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NW Warren is not the bad side (The Olympic Club is in NW Warren), it has bad areas, but no more than the SE side. Traditionally, the SW side is the worst, but people living there will tell you that it's not that bad.......I tend to disagree, but it is what it is. Even Northeast Warren has some bad areas, but overall Warren is not as bad as people make it out to be.
Which part of 169 in Niles are you talking about, Robbins Ave or Niles Rd between Warren and Niles? If you're talking about Niles Rd that is not Niles, it's either SE Warren, Howland or Weathersfield Township. Zip codes are for postal use only. The Niles city limits start at about North Rd if you're coming from Warren. The N. Main St and Robbins Ave area of 169 are nothing like you describe.
Niles may look a little more like PA than Warren because it is hillier, but both Niles and Warren have the working-class vibe, the only difference is that most of Niles is nicer than Warren (save the northeast side). Niles was never really known as a steel town. Niles had a lot of brick factories, tin mills, foundries, GE, etc. There was a Republic Mill in Niles (it's actually probably in Weathersfield Twp off of Niles Rd (169) if you want to get technical).
Warren was the steel town if you're talking about Trumbull County. Warren had a blast furnace and rolling mills at Trumbull Steel aka WCI aka RG Steel aka Severstal. Then there was Copperweld on the NW side. Thomas Steel is still operating on the west side. There's also an area of Warren/Howland Township known as The Golden Triangle where there are/were steel industry jobs and other manufacturing plants. Warren had far more manufacturing jobs, cars, wiring, steel, light bulbs, etc, etc, etc.
People from New Castle have the Pittsburghese accent that many in Western Pa have. You'll hear a lot of that accent in and around Youngstown as well, not so much north of Youngstown. There are a lot of people in Campbell, Struthers, Youngstown, etc that say Yins, Yuns, or Yinz. These people also say "worsh" "tagger (tiger)", etc.
I had to laugh! Of the 10 Worst Places to Live in Pennsylvania - I can agree completely about Wilkes-Barre, and nearby Hazelton, Nanticoke, Wilkes-Barre and Tamaqua. Those are all horrible places in PA, on par with New Castle - which topped the list.
We had the distinct misfortune to live in WILKES-BARRE during the time we "did time" in PA. We tried to purchase a house in W.Pittston - that was when we were denied the right to purchase because "you aren't from PA" and you "don't have local connections to a school or church". No. We had no "connections" to the area, because we were new there.
I live in Warren. We have an authentic, small city, with history, and people who are deeply about it's preservation.
NE OH, as part of the Connecticut Western Reserve, there is a genteel, New England quality to the people, the architecture, and the gently rolling hills, pastoral small towns and farms, dotted with white steepled, churches, town greens and copulas.
My city boasts many stately homes built in the 1900s through 1930s. Styles vary from Neo-Colonial and Tudor, Craftsman, Dutch Colonial and others.
After leaving Wilkes-Barre, the first time we drove down E.Market St. to view our prospective new home, we passed the Covelli building with it's impressive floral display, and a mansion, a golf course, several well maintained churches and a Jewish temple, some man made lakes with fountins - and lovely 100 year old country club. A sign, which has since been up-graded, welcomed us to Warren, noting the year of it's establishment, and proclaiming it as the first settlement of the Connecticut Western Reserve.
I could easily see the pride, and dedicated maintenance of the city.
Yes. Before someone else takes some perverse delight in pointing out that Warren "has a bad area" - like all cities. It's called North West. Don't goo there. Simple.
We have a state of the art HS, from which my daughter graduated last year, with honors. There are a myriad of AP classes, vibrant team sports, and opportunities that do not exist in High Schools in adjoining areas. A few of my daughter's friends came from other areas - Howland and Kinsman - for the opportunities offered at Harding.
The main reason that people avoid Harding, boils down to racism. Which is sad. My daughter, who is Asian, made several good, life long African American friends ay WGH.
I do not get a "PA feel" in Y'town. Most of the people who I know there are connected to the university, though. I have one friend who purchased a home on 5th Ave, and they are restoring it now. It has a ballroom! It is my hope that more people follow in her footsteps.
The closest I can get to a "PA feel" is Niles. It has a very working class vibe, connected, no doubt, to the steel industry.
