If you’re reading this article, you have some interest in Mansfield, Ohio. Perhaps you’re thinking about moving to Mansfield, or you’ve recently moved to Mansfield, or you already live in Mansfield. Whatever the case, you probably already know something about Mansfield.
Mansfield, Ohio is best known for it’s old prison. If you didn’t already know, the prison was in the movie, Shawshank Redemption, which starred Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins. While the movie takes place in Maine, the movie was shot in the Mansfield and surrounding communities during the 90’s. The prison is no longer in use for corrections but has become a tourist attraction. They feature ghost haunts to satisfy those that into the ghost stories. The prison itself has also hosted at least two episodes of Ghost Hunters over the years. During the Halloween Season, the Mansfield Reformatory has a haunted house that takes place in the prison- The perfect backdrop. The prison is creepy just looking at it from a distance. In front of it, stands two prisons.
When you arrive in the city of Mansfield, you’ll find that downtown can be a maze of streets. Roads will be two way and suddenly become one way, then a few blocks later, be two way again. One such road is Mulberry Street. You’ll also find that there is absolutely no organization to the traffic lights at all. If you drive, you will go through brakes. Make sure you have a lifetime warranty on your brake pads. By taking advantage of the lifetime warranty, you’ll get your money back when it’s time to replace those brake shoes! Of course, that only covers your parts, it doesn’t cover labor. At times, it seems like the city purposely programmed the lights so that you would get caught at every red light. I’m personally convinced the city has a deal with the local auto repair shops; in exchange for programming the traffic lights like this, they receive a commission off of each brake job the auto repair shops do. That’s the only thing that makes sense.
If you want to go shopping, head out to Ontario where you’ll find most of your popular stores such as Best Buy, Walmart, JoAnn, Sams Club, Meijer, and more. You’ll also find many restaurants over there, although to date I have not found one restaurant that has decent food in Ontario. From my own personal experience eating at national name restaurants, the food is terrible. There are several reviews on Associated Content that back up this claim written by other writers as well. For some of my own reviews, please visit my profile page by clicking on my name at the top of the article. I have found 2 decent restaurants in this town.
Housing in Mansfield is very affordable, depending on what you’re looking for. The average apartment/duplex is between $250-$400. This is very affordable for even minimum wage jobs. Keep in mind that with lower rents, you can’t expect Beverly Hills neighborhoods. Crime is well known in Mansfield, and there is a huge drug problem in the area. Even the innocent bystander can quickly become the victim of a crime. By taking precautions, you can prevent this from happening.
You also need to be careful who you associate with. Individuals that may seem trustworthy could very well trying to gain your trust in an attempt to steal from you. Even myself is not immune to this, I’ve had several items stolen by people that I thought could be trusted.
Jobs can be hard to find in this area unless you specialize in a specific trade. There are jobs available, you just have to know how to find them. I have found an abundance of jobs since coming to Mansfield and have actually had to turn down several full time job offers. It’s all in how you present yourself, what you look for, and what you specialize in. Retail and fast food jobs are the hard jobs to get as not only are you competing against teens, you’re competing against everyone else who has been layed off from factories that have no other skills. Minimum wage is what you’ll find at many of the jobs that most people try for.
Medically, you aren’t going to want to trust the doctors in Mansfield. Talk to anyone in town, ask them about their experiences. Read feedback about the doctors. This past summer, one individual went to the hospital with bed bug bites and a heat rash. They told this person it was scabies and prescribed medication for scabies, which obviously did not work. In August of 2011, someone went to the hospital in an ambulance with several stomach pains; so severe that she couldn’t walk. They made this lady get out of the ambulance, go into the waiting room, and wait her turn. She waited 2 ½ hours to be seen. These are only a couple of hundreds of horror stories about the medical system in Mansfield.
Activities in Mansfield seem to lack. While the radio advertises that Richland county is a great place to live, plenty of things to do, the reality is that there isn’t that much to do. Many things lose their perk after visiting a couple times. There are places such as Kingwood Center, Malabar Farms, the state reformatory, and the carousel downtown.
The town itself seems to have been neglected as time moves on. Industry has moved away. There used to be several steel mills in the city which have since left. Still, all cities have their goods and their bads. Living towards Ontario, you’ll find life a tad more pleasant. The yards are better kept, the drugs aren’t as rampant, and the rents are a little higher. For the commuter, Mansfield is an hour drive from Cleveland, Columbus, and Akron. If you’re a salesman, Mansfield is an excellent jump for 75% of the population of Ohio being an hour away. It’s a small town with a large town feel.
The scenery in Mansfield varies depending on where you are at. The area is covered with rolling hills, streams, and plenty of trees. There are multiple churches in the area, as well as many food pantries. Some churches host free lunches and dinners for those that cannot afford meals. If you’re on food stamps, this helps supplement your food stamps and allows you for an evening out by yourself, with a friend, or even your whole family.
Mansfield takes a lot of rap because of the crime. The police do have somewhat of a quick response if you dial 9-1-1. You’ll find that you will want limited contact with the police department if at all possible, however. For me, that’s one topic that I’m not going to write about.
I came to Mansfield in May of 2011 for a temporary job. I was a resident of Western Michigan. There are some very noticeable differences between Ohio residents and Michigan residents that I’ve noticed. One final thought; In Mansfield and surrounding areas, they seem to be obsessed about the game, “corn hole”. In the words of George Carlin, that’s a prison activity. In Michigan and everywhere else, we call it a bean bag toss. Whatever happened to good ol horseshoes for a BBQ game?
Till next time, peace out and good luck!