Moving to Pittsburgh!?!?!?

[dislal]

I forgot to mention that one as well. I plan to look there as well. Thanks again!

I have lived in Beaver County almost all of my life and I don't think I would ever want to live anywhere else, we have low taxes and low crime rate. I live in a town where most people still leave their doors unlocked.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I had mostly fixed my search on Mt Lebanon, Dormont, Brentwood, Whitehall and Baldwin.

I need to look at towns North, East, West of the city with easy access. I am going to keep searching today. Thank you all so much for your feedback.

I would rethink some of these choices if I were you. There are school districts you have listed that I wouldn't want my kids going to and friends of mine who specifically moved to different areas of the South Hills to get their kids out of these districts.

 

[RAZ24]

South Fayette 15- 20 minutes from downtown. HS is only a few years old, ranked 15 on the list that was offered earlier. Close to everything. Airport is 15-20 minutes away. Shopping malls 2 within 10 minutes. Homes are priced from $150-$600,000 depending on the neighborhood. A nice place to raise a family.

Christine

 

[Doodlebug939]

I would rethink some of these choices if I were you. There are school districts you have listed that I wouldn't want my kids going to and friends of mine who specifically moved to different areas of the South Hills to get their kids out of these districts.

Can you explain a little more which ones were would rule out and why?

Thanks

 

[Doodlebug939]

South Fayette 15- 20 minutes from downtown. HS is only a few years old, ranked 15 on the list that was offered earlier. Close to everything. Airport is 15-20 minutes away. Shopping malls 2 within 10 minutes. Homes are priced from $150-$600,000 depending on the neighborhood. A nice place to raise a family.

Christine

Is this still in Alleghany (sp) county? The houses look really nice and look like a cute suburb.

 

[Doodlebug939]

I have lived in Beaver County almost all of my life and I don't think I would ever want to live anywhere else, we have low taxes and low crime rate. I live in a town where most people still leave their doors unlocked.

Can you give some examples of some towns? Is there easy access to the city?

 

[Kristineamb]

Can you give some examples of some towns? Is there easy access to the city?

Beaver, Beaver County (zip code 15009)...small town, great school, nearby medical center...not exactly convienent to downtown but easy access to the airport and surrounding areas...

 

[mirmartinez]

Can you give some examples of some towns? Is there easy access to the city?

Beaver and Brighton twp both have easy access to 60,(takes you straight to pittsburgh).

Beaver is a small town, the school district includes students from beaver, brighton, and bridgewater. We are so small that we only have two elementary schools. Very clean and low low crime, we too do not lock our doors. The little town is full of parks and they are renovating one of the elementary schools and the other was built in 2005 ( I believe).

 

[Doodlebug939]

Beaver and Brighton twp both have easy access to 60,(takes you straight to pittsburgh).

Beaver is a small town, the school district includes students from beaver, brighton, and bridgewater. We are so small that we only have two elementary schools. Very clean and low low crime, we too do not lock our doors. The little town is full of parks and they are renovating one of the elementary schools and the other was built in 2005 ( I believe).

I was looking online at a development called Aspen Fields. They have some new construction that looks nice. Can you tell me the tax rate? As the properties are just build the website does not list how much property taxes are. The houses are aroun 189K.

 

[turning40withMickey]

Dh's family is from Pittsburgh. They all live in the Ellwood City area. I've always told DH that if we lived up there we would definitely be in the Cranberry area or in Ellwood by the park.

I live in Ellwood City! It is a fabulous place to live, and raise children! Many of my neighbors commute to Pittsburgh, and while that is not for me (I hate traffic), Ellwood is a quaint, small town with excellent schools (teacher here!), a local hospital, and access to everything, though you wont find a walmart or 24 hour anything less than 20 minutes drive.

 

[RAZ24]

South Fayette is in Allegheny County. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Christine

 

[STLDisney_Freak]

I live in Ellwood City! It is a fabulous place to live, and raise children! Many of my neighbors commute to Pittsburgh, and while that is not for me (I hate traffic), Ellwood is a quaint, small town with excellent schools (teacher here!), a local hospital, and access to everything, though you wont find a walmart or 24 hour anything less than 20 minutes drive.