While driving through Niles, (on 169) I noticed some shabby houses reminiscent of Wilkes-Barre. Rebel flags, and signs, too many old cars etc. The side streets were spotty.
BUT STILL, better than WILKES-BARRE and NEW CASTLE.
Hermitage and Sharon strike me as somewhat better, but not terribly friendly. I am in a college women's club that meets in a church in Sharon. Those people are fine and friendly, from Eastern Ohio and Western PA. But then it's a club of women college grads.
New Castle residents seem to speak with a strange dialect. They say something like "Your'inz" for all of you. What is that all about?
Was that part of PA settled by Hillbillies? There are also a huge number of fundamentalist churches, suggesting an influx of southern Holy Roller types.
I also find the strange liquor laws in PA to be annoying and puritanical.
I know that Pittsburgh has really come up in recent years. I'd like to visit sometime. I have friends from college who live in the Philly suburbs and the mainline. I like that area, as well.
As far as the rest of the state? There is some beautiful scenery. I like the Poconos. But I'll sum it up as "a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there".
Ummm...I am not sure why you think PA is full of hillbillies. I haven't met one yet. I find that they tend to be very East Coast in attitude.
The Pittsburghese accent is a mix dialect picked up from Irish, Polish, and German immigrants.
I rather like Niles, again, never met a hillbilly there.
The PA liquor laws are in effect to give government control over the revenue.
I have never correlated the number of churches to the population of "hillbillies" or "holy roller types". A quick online search shows over 100 churches in the Youngstown area. I wouldn't consider Youngstown to be "hillbilly".
I have bought and sold property in PA and I am not a native. I had recently moved here for my first home purchase. We get transplants moving to Pittsburgh all the time and they purchase homes.
Ummm...I am not sure why you think PA is full of hillbillies. I haven't met one yet. I find that they tend to be very East Coast in attitude.
The Pittsburghese accent is a mix dialect picked up from Irish, Polish, and German immigrants.
I rather like Niles, again, never met a hillbilly there.
The PA liquor laws are in effect to give government control over the revenue.
I have never correlated the number of churches to the population of "hillbillies" or "holy roller types". A quick online search shows over 100 churches in the Youngstown area. I wouldn't consider Youngstown to be "hillbilly".
I have bought and sold property in PA and I am not a native. I had recently moved here for my first home purchase. We get transplants moving to Pittsburgh all the time and they purchase homes.
That's been my experience too. I lived in Scanton. Better that Wilkes-Barre. But not fantastic.
In general, NE PA is not a great place for outsiders. They don't want you. Visit and leave.
I absolutely agree that there is a difference, once you cross the PA border into Ohio. Warren absolutely has a rather patrician past - and present. I don't know of any blast furnaces.
Bruce Springsteen wrote a song about one in Youngstown.
I do know of a country club. Artistic and cultural groups. an American Association of University Woman, Historical groups and charitable organizations. That is the Warren I know.
I am also a fan of Canfield, Poland, Salem, Boardman (beautiful homes in the historic district, and every imaginable convenience) and Middlefield.
Howland has run down white subdivisions from the 60s, and McMansions from the 2000s. As well as a High School known for class warfare. I'll pass.
Not a fan of Kinsman, Champion, Austintown , Braceville or Leavittsburg.
Really, I love to visit rural areas, but not live there.
I don't like NW or SW Warren. I love NE and like SE. Great places to call home.
Howland high school known for class warfare? Really? Howland is one of the most class diverse schools in the area, everything from rich, to upper middle class, blue collar and poor. Howland's run down areas are mostly between 169 and 422 (Youngstown Rd) and their run down subdivisions look like most of Warren lol. There are very few streets in Warren without a boarded up house or poorly maintained home and/or yard.
I have never correlated the number of churches to the population of "hillbillies" or "holy roller types". A quick online search shows over 100 churches in the Youngstown area. I wouldn't consider Youngstown to be "hillbilly".
[quote=CortlandGirl79;43318637]Howland high school known for class warfare? Really? Howland is one of the most class diverse schools in the area, everything from rich, to upper middle class, blue collar and poor. Howland's run down areas are mostly between 169 and 422 (Youngstown Rd) and their run down subdivisions look like most of Warren lol. There are very few streets in Warren without a boarded up house or poorly maintained home and/or yard.[/quot
Howland HS is mostly white. For some people, that's enough to want to send their kids there.
