Tourism in Youngstown

[South Range Family]

The county now assesses your house at $22,000 total value. The owners live in Coraopolis, Pa. That's by the Pittsburgh airport. They paid $9,752 in 2004
I'm guessing it's a rental property now. I'm thinking that's not a very nice neighborhood anymore.

[Cali2Ohio]

Originally Posted by dankman38

Youngstown is actually a nice little city (though economically poor) but not "unsafe". During the day you really don't have to worry about anything at all, most of the residents are regular Joes, at night avoid rowdy bars and you should be OK.

I'm moving to youngstown very soon. I find the low prices of real estate in that area quite attractive.

I compared the crime stats in my city to that of youngstown, and quite honestly, youngstown is looking pretty good!

Relocation Essentials

Compare 94609 to 44511.

I have lived in pretty bad areas (Oakland CA, NYC, Cleveland) as a youth and as an adult. Especially so when I was involved in Innercity Christian Outreach back in the 1980's.

Most of the cities I engaged in outreach were chock full of crime, vice and Thugs.

Let me say this about the victim hysteria 'some folks' are so quick to point out or associate with "innercity or urban areas." Truthfully, a vast majority 95-98% of the violent crime is going to be Black on Black, and its going to be over drugs or a personal matter.

I discovered, quite early in life, that thugs and criminals are opportunist. They are predators. THEY LOOK FOR individuals whose face and posture is riddled with fear and intimidation.

Just use common sense. Think ahead. STAY AWAY FROM CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, and you will survive the meanest streets of America.

Who would have thought that one could buy a home for 49-100K these days. I've overstayed my welcome in California. Housing prices here are aweful. Ohio, here I come!

[boardmanite]

Cali2Ohio: Glad to hear you are relocating to the area! And you're right, the real estate prices are incredibly low here compared to other parts of the country. (California being one of them) In fact, one of our historic districts was recently rated the most affordable neighborhoods with large old houses in the country. (Obviously, I don't remember the specifics) The most expensive historic district was in San Jose, CA. I believe the price difference was around $800,000.
I suggest you look at the North Side of Youngstown if you want something in the city limits. We looked at houses there when we moved to the area, but were talked out of them by people warning us that the area was about to turn into a ghetto. Now I wish we would have moved there... The houses are beautiful and very cheap. There are some rough areas just a few blocks away (in either direction, unfortunately) so the closer you are to Fifth Avenue, the better.
Youngstown also has some really nice suburbs. I live in Boardman, which has some cool old neighborhoods. I like where we live a lot, except for the suburban sprawl which has eaten up land along the main arteries in the township. Canfield and Poland are on either side of Boardman Twp, and are both very nice little towns. Definitely more $$$ there. Some areas of Struthers are nice. Don't really care for Campbell, Girard, Niles or Hubbard, but thats just me. And IMO Austintown is just a cheap immitation of Boardman. (Hoping to open a can of worms here )
Welcome to Youngstown!

[Cali2Ohio]

Thanks for the hospitality! I've been looking for RE in Youngstown, Boardman, and Austintown. I'm still, to a lesser degree, involved in inner-city outreach so I feel compelled to move closer to the trenches --Yo South.

I used a reverse address directory and made 'cold calls' to residents on the south side, asking detailed questions regarding their opinions on safety, quality of life, schools, etc.

Quite frankly, I didn't expect any positive feed back. Even the few white residents I spoke with in Yo South neighborhoods gave favorable opinions. The area I'm focused on are mostly homeowners. They were mostly blue collar, working class.

Black, White or Other, residents sampled stated that overall, they felt relatively safe. There werent any residents who reported being a victim of violent crime. A few reported their car stereos had been stolen. A majority of the residents reported that neighbors did tend to look out for one another.

The only negatives noted by residents were poor performing school districts, auto thefts, and the need for jobs in the area.

I called the YPD and spoke with a Yo South patrol officer. He affirmed that its an 'OK' area but there are much better areas in YT.

He had commented that several police officers lived in my area of interest. He confirmed that the majority of Yo South crimes were petty crimes, but with respect to violent crimes, they tend to be drug or vice related.

It's time for me to come down from the Ivy Towers of the good life whcih I've enjoyed over the past 20 years. I'm hanging up the white lab coat and putting on some Dicky Uniform Overalls. Do they have good fishing in Ohio?

Thanks again. I appreciate your input.

[boardmanite]

The South Side is an interesting place. There is actually quite a variety of housing and neighborhoods on the South Side. There are nice neighborhoods south of Midlothian Blvd that are still in the city limits. Houses are still in good condition and are very cheap. The South Side borders on Mill Creek Park and there are some large, beautiful, old homes nearby. These neighborhoods aren't as nice as they were in Youngstown's heyday, but they're still decent. The park is very, very nice. The South Side also has its share of dilapidated neighborhoods, with lots of boarded up houses waiting to be razed. There's not much commercial activity left on the South Side. There's a few businesses on Market St, Glenwood Av, and South Av.

I have many friends on the South Side and none of them have had any major problems with crime. My old boss actually moved here from California to live on the South Side (right near Mill Creek Park). She left her doors unlocked during the day and never had any problems. (Although she does have a couple scary dogs!)

