham.