What Youngstown looks like to me (in pictures - LOTS!) (Boardman: hotels, live)
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I have read the entire post, and looked at the photos................
The very first thing that I noticed......no people. Did you go out of your way to take photos, without any people ?
I live in Toronto, and was born here. Our residential streets are alive with residents, who are out and doing things. Kids are playing, or riding their bikes , older teens are at the park, playing sports, and the dog walkers are standing and talking to each other. On nice August day, like today, the front porches are full of people reading the paper, and or watering their plants. Cars are being washed and waxed and the ice cream truck is at the corner.
In your large photo section, I counted TWO humans, one in a car. Where are the people ?
Jim B. In Toronto.
No, I made no special effort to keep people out of my photos.
I've never lived in a large city, and have always lived in NE Ohio, (except for a semester living in Florence, Italy) so this lack of people is normal to me. I assume it's normal in most places that don't have the population density of a large city.
I thought that it was crime and fear that caused so many empty street scenes ?
I get that the loss of industry has an negative effect, but so does the fear of being a crime victim, doesn't it ?
I guess that it is unfair to compare your city with mine, both on population numbers as well as crime stats.
Land in Toronto is so valuable, that good quality brick two story homes are being bought, at prices above half a million dollars, to be demolished, and replaced with mega size new homes, that will sell for two million dollars, in a week of being advertised. The average used home in Toronto sells for 110 percent of asking price, and in less than 14 days. Toronto gets around 100 thousand new people a year, so real estate here is hot.
I thought that it was crime and fear that caused so many empty street scenes ?
I get that the loss of industry has an negative effect, but so does the fear of being a crime victim, doesn't it ?
I still think it has more to do with population density. I grew up in relatively low-crime areas, and there weren't more people on the streets, there. Like I said, the number of people I've captured in my photos seems normal.
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I guess that it is unfair to compare your city with mine, both on population numbers as well as crime stats.
Definitely apples and oranges. Youngstown is the center city of a MSA that has a total population of about 565k people. The greater Toronto area has a population of over 6 million.
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Land in Toronto is so valuable, that good quality brick two story homes are being bought, at prices above half a million dollars, to be demolished, and replaced with mega size new homes, that will sell for two million dollars, in a week of being advertised. The average used home in Toronto sells for 110 percent of asking price, and in less than 14 days. Toronto gets around 100 thousand new people a year, so real estate here is hot.
Jim B.
That's unfortunate. Are there areas where the older housing stock is being preserved?
I thought that it was crime and fear that caused so many empty street scenes ?
I get that the loss of industry has an negative effect, but so does the fear of being a crime victim, doesn't it ?
I guess that it is unfair to compare your city with mine, both on population numbers as well as crime stats.
Land in Toronto is so valuable, that good quality brick two story homes are being bought, at prices above half a million dollars, to be demolished, and replaced with mega size new homes, that will sell for two million dollars, in a week of being advertised. The average used home in Toronto sells for 110 percent of asking price, and in less than 14 days. Toronto gets around 100 thousand new people a year, so real estate here is hot.
Jim B.
No. I can tell you without even having ever visited Youngstown it's just because the population is not that large there. Only in the larger cities will you really find people walking around clamoring up and down sidewalks. Most smaller cities look kind of dead, besides the auto traffic. The only place you'll see pedestrians is in a few areas of downtown or the parks.
Unfortunate ? I don't get your meaning........People want to live in downtown Toronto, that is quite clear, given the huge number of construction cranes on our skyline. And unlike many big US cities, Toronto has a vibrant and comfortable downtown area, with schools, parks, stores, and recreation centres, as well as a thriving live theatre district, with over 40 stage productions on at the same time, year round.
Old housing stock ? Sure, the home that I live in was built in 1904, by my Grand Father, who was a builder. In the four blocks around my home, he built over 30 houses from 1901, to 1924. My Father was born in this house, and so was I.
I inherited the house from my Dad when he died in 1989. It is a brick, two story, that was originally a single family home, on a 30 foot wide lot, near a main street, with a street car line, and parks, schools and shops. The house across the street, which is identical to mine, sold a year ago for $566, 000. It has a new basement with a separate entrance, with a kitchen, bathroom, 2 bedrooms and living room, with a laundry room and it rents for $1400 a month. The windows have been replaced, the furnace is new as is the central air, and the water heater and roof.
My wife and I live on the ground floor, we have a young lady on the second floor, who has lived here for 8years, and her rent is $1200 a month, and the basement tenant is a air line hostess, who is gone at least 2 weeks out of every four. She pays $850 a month. That income means that we live for free. Add our Canada Pensions and the Old Age Pensions for both of us, plus my military pension and my wife's pension from the University of Toronto, and we are doing very well.
Unfortunate ? I don't get your meaning........People want to live in downtown Toronto, that is quite clear, given the huge number of construction cranes on our skyline. And unlike many big US cities, Toronto has a vibrant and comfortable downtown area, with schools, parks, stores, and recreation centres, as well as a thriving live theatre district, with over 40 stage productions on at the same time, year round.
