Youngstown Ohio (Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati: best cities, job market, neighborhoods) - (OH) - City-Data Forum

aariee · 09-11-2006, 12:01 PM

Hey Im looking to move to youngstown in two years or so. Can you tell me what kind of place it is? Is it high class or low class, junky or clean, boring or exciting, dead or lively? it is a city or a suburban city. And if you could relate it to NY how would it related to that? sorry if this sounds like an essay question^_^ Im just basically trying to find out if its a good place to go to college and live.

earl · 09-11-2006, 01:07 PM

I'm no expert on Youngstown except to say one of my relatives got shot there by a sniper.

I mean, why Youngtown ? It's not a good place. It's a dying city.

However, I do know that Columbus,Ohio would be a better spot to get an education and a job. The education at the cscc.edu is one of the cheapest in the nation and is better than the state college. The job market is usually pretty good too.

Columbus has it's downsides. There is sometimes bad racism from both sides. The city is divided into distinct black and white neighborhoods and you better know which one you're in because the tolerance level varies widely and you can get into a situation sometimes.

However, if you stay to the central district 2-5 miles from high st and/or northwest columbus nobody is going to bug you cause they've got too much to lose and usually the people in those areas are transient, rich or international and aren't going in for the black/white anger management issues. The Northeast corridor has some tolerance there too.

I think you will find it a better choice than Youngstown.

paintballer1708 · 09-11-2006, 05:47 PM

Just wondering why Youngstown? Its not a bad metro, with some very nice suburbs. But the city itself is not the best. It is changing though. Many new developments going on. But Akron, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati are all much better. If i had to compare Youngstown to a city in New York it would be Syracuse. Its changing, but it still has its negatives about it. There are many new jobs moving into the city itself. And the suburbs are booming.

Also, i cant imagine why earl would say that Columbus has racial issues. I mean every major city does, but Columbus was voted the best city for blacks to live and succeed in. As well as many new immigrants moving in to the city of Columbus, esp a growing asian population. Cincinnati and Cleveland are both great cities with so much to offer. Akron is a booming city that has a rapidly growing tech sector. So many more cities in Ohio that i would offer. And they are so much better. If you do consider a move to Youngstown check out the suburbs. Its really a very nice metro. Look into Boardman, Niles, Warren, Canfield, Poland, Columbiana and Austintown. Also, Youngstown has many new housing developments going up around the city. But check out the suburbs. Youngstown is a very nice metro area.

vader · 09-11-2006, 10:46 PM

Is this supposed to be a joke or something??? NY comparison to Youngstown..not falling for the bait.

paintballer1708 · 09-12-2006, 01:22 PM

^HAHA, i can think of at least 5 cities in New York that are on the same page as Youngstown.

hairmetal4ever · 09-27-2006, 08:27 PM

I feel sorry for Youngstown. It's an interesting place with a rich history, that fell victim to becoming totally dependent on one single industry, steel. When that industry changed, the town went down. The University is the best thing going there right now, but the job market kinda sucks. The city has done a lot to try and rekindle itself with some level of success. However, Akron and Cleveland, both about 60 miles away, for all their bad reputations, are doing rather well, especially in comparison to Youngstown. Some of Y-towns suburbs are quite nice, Canfield, Austintown, and Boardman especially. The city has a (well earned) reputation as having a lot of Mafia influence. Is it the worst place in America? Hardly. That honor goes to East St. Louis. But with regards to Ohio, most other cities have more to offer.

paintballer1708 · 09-29-2006, 01:14 PM

^You are so right. Every state has that one bad city that everyone hates. LOL for Ohio it is Youngstown. For Pennsylvania it would have to be Johnstown or Altoona. Youngstown thought is much better than "states bad cities" like Flint, Michigan or Fresno, California.

hairmetal4ever · 10-03-2006, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paintballer1708

^You are so right. Every state has that one bad city that everyone hates. LOL for Ohio it is Youngstown. For Pennsylvania it would have to be Johnstown or Altoona. Youngstown thought is much better than "states bad cities" like Flint, Michigan or Fresno, California.

I saw a list that showed the top ten best cities for jobs and the ten worst. Then the whole list. THREE cities in Massachusetts were on the list (Boston, Worcester, and Springfield) and Youngstown did better than all of them...and in fact didn't make the bottom 10. The best-rated city in Ohio was, surprisingly, Akron. Cleveland, Cincy, and C-bus were clustered together just under Akron. Toledo was a bit farther down.

paintballer1708 · 10-03-2006, 02:42 PM

^LOL interesting. Do you have a URL of where you got this list? It would be interesting to read. Also, it really doesnt suprise me that Akron made that list. It has a quickly growing economy and jobs are moving into that area rather quickly. Cleveland/Akron/Canton are really booming. I was just talking to one of my friends up in Cleveland, who is also an urban planner. They are planning on building a new highrise office tower in downtown Cleveland because they need more space for new companies that want to move into the downtown area. They have no where else to go because Cleveland has one of the lowest vacancy rates in the country. Downtown Cleveland is a new hotspot for new companies and many new residents are moving in.

Youngstown's metro is not bad at all. Youngstown gets this bad rap and its really not as bad as it comes off to be. The city is really changing. It has hit rock bottom and is on its way up. Over 250 million have been pumped into the downtown over the last few years. It just built the new Chevorlet Center and a new arena football team is coming in 2007. Youngstown is really on the move. I give it another decade and Youngstown wont be looked at so badly.

hairmetal4ever · 10-03-2006, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paintballer1708

LOL interesting. Do you have a URL of where you got this list? It would be interesting to read. Also, it really doesnt suprise me that Akron made that list. It has a quickly growing economy and jobs are moving into that area rather quickly. Cleveland/Akron/Canton are really booming. I was just talking to one of my friends up in Cleveland, who is also an urban planner. They are planning on building a new highrise office tower in downtown Cleveland because they need more space for new companies that want to move into the downtown area. They have no where else to go because Cleveland has one of the lowest vacancy rates in the country. Downtown Cleveland is a new hotspot for new companies and many new residents are moving in.

Youngstown's metro is not bad at all. Youngstown gets this bad rap and its really not as bad as it comes off to be. The city is really changing. It has hit rock bottom and is on its way up. Over 250 million have been pumped into the downtown over the last few years. It just built the new Chevorlet Center and a new arena football team is coming in 2007. Youngstown is really on the move. I give it another decade and Youngstown wont be looked at so badly.

Youngstown might well be the Akron of 20 years from now-recovering nicely from rock-bottom.

Here are a couple interesting links:

Here's the list to which I refer: A positive ranking means better than average and negative worse than average. Akron had a -1 but still positive job growth on this list, and the best in Ohio.

http://www.bizjournals.com/specials/pages/37.html (broken link)

Another link, this is the "Salary Value Index" that combines salaries with cost of living. The best ranking in Ohio was Cincinnati at #56 of 188, so top third. Worst was Youngstown. What's funny though is many of the so-called "boomtowns" are near the bottom because the cost of living is so insanely high there.

"http://www.salary.com/advice/layoutscripts/advl_display.asp?tab=adv&cat=nocat&ser=Ser358&part =Par530"