I love it up there. I like to take my kids to ewing park. They could be there all day. My husband's family all still live up there.

 

[Amy]

Someone just sent this to me, and it does a good job of capturing the essence of Pittsburghers:

What Jeff Foxworthy has to say about, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:

If your Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you live in Pittsburgh.

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you live in Pittsburgh

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you live in Pittsburgh

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone
who dialed a wrong number, you live in Pittsburgh

If an old chair left in a cleared parking spot on a snowy street looks to you like a declaration of the sovereignty over that spot, you live in Pittsburgh

If 'Jumbo' doesn't refer to a fictional elephant but means a kind of luncheon meat, you live in Pittsburgh

If you can both 'go up street' or 'dawntawn', you live in Pittsburgh

If Versailles is pronounced as if it is spelled 'versales', you live in Pittsburgh

If 'Vacation' means going anywhere south of the Mason Dixonline for the weekend, you live in Pittsburgh

If you measure distance in hours, you live in Pittsburgh

If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' in the same day and back again, you live in Pittsburgh

If someone offers you an 'ahrn' and ;you know to drink it, you live in Pittsburgh

If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in Pittsburgh

If you carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use them,
you live in Pittsburgh

If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit, you live in Pittsburgh

If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -- you're going 80 and everybody is passing you, you live in Pittsburgh

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, you live in Pittsburgh

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction, you live in Pittsburgh

If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in Pittsburgh

If you find 10 degrees 'a little chilly', you live in Pittsburgh

If you actually understand these jokes, and forward them to all your Pittsburgh friends & others, you live or have lived in Pittsburgh

 

[Kies99]

Here's my take.

First off, let me start out by saying I HATE PITTSBURGH!!! HATE IT! HATE IT! HATE IT!!!

Okay, just kidding. When I was growing up I never lived in a place longer than 3 years so I got used to moving around and new things. I ended up here in Pittsburgh as my dad worked for Alcoa. I was here for 3 years and then a stint in Texas and now have been here since 1985 (OH MY GOD!! ).

I've lived in Bradford Woods (The Village), Shaler, Allison Park and Bethel Park. I work downtown.

I am a graduate of Hampton and Pitt. I bleed black and gold!!

Here's my take:

The NUMBER ONE thing you MUST understand is that the area is sharply split due to topography. You've got three rivers separating the city:

The Monongahela (The Mon), The Allegheny and the Ohio.

The Mon and Allegheny come together to form the Ohio that starts at the tip, known as the Point, of downtown.

Due to this, there are ridges on either side of town, more prominently on the southern side hence tunnels (we call them Tubes). This has caused the city to somewhat segregate each area. You'll find a large percentage of people from the North Hills WON'T go to the South Hills and vice versa. As we like to say, we don't like to cross water!

I've lived in both the North Hills and South Hills and I'd have to say that my preference is for the South Hills. While there is more traffic, it just seems like things are more convienent. Granted, I live in Bethel Park and I am two roads over from South Hills Village (home of the only Disney Store in the area ) which is one of the major malls around town. It also acts as the terminus for the "T" which is the train/trolley system that runs in the South Hills only and goes into Downtown where I work.

You mention Mt Lebanon and $200K. You won't get much for that. Small yard and house most likely (but you may get lucky).

My suggestion is actually going to point you to either Bethel Park or Peter's Township. Depending on how you go, it'd be Mt Lebanon, Bethel Park, Upper St Clair and then Peter's. By the time you get to Peter's, you will find that things start to spread out a bit. Larger plots of land, etc... Bethel Park is in Allegheny County and Peter's places you just over the border into Washington County which I'm told has lower taxes. In both Bethel Park and Peter's you can get a pretty decent house and yard in your price range and you have good schools. They are both convienent to major highway systems and shopping and if you get jobs in the South Hills, traffic is not an issue at all. Also, crime rates are extremely low in these area's.

And I completely agree with what they say about us from the 'Burgh...as a whole, we are probably the friendliest urban area you'll find. I like to say the we're a big city with a small town attitude.