Calling everyone who knows about Oil city, PA (Reading, Franklin: crime rate, new house)

[mrkool]

Originally Posted by dickfleckenstein

, Not Much For Teens To Do Except Make Love.

You say that like it's a bad thing

[Destiny2008]

Originally Posted by Rtom45

I have family in Oil City, and we visit fairly often. The town is a ghost of what it had been when I was growing up there in the 50's and 60's. My brother tells me there is some revival now, people from metropolitan areas are buying homes and retiring. Slower pace, lower cost of living. If you don't need to work it is a pleasant and relaxing place.

I also grew up in Oil City in the 50's and 60's, moved to California in 1974, and have thought of moving back for the quieter lifestyle and lower cost of living, but I imagine I would suffer extreme culture shock. Oil City was a wonderful place to live as a child: swimming at Hasson Pool, running around the hills, water skiing on the river, having the freedom to play all day without worrying about
strangers, walking to school and stopping for candy at a little mom and pop store, sledding down the steep hills, and jumping in huge piles of leaves in the autumn. Can Oil City kids still run free without adult supervision? Kids in urban California just do not have that much freedom, especially when they are young.
I do hope Oil City does undergo a revival. Small towns may be the last hope for the urban weary.

[malkmus]

I grew up in Oil City in the 80s and 90s. It was an All American childhood in the 80s and early 90s and has turned into a depressed area since Quaker State moved and then the Pennzoil refinery shut down.

Why does Oil City have a cult-like following here? I got out the first chance I could and typically make a trip back once every year or so to see my folks.

Oil City now does not come close to resembling the Oil City I knew as a young child. Companies have all packed up and left, buildings are vacant and drugs are rampant.

The positives are, there is an arts revitalization plan that has gotten a bit of press and some oil prospectors are returning to drill oil now that it is fetching $90 a barrel.

If someone purposefully raises their children in Oil City when they could afford to somewhere else, social services ought to snatch them up.

[Rtom45]

Destiny:
The days when kids could play outside worry free are gone, and that includes Oil City.

[jasonkara]

I was born and raised in this town; I've seen the best this town had to offer and I've seen the worst, which is now. Two of the major players during the oil boom have seen their demise. Yes, I'm talking about Titusville which was first, and Oil city followed suit. I hate to be a pessimist, but another key player will see it's demise soon. I agree most of Oil City's problems lie with the local government. They all no what is going on here but are too scared to do anything about it. One of the first things we need to do is get eleted officials that are not afraid of change. Clean up the drugs on the streets. Simple solution, Dui checkpoints on a weekly basis this will hopefully get alot of the people that are hiding either from the law or other people out the city. The city is full of the crime because of the influx of big city/inner city people that are gathered here.

[hershey14]

I asked this question in another Oil City thread, but as I am planning on buying a second home in Oil City (at the edge of town on Emerald St. overlooking Oil Creek), I'll try it again here.

What type of crime is so rampant here? Is it Meth? Is it Crack? Or is it just Marijuana and prescription drugs? It's not that I approve whole-heartedly of the latter, just that violent and property crimes are less likely to escalate with the latter type of drug abuse than the former.

I guess that I wonder if people are over-estimating the crime here as well - I mean city-data has the town at a 109 on their index, with 323 being the national average and Rockford, IL (where I grew up) near 700! In fact, of all the cities in the region, including Titusville and Franklin, Oil City has the lowest crime. I've checked other websites that have crime information and they too show OIl City as being a low crime-risk city. Moreover, the unemployment in Oil City per government statistics is at 5.2 percent, which is not abnormally high at all, espcially when compared with many other former industrial cities in Pennsylvania.

So, I guess, what crime is really going on and in what areas does it seem to be so rampant?

Thanks.

[mystree]

All I know is the crime wasn't bad when I was there,my sister lives there and never complains about crime.Honestly I don't think you have anything to worry about.

[kimmichelle]

We are looking to possibly retire in oil city for the reason of it being so quiet and mature and hoping that we can help initiate some good changes there and possibly help create some businesses and jobs. A town is only as good as the people in it. The entire U.S. economy will see some good changes in the next 5 years including OC.

[hikingotter]

Hi, did you ever buy that second house in Oil City? There have not been any new posts
on anyone moving to Oil City but if anyone has within the last 2 yrs I would be interested
in hearing if it has be positive. I have a few posts from last yr when I was out there checking it out. Now my son is graduating from High School and off to college so I can
actually make the move if I want to. I have been checking out a lot of areas in PA, everything from Bradford to Raystown. The thought is to sell my house in Northhampton county, PA, and buy a place for cash elsewhere. Otter

[hershey14]

Yes, I did end up purchasing the second house for $19,000. The home inspector said it had virtually nothing wrong. In fact, 4 of the 5 things it did have wrong (leaky faucet, leaky drain pipe, installing a new furnace flue, and fixing a couple of double-taps) the seller VOLUNTEERED to fix. I just signed off on it and she did indeed fix it. The house has newer berber carpet, newer paint, remodeled bathroom, nice deck overlooking oil creek, a large yard, fairly new roofing (though half of it was done 2 years ago, the other half 10 years ago - sort of an amateurish idea), newer tiles in the kitchen. All it needs is probably an update to the kitchen (the kitchen is fine just sort of funky), new flooring in the master bedroom (all it has right now is bare subfloor) and the den needs to be redone (wood panels and shag). It's three bedrooms, has fully redone romex wiring, and has a full walk-out basement that I do intend on finishing someday. As it is, the inspector said it is fully liveable and "cute". With the river view and it being basically on the side of a small mountain (Emerald St.) it's a genuinely nice house.

I was told that the location isn't that desirable because it is a fairly narrow dead-end street, but the wonderful river view (and Oil Creek is actually a river from a USGS standpoint), and the proximity to great kayaking (my backyard) make it more than worth the meager $200 in combined 15-yr. mortgage, taxes, and insurance that it will cost each month.

I may even move there permanently - who knows.

In any case - wonderful little place.