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I don't have a lot of time to give a detailed answer, but feel free to PM me if you want to know about a particular neighborhood or street in Trumbull County. I know Warren/Niles and the surrounding areas very, very well.
How do you PM people on this forum? Sorry, this is my first post.
Thanks for the information about Wick Park's history. Can you see it improving even more over the next 10 years? It's so close to YSU and Downtown I can see it gentrifying in the future. Cleveland's Tremont area looked similar 15 years ago and there's a ton of money being invested in that neighborhood.
YSU has about 12k students, right? Do you think enrollment will increase in the future?
Re: Schenley & Cornersburg - I might be remembering things incorrectly but I saw a few houses in those areas on Zillow that were listed as being in the Austintown LSD. Do you think realtors are just putting "Austintown LSD" on Zillow since there is open enrollment? I'm sure that would make the houses sell faster.
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I find the letter grades of that site to be kind of subjective, and I don't give them much weight. But, the hard numbers are there to see.
Are you talking about the crime statistics? (Complied crime statistics, "chances of becoming a victim of crime" in that area, etc.?)
I noticed there were a few polls on there too (residents perceptions on overall crime, and "how safe do you feel walking around at night?"). Both polls were helpful but seem to focus on Youngstown as a whole.
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The vacant land in the Oakhill neighborhood is from years--maybe even decades--of arson and demolition. For a long time, arson has been seen as the vigilante way to rid yourself of a nearby problem property--a vacant house you're tired of looking at. But, there are also the usual suspects: kids vandalizing, and insurance fraud. This is the cause of vacant land all across the city, although the city has taken a more proactive approach to demolition over the last 10-15 years.
Are they planning on demolishing more homes in the future? Do you think some of these areas will stabilize when they remove all the blight? It looks like Youngstown's population started declining in the 1970s from 170,000-ish residents to about 67,000 in 2010. Between 1970-2010 Youngstown was losing 15-17% of its population each decade. I also noticed that over the past 8 years the population of Youngstown has only decreased by 3%. Do you believe the days of major population loss in the Mahoning Valley are over?
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It's impossible to say. It depends on how much of a target you and your house look like, maybe.
What kind of things would make me a target? --Nicest house on the block, apparent wealth in a poorer area, being isolated in an "urban prairie", not concealing the fact that I might have things worth stealing, or something else?
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While some may disagree, I don't think it matters if you live in a "good" neighborhood, or not. Many of my family members (none of whom live in the Youngstown area) have been burglarized over the years, and they all live in "good" neighborhoods in suburbs and small towns.
Maybe it's because homes in the "ghetto" don't have anything worth stealing. The way I see it I just need to make my home the hardest to break into on the block. That should keep people away. I'm a male in my 30s so I don't believe I would be seen as an "easy target" either.
Do you think there's anything else I should know about the Youngstown area? I know I've lived in areas where the positives and negatives of an area aren't apparent at first. I'm planning a trip out there to get a "feel" for the area. I think if I spend time driving around these neighborhoods, visiting YSU + the Eastwood Mall, checking out Walmarts + fast food restaurants I should be able to see what people are like here.
How do you PM people on this forum? Sorry, this is my first post.
Click on that person's name, and a menu will drop down.
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Originally Posted by Sharpei7ake
Thanks for the information about Wick Park's history. Can you see it improving even more over the next 10 years? It's so close to YSU and Downtown I can see it gentrifying in the future. Cleveland's Tremont area looked similar 15 years ago and there's a ton of money being invested in that neighborhood.
I think it could. But, I'm not counting on it. Which is to say that I bought here, because I like it already. If it improves, that's just a bonus.
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YSU has about 12k students, right? Do you think enrollment will increase in the future?
I think YSU will definitely keep growing. They have been building new dorms left and right, and they seem to be filled even before they're completed.
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Re: Schenley & Cornersburg - I might be remembering things incorrectly but I saw a few houses in those areas on Zillow that were listed as being in the Austintown LSD. Do you think realtors are just putting "Austintown LSD" on Zillow since there is open enrollment? I'm sure that would make the houses sell faster.
Realtors could be putting in the wrong district by "accident." Or, the boundaries used by the websites you're visiting aren't accurate. In that area, the municipal boundaries and the school district boundaries are the same. (That is, for Youngstown, Austintown and Boardman. Canfield and Boardman school district boundaries don't follow municipal boundaries) If you look at a road map, Meridian Road is the western boundary of the city and the YCSD, and Midlothian is the southern boundary of the city and YCSD. (there is a small exception on the southern border, but I'm ignoring that for simplicity.) I know these roads don't intersect, but the municipal boundaries continue to make a right angle.
