YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Ronell and Talena Strickland of Austintown liken Mahoning Valley residents to Southerners.
“Ohio has a Southern feel to it – it does,” says Talena. “The people – they’re more welcoming.”
The couple and their four sons moved to the Valley from Pittsburgh last August, drawn by lower taxes, housing costs and overall prices.
“This area reminds me more of home,” Ronell says. “I’m originally from Florida.”
Warren and Susan Fisher moved to Youngstown from south Philadelphia about a year ago. The lower cost of living attracted them too, particularly housing costs.
“We had a 1,400-square-foot house – we called it an inverted shoebox,” Fisher says.
The three-floor structure was surrounded by neighbors on three sides, with houses packed close together and no yard. Their house had a one-car garage but as a two-car family, locating a parking spot for the second car was a constant struggle.
“Taxes on that were almost $8,000,” he says.
Fisher and his wife were in the restaurant business for about 25 years, but the area started to decline, and they closed the businesses. He started working as a handyman, but the couple decided they needed to move someplace more affordable.
Fisher started looking at other parts of the country, searching for an affordable, suburban home. They tried a few other places, including Susan’s hometown, Warren, Pa., but found high prices there too.
“And then my wife says, ‘What about Youngstown?’ Because she used to go to Cedar Point when she was a teenager,” Fisher explains.
He’d never heard of it, so he found YouTube videos, including some from The Business Journal, and liked what he saw. They contacted a real estate agent who found them a house near Mill Creek Park – with a yard – for about $165,000. The same house in Philly would have been about five times that much, Fisher says. And annual property taxes total about $1,600.
Time for Change
The Stricklands’ Beechview neighborhood of Pittsburgh started to change, prompting their decision to relocate.
“And we have teenage boys, and at a certain age, that’s where, basically you go left or right with your friend group…,” Talena says. “And we just didn’t want to give them an option. It was time for a change.”
They looked in other areas of Pennsylvania but couldn’t find anything they liked that was in their price range.
“We were looking for more quiet, more space, and we were looking for diversity in the schools,” Ronell says.
They started looking in Ohio and Ronell liked what he learned about the Austintown Local Schools both in terms of educational quality and racial diversity.
It took them a bit of time to find the right house, but since they did, they’ve been welcomed to the neighborhood. Neighbors introduced themselves and brought housewarming gifts. The Stricklands love the quiet of their township street.
Their sons, Ronell Jr., 17; Jeremiah, 15; Esaias, 11; and Elijah, 7, are doing well in school, involved in sports and other activities. And the family found Greater Life Church in Youngstown where they’re attending services and meeting new people. They’re also getting involved in the community. Talena volunteers at the schools and Ronell coaches youth football.
Population Initiative
Receiving new people to the Mahoning Valley has been a focus of the Population and Talent Expansion initiative of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber and Eastgate Regional Council of Governments for about two years. Retaining young people, returning people who have left the region and receiving newcomers comprise the initiative’s three Rs.
As part of that, the Regional Chamber recently launched a You Are Welcome website with information about businesses, educational institutions, property taxes, entertainment and outdoor attractions as well as video testimonials from people who relocated or returned to the Valley.
“It’s just promoting the area in general, to anyone, anywhere in the world that is searching and looking for information about Youngstown-Warren, just to try to find out what we have to offer,” says Brenda Linert, Chamber director of community impact.
The website, which will continue to evolve, highlights Valley attributes in the live, work, play and learn categories, offering a broad view.
The chamber will kick off what it calls Youth Impact this summer. Chamber members with interns employed this summer are planning a day or two when all of the interns will gather. Speakers will talk about the area’s strong points and there will be entertainment.
“The goal is just to get them to engage with one another, engage with other young people in the community and with local businesses to try to show them what our area has to offer, and hopefully get them interested in staying here beyond college graduation,” Linert explains.
Lower Costs
Fisher and the Stricklands both point to the lower overall costs as well as taxes in the Valley compared to the cities where they lived previously. Even gasoline is less expensive, they note.
Both men offer home repairs and handyman services. Susan Fisher is retired, and Talena Strickland works as a direct support professional, helping people with disabilities.
She continues to work near Pittsburgh, making the two-hour drive. The pay there is much higher than she could earn for similar work in the Valley, she says.
The Stricklands miss the variety of ethnic food, like African and Caribbean, in their former city, but they have no regrets about their move. They have a yard for their sons who adjusted well to their new schools, a larger house in a nice neighborhood and less expensive bills.
“It’s much more peaceful here,” Ronell says.
Fisher is impressed by how quickly the city responded to issues he had upon moving into his South Side neighborhood, pointing out months passed before similar tasks were completed in Philadelphia. He enjoys walking the couple’s dog, Saber, in the park every day and chatting with the people he meets and he, his wife and the dog love their yard. He’s still making improvements at the house – which its most recent owner used as a day care – to make it their own.
And he’s glad they made the move.
“The cost of living and then it’s just a whole better attitude of the people,” Fisher adds.
Pictured at top: Ronell and Talena Strickland pose behind the Austintown home they bought last August. The couple and their four sons relocated from Pittsburgh.