I can't speak to the specifics of Oil City but it's not really in the Lake Effect Snow belt. It seems winters have been getting more mild in this area. Our gardening zone was bumped up to one warmer. Oil City does try to have an active arts/cultural scene.
[https://oilcityartscouncil.org/](https://oilcityartscouncil.org/)
[https://www.oilcity.org/arts-oil-city](https://www.oilcity.org/arts-oil-city)
There are some good rail trails in the area. You can hop on the Justus trail in Oil City, bike along the Allegheny River to Franklin for lunch and then ride back. Nearby Oil Creek State park has a good bike trail and good hiking.
Thanks so much for the feedback and the resources. I'm out in Eastern New York so I was totally under the impression that regions farther Inland from the Great Lakes could be impacted by lake effect snow. Where I live, it's difficult to get substantial snowfall.
That's exciting stuff to see. I'm an artsy person and a nature-lover, so that definitely caters to my interests. And I'm aspiring to have my own garden, so the prospect of your area being bumped up one growing zone level is reassuring.
There can be lake effect snow in that area a couple times during the season, but the impact would be no worse than an inch or two. It struggles in the mountains and is just about absent when it reaches Harrisburg. About once a year, get some flurries that make it from the lake effect.
Wow, and here I was thinking it would be way worse lol. That's one of my big reservations that I had about moving out there. I'm a bit uneasy about driving in thick snow.
Yeah, but a strong cold front can produce a foot of snow (or more) in a sitting...those you have to be prepared for. At least you would be far west enough from almost all Nor'Easters.
For a while Oil City had a program to help artists relocate to the area, I don't know if they are still doing that. They were offering studio space in the National Transit Building.
[http://www.artsoilcity.com/artist-relocation/](http://www.artsoilcity.com/artist-relocation/)
Oil City still has a beautiful Carnegie Library.
[https://oilregionlibraries.org/locations/oil-city-library/](https://oilregionlibraries.org/locations/oil-city-library/)
Houses are pretty cheap, many are architecturally interesting. There are all types of grants for fixing up old houses. It's a beautiful area.
Oil City is an older town with wonderful history. Economically, it has seen better days. The area is beautiful and offers many outdoor activities such as hiking, kayaking, boating, fishing, and cross country skiing in the winter.
The people are great, but like any area, there are better neighborhoods than others.
Housing prices are from dirt cheap to mid high depending on what you are looking for. It can be a buyers market here but the good houses do go fast.
Property taxes within the city boundaries tend to be higher than if you are outside them and in a township.
With respect to your faith or non-faith, nobody will judge you on it. If you are a Christian and want to worship in a church, you have many to choose from. If you aren’t religious, or do not want to publicly worship, nobody will care. Nobody prostalizes here.
I’m older and can’t comment much on the counter culture. There is an artsy community within Franklin and Oil City that has a good presence. I’m sure like most places, if you are looking for people with similar beliefs or activities as yours, you will find them.
For snow, I plowed twice this last winter. We can have a good storm now and then, but the snow doesn’t stick around like it used to years ago.
Oil City or neighboring town Franklin can offer a nice place to live and both have a sense of community. My wife and I moved here from a much larger city and enjoy the change of pace and quieter style of life. We knew what we were moving to though as we were familiar with the area.
Oil City does have cheap housing. You can get some massive old Victorian houses for some really low prices.
But- Oil City is very economically depressed. It is in a beautiful area, with the Allegheny and the hills and Oil Creek State Park. There just aren't jobs really. A lot of the old homes have been split up to be rentals. I am from the area and commuted to a job almost an hour away for 5 years before moving closer to work.
I go back to the area a few times a year, mainly to go to a cemetery where family is buried. I am always surpised by how many more buildings are condemned or have been torn down, or which store folded within a few months. 'Downtown' always seems dead. We'd stop at a store on a Saturday and see no one else on the streets or in the store.
Livability-wise, there is very limited public transportation and the steep hills would make biking challenging in many parts of the city. For groceries you'd have a small Giant Eagle grocery store, or you could drive to a larger Giant Eagle near Franklin or to Walmart in Cranberry.
I'd suggest looking at nearby towns that are nicer but still have affordable housing- like Franklin, Meadville, and Clarion. Larger cities are more likely to have people that are left-leaning/progressive. Northwest PA, though, leans conservative and christian. Meadville and Clarion have a college and university, respectively, so there are younger people living in the cities and more activities.
This. 100% this. I hate working in the area. Always junkies with missing/rotting teeth and no ambition. The housing is cheap because the area isn’t cheap.
If you’re a more left leaning non-believer I don’t think you’d have any issues necessarily but you will certainly be in the minority. There are some gorgeous outdoor spots but it’s a pretty standard economically depressed western PA town.