That's about all it has "going for it". And yes, according to many teenagers I know, people are judged by where they live.My wife goes to Cassal's hairdresser and gets an earful.
It's a 1950s burb of Warren.
There are McMansions, and some shabby developments. No older homes or real downtown. Strip malls.
The older homes are in poor shape. I don't think it's a terribly attractive area.
Howland high school known for class warfare? Really? Howland is one of the most class diverse schools in the area, everything from rich, to upper middle class, blue collar and poor. Howland's run down areas are mostly between 169 and 422 (Youngstown Rd) and their run down subdivisions look like most of Warren lol. There are very few streets in Warren without a boarded up house or poorly maintained home and/or yard.[/quot
Howland HS is mostly white. For some people, that's enough to want to send their kids there.
That's about all it has "going for it". And yes, according to many teenagers I know, people are judged by where they live.My wife goes to Cassal's hairdresser and gets an earful.
It's a 1950s burb of Warren.
There are McMansions, and some shabby developments. No older homes or real downtown. Strip malls.
The older homes are in poor shape. I don't think it's a terribly attractive area.
Yes, there are some "Nouveau Riche" developments.
Feel free to like Howland.
Until the 50's Howland was farmland so I don't think anyone would expect older homes. No downtown? In a township?
Howland was developed because people wanted to leave Warren.
The where you live at the high school may be because a large number of students live in Niles and Warren, but in Howland school district. When a city annexes land the school district stays the same. People have had this argument since I went to Howland High School 40+ years ago.
The last time I lived in Howland I lived around Avalon. Nice neighborhood, convenient to shopping, low crime. Golf! Art Museum, nice library. I really don't think an area of Warren could compare. Not the money pit houses around the country club, you can see how low those sell for and how long they are on the market. I see the CC had to change and let anyone with the money in. That is never a good sign.
Warren has declining population. It will never be reversed and the city will drop more and more as time goes on. Howland is not immune, nor are any of the other areas but they will be a decade or so behind Warren.
People were leaving Warren when they had a vibrant downtown, public transportation, plentiful jobs, and great nightlife. Bringing those things back will not reverse the drop.
I'd just like to add that as Pittsburghers we make semi-annual pilgrimages to Mahoning and Trumbull Counties because we enjoy the laid-back "nice" atmosphere. We love White House Fruit Farm in Canfield. We love the Butler Institute of Art; Fellows Riverside Gardens; and Mill Creek MetroPark (including Lanternman's Mill) in Youngstown.
Boardman is very "blech"-looking to me---post-WWII suburbia that has not aged well---but I'm sure it has its fans.
There's definitely a different social atmosphere once you cross the border. Pittsburghers tend to be rushed, aggressive, and somewhat cynical whereas we've been met with gentility in Eastern Ohio.
Until the 50's Howland was farmland so I don't think anyone would expect older homes. No downtown? In a township?
Howland was developed because people wanted to leave Warren.
The where you live at the high school may be because a large number of students live in Niles and Warren, but in Howland school district. When a city annexes land the school district stays the same. People have had this argument since I went to Howland High School 40+ years ago.
The last time I lived in Howland I lived around Avalon. Nice neighborhood, convenient to shopping, low crime. Golf! Art Museum, nice library. I really don't think an area of Warren could compare. Not the money pit houses around the country club, you can see how low those sell for and how long they are on the market. I see the CC had to change and let anyone with the money in. That is never a good sign.
Warren has declining population. It will never be reversed and the city will drop more and more as time goes on. Howland is not immune, nor are any of the other areas but they will be a decade or so behind Warren.
People were leaving Warren when they had a vibrant downtown, public transportation, plentiful jobs, and great nightlife. Bringing those things back will not reverse the drop.
I can assure you that no one is flocking to Howland. Think a little more.
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We tried to purchase a house in W.Pittston - that was when we were denied the right to purchase because "you aren't from PA" and you "don't have local connections to a school or church".
No. We had no "connections" to the area, because we were new there. 
