Needing some help from people who live in PA

[villageidiot1]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Scranton and Pittsburgh would be the biggest metros in the drilling region. Lewisburg is just south of it in a county that borders the drilling area. It's right next to an interstate that can easily access drilling areas. It's on the same longitude at Scranton. There are lots of small towns throughout the drilling area but I'll bet the rental prices are super high in those small towns due to the sudden influx of gas workers. State College, PA, is another consideration.

True about the rental prices especially in places like Washington, PA and Wheeling. The links I provided below indicate that the most drilling activity is taking place in Southwestern PA and Eastern Ohio.

Scranton is 30 miles southeast of the edge of the current drilling activity with new drilling not occurring in this area. The OP said she is looking for a small town not a big metro with a good school district. Places like Bridgeville and Canonsburg seem ideal.

Originally Posted by Katiana

Probably not, though it depends on what "predominantly" means. He may have other skills as well. In two years, who knows? I just read yesterday (can't provide a source, sorry) that some of the oil drilling in PA is dropping off due to some natural gas discoveries in Ohio. Oil is a boom/bust industry. Ask the good people of Parachute, Colorado.

From the Post Gazette:

Falling natural gas prices have stalled Pennsylvania's shale boom, sending
drilling rigs across the border into Ohio. Most of the Keystone State's shale is
heavy in "dry" gas, pure methane that's ready for the pipeline as soon as it is
extracted.

But after two years of heavy drilling in
northeastern Pennsylvania, a glut in supply has sent gas companies scrambling to
southwest Pennsylania and Ohio in search of "wet" gas, which comes with a mix of
other petroleum byproducts like ethane and butane.

Also see:

Pipeline interactive map: Falling Prices, Moving Rigs
Natural Gas Prices | StateImpact Pennsylvania
Youngstown News, Industry groups: Ohio's Marcellus, Utica shale deposit are prolific wet gas fields - Newswatch
The Shift from Dry to Wet Gas Continues | Marcellus Drilling News

[SorryIMovedBack]

Originally Posted by villageidiot1

"Anything near I-76 and I-79 interchange mentioned above is Washington County."
Sorry, thought that it was I-76 all the way. Could have sworn I have seen I-76 signs on there. Whatever. Thanks for the correction.

No, I-76 doesn't run in Washington County. Anything near I-70 and I-79 interchange is in Washington County.

Your entire post is overly pessimistic about Western PA. To say that great schools doesn't go with small towns and that, "smaller towns just don't have the resources, and can't attract & hold the best teachers," is an exaggeration. Show me any kind of data to back this up.

Small towns that fit this description include Canonsburg, Bridgeville, Zelienople, Slippery Rock and Grove City. Regarding festivals and parades, how about this?

Canonsburg & Bridgeville are benefitting from proximity to Pittsburgh, and also the Southpointe development. Part of what has driven expansion in the counties around Allegheny is simply the lower taxes. Canonsburg is a sleepy town. Zelie, Slippery Rock, Grove City, I would not locate to. In case you didn't notice, only the more major urban areas are doing okay since the 2008-2009 recession. The smaller towns are all in decline, and are getting into financial straits unless they have shale boosting them. Many manufacturing facilities closed or were sold 2007-now, jobs permanently lost, and you can't keep towns and schools (or local businesses) running when all you have there are retirees and welfare people and the unemployed. I don't think I am giving anything but a realistic description: Small Town Rural PA is toast, unless your town has a shale boom going.

OP, look at census quick facts before you move. USA QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau
Since you want to be employed, definitely consider whether or not there are opportunities for you. And be aware that in a lot of small PA towns, most of the women are housewives and moms with just a high school education, and they are not very ambitious. This has been a continual problem for me, socially, because I was done with kids and homemaker carp before I moved back here. What I found it the men run with the men and go out and have fun, and the women are largely ignored and stuck at home with kids and household chores. I have gotten real tired of boring small towns people and all the chauvinism here. Just warning you, western PA is not modern-thinking at all.

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by SorryIMovedBack

Canonsburg & Bridgeville are benefitting from proximity to Pittsburgh, and also the Southpointe development. Part of what has driven expansion in the counties around Allegheny is simply the lower taxes. Canonsburg is a sleepy town. Zelie, Slippery Rock, Grove City, I would not locate to. In case you didn't notice, only the more major urban areas are doing okay since the 2008-2009 recession. The smaller towns are all in decline, and are getting into financial straits unless they have shale boosting them. Many manufacturing facilities closed or were sold 2007-now, jobs permanently lost, and you can't keep towns and schools (or local businesses) running when all you have there are retirees and welfare people and the unemployed. I don't think I am giving anything but a realistic description: Small Town Rural PA is toast, unless your town has a shale boom going.

OP, look at census quick facts before you move. USA QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau
Since you want to be employed, definitely consider whether or not there are opportunities for you. And be aware that in a lot of small PA towns, most of the women are housewives and moms with just a high school education, and they are not very ambitious. This has been a continual problem for me, socially, because I was done with kids and homemaker carp before I moved back here. What I found it the men run with the men and go out and have fun, and the women are largely ignored and stuck at home with kids and household chores. I have gotten real tired of boring small towns people and all the chauvinism here. Just warning you, western PA is not modern-thinking at all.

Those three towns are doing great, ignore her posts.

[smallfox]

I'm an Akronite myself and find that Pittsburgh falls perfectly into the "close, but not too close" category.

It's about a two hour drive from the Pittsburgh area and 2h 20m from the Washington, PA area.

[leah.chapin92911]

Sorry it has taken me so long to respond. Thank you all for the input. You have all given me a better starting point that I had hoped for!

[Sealtite]

If you want to move to Pittsburgh, stay to the west of the city proper....within close proximity to the airport. Avoid the eastern suburbs and the Allegheny and Mon river valleys for a plethora of reasons, one being traffic. The second is that those areas are where the highest concentration of Yinzers live.

[dbsteel]

Originally Posted by Copanut

Those three towns are doing great, ignore her posts.

I second that. I go there all the time even though I live in the Pittsburgh suburbs. They are perfectly safe, nice, sleepy little towns. Some people are just complainers

[Pitt Chick]

Originally Posted by SorryIMovedBack

And be aware that in a lot of small PA towns, most of the women are housewives and moms with just a high school education, and they are not very ambitious. This has been a continual problem for me, socially, because I was done with kids and homemaker carp before I moved back here. What I found it the men run with the men and go out and have fun, and the women are largely ignored and stuck at home with kids and household chores.

What?
Where do you live?

That has not been my experience at all!