Opinions of Youngstown area (Columbus, Boardman: best city, apartments, lofts)

[sbmccoy]

Howdy from Houston! My husband (we are a same-sex couple) may be promoted in his company, and in that case, end up relocating us to either the Youngstown area or the very northern burbs of Pittsburgh. His job will be in New Castle, PA. I do not want to live in New Castle, and would prefer to live in Pittsburgh, but the commute for my hubby would be horrific! The folks on the Pittsburgh forum suggested checking out Youngstown. I did a little research and it sounds like they are trying to revitalize the downtown area, and housing is cheap, but that usually means there are A LOT of negatives there. I know there are some burbs like Austintown and Boardman. Would a gay couple be welcomed, or at least tolerated, in the Youngstown area? We want to adopt eventually, so would that be possible in the area? What areas would be good areas if we didn't mind some gentrification or remodeling the house? Thanks for any advice!

[JR_C]

Welcome to the area!


I don't think you'd run into problems of intolerance anywhere in the area. But, I'm not gay, so I can't say for sure. I live on the north side of Youngstown, near YSU, and I see a few gay pride flags around.


Where you choose to live depends on what you're looking for.


If you're looking for the typical suburban environment, then Boardman and Austintown fit the bill. If you're looking for a slightly higher-end suburb, I think you'd probably want to look at Poland and Canfield, instead. if you're looking for a more semi-urban location with older, character housing, you'll probably want to look in Youngstown, itself.


If you're looking for good schools, (for your future adopted child) the Youngstown City schools are, generally, not very good. My neighbors send their kids to private or parochial schools. But, most suburban districts are fine.


Housing in Youngstown is so inexpensive, even relative to the surrounding suburbs, because: the public schools are poor, there is a higher concentration of poverty, and there is a higher rate of crime. Personally, I don't care about the quality of the schools, since I don't have any children. I'm not bothered by living near poor people. And, while the crime rate is higher than the neighboring suburbs, it's not much different from what you'll find in most US cities. (depending on neighborhood)


If you think you might be interested in choosing a neighborhood in the city of Youngstown, I can offer more advice. But, I'm not that familiar with the surrounding suburbs, other than what I've written above.

[sbmccoy]

Thank you so much! We haven't heard for sure if he has the job or not. I've been doing research and I'm getting more drawn to the Youngstown area. We are currently living in the burbs with no kids. We would have stayed living closer to Downtown Houston when we bought, but it was soooooo expensive. I'm definitely drawn to the older homes of Youngstown and Boardman areas. I think once we know something definite, then we can sit down and really decide what setting we'd like to live in. Thank you!

[No_Recess]

Originally Posted by sbmccoy

Thank you so much! We haven't heard for sure if he has the job or not. I've been doing research and I'm getting more drawn to the Youngstown area. We are currently living in the burbs with no kids. We would have stayed living closer to Downtown Houston when we bought, but it was soooooo expensive. I'm definitely drawn to the older homes of Youngstown and Boardman areas. I think once we know something definite, then we can sit down and really decide what setting we'd like to live in. Thank you!

Avoid Youngstown city like the plague.

If your husband is working in New Castle I would suggest Poland. It's a straight shot down 224. Best schools and lowest crime in the area. Easy access to shopping in Boardman and 680 to get to downtown Ytown or Pittsburgh.

The older homes in Poland tend to be found near "downtown" on Main Street and 616.

You'll pay "more" for living in Poland but coming from Houston you'll feel like Bill Gates anyway with how low the COL is.

As far as being accepted for being gay we are still talking about the suburban Midwest here. Houston is a gigantic city compared to Youngstown and even Pittsburgh. It's not hostile per se but you're not moving to a cosmopolitan city either. Life revolves around ethnic festivals, high school sports, gambling, and church.

[osubrett2]

I'm originally from the Youngstown area, currently living in Columbus, and I'm proud to be from Youngstown. Many like to look down or speak lowly of the area, but we are proud people. I can get off topic and expand more on this, but I digress.

My first thought, like No_Recess, while reading this was Poland. Poland and Canfield are the 2 top suburbs of Youngstown, but Poland is a few miles from the Pennsylvania border and 15-20 minutes from New Castle. Poland is smaller than Canfield, but Canfield has bigger sense of community IMO. Austintown and Boardman are nice as well, but they're urban townships with less restrictions on zoning, development, etc. and less organized. But that can be a good or bad thing, just depends on how you view it.

