Youngstown (Cincinnati, Springfield, Warren: crime, house, neighborhood)

[cheerioben]

Can anyone tell me about Youngstown area? My husband wants me to look into the area. How are the schools, safety, crime, etc. Any info would be very helpful.
Thanks,
Cheerioben

[South Range Family]

I'll give you some insight on the area. I grew up here, did 2 years in Georgia, and another 10 in Pennsylvania. We moved back to the area so our kids could get a good education. That should tell you something.

First things first. Have a job lined up before you come here. There aren't that many, so competition is fierce. Ok, nobody actually lives in Youngstown. The surrounding area is what you will be studying. You need to tell us if you are a city person, an urban kind of housing development person, or a rural farmland kind of person. A price range would be nice too. Canfield and Poland are very expensive Neighborhood type areas. Austintown and Boardman are cheaper neighborhood type areas. Austintown and Boardman also have (in my opinion) way too many kids in their schools.
If you are interested in a more rural area with less than 1000 kids in the entire school district, I would recommend South Range, and Springfield local . These are two schools that also have areas that are fairly close to town too. My second favorite would be the rural school Western Reserve. They are Berlin and Ellsworth townships combined. It's also where I went to school.

Shopping... Everybody shops in Boardman or Austintown. The first strip plaza in the world is in Boardman courtesy of Ed Debartolo. The entire town is now one giant plaza from end to end.
The roads are all laid out in big squares. Getting around is very easy throughout the entire area. (Thanks to paintballer and his people)


Crime is like crime anywhere else. The more people you have in an area, the more crime you will have. As I've said before my house and garage are always left wide open. My keys are in the cars. When I go shopping in Boardman I lock the doors to park. In canfield I don't bother. In Salem I do, but it's not really necessary. Common sense prevails here.
I could tell you plenty more, but I'm not sure what you are looking for. Check out the threads about Warren and Poland. They are basicly the same surrounding area.

[vader]

I always hear good things about Boardman, although the city of Youngstown is notorious for crime problems. My brother went to YSU and was robbed at gun point a few times.

[paintballer1708]

Originally Posted by South Range Family
(Thanks to paintballer and his people)

LOL i wish i could do some of the planning up in the Youngstown metro right now. The southern suburbs and northern suburbs are really bustling now. How is that new hospital they are building in Boardman going along? I saw the new signs along the road of what it would look like, and that was a great looking facility. There was a lot of new construction going on along Market Street, and i recently heard they were expanding Western Reserve Road to meet up with the growth and traffic demand. I will also add one more area to the mix, as South Range described the area very well. Check into Columbiana. Its a nice little town of about 6,000, and they have nice tree lined streets, great school system, and an awesome park for a town of it's size. And if you need more shopping just check out Niles and Boardman for the Eastwood and Southern Park malls.

[South Range Family]

My friend/neighbor is the architect in charge of building the new hospital. Alex knows what he is doing, so I have the utmost confidence in that project. While driving South on Southern Boulevard by the Home Depot, I could actually see the new hospital off in the distance. I can't believe how big it is.
At one time Western Reserve Rd. was the back way to sneak into Boardman. It has now become just as bad as 224. A new Sparkle Market just opened a little West of Sharott Rd. I'll stick with Salem for my shopping.

All things are relative though. What we consider bad traffic around here, would be a walk in the park anywhere else. Pittsburgh, New York City, Atlanta. Compared to those places, we have no traffic.

[paintballer1708]

^ I know traffic really isnt that bad up there. Compare that to Cincinnati lol. One thing is that 224 can get quite congested though. I know they had plans to make walkways over the road, as well as better turning lanes, and less lights. I know there was a plan to help traffic congestion. 224 with the Southern Park Mall, Shops At Boardman Park, and every other thing that is popping up there is getting worse. I know Niles was doing a lot up that way too. Hopefully both cities can start working on their traffic problems instead of building more and more, attracting more people.