Possible Relocation To Pittsburgh Region (York, New Castle: city hall, rent, home)

[WILWRadio]

Hello everyone. I am looking for some honest feedback concerning the development of a small business and relocation to a suitable community near Pittsburgh. It’s a pretty complex issue with a variety of factors that have to be taken into consideration before I can make a decision. I am hoping that I can get some solid advice and relevant information and opinions from the people that live in or have experienced the Pittsburgh area.

The business is going to be a small community oriented radio station. An Adult Contemporary Oldies format with news, sports, weather and community information etc. Not a large corporate entity but a Mom and Pop operation with a limited broadcast radius of a couple of miles or perhaps a bit more. We need a city or town with a sense of community and a reasonably healthy Mom and Pop business district. Corporate owned businesses are not likely to advertise on our radio station. We also need to be in a community that does not really have a local station to serve the area and if it does have such a station the market needs to be big enough to support a second local station or the other local station(s) would have to be owned and programmed by corporate owners with syndicated fare and not live and/or local. The station will also be a training ground for aspiring broadcasters.

Now for the challenging part. In addition to the above criteria I also need to find the following in my potential new community.

1) A City Hall that will not try to insinuate itself into a Federally regulated business. I ran into a problem in a small village in New York a few years ago when the corrupt City Hall tried to regulate my business out of existence even before it got off the ground. I’d like to avoid this again.

2) Some job opportunities in town or in a nearby city. Pittsburgh and Youngstown seem adequate.

3) My business partner has a mixed marriage. He’s a Caucasian from Alabama and his wife is a Native American from Nebraska. We’ll need a place that will welcome them. I am from Connecticut and don’t perceive too many cultural differences in PA like I’ve found in my current area in the Midwest.

4) I am a Conservative/Libertarian (not Republican) and my business partner leans more to the left. We need a place that will be open minded and accept different social and political beliefs.

5) A community that welcomes new business concepts and is small business friendly.

6) Affordable housing to offset the higher taxes in PA. I plan to pay cash for a home and don’t want to be saddled down with a mortgage.

To date I’ve had a few recommendations from various people in radio but now I’d like to get feedback from people outside of the world of radio. Presently on my list I am looking at Carnegie, Crafton, Bellevue-Avalon and Ellwood City.

A couple people recommend locating in a college town because allegedly they will be a bit more open minded and culturally diverse. Often times college towns are the best small business incubators in the country!

I won't be making my final decision for about six months. Based upon everything I’ve passed along to you I’d like to get your feedback on which places, on my list in your eyes, best meet all the above criteria. And if you can add any other places I would be willing to keep an open mind and I’d give them a look.

[Katarina Witt]

I don't know what you mean by job opportunities, but there are very few in Youngstown, and Pittsburgh can be difficult to find a job in. There are a few college towns around, the biggest one being Pittsburgh. Beaver Falls has a college, but I wouldn't consider it a college town by any stretch of the imagination. Slippery Rock, Edinboro, and Grove City are fairly near. I cannot imagine why you would want to locate in Ellwood City. It is a dying, maybe already dead, mill town. Ellwood City didn't have much of a business district when the mill was running, much less now. Plus, EC is 97.8% while, which wouldn't be good for your partner. Look up the stats on city-data.

I don't know much about business climate, etc, can't answer those questions. I don't mean to sound like a wet blanket; I think it sounds like a great idea. I just don't think there are jobs in Youngstown or much of any business climate in Ellwood City. Beaver Falls has its own radio station, has had for MANY years, so that probably wouldn't be a good place.

GOOD LUCK!

[South Range Family]

I didn't want to be the first one to reply to this. Here are my two thoughts though. I would hardly call white and Native American a mixed marriage. Nobody would even notice or care about that around here. Most would just assume she is Italian. Still, the only ones that really care about mixed marriages, are the people in them.

The radio idea. It could be a good idea. I'm just having a hard time grasping something like that around here. KDKA, WKBN, and 104.7 (I think WPGH) are the big dogs around here. They are what most people listen to for talk and local information. Plus there are numerous other music formats to fill any need. My gut says this is not the place you are looking for.

[Katarina Witt]

LOL, I didn't want to be the first one either, but 'fools rush in'. Though I think it's a great idea, I don't know if it would fly.

[WILWRadio]

Thanks Pittnurse for the detailed response. And thank you to the others for also weighing in. I appreciate the candor. I will put the wet blanket by a warm cozy fire in the fireplace and let it dry out.

I brought up the race issue simply because where I currently live (Kansas City) there are real racial problems out here. Same thing with Oklahoma (where my friends currently live) and parts of Kansas and Nebraska and Missouri. In New England and most of NY it should not be an issue but I don't know the Pittsburgh area well enough to simply guess how things might turn out.