If you're looking in the city limits, there are plenty of good neighborhoods on the west side of the city. Mill Creek Park is one of the best city parks in the USA and the neighborhoods that surround it have some of the best homes in the city. We're talking cheap prices too if this were in another major city. There are some mansion-esque type homes on the near north side as well, surrounding Wick Park and just north of the YSU campus. I can't tell you much more beyond that however, since I rarely get to that part of town.

As far as LGBT-friendly is concerned, I am also gay and haven't ran into any issues at all. Granted, I'm not a permanent resident and visit 7-8 times a year, but everytime I've been up, it's no issue. The area barely has any gay-bars, but there is a small community, and I believe Youngstown actually has it's own Pride festival (but I can't provide any other facts beyond that).

Hope this will be helpful!

[sbmccoy]

Thank you for the input, guys! We still haven't heard anything regarding the promotion. Probably not until after the holidays, per the boss. My hubby would love to be in a loft, but of course Youngstown doesn't seem to have any of those. Closest lofts would probably be Pittsburgh. I would rather live a older home in the nicer west side neighborhoods of Youngstown myself...grit and all. I'll check out Wick Park as well. I'm not looking for gay bars as much, since we kind have outgrown them, I think. I was more concerned about being harassed in public or having my home vandalized. Of course, in the future, we'd worry more about how teachers and what not would treat our kiddos. It's nice that they may have a small gay community up there.

[JR_C]

I know you still don't know if you'll be moving to the area, but I'm going to respond anyway, because it might be helpful to someone else, too.

Originally Posted by sbmccoy

Thank you for the input, guys! We still haven't heard anything regarding the promotion. Probably not until after the holidays, per the boss. My hubby would love to be in a loft, but of course Youngstown doesn't seem to have any of those. Closest lofts would probably be Pittsburgh.

The most loft-like apartments in Youngstown would be downtown. But most of them really are just apartments with large windows and high ceilings. I think there's probably more money to be made from 2-3 bedroom apartments rented by multiple college students. The only building I'm not sure about is the Wells Building. It was bought and restored by an architectural firm, who then moved their offices into the first floor. I can't find a listing for their apartments online, so I don't know what they look like.

I would rather live a older home in the nicer west side neighborhoods of Youngstown myself...grit and all.

If you look on the west side, look in the neighborhoods that are sort of "hugged" by Mill Creek Park. They're going to be more mid-century. Here's an example: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.0949...7i13312!8i6656 Not very gritty!

I'll check out Wick Park as well. I'm not looking for gay bars as much, since we kind have outgrown them, I think. I was more concerned about being harassed in public or having my home vandalized. Of course, in the future, we'd worry more about how teachers and what not would treat our kiddos. It's nice that they may have a small gay community up there.

I live in the Wick Park Neighborhood. From an architectural POV, in my opinion, the houses are so much more interesting, and the neighborhood is much more quirky. But it's also a LOT grittier, and it's also very difficult to find a house to buy in the neighborhood. Here's a photo tour I made of the neighborhood a couple years ago: //www.city-data.com/forum/35999567-post82.html

You might have better luck finding a grand old house if you looked further north, on and near Fifth Ave. Here is a fixer-upper that's been getting a lot of attention on Facebook: 260 Tod Ln, Youngstown, OH 44504 - realtor.com®

[Kerby W-R]

Poland, *southern Boardman, Canfield are all good. Have several gay friends
who live in these areas and are all happy there. Poland will be the most
commute friendly for your partner. YOU CAN NOT GO OVER THE SPEED
LIMIT IN POLAND OR THEY WILL PULL YOU OVER. That is a fact.
Pittsburgh to New Castle would be crazy in the winter. I'd stick to
these Ytown suburbs they have everything you could need.


*South Youngstown does not have a good reputation and
northern Boardman sometimes experiences that.

[sbmccoy]

Thanks for the info! I hadn't looked too much at Canfield, but I'll give it a shot. JR_C, I was looking at that mansion recently. It is interesting, but I bet the utility bills would be horrific! The old ice box is awesome thought!

[sbmccoy]

I live in the Wick Park Neighborhood. From an architectural POV, in my opinion, the houses are so much more interesting, and the neighborhood is much more quirky. But it's also a LOT grittier, and it's also very difficult to find a house to buy in the neighborhood. Here's a photo tour I made of the neighborhood a couple years ago: //www.city-data.com/forum/35999567-post82.html

I LOVE your photo tour! It's such a shame that so many of those great houses are in disrepair. If I was more handy, I'd love to have one and restore it back to it's former glory!