[South Range Family]

Do we have good fishing in Ohio? Is a bullfrog's butt water tight? Beside great walleye fishing on Lake Erie, we have Berlin, Milton, West Branch, Mosquito, Pymatuning, Guilford, and Salem lakes all within 45 minutes of Youngstown. Just about everybody with some land has their own pond too. I was out paddling around mine this morning. Fishing is great in Ohio.

[prairiedoggy]

I enjoyed the postings here; I've visited the Youngstown area and found that it has many beautiful neighborhoods and very affordable homes. I also read the discussion board at the Vindicator web site (local newspaper) and based on those postings, no one would ever live in Youngstown. It's a very skewed view of the area. I live in the Mpls/St Paul area, and housing has gotten very expensive here as it has in many other places. Our crime index is no different than Youngstown's. I'm retiring in the next few years and am seriously considering the Youngstown area. I also have family roots there, as some of my relatives founded Sebring Ohio (and Sebring Florida).

I appreciate the information that you all provide; it's nice to get a more-balanced picture of the area.

[boardmanite]

The Vindy discussion boards are a disgrace to the Youngstown area... I was hoping that nobody from out of town read them.

[CortlandGirl79]

I agree, i've gone on there before, just to see what people are saying, and all it is is a bunch of trolls w/no lives! I mean, someone over at the vindy needs to moderate that thing! Y-town is so much better than what those people are talking about!

[OldSchool]

Don't know why anyone wants to "tour" Y-town! I am African-American and sufferred living in that area...and I refer to blantant racism and poverty that was there when I grew up. I lived within viewing distance of the steel mills (1/2 to 1 block) in Campbell until I moved into Y-town. My father worked for Steel Door and I believe, Sheet & Tube; my grandfather worked for Republic Steel. There was also a rubber mill I can't remember the name of, but I think it was one of the last 'mills' and also a tool & die co. I know a lot about mill-town life, if you care to contact me--even though I am not exactly a 'positive' viewpoint! I attended Penhale, Reed and Gordon elementary schools, then the one high school--Memorial. Campbell was once just the east-end of Y-town; strictly speaking, the town grew because of the steel mills and was where 'corporate' needed to establish a place for steel-workers to live with families.
My mother and us five kids lived (eventually) in the Michael J. Kirwan Homes on Murray Ave. We were a "premier" first family in those 'projects'; the other established project was know as "the company homes" about 3 blocks north of the mills (Wilson Ave). While Y-town was more established, the subs were Campbell, Struthers, Lowellville located on one side of Wilson Ave.

Y-town was a known Mafia base, and was known at one time as Murdertown, and the home of the 'Youngstown Tune-up'. The mills and the union had heavy ties in the 'mafia' persuasion, as well as the obvious ties in law enforcement, the dirty areas of numbers/gambling rackets and prostitution and almost all politics. The 'bad' people were the ones with money and the ones trying to get some! I grew up being friends with the 'secretive' Greeks, Puerto Ricans, poor caucasions, and of course, Black folks. For kids, it always took a few decades or so to arrive at 'consciousness'--but, I do have some good memories of high school and the folks who became politically aware.
Campbell kind of got 'swept' into obscurity when the mills shut down...the old 'urban renewal' thing that was forgotten as soon as all the houses were torn down getting ready! My mother took lots of photos of houses burning and the block of weeds, etc. that was the result one yr later!
I finally left Ohio, in 1976--joined the Air Force. Mother died in April 77 and I've only been back twice since. I suppose that like any other little towns that faded into obscurity, Campbell on the east-end of Youngstown, was once a nice place. My best memories are of Pine Hollow, that bordered the space the first projects were built (Kirwan Homes); my father had taken us to the 'park' it once was when I was really little. Mill Creek Park is also firmly in memory as the best park I ever knew--it's like Rock Creek in DC!
So what I'm trying to relate to you, is that it was never so much Youngstown in steel towns importance as it is the communities that evolved around it. Dig a bit deeper than whatever may be reported in the museums, etc. (It's like the Internet removing 'humanities awarenesses'--you can go there without going!) Time, circumstances, etc. wiped out towns, lives and livelihoods when American business needed to make more and better money!
Of course, STEEL is still being made, and is still the most substantial material we know of today, in current life! But there are men and women who died in the mills, people who got left behind when they couldn't go with the mills when they moved out.
I am now retired from the military and will never return to Ohio. But, I have memories and info about living there, if you really want to know. Maybe you will, when you buy your first 'brushed stainless steel' appliances? Where did this come from, you may ask? Well, it originated in Bethlehem PA or Youngstown OH--now, I'm sure it is imported. The "ruins" of the mills, are also of actual lives--not just a tourist attraction. It is more about USA economics and the powers of DOLLARS, and I'm certain the people still there feel something very different from a 'tourist's view'. If you go there, try to be more aware of...say, where YOU came from, grew up, etc. and don't act like you are anything/anybody different. Tourists' have a bad habit of viewing things like people going to the zoo! If you are not one of them, I'd be more than happy to share my personal knowledge of the Steel-towns.