Relocating to Oil City, Franklin OR Sheffield PA Area (Pittsburgh: fit in, buying a home)

[themutleycrew]

Hi,
We are going to be relocating to Oil City, Franklin OR Sheffield PA area in about 6 months. We will be visiting in August to start looking at housing. Are there any areas in those 3 towns that we should avoid while looking for a home? Or any other towns in the area that we should check out while there? We are retiring so employment is not an issue.

Thanks!

[truemuck]

From my experience, Franklin seems to be the best kept of the above mentioned towns and the shopping in the Oil City area is close by. Sheffield is more of a place, if you're looking to get out in the country. The closest town with anything in it, is Warren and its a good 15 miles or so from there.

[Rtom45]

Sheffield is also kind of clannish, if you don't have family or friends there, it will be hard to fit in.

[themutleycrew]

Thank you both for the replies! My husband would like to be in the country. I, on the other hand would prefer to be a little closer to town. Does anyone have any comments about Warren?

[North Beach Person]

Be aware when people say rural they mean rural. Literally in some cases nothing but miles and miles of miles and miles, so if you're used to bright city lights and the activities in urban areas you won't probably find them. I don't know about now but at one time there were more cows than people in a couple of those counties (I tagged along with my dad when he tested milk at dairy farms, also had our own farm). There is also a severe shortage of jobs along the whole northern tier of counties, that's why I'm here instead of there.
Positives: outdoor activities out the wazoo: hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, four wheeling, skiing, crosscountry skiing. Most people in the area hunt-lifestyle and as a supplement, same with fishing.
Negatives: I listed a few earlier but winter weather has to be one for someone coming from NC. Do you absolutely need a 4WD? No, but good tires and FWD are plusses. When I go up there in the winter in my truck I always have a set of chains with me. Below 0 temps are common with many days not getting out of the 20's.
I haven't spent much time in Warren, my area was basically Brookville/Clarion to Smethport/Port Allegheny.

[ki0eh]

There's more shopping around Franklin/Oil City and also closer to Pittsburgh than Warren is. (With the notable exception of Warren Store - Blair ) I tried to get my wife to let me apply for a transfer to Warren a few years ago so we went on a backpacking trip. It rained too much and her back was sore, and the oil smell in the woods bothered her. So we drove into town and the first thing one encounters is URC - Fleet Services - didn't exactly wipe out the oil smell. She wasn't too interested after that experience.

[themutleycrew]

I grew up in urban areas but have been living the last 10 years in the mtns of South Carolina. The closest store is 20 miles away. All of the outdoor activities appeal to me, especially snow mobiling. I would love to learn to fly fish. I am even looking forward to the weather. I LOVE snow, rain, and cold. We might get an inch or two a year here. I lived in Germany and it snowed from the end of October until May. I was in heaven!!!! My husband cannot figure out how I survived all these years in the South.

[themutleycrew]

I think someone else stated it smelled in Warren. Has anyone else encountered this? I'll take the rain though! Last summer it was 100 degrees here and we did not get a drop of rain from May 21st until July 7th.

[North Beach Person]

Haven't been to Warren for awhile but historically it smelled of oil refining. Don't know if that still goes on. As someone told me, though, it was the smell of money.

[Becca's on the lookout]

I would agree with one of the above posts that Franklin is one of the best kept towns. They have really tried to make their main street as Norman Rockwell adorable as possible - and have succeeded!

Why were you specifically looking at Sheffield? There is absolutely no comparison between Franklin and Oil City - both with a rough population around 8,000 and Sheffield that might, and I stress MIGHT, have 1500 people. If that? And most of them are in the rural areas surrounding it.

I don't think there are truly any "bad" areas in any of the cities. There are a few neighborhoods that are a little more run-down but any realtor you work with will be able to tell you which ones based on your price-range (assuming you're buying a home.) The houses are overly affordable and there seem to be an overabundance on the market right now, at least in Oil City and Franklin.

I know you said you weren't sure about country vs. closer to town - but the places you're suggesting aren't that big. You can be 5 minutes from either Franklin or Oil City (or Sheffield) and it's extremely rural. Farmland rural. Anything that isn't considered "downtown" or one of the "city neighborhoods" (I use these terms loosely) is typically very suburban and often quite woodsy.

Good Luck and enjoy your trip!