YSU had about 15000 students ten years ago, so, if anything, it's shrinking, but over the years, it just has a natural ebb and flow. I wouldn't look for it to grow or shrink considerably any time soon.
Regarding Schenley/Cornersburg - no - not a ploy - those areas are LSD. Remember, "Austintown" is just a township designation - there is no "Austintown" town - it's all Youngstown, as far as the zipcodes go. When I think of "Austintown" I think of Cornersburg, which is about 1/2 mile from the High School. Of course "Austintown" spreads past rt 46 to the north-west, and all of that is also ASD also. If anything, if you move to "Austintown" you "run the risk" of being in Canfield schools - which is not a step down!
Wick park - Hm - JC will have better info, I don't really live over there - but "further gentrification" is probably a generous description. YSU is not expanding that way, as far as the University-proper goes. That ends at the Expressway. However - student housing may or may not be gaining ground there.
Youngstown and Warren have - at last check - the highest unemployment in the state. The "poverty rate" in Youngstown - however you choose to define it - is, statistically, about twice that of Puerto Rico.
The point is - Youngstown never really recovered from the loss of the steel industry 40 years ago. The effects of that have led to two generations of neglect and decay, and that has proven difficult to overcome. Youngstown continues to improve with an excellent music and arts environment and venues.
The downtown has some good places to sleep and eat now, and the "rough edges" between there and YSU have largely been swept up. The incubator (you mentioned) is just one of several initiatives to get people/business/exposure/anything to move in around here.
But the going has been slow. The areas that need the most help have not really been helped. The areas that were dressed up attract the people who live in the surrounding communities - which pours
more money into "downtown" - but this (arguably) is not to be confused with "Youngstown is on the rise."
Are you talking about the crime statistics? (Complied crime statistics, "chances of becoming a victim of crime" in that area, etc.?)
I noticed there were a few polls on there too (residents perceptions on overall crime, and "how safe do you feel walking around at night?"). Both polls were helpful but seem to focus on Youngstown as a whole.
I was talking about the statistics. But, I thought they broke out the numbers in each neighborhood. However, now there is just "n/a" next to the individual crime categories. Maybe I was just thinking of the "chances of becoming a victim" number?
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Are they planning on demolishing more homes in the future? Do you think some of these areas will stabilize when they remove all the blight? It looks like Youngstown's population started declining in the 1970s from 170,000-ish residents to about 67,000 in 2010. Between 1970-2010 Youngstown was losing 15-17% of its population each decade. I also noticed that over the past 8 years the population of Youngstown has only decreased by 3%. Do you believe the days of major population loss in the Mahoning Valley are over?
I could go on and on about the "demolish your way to a healthy future" attitude the city seems to have, but I won't. I feel certain that the city will continue to demolish properties. Sometimes demolition is the best answer, but the city seems to think it's the only answer, when some neighborhoods would benefit more from stabilization efforts.
I think the population of the Mahoning Valley will continue to decline for awhile. Interestingly, the city of Youngstown saw an estimated population increase of 244 people, from 2016 to 2017, while the rest of the MSA continued to lose population. If this is true (the population estimate was off by thousands, by the end of the 2000s, before the 2010 census) I think it signifies that Youngstown might have bottomed out, and its population might remain stable around 65k. We'll have to wait and see what the 2020 census has to say about that.
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What kind of things would make me a target? --Nicest house on the block, apparent wealth in a poorer area, being isolated in an "urban prairie", not concealing the fact that I might have things worth stealing, or something else?
Maybe it's because homes in the "ghetto" don't have anything worth stealing. The way I see it I just need to make my home the hardest to break into on the block. That should keep people away. I'm a male in my 30s so I don't believe I would be seen as an "easy target" either.
I had a couple different things in mind.
You don't want to make it obvious that you have things worth stealing. If you have a 60" TV, don't let it sit in front of your living room window, so the neighbors, or anyone driving by, can see it. While my house was empty, I kept curtains on the windows, so that if someone were casing the place, they wouldn't be able to see lots of tools and supplies laying around in plain view.
If your house looks too fortified, if might look like you're trying to protect the family jewels, or something. (I remember seeing a picture of a house in Youngstown, where the owner had built a concrete block wall around his house, with a gate at the driveway. It looked like a bunker. It also looked like they might have had something worth stealing)
I'm also thinking of something as simple as not making it obvious when you're going to be gone for a few days. Even if you know your neighbors, you never know who might be driving by and see that you're hauling a suitcase and shirts on hangers out to your car.
For the record, I didn't get this way from living in Youngstown. I was a big fan of the TV show "It Takes a Thief" on the Discovery channel, back in the mid 2000s. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Tak...2005_TV_series))
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Do you think there's anything else I should know about the Youngstown area? I know I've lived in areas where the positives and negatives of an area aren't apparent at first. I'm planning a trip out there to get a "feel" for the area. I think if I spend time driving around these neighborhoods, visiting YSU + the Eastwood Mall, checking out Walmarts + fast food restaurants I should be able to see what people are like here.