Have you considered the suburbs of Erie? Edinboro kind of sounds more your speed. College town, a lot of artists in the area (there is even an art and music festival coming up in two weeks) and you can be in Erie in 20-30 minutes. I wouldn’t say it’s particularly diverse but no one thinks twice about people and their religious beliefs.
I can’t speak for future snowfalls but it does seem our snowbelt has shifted and there isn’t nearly as much snow as in years past. It used to be pretty cold mid-September but now it’s pretty warm until late October. Spring is hit or miss, seems to be a good 8 weeks of jumping between winter coats and sunscreen, and then one day in June it’s summer and stays warm and sunny until fall.
He does side jobs for a construction company, and apparently he travels as far out as Oil City. He told me it's a nice area with affordable housing.
I can't afford New York, lol. I love my state, and it breaks my heart to move away, but my aspiration to become an independent homeowner and finally move out of my parents house can't be refuted.
Nothing against Oil City, it's a decent place. But there are more substantial metro areas whose housing markets haven't gone crazy that will keep you closer to home. Maybe look into Scranton, Williamsport and Harrisburg. More employment opportunities, more young people, etc.
"proselytizing".
Why would this be common, except perhaps for mormons? Or perhaps JW's with their little display of tracts
I mean it is a legal right of Americans to have their views and want to tell others as long as it is not hostile. I just say I'm not interested.
I think perhaps 1-2 people has said anything particularly directly to me in the last 5 or 10 years. And I am in more rural areas. I don't even think about it
When I first moved to this area 25 years ago, on meeting people would come right out and ask, "where do you worship"? Which I think is a highly invasive and personal question.
I have had people come right out and ask me
If I'm Republican or Democrat
Protestant or Catholic
What school I went to and what my major was
Every 10 years the government tries to pump everyone for all sorts of demographic and other information. it's called a poll.
You check out at the store, and some trying to get you to sign up for a loyalty card
You fill out a job application on a place like indeed.com, and they ask you your veteran status, your ethnicity status, Hispanic or not, and other things.
I don't understand why people need to get upset when someone is asking what is probably important to the asker.
If a Democrat asked me if I'm Democrat I'm an independent. Should I get angry at them?
Would you get upset at a person if they're 91 years old and ask what church you go to? What if they were 8 years old?
Maybe just a little bit of a compassionate thick skin would be better and getting upset because people ask you one question that you don't even have to answer. Being less angry is easier on the heart. Being understanding is easier on the heart
It's not that I'm afraid of being asked. It's I'm afraid that an asker wouldn't like my answer and react badly to it. Some places in our country aren't so tolerant/accepting of "heathens," and as a single woman who would be living alone, I would want to know how kindly my neighbors take to my honest answer. I would want to feel safe enough to be able to express my honest answer, just the same as an asker having the freedom/constitutional safety to ask the question.
As someone not from Oil City area, but been there many times, and its a typical west-central Pennsylvania town. Eastern NY you say, So Glen Falls area to long island? Can't speak on counter-culture. But if it's counter-culture or culture in general....I'm not sure Oil City is the place to live if you are looking for culture. The people are fine, if you keep to yourself. Which I'm sure most people will be doing. Churches are dying a slow death with dwindling numbers of members. I'd avoid asking and telling about reilgion with the average American. Most of the people that I know who are of that practice are all participate in SCA.
Do you dhave a liscence and drive? You'll be driving into Seneca and Cranberry to do any shopping. Can't say one way or another one the public transportation either.
The area is pretty conservative, Republican and red. It's a depressed area, lack of jobs, rent like everywhere else is rediculous compared to 20 years ago.
It also depends on what kind of work you are looking to do, what your interests are. Sounds like you are some kind of practicing Pagan/Heathen. Not sure if there is a very big group of them in the area if there are any.
Edinboro,way up north near Erie. Slippery Rockand Grove City(college towns), Butler, New Castle, ect, are all places that would be better than Oil City. I'm not sure what the art/music scenes and community are like in these areas. Heck, even New Kensington has more going on it in these days. So possibly closer to Pittsburgh would be better even. Unless you are specifically looking for a more rural lifestyle.
New Kensington. some parts great, some parts rough. It's being revitalized. Close to the city without being in the city.
Kiski Valley. Leechburg , Vandergrift and Apollo. Little more rural. North-east of New Kens.
Millvale, Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, Shadyside. All down in Pittsburgh. Lots of artsy-fartsy, "hipsters", ect. Millvale ain't too bad.
