Best suburb to raise a family in?? (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh: 2015, rent)

[JessL85]

Okay, background. Our family consists of me (26), hubby (30), 2 dogs, 2 cats, and a baby girl (currently 4 months). The move in question could happen as early as late this year or as late as early 2015 (depends on if the Army decides to med board or reclass my husband). We currently live in southwest TX and we would like wherever we move to next to be somewhere we are going to be settling down in for the long haul.

We both grew up in Maine and do not want to move back there, but do want to move back to the East Coast. It is important to me that we are w/in driving distance of family. My family is in ME and NY, his is now in VA. I've been thinking more and more of Pennsylvania being a potentially being a good fit, but I do not have much personal experience with the state - just what I've read online.

My husband would be looking for work in the IT field. As for me, eh, I have some degrees but they aren't incredibly helpful alone (bachelors psychology, sociology) and I currently work at a daycare and am strongly considering going back to school to be a nurse.

What we are looking for - my husband strongly does not want to live near a big city (we lived outside of DC and he was not a fan), so I'm thinking Philly is out. So perhaps a suburb of Pittsburgh?? Or maybe even Harrisburg? My ideal town would be one of those places that you can stroll down the sidewalks and there are quaint little shops and charming bistros and stuff like that, and there are cute festivals to attend and pretty green parks and all that, maybe a local theater. But I'd be fine living NEAR a place like that if living IN a place like that is not feasible/affordable for us.

A good school district IS crucial though, even though it won't be necessary for several more years. Nice playgrounds nearby would be nice too. A decent starter home for, ideally, under or around 200k (we'd likely rent for about a year or so first, so finding a house right off the bat isn't necessary). Someplace safe, obviously! Nightlife (as in clubs, bars) is not important, family friendly is.

Wow, I wrote more than I intended, so bonus points if you get through all that. Thank you in advance for any advice!

[PeterRabbit]

More than you're looking for . . .

Borough of Oakmont Pennsylvania

[JessL85]

Originally Posted by PeterRabbit

More than you're looking for . . .

Borough of Oakmont Pennsylvania

Thanks! That definitely looks like a good possibility!

Earlier I stumbled upon Hampton Township (it was listed as one of the best places to raise a family on familycircle.com), so it seems like Allegheny County, as a whole, might be a good place to look?? Looks like there are some nice suburbs there...

[ker8]

I'm not really sure how far away from the big city you want to be, nor what you consider a big city. I mean, Pittsburgh is one. True, not as big as Philadelphia or DC, more like the size of Baltimore/Cleveland.

If you want to look at smaller cities/towns, you might try State College. Downtown State College (http://www.downtownstatecollege.com/pages/events - broken link)

I mean there are a lot of cute little towns scattered throughout PA. I'd also check out Indiana and Bedford as two options. Bedford might be a little small, but I find it charming (to be fair, I've never lived in Bedford, these are just observations from visiting).

[Lion11]

Originally Posted by ker8

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If you want to look at smaller cities/towns, you might try State College. Downtown State College (http://www.downtownstatecollege.com/pages/events - broken link)

State College would make sense to me. It is a small city, and isn't located near any large cities. Downtown has great shops and restaurants and it is extremely family friendly. There are great festivals, such as first night and arts fest, and the parks are great. For under 200K, a nice 3 bedroom, 2 bath house could be bought. If you want a small city away from any metro area, State College could be something to look into.

HappyValley.com - State College and Penn State Football, Restaurants, Bars, Attractions, Sports and Entertainment

[ki0eh]

In Harrisburg area, try within the borough limits of Camp Hill, Carlisle, Mechanicsburg, Hummelstown, maybe Hershey (CDP limits, no borough).