Hind and Jeff chose to call Venango County home in 2021.
Born and raised in Oil City, Jeff left to work abroad after college. During that time, Hind was hired by an American company to help set up their international office in Dubai, where she was living. Jeff moved to work for the same company and that is how they met.
In 2007, Hind visited Venango County for the first time to meet Jeff’s family in Oil City, and she fell in love with it. They got married a couple of years later and had their son abroad, but throughout the past 14 years, they spent many summers in Oil City.
In 2020, the couple invested in a new business in Pennsylvania, leading to the decision to move to Oil City shortly after. In addition, they are setting up a management consultancy firm to help institutions manage projects, increase productivity, and incorporate efficiency by outsourcing specialized tasks on an ‘as-needed’ basis. “We believe we have a unique approach, skillset, and experience that can serve many local institutions and businesses,” they said.
When asked about finding success here, they told us: “Defining success is very tricky. There is no universal measurement for it, but there is opportunity everywhere! It is more of a mindset.”
Being able to live among family in a place where their child can build his roots, learn how to form long-term relationships, and be part of a great community is one thing that defines their personal success.
“We both grew up in small towns before we ventured abroad and started our careers, and we want our child to grow up the same way and learn to live by the same core values we grew up with,” they said. “Hopefully this will serve him in building his own success in the future and staying true to himself and to what really matters in life. If you are living by your core values, that is great success in our opinion.”
Since moving to the area, Jeff and Hind have enjoyed hanging out with family and friends, golfing, hiking, skiing, camping, and volunteering whenever they can. Jeff loves that he can go hunting with his dad again and Hind enjoys going to the YWCA for yoga classes. “Sometimes we like to go for a drive just to marvel at the great architecture and nature,” they added.
Art and gardening are areas that interest Hind, too, and she hopes to take some art classes and learn more about the types of herbs and plants that grow in this region.
Some of their favorite outdoor spots include Oil Creek State Park and Freedom Falls. You can also often find them enjoying the great selection of craft beer at Scierka’s Tavern in Oil City. While they hope to see more variety of restaurants in the future, they still have a lot of new exciting places to discover, and they try to support local businesses as much as possible, such as stores like Heath’s Market and Core Goods.
Hind and Jeff look forward to building up their businesses here and being more engaged in the community.
“We love meeting new people; there is always something new to learn,” they said. “The affordability and standard of living in Venango is what made it possible for us to move here. It is a great place to raise children. Venango has an interesting history, great architectural charm, established infrastructure and good school system.”