Possible relocation to Eria, PA? (Pittsburgh, Erie: rental, insurance, crime)

[kcraptor82]

My family and I are considering moving to Erie, PA and were wondering about a few things. We have many reasons for moving, and wanted to know if this area was good for us? I myself am a college student and work full time. My sister would like to attend college also, while most likely work part time. My father is sort of retired and pretty much would like to see my sisters little boy grow up and enjoy life. So there are so many questions we have, but I shall try to shorten them to a few.

1. How is the job market? I work for a rent to own store currently, but yet I do have many qualifications in other areas. What job opportunities are there, plus how is the unemployment rate?

2. Is the education system any good? How are the schools for young children and do the colleges around town have a wide variety of fields to offer?

3. Crime rate? Are there certain parts of town we need to avoid, etc? Burglary, car theft, just overall a violent city, or decent?

4. Rental properties? Is rent high, or decent? How well maintained are most properties. Are neighborhoods run down, or nice to live in?

5. Social life or entertainment. Are there many parks, clubs, etc to spend a peaceful or fun weekend at?

6. Weather? Really cold, rainy, snowy, etc? Is there four seasons, or what? Summers are nice, or cooler than most?

7. Daily commute to work awful, or are there plenty of roads to everywhere? Don’t want to spend hours getting to work!

8. Society in general. General public nice or rude. How is the ethnic group? Is there a minority of a certain people? How religious are these people?

Well I hope these are not too many questions, but we would really love some input on this from people that live in the area. Also what are the pros and cons of this city in general? We are simple people that like to have fun, but yet stay at home sometimes and enjoy simple things. I myself would like to mingle with people, and to meet potential new friends. I’m 28, and still trying to finish school, so my age bracket would be towards younger generation. But most of my questions also help my father and sister decide if this city would be great for us.

[Ohiogirl81]

1. How is the job market?
Pretty slow. Even the health care and educational fields are cutting back these days. Someone in your household should have a job before you move.

2. Is the education system any good? How are the schools for young children and do the colleges around town have a wide variety of fields to offer?
I wouldn't hesitate to send my kids to any of the schools outside the city; the Erie School District has all the problems of an urban school district. Behrend is a four-year branch of Penn State, Edinboro is a large state university, Gannon is a well-regarded university, Mercyhurst is a smaller liberal arts college (with a kick-ass women's hockey team). I don't know specifics about their individual programs, but friends' children who have graduated from the local colleges with degrees in engineering, education, etc., seem to be reasonably well-educated and are finding jobs in their fields. Erie also is the home of the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.

3. Crime rate? Are there certain parts of town we need to avoid, etc? Burglary, car theft, just overall a violent city, or decent?
Certainly crime is everywhere, in every city and every neighborhood in the United States. There are pockets of Erie to avoid living in, to be sure, but I can't think of any neighborhood in the city I wouldn't venture into in broad daylight. The 'burbs see crime, too -- just like any other place.

4. Rental properties? Is rent high, or decent? How well maintained are most properties. Are neighborhoods run down, or nice to live in?
Housing is quite affordable. How run-down or well-maintained the properties are depends on the neighborhood you're in.

5. Social life or entertainment. Are there many parks, clubs, etc to spend a peaceful or fun weekend at?
For a town its size, there is a lot to do in Erie: minor-league professional sports, a thriving community arts and theater community, reasonably decent night life, summer and fall festivals, sports and activities at the colleges, and plenty of outdoor activities, including the city's crown jewel, Presque Isle State Park.

6. Weather? Really cold, rainy, snowy, etc? Is there four seasons, or what? Summers are nice, or cooler than most?
Oh, it's snowy and cold in the winter, all right, and spring takes awhile to come around. But summer and fall are glorious.

7. Daily commute to work awful, or are there plenty of roads to everywhere? Don’t want to spend hours getting to work!
Traffic is negligible, even during snowstorms.

8. Society in general. General public nice or rude. How is the ethnic group? Is there a minority of a certain people? How religious are these people?
I don't find Erie to be any more or less nice or rude or provincial than any other place I've lived.

[sr1234]

Originally Posted by kcraptor82

6. Weather? Really cold, rainy, snowy, etc? Is there four seasons, or what? Summers are nice, or cooler than most?

Long Winters, Short Springs, Falls, and Summers. Erie County is in the snow belt and along the lake so expect a lot of precipitation. Summers are hot for a couple weeks and then it is back to cooler temps.

You are moving to an area where the weather can really change everyday activities. Over the last two days parts of Erie County received up to 3 feet of snow and more is on the way. This is all lake effect snow.