I've already gone on and on, probably more than necessary, when my original intent was that you didn't needlessly overlook good options within the city, based only on its reputation. So, no. I don't think I have anything else to add.
Thanks for the information about PMs and Youngstown's school district boundaries.
I'll definitely check out the 2020 Census figures (since that's the year I'm planning on moving out there).
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For the record, I didn't get this way from living in Youngstown. I was a big fan of the TV show "It Takes a Thief" on the Discovery channel, back in the mid 2000s. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Tak...2005_TV_series))
Yeah, I liked that show too. Thanks for the suggestion. I've also been looking into how homes are secured in South Africa but I highly doubt Youngstown is THAT bad.
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I've already gone on and on, probably more than necessary, when my original intent was that you didn't needlessly overlook good options within the city, based only on its reputation. So, no. I don't think I have anything else to add.
Thanks for all your help. I'm now considering Schenley, Kirkmere, Cornersburg, North Heights, and Liberty Twp. in Youngstown now (in addition to all of the other cities I've mentioned). I think the west side & north side of Youngstown look nicer than Warren. I just started looking into Liberty Twp. today - I'm assuming it's about as nice as Schenley, Kirkmere, and Austintown. Do you agree with that? Thanks again.
@roodd279
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Regarding Schenley/Cornersburg - no - not a ploy - those areas are LSD. Remember, "Austintown" is just a township designation - there is no "Austintown" town - it's all Youngstown, as far as the zipcodes go.
By LSD do you mean Austintown LSD or the Youngstown School District? I'm still considering those neighborhoods either way.
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Youngstown and Warren have - at last check - the highest unemployment in the state. The "poverty rate" in Youngstown - however you choose to define it - is, statistically, about twice that of Puerto Rico.
Yeah, I'm aware. It helps to be a remote worker with job security. I do some additional work on the side and if I relocate that stuff the Mahoning Valley I'll just have to reduce my prices a bit. I'm not worried though since the lower cost of living makes up for it.
When it comes to financial investment some money is better than none at all (even if it's only going Downtown). I'm considering investing in/remodeling homes in the Youngstown area in the future. If I can all that work myself I should be able to make some money (there are a lot of nice homes in this area + I can make those repairs without breaking the bank).
Thanks for all your help. I'm now considering Schenley, Kirkmere, Cornersburg, North Heights, and Liberty Twp. in Youngstown now (in addition to all of the other cities I've mentioned). I think the west side & north side of Youngstown look nicer than Warren. I just started looking into Liberty Twp. today - I'm assuming it's about as nice as Schenley, Kirkmere, and Austintown. Do you agree with that? Thanks again.
I don't know Liberty very well, except that Belmont Ave. is the main commercial corridor. (and anyone could guess that from looking at a map)
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I'm considering investing in/remodeling homes in the Youngstown area in the future. If I can all that work myself I should be able to make some money (there are a lot of nice homes in this area + I can make those repairs without breaking the bank).
If you're thinking about getting into local real estate, you might be interested in the Mahoning County GIS site: GIS/Tax Map | Mahoning County, OH
It takes some time to get used to, but this has lots of information. You can use this to find a property, find its owners, tax information, sales history, etc. I think all Ohio counties have something like this. But few are as good as this one.
JR_C - maybe we're (as a community) going about this all wrong...I should be encouraging people to move in here - start at the edges and head in, house by house...the ones that aren't burnt down yet.
This implies that people are moving out, one at a time, and I think they are.
Has that ever been tried? Gentrification by re-population? The bad element isn't going to fix itself.
JR_C - maybe we're (as a community) going about this all wrong...I should be encouraging people to move in here - start at the edges and head in, house by house...the ones that aren't burnt down yet.
This implies that people are moving out, one at a time, and I think they are.
Has that ever been tried? Gentrification by re-population? The bad element isn't going to fix itself.
Neighborhoods in other cities, that were far worse than any in Youngstown, have been gentrified. But, one of the reasons gentrification/revitalization has a hard time getting started here, is because so many of the locals are convinced that it's worse than it really is, here.
Most of the bad areas got that way, because people moved away, instead of staying and working to fix the initial problems. When people started moving away, those initial problems got worse, and more people moved away, and the problems got even worse, forcing more people to move away, and so on and so on. So, if people moved back in, and fight to make their neighborhoods better, those neighborhoods will get better. It's already happening in some areas. But, like I said, it's an uphill battle, fighting against those people who are convinced that Youngstown is a terrible place.
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