Old housing stock ? Sure, the home that I live in was built in 1904, by my Grand Father, who was a builder. In the four blocks around my home, he built over 30 houses from 1901, to 1924. My Father was born in this house, and so was I.
I inherited the house from my Dad when he died in 1989. It is a brick, two story, that was originally a single family home, on a 30 foot wide lot, near a main street, with a street car line, and parks, schools and shops. The house across the street, which is identical to mine, sold a year ago for $566, 000. It has a new basement with a separate entrance, with a kitchen, bathroom, 2 bedrooms and living room, with a laundry room and it rents for $1400 a month. The windows have been replaced, the furnace is new as is the central air, and the water heater and roof.
My wife and I live on the ground floor, we have a young lady on the second floor, who has lived here for 8years, and her rent is $1200 a month, and the basement tenant is a air line hostess, who is gone at least 2 weeks out of every four. She pays $850 a month. That income means that we live for free. Add our Canada Pensions and the Old Age Pensions for both of us, plus my military pension and my wife's pension from the University of Toronto, and we are doing very well.
Jim b.
Exactly what big US cities are you comparing it to? I have a distaste for people who try to draw Canada as the better neighbor while harping on cities that are twice the size and magnitude that Toronto will ever be.
I would gladly put downtown Chicago, Minneapolis, Seattle, Boston, D.C., Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh up against Toronto's downtown in terms of "schools, parks, stores, and recreation centres with a thriving live theatre district". Big cities are big cities. Youngstown is not a big city, Toronto is, but it's not better or even that much different than most big cities in the U.S.
Unfortunate ? I don't get your meaning........
Jim b.
I think it's unfortunate when charming older homes are replaced by McMansions, whether in Canada or the US. I wouldn't want to live in such a neighborhood. But I'm glad some neighborhoods, like yours, are not falling victim to this kind of development.
Unfortunate ? I don't get your meaning........People want to live in downtown Toronto, that is quite clear, given the huge number of construction cranes on our skyline. And unlike many big US cities, Toronto has a vibrant and comfortable downtown area, with schools, parks, stores, and recreation centres, as well as a thriving live theatre district, with over 40 stage productions on at the same time, year round.
Old housing stock ? Sure, the home that I live in was built in 1904, by my Grand Father, who was a builder. In the four blocks around my home, he built over 30 houses from 1901, to 1924. My Father was born in this house, and so was I.
I inherited the house from my Dad when he died in 1989. It is a brick, two story, that was originally a single family home, on a 30 foot wide lot, near a main street, with a street car line, and parks, schools and shops. The house across the street, which is identical to mine, sold a year ago for $566, 000. It has a new basement with a separate entrance, with a kitchen, bathroom, 2 bedrooms and living room, with a laundry room and it rents for $1400 a month. The windows have been replaced, the furnace is new as is the central air, and the water heater and roof.
My wife and I live on the ground floor, we have a young lady on the second floor, who has lived here for 8years, and her rent is $1200 a month, and the basement tenant is a air line hostess, who is gone at least 2 weeks out of every four. She pays $850 a month. That income means that we live for free. Add our Canada Pensions and the Old Age Pensions for both of us, plus my military pension and my wife's pension from the University of Toronto, and we are doing very well.
Jim b.
Comparing cost of living in Toronto to Youngstown doesn't really mean much. I'm in Virginia in a suburb of DC. $850 won't rent anything here in the suburbs. $1,200 a month might rent a studio apartment in an average suburban location. $566k can buy a decent suburban home and if a home is on the market for more than a week or two we wonder why, but I'm not going to compare it to Youngstown. It's a different population with a different economy. It's just different.
I understand what JR_C means when he says it's a shame that good quality all brick homes are being torn down to build new. Sometimes it is. I've seen homes torn down and houses built that just don't "fit" in the neighborhood and stick out like a sore thumb.
What was the main industry in Youngstown that dried up causing the city population to dwindle and all of this neglect to happen?
Iron and steel, as was pointed out, but also the automobile industry. Many people worked at Packard Electric (Delphi) in Warren, OH, that made wiring harnesses for cars, and GM's Lordstown assembly plant.
Then there were things like the metals plants and Shenango China in New Castle, PA, and Westinghouse Electric and the tube mills in Sharon, PA. Since it's about 30-35 miles, people might have lived in Shenngo Valley & driven to Ohio for work. Or lived in Youngstown metro area and drove to Lordstown or to some factory in PA for work.
When people visit Youngstown, where do they stay? Is Boardman the best bet? It's been a little over 20 years since I've lived in Mahoning County and I no longer have close family in that area, other than in NW PA. We bounced around the idea of driving up for the fair and to see various sites and it was interesting that few hotels or B & B showed up within Youngstown. Most that showed up seem to be of the Super 8, Motel 6, Days Inn variety.
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