Bad roads and business/school closings are not uncommon. Just stock up and prepare for different scenarios.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by sr1234

Over the last two days parts of Erie County received up to 3 feet of snow and more is on the way. This is all lake effect snow.

The operative word here being "parts." My mom reported that this week's big snowstorm dumped a whopping four inches in her neighborhood, about a mile from the lake.

As for snow changing everyday activities, no. People deal with it and go on with their lives. Two feet of snow is really not a big deal to Erie natives.

[Honest Bob]

Ohiogirl is pretty much on the money on this one.

My opinion is that lake effect snow falls about 20 miles away from the lake.
So it doesn't really start until about Hammot PA and really dumps on places like Waterford, Bradford, Warren, Cory, Union City.

Moving to Erie in the winter would be like moving to Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina. Not my idea of fun.

[ker8]

Originally Posted by kcraptor82

My family and I are considering moving to Erie, PA and were wondering about a few things. We have many reasons for moving, and wanted to know if this area was good for us? I myself am a college student and work full time. My sister would like to attend college also, while most likely work part time. My father is sort of retired and pretty much would like to see my sisters little boy grow up and enjoy life. So there are so many questions we have, but I shall try to shorten them to a few.

1. How is the job market? I work for a rent to own store currently, but yet I do have many qualifications in other areas. What job opportunities are there, plus how is the unemployment rate?

It's not a big city, employment opportunities are not the best, and the unemployment rate is higher than the state average. But, if you happen to be good with locomotives or insurance or can work at a hospital, you have prospects; there are others as well, but those are our 3 big industries. I'd suggest looking for a job before committing to a move.

2. Is the education system any good? How are the schools for young children and do the colleges around town have a wide variety of fields to offer?

Yes, I'd say the education system is very good. But stay outside the city. Or, if you move into the city, go for private education and then your kids can go to Collegiate, which is a very highly regarded high school. They do have to qualify though I believe. Many good colleges with many degree opportunities.

3. Crime rate? Are there certain parts of town we need to avoid, etc? Burglary, car theft, just overall a violent city, or decent?

Crime's not bad, but (to me) feels like it's on the rise; don't move north of 38th street on the east side or north of 26th on the west; car theft is relatively rare, not an overall violent city as long as you don't live right downtown and as long as you're not involved in drugs, which, like in every city, is the main cause of most of our crime.

4. Rental properties? Is rent high, or decent? How well maintained are most properties. Are neighborhoods run down, or nice to live in?

Rent is very cheap compared to most other places you'll look; most properties are probably not extremely well kept up because of the depressed local economy; depends where you look and what you're willing to spend; i think it's much more worth your money to buy a house personally

5. Social life or entertainment. Are there many parks, clubs, etc to spend a peaceful or fun weekend at?

Erie has many parks/beaches/outdoor fun to be had; yes, i think there's plenty of fun to be had; and if you want something a bit bigger for a day/weekend, Buffalo, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh are only a 2-hr getaway away.

6. Weather? Really cold, rainy, snowy, etc? Is there four seasons, or what? Summers are nice, or cooler than most?

yes,yes,yes; go to weather.com, see the lake effect snow? yeah, they're filming in Erie; avg ~95 inches, city, more outside; south of I-90 gets the brunt of it though; definitely there are 4 seasons; Summers are usually pretty hot, in the 80s (very humid).

7. Daily commute to work awful, or are there plenty of roads to everywhere? Don’t want to spend hours getting to work!

The daily commute is never bad; if you spend a half hour getting to work it will probably feel like a long time.

8. Society in general. General public nice or rude. How is the ethnic group? Is there a minority of a certain people? How religious are these people?

generally people are very nice; Erie is a working blue-collar town; Erie is really only white/black with a slowly growing hispanic population, and small groups of other minorities. Anywhere outside Erie is 95% white. Erie's not the bible belt if that's what you're asking, but it is a majority Catholic.

Well I hope these are not too many questions, but we would really love some input on this from people that live in the area. Also what are the pros and cons of this city in general? We are simple people that like to have fun, but yet stay at home sometimes and enjoy simple things. I myself would like to mingle with people, and to meet potential new friends. I’m 28, and still trying to finish school, so my age bracket would be towards younger generation. But most of my questions also help my father and sister decide if this city would be great for us.

If you don't want a giant city, and a laid-back attitude fits you and your family, then Erie is a great place. If you like the hustle and bustle of city life however, I think I speak for everyone when I say Erie is not for you. Hope that helps you!

[ker8]

Just read everybody else's comments. I agree with pretty much everyone. And I agree with Honest Bob. Although I'd love to move back, I'd wait till after winter, lol.