St. Clairsville, OH VS Johnstown, PA (live, better, crime, comparison)

[sans undertale]

Which one would I be better off in?

Taxes:
Recreation/things to do:
Weather (prefer cool summers and snowy winters):
Infastructure:
Scenery:
Crime:
Misc:

Overall:

[585WNY]

Never been to St. Clairsville, but a cursory search makes it seem way nicer in most categories. Now I’ll admit I’m biased. Johnstown, PA is the most depressing place I’ve ever visited in my life.

[manitopiaaa]

Johnstown went from 67,000 people in 1920 to 18,000 in 2020. The level of de-industrialization and decline is incredible, even for a Rust Belt city.

Now imagine the scars of a city that still has those abandoned buildings? That's Johnstown.

Now add the psychological trauma of one of the nation's worst natural disasters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnstown_Flood.

I don't know much about St. Clairsville, but looking at the stats, it is far better than Johnstown.

[EscAlaMike]

I've never been to Johnstown, but I did spend some time in St. Clairsville a couple of years ago. It seemed like a pleasant enough place for an Ohio Valley town. Very blue collar. Probably one of the nicer towns in the region, which overall is quite depressed and run down. It's a transient area though with lots of oil and gas workers due to the fracking industry.

[tallydude02]

St. Clairsville and the surrounding area of Richland township is essentially a bedroom community for greater Wheeling, WV. There are several shopping plazas in the area and it is one of the better areas of the Upper Ohio Valley region. The surrounding area is very pretty especially in fall. However, most of the nearby cities and towns are quite drab and depressing.

Johnstown has seen better days. It's a former steel town and it shows. Lots of drugs issues. Abandoned houses and lots. Ironically the nicest area to live in is also known as Richland township. It is south and west of Johnstown. A lot of the shopping relocated out that way and it has the nicer neighborhoods for the region. It is also a beautiful area with nearby depressing cities and towns.

[tallydude02]

Actually Richland township, PA is south and east of Johnstown. Caught it later and I can't edit it.

[Jbraybarten65]

St Clairsville is basically a small town that serves as a retail area and suburb of Wheeling. You are really comparing Johnstown vs Wheeling.

[SonySegaTendo617]

Originally Posted by Jbraybarten65

St Clairsville is basically a small town that serves as a retail area and suburb of Wheeling. You are really comparing Johnstown vs Wheeling.

I was surprised myself, this comparison wasn't Wheeling vs. Johnstown. Correct Saint Clairsville is basically a nearby bedroom community/suburb, for the Wheeling area anyway. Not to forget, it might surprise some people not from there that St. Clairsville has a mall as well!

Anyway though, both places are in areas where the economy has slowly been declining. If I have to guess from what I've read about both places, St. Clairsville is likely in better economic shape as of now. Although I wish Johnstown could bounce back somehow, since I like the historic bones I notice about this city on street view. And the incline up a hill, also is cool about Johnstown.