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Go back, research this entire subject of Oil City, read anything ever written. Do you have a clue what was flying???
The key to any understanding of any subject is always being able to crystalize the drivers. What is making any subject move???
Once you actually do the real brain work, you can reduce Oil City and any discussion about it and its future into a neat category.
The fancy word eclectic.
That as defined as being separate, made up of different parts, styles, modes, types, sources or a collection of parts from those.
The charm, the future of Oil City is being able to project the idea of ecelectic. It is nothing as a standard definition, it is a sum of a huge and varied parts. The number of parts is the key. Like a diamond, turn it, the facet sparkles different.
Eclectic cities like Frisco have that sparkle, charm, wit and appeal. You can not design it in, the features and geography dictate much. Oil City can capture that appeal in a way few other landlocked places I have ever seen can. You must be able to get from the present tense to the future to realize it.
You have the idea of critical mass, you have the idea of culture and public awareness, attitudes. Real estate is not enough. If it is not there import and change it. Already in the general Tri-State that critical mass of mental capacity exists to replace or upgrade the local talent. Some the proponents are already imports.
So something like Oil City is not just understanding the bricks (Tho NAH does focus on those) but understand the drivers. If lacking where are they supplied?. How do you make the pieces work??
You must also go further afield to understand Oil City. Franklin the county seat may become the "Pulled Partner" by development in Oil City. You pick the year.
The entire Tri-State Area, those corners of Ohio, PA, WV are in flux. Many factors, economics, location, talent, history, natural factors but all are probably primed for revival. Places like Wellsville, Ohio where the ground floor of the boom is already happened. Spread to the outlying areas.
So something is and will happen in Oil City. You can have a long discussion. Some of it will be local, some regional.
I think in any of these type situations is it first be able to to understand the drivers. Understand the drivers, you will understand the coming development. The more the understanding of the process, the better to be able to predict the time frames.
Cosmic, nice write-ups on the road trip to "OC". Sounds like an interesting time. This is certainly a contrast to our discussion about Bluefield that we had a couple of weeks ago, based on your recent visit there and my visit to that area last year.
I like the your description of "OC" as eclectic, because that takes in both the good and the "rough around the edges". I'm glad that you were surprised, because it turned out to be a more interesting town than what was expected. Look forward to seeing some pix.
I didn't really mean to do it this way but such is life.
Thought train runs on left handed tracks.
My original concept when cutting thru all the trash about Oil City was based on high density neighborhoods in Boston. You have nothing else to go on.
Once I saw it, jees..... Boston be damned..... I was hard put to find parallels in some spots.
Every high density, limited access living spots has the same issues. Boston in spades, Bluefield, WV, Woodsfield, Oh, . All about curb cuts, off street parking, garages, lot sizes, placement, location, location, location, location, location.
Oil City amplified every consideration.
Many super homes have zero off street parking, no drive, no nothing. Many oil City streets have parking one side only. Development is a box of nuclear weapons.
Steps going up 10 - 15 feet from the street.
Go to super dense situations with no rules in development where anybody can afford as many cars as they wish to purchase, I have been there, done that.
Oil City as I saw it in the developed / crappy areas, house next to each others, scream, buy me, tear me down, the lot becomes a garage.
Money talks, nobody walks. The entire character of neighborhoods changes.
Oil City is not simple in any aspects. Engineering, housing planning, social, on and on. Mix in sharp elbowed folks with great expectations with an older established neighbor base.
Where is NAH. This was so, so simple.
Push the extreme where does the contractor park the truck to make the final tweak to that last build up area to the roof line.
Oil City will get its day. I wonder what it is like at night, in the summer. Remember I saw OC at the worse time of the year.
At night as just as you round the bend and look up at hill,it is awesome seeing the lights of the homes especially when there is little starlight. Also I used to like driving across the bridge at night,(the one you cross before you get to arbys) especially on a night when there was a bit of fog and the way the street lights reflected it would always bring a odd peaceful feeling. I would want to get out of my car,take a deep breath and walk,no I never did but would have that feeling...sounds strange but oh well.
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Many super homes have zero off street parking, no drive, no nothing. Many oil City streets have parking one side only.
This is true also for quite a few homes.
Quote:
Steps going up 10 - 15 feet from the street.
this is more common on the higher elevations,but the higher up you are the better the view.You have to imagine leaves on the trees and everything lush and green.
At night as just as you round the bend and look up at hill,it is awesome seeing the lights of the homes especially when there is little starlight. Also I used to like driving across the bridge at night,(the one you cross before you get to arbys) especially on a night when there was a bit of fog and the way the street lights reflected it would always bring a odd peaceful feeling. I would want to get out of my car,take a deep breath and walk,no I never did but would have that feeling...sounds strange but oh well.
mystree66 I understand perfect what you are saying, nothing is strange.
I understand all of it. The visual, the mental, the history, this is my people, this is where I belong. I understand the lil feelings that connected the past with present.
Most peeps in the USA no longer have that history. I do, I value it highly. You can never even start to know it. It is not available. I have Pix's boocoo. Never, never, places you can never know, so you can never attempt to change them.
Oil City will change. Better or worse.
Old timers will always see it as worse. It will be worse for them.
Yup being able to experience the basic core of a place. Yup Oil City is no different. Yup we all love our roots.
But about like Boston, those roots changed. I pray you never get certain parts wrong.
Thanks for the descriptions about Oil city. The news appears to be good and makes me all the more excited to visit Oil city, possibly live there. Looking forward to seeing pictures. Got a few questions for now.
1. Was there any bad areas?
2. Should I buy a small house surrounded by big houses? Could be good for appreciation
3. Did you check any stores, what kind of shopping is there? I know theres a superwalmart.
4. How was the weather? any snow and ice left?
5. I see 128 houses for sale in Oil city and more on other websites besides Realtor. Maybe those houses already sold? Realtor is about a month out of date. House could be sold recently and still listed till the next update before it gets delisted.
6. Did you check the insides of any house? If not, why? Ive talked to you about those $50k houses being as nice inside as they were outside.
7. maybe youll relocate from Woodsfield to Oil city
8. Want to say big thank you for your time and research. It does help in my decision
I'm sure it will and there is nothing wrong with that as long as you can keep that small town feel intact. Oil City does have alot of older people so I could see them resisting,right now oil city is safe and familiar,but if you want to keep the younger generation there you need to push ahead or the town is going to fizzle out. I think if they move at a steady pace people will adjust.
Cosmic - did you explore all of Oil City? Hasson Heights has ranch homes with garages and more space around the homes. The west end on the south side of the river has nicer housing, some with garages. Steps are a necessity when building into hillsides. Most of the housing stock in the older parts of the city is old, without garages and large yards.
I grew up in Oil City and walked everywhere - up the hill to elementary school and across the river to high school when it was 10 degrees. There were no fat kids. Oil City is just like the rest of the towns in the rust belt, no better no worse.
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The other BTW