This radio concept should work well in your area. Currently a group is doing this in East Liverpool, OH and they have a lot of support from City Hall on down. Having checked the demographics that place is more destitute than Ellwood City or even New Castle. The suburbs I listed all are more prosperous than any of these communities. In fact, the friend that recommended Ellwood City used to have the top ranked talk show on WBVP and WMBA in the Beaver Falls area. The larger stations don't have the ability to adequately cover each and every community in a large metro area and this is why hundreds of these little stations are now taking to the air in order to service niche markets located in various cities and metro areas.

My friend will be doing something in the medical field (probably a Phlegmbotomist) and his wife, like yourself is a nurse. I am presently a courier in Kansas City and I may be able to secure such a position in the Pittsburgh area. I do a few medical routes to area hospitals and quite possibly I could latch into something like that too. I'm a stingy New England Yankee that knows how to squeeze every last drop out a penny. I can get by on far less than most people because I won't be paying any rent or have a mortgage.

[Katarina Witt]

I will put the wet blanket by a warm cozy fire in the fireplace and let it dry out.

LOL! I acutally hope you succeed. Pittsburgh has about the same amt. of racism as most everywhere. There is not, as you know, a large Native American population in Pgh.

[Tallysmom]

WILW, I don't know where you are right now, but I strongly suggest visiting and checking out the areas you suggested. I can't imagine Ellwood City being good for anything -- it's downtown was barely existant when stuff was happening there.

Bellevue/Avalon I am familiar with, as my sister lives near there. It has a small business district that is trying to do some exciting things, but it's skewing young, so your Adult oldies format might not be what they want.... unless your Adult Oldies are the Dead Kennedys and the Ramones (Gabba gabba hey!)

Also the other places, and Bellevue are in Allegheny County -- or close enough that the predominance of WDVE -- classic rock with a share of 9.0 and KDKA -- news/talk with a share of 7.5 (number one and two stations in the market) will make it a real tough go for you to carve out that niche....

I'd almost say you'd be better off in Grove City (Westminster College) or Meadville (Allegheny College) -- they would still be technically in the Pittsburgh market and within range, but these are the kinds of towns that would be poorly served by the non locality of "local news" on those stations.

And reagrding your partner's wife, I would think in a small college town, it wouldn't matter... however in the past few months I've been stunned by the racist garbage I've been hearing from my residents, and I live in the Bay Area CA, land of the Uber Political Correctness Police....

Oh -- and let me say this -- My husband and I own a small janitorial business and I am a heavy user of the medium, and for some strange reason I find it fascinating, so I keep up on ratings... but I really don't know the radio business at all...

[WILWRadio]

Thanks for the good advice. I will be visiting the area in a week to ten days to more thoroughly check out these communities. I am currently in Kansas City. The place is becoming a mini version of California. No thanks, they can have it.

I have been to Ellwood City but I have not seen it in four years. Carnegie has been a couple of years since my last visit. I've not seen the others. The median age of Bellevue's residents is over 36 years old. Still an older community be society's standards. But if the 20 somethings are moving in and starting up businesses I cannot program a station that will appeal to them. My station will appeal to people that like 60's music to late 80's music.

I am also looking at some communities in New York state. Demographically they might be better places for this idea but I won't be making a firm decision for a while and until I've completed the fact finding mission I am engaged in currently.

Do you own a Jani King franchise or are you an independent?

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by WILWRadio

Thanks for the good advice. I will be visiting the area in a week to ten days to more thoroughly check out these communities. I am currently in Kansas City. The place is becoming a mini version of California. No thanks, they can have it.

I have been to Ellwood City but I have not seen it in four years. Carnegie has been a couple of years since my last visit. I've not seen the others. The median age of Bellevue's residents is over 36 years old. Still an older community be society's standards. But if the 20 somethings are moving in and starting up businesses I cannot program a station that will appeal to them. My station will appeal to people that like 60's music to late 80's music.

I am also looking at some communities in New York state. Demographically they might be better places for this idea but I won't be making a firm decision for a while and until I've completed the fact finding mission I am engaged in currently.

Do you own a Jani King franchise or are you an independent?

Totally independent! Hubby lost his security management job in 1997, they gave him two weeks (lay off) to finish off as many projects as he could... the same day he got the notice, his friend who owned a janitorial company was commisserating with him --our friend was given two weeks notice from an employee who had to stay home to care for his very ill wife. So the day one guy quit, Brent became a janitor... and a year later we opened our company...

A few months after he started, I quit the bank and joined him....

[JoeP]

I assume if you are planning on starting a station that you are aware of the existing stations are in the Pittsburgh market and fringe areas. As you have mentioned by the towns you named, that's likely where you would have to be

Though New Castle might be a better bet than Ellwood City. It's bigger and the "city" of Lawrence county.

Bellvue and Carnegie are Pittsburgh, but in name.

You'll likely have to be outside of Allegheny County.

See what's in Washington, Greensburg, Uniontown or in a county perhaps outside of the metro.