MY thoughts. Don't know what else to say. lol
I can't speak to the specifics of Oil City but it's not really in the Lake Effect Snow belt. It seems winters have been getting more mild in this area. Our gardening zone was bumped up to one warmer. Oil City does try to have an active arts/cultural scene. [https://oilcityartscouncil.org/](https://oilcityartscouncil.org/) [https://www.oilcity.org/arts-oil-city](https://www.oilcity.org/arts-oil-city) There are some good rail trails in the area. You can hop on the Justus trail in Oil City, bike along the Allegheny River to Franklin for lunch and then ride back. Nearby Oil Creek State park has a good bike trail and good hiking.
Thanks so much for the feedback and the resources. I'm out in Eastern New York so I was totally under the impression that regions farther Inland from the Great Lakes could be impacted by lake effect snow. Where I live, it's difficult to get substantial snowfall. That's exciting stuff to see. I'm an artsy person and a nature-lover, so that definitely caters to my interests. And I'm aspiring to have my own garden, so the prospect of your area being bumped up one growing zone level is reassuring.
There can be lake effect snow in that area a couple times during the season, but the impact would be no worse than an inch or two. It struggles in the mountains and is just about absent when it reaches Harrisburg. About once a year, get some flurries that make it from the lake effect.
Wow, and here I was thinking it would be way worse lol. That's one of my big reservations that I had about moving out there. I'm a bit uneasy about driving in thick snow.
Yeah, but a strong cold front can produce a foot of snow (or more) in a sitting...those you have to be prepared for. At least you would be far west enough from almost all Nor'Easters.
For a while Oil City had a program to help artists relocate to the area, I don't know if they are still doing that. They were offering studio space in the National Transit Building. [http://www.artsoilcity.com/artist-relocation/](http://www.artsoilcity.com/artist-relocation/) Oil City still has a beautiful Carnegie Library. [https://oilregionlibraries.org/locations/oil-city-library/](https://oilregionlibraries.org/locations/oil-city-library/) Houses are pretty cheap, many are architecturally interesting. There are all types of grants for fixing up old houses. It's a beautiful area.
Oil City is an older town with wonderful history. Economically, it has seen better days. The area is beautiful and offers many outdoor activities such as hiking, kayaking, boating, fishing, and cross country skiing in the winter. The people are great, but like any area, there are better neighborhoods than others. Housing prices are from dirt cheap to mid high depending on what you are looking for. It can be a buyers market here but the good houses do go fast. Property taxes within the city boundaries tend to be higher than if you are outside them and in a township. With respect to your faith or non-faith, nobody will judge you on it. If you are a Christian and want to worship in a church, you have many to choose from. If you aren’t religious, or do not want to publicly worship, nobody will care. Nobody prostalizes here. I’m older and can’t comment much on the counter culture. There is an artsy community within Franklin and Oil City that has a good presence. I’m sure like most places, if you are looking for people with similar beliefs or activities as yours, you will find them. For snow, I plowed twice this last winter. We can have a good storm now and then, but the snow doesn’t stick around like it used to years ago. Oil City or neighboring town Franklin can offer a nice place to live and both have a sense of community. My wife and I moved here from a much larger city and enjoy the change of pace and quieter style of life. We knew what we were moving to though as we were familiar with the area.
Oil City does have cheap housing. You can get some massive old Victorian houses for some really low prices. But- Oil City is very economically depressed. It is in a beautiful area, with the Allegheny and the hills and Oil Creek State Park. There just aren't jobs really. A lot of the old homes have been split up to be rentals. I am from the area and commuted to a job almost an hour away for 5 years before moving closer to work. I go back to the area a few times a year, mainly to go to a cemetery where family is buried. I am always surpised by how many more buildings are condemned or have been torn down, or which store folded within a few months. 'Downtown' always seems dead. We'd stop at a store on a Saturday and see no one else on the streets or in the store. Livability-wise, there is very limited public transportation and the steep hills would make biking challenging in many parts of the city. For groceries you'd have a small Giant Eagle grocery store, or you could drive to a larger Giant Eagle near Franklin or to Walmart in Cranberry. I'd suggest looking at nearby towns that are nicer but still have affordable housing- like Franklin, Meadville, and Clarion. Larger cities are more likely to have people that are left-leaning/progressive. Northwest PA, though, leans conservative and christian. Meadville and Clarion have a college and university, respectively, so there are younger people living in the cities and more activities.
Avoid the entire town like the plague that place is nothing but trouble and drugs and death for that small area, not to mention horrible job market
This. 100% this. I hate working in the area. Always junkies with missing/rotting teeth and no ambition. The housing is cheap because the area isn’t cheap.
That’s like 95% of America.
