Lewisburg to Pittsburgh area (Lebanon, Butler: real estate, houses, employment)

[jtf1968]

Hi all,

We currently live in Lewisburg and LOVE it. Recently, we've had a good employment opportunity north of Pittsburgh in Warrendale. While we were turned off by Warrendale's strip malls and housing development feel, we want to give the area a weekend of exploration.

Does anyone know of a town like Lewisburg north of Pittsburgh...meaning, good schools, nice downtown, nice community feel?

Any help or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

[Tinare]

Originally Posted by jtf1968

Hi all,

We currently live in Lewisburg and LOVE it. Recently, we've had a good employment opportunity north of Pittsburgh in Warrendale. While we were turned off by Warrendale's strip malls and housing development feel, we want to give the area a weekend of exploration.

Does anyone know of a town like Lewisburg north of Pittsburgh...meaning, good schools, nice downtown, nice community feel?

Any help or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

Close to the city try Sewickley, Oakmont and Aspinwall. Sewickley would be the shortest communte to Warrendale, a straight shot up 79, maybe 20-30 minutes. Aspinwall and Oakmont would probably be about 30-40 minute commute (a bit of a guess).

I'm less familiar with areas closer to Warrendale, but Zelienople has a small main street, I believe that Harmony and Evans City do as well. Wexford is a nice area and a good community near Warrendale, but it is pure suburb with no "downtown".

[Love2Golf09]

Try Harmony, Beaver Falls, Butler. The northern suburbs are a lot newer and have a lot of strip malls and planned developments. You could look at an area south of Pittsburgh, like Mt. Lebanon. It wouldn't take long to get to Warrendale on Rt. 79 and Mt. Lebo has good schools. McCandless is real close to Warrendale and a real nice area i think. It doesn't have a downtown though.

[jtf1968]

Thanks for the feedback. There are a couple of towns we will look in to. I know it's gonna be hard to top Lewisburg, but the employment opportunity is outstanding

[The 6 Million Dollar Man]

Which ever place you decide, make sure that the roads are not under construction or going to be under construction before you make the big move. The reason being that once you move and you find out that you have a 2 hour commute every day to work and back - it will not look so good.
Sewickley would be very expensive, the rich people lives there, Ambridge is a dying town. Valencia or Mars would be a pretty good place to live in my opinion.

[greg42]

Mars might not be a bad choice. Is there much of a downtown in Valencia? I can't remember. I don't know a lot about Lewisburg, but my memory suggests that places like Mars, Valencia, Zelienople/Harmony (these run together) and Evans City probably have quite a bit less going on. But they do have little town centers. Those places and surrounding are in the same large school district (Seneca Valley) as Cranberry Township, except for Mars, which has its own smaller district.

These places are all to the north, though. The I-79 interchange at Warrendale-Bayne Rd is only a half-interchange. You can only exit going from northbound lane, and can only enter going southbound. So if your destination is, say, the tech center on Ericsson Drive or Medrad or on Rt 19 somewhere, you will have to account for getting off in Cranberry and making your way over or perhaps down to Wexford and turning around! Not sure which would be faster, maybe about the same. If it's in the Thorn Hill Industrial Park, it starts to tilt toward Cranberry.

Places like Sewickley, Aspinwall and Oakmont might be closer in some respects to Lewisburg (more downtown businesses, etc.) but they will be longer drives to Warrendale/Cranberry area. Maybe not by a lot. Probably also more expensive housing-wise, except maybe for Oakmont, although Oakmont would be generally regarded as lesser schools (the district is Riverview). They're all closer to the amenities of the city as well, though, which may be more worth it than you think. They'll also have higher property taxes (the initial places listed above are all in Butler County which has lower taxes).

You might want to ask in the Pittsburgh sub-forum, just to cover getting everyone's answer who may not also look here. You never know what other ideas might come up. Or maybe you already did? I don't recall seeing this exact question, but some are similar.

[Rosefolly]

Valencia isn't really much of a town, it's more a mailing address. The Valencia post office is actually located in Middlesex Township, which is a former farming community almost completely converted to housing plans and random houses on acreage carved out of the old farms. Middlesex has an elementary school, a community center and a few shops up and down the highway, but no actual town center. Valencia is even worse, with a population of about 400. Most of the retail and businesses with Valencia addresses are actually scattered randomly throughout Middlesex Township.

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by Rosefolly

Valencia isn't really much of a town, it's more a mailing address. The Valencia post office is actually located in Middlesex Township, which is a former farming community almost completely converted to housing plans and random houses on acreage carved out of the old farms. Middlesex has an elementary school, a community center and a few shops up and down the highway, but no actual town center. Valencia is even worse, with a population of about 400. Most of the retail and businesses with Valencia addresses are actually scattered randomly throughout Middlesex Township.

That's all Warrendale is, for that matter. Same with Wexford, Allison Park, Gibsonia, Glenshaw and McMurray.

Anyway, give Zelienople a try. It's only about 12 miles north on I-79. Or, if you want a slightly larger town and don't mind a longer commute, take a look at Butler. It's about 30 miles via PA 8, PA 228 and I-79.

[ki0eh]

What about Slippery Rock? Don't know much other than just driving through myself.

[airwave09]

Definitely check out Sewickley (the borough). I have spent some time there and in Lewisburg over the years and can confidently say both towns are very similar. You should feel right at home there.

Similarities:

Border a large river
Have a quaint town center/main street
Similar number of bars and restaurants
Similar population
Similar sized school district
Nice combination of newer/older homes
Several nice parks
Large number of churches

Differences:

Lewisburg revolves around Bucknell university right in town = lots of college students/parties
Sewickley is relatively close to RMU across the river in Moon but really the only time you will see college students is when they are on break = relatively quiet at night even on weekends

Sewickley has more money, and the higher real estate prices that come with it.

Sewickley is centrally located to a TON of shopping and amenities within a 25 minute drive.
Once you leave the Lewisburg area, it's nothing but rural farmland for miles and the occasional small town.

Sewickley is only 15 minutes from an international airport. in lewisburg you have to drive over 2 hours to get to the nearest airport.



Anyway that is my take. Also you should have a very easy 15 min commute on I-79 to Warrendale with very minimal traffic.


*Edit - I just noticed that this thread is 5 months old... oh well