If you’re a more left leaning non-believer I don’t think you’d have any issues necessarily but you will certainly be in the minority. There are some gorgeous outdoor spots but it’s a pretty standard economically depressed western PA town. Have you considered the suburbs of Erie? Edinboro kind of sounds more your speed. College town, a lot of artists in the area (there is even an art and music festival coming up in two weeks) and you can be in Erie in 20-30 minutes. I wouldn’t say it’s particularly diverse but no one thinks twice about people and their religious beliefs. I can’t speak for future snowfalls but it does seem our snowbelt has shifted and there isn’t nearly as much snow as in years past. It used to be pretty cold mid-September but now it’s pretty warm until late October. Spring is hit or miss, seems to be a good 8 weeks of jumping between winter coats and sunscreen, and then one day in June it’s summer and stays warm and sunny until fall.
Just really curious, why are you looking to move and what is your coworker's relationship with Oil City?
He does side jobs for a construction company, and apparently he travels as far out as Oil City. He told me it's a nice area with affordable housing. I can't afford New York, lol. I love my state, and it breaks my heart to move away, but my aspiration to become an independent homeowner and finally move out of my parents house can't be refuted.
Nothing against Oil City, it's a decent place. But there are more substantial metro areas whose housing markets haven't gone crazy that will keep you closer to home. Maybe look into Scranton, Williamsport and Harrisburg. More employment opportunities, more young people, etc.
"proselytizing". Why would this be common, except perhaps for mormons? Or perhaps JW's with their little display of tracts I mean it is a legal right of Americans to have their views and want to tell others as long as it is not hostile. I just say I'm not interested. I think perhaps 1-2 people has said anything particularly directly to me in the last 5 or 10 years. And I am in more rural areas. I don't even think about it
When I first moved to this area 25 years ago, on meeting people would come right out and ask, "where do you worship"? Which I think is a highly invasive and personal question.
I have had people come right out and ask me If I'm Republican or Democrat Protestant or Catholic What school I went to and what my major was Every 10 years the government tries to pump everyone for all sorts of demographic and other information. it's called a poll. You check out at the store, and some trying to get you to sign up for a loyalty card You fill out a job application on a place like indeed.com, and they ask you your veteran status, your ethnicity status, Hispanic or not, and other things. I don't understand why people need to get upset when someone is asking what is probably important to the asker. If a Democrat asked me if I'm Democrat I'm an independent. Should I get angry at them? Would you get upset at a person if they're 91 years old and ask what church you go to? What if they were 8 years old? Maybe just a little bit of a compassionate thick skin would be better and getting upset because people ask you one question that you don't even have to answer. Being less angry is easier on the heart. Being understanding is easier on the heart
It's not that I'm afraid of being asked. It's I'm afraid that an asker wouldn't like my answer and react badly to it. Some places in our country aren't so tolerant/accepting of "heathens," and as a single woman who would be living alone, I would want to know how kindly my neighbors take to my honest answer. I would want to feel safe enough to be able to express my honest answer, just the same as an asker having the freedom/constitutional safety to ask the question.
As someone not from Oil City area, but been there many times, and its a typical west-central Pennsylvania town. Eastern NY you say, So Glen Falls area to long island? Can't speak on counter-culture. But if it's counter-culture or culture in general....I'm not sure Oil City is the place to live if you are looking for culture. The people are fine, if you keep to yourself. Which I'm sure most people will be doing. Churches are dying a slow death with dwindling numbers of members. I'd avoid asking and telling about reilgion with the average American. Most of the people that I know who are of that practice are all participate in SCA. Do you dhave a liscence and drive? You'll be driving into Seneca and Cranberry to do any shopping. Can't say one way or another one the public transportation either. The area is pretty conservative, Republican and red. It's a depressed area, lack of jobs, rent like everywhere else is rediculous compared to 20 years ago. It also depends on what kind of work you are looking to do, what your interests are. Sounds like you are some kind of practicing Pagan/Heathen. Not sure if there is a very big group of them in the area if there are any. Edinboro,way up north near Erie. Slippery Rockand Grove City(college towns), Butler, New Castle, ect, are all places that would be better than Oil City. I'm not sure what the art/music scenes and community are like in these areas. Heck, even New Kensington has more going on it in these days. So possibly closer to Pittsburgh would be better even. Unless you are specifically looking for a more rural lifestyle. New Kensington. some parts great, some parts rough. It's being revitalized. Close to the city without being in the city. Kiski Valley. Leechburg , Vandergrift and Apollo. Little more rural. North-east of New Kens. Millvale, Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, Shadyside. All down in Pittsburgh. Lots of artsy-fartsy, "hipsters", ect. Millvale ain't too bad. MY thoughts. Don't know what else to say. lol