Relocating to Pittsburgh from Cincinnati (Butler, Franklin Park: fit in, how much, new home)

[Bridget816]

Hi everyone. My husband is being relocated for work. His office will be in Conway PA. I have searched and I don't find much about living there. Should I assume we will be living in Pittsburgh? We have a 3 year old, so preschools/schools are important. Currently we live in a 4 bedroom 3000 square foot house for 300k. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[SteelCityRising]

Hello Bridget, and welcome in advance to PA!

Conway is actually a considerable distance to the northwest of Pittsburgh in Beaver County. Two communities I'd investigate for your relocation would be Sewickley or Beaver. There are a lot of declining former Industrial-Era towns lining the Ohio River here, but these two places in particular seem to have a bit more charm and character to them than most.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Bridget816

Hi everyone. My husband is being relocated for work. His office will be in Conway PA. I have searched and I don't find much about living there. Should I assume we will be living in Pittsburgh? We have a 3 year old, so preschools/schools are important. Currently we live in a 4 bedroom 3000 square foot house for 300k. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Sewickley is less than 10 miles away and a very easy drive. I would look there first. It is a really nice town and you live in a nice home now. You might not get as much home there, but the town is worth it, IMHO. Aleppo is right there and you may find something cheaper if you want to look into that.

Schools in that area are generally good as long as you are aligned with Sewickley.

[I_Like_Spam]

You can find homes of the size you live in, for about that price in Marshall and Cranberry Townships which aren't much more than 20 minutes from Conway.

Cranberry is in lower taxed Butler County, Marshall is in the North Allegheny School District which is one of the area's highest ranked school districts in terms of the usual metrics of test scores.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

You can find homes of the size you live in, for about that price in Marshall and Cranberry Townships which aren't much more than 20 minutes from Conway.

Cranberry is in lower taxed Butler County, Marshall is in the North Allegheny School District which is one of the area's highest ranked school districts in terms of the usual metrics of test scores.

^ True. If you're looking for a newer suburban setting, Bridget, then you'll want to investigate places like Marshall Township or Cranberry Township. If you want a "historic small town" type of setting then Sewickley, followed by Beaver, would be your closest options. As was just stated North Allegheny (Marshall Twp.) ranks highly for academics, as do the Sewickley schools. I can't speak for Cranberry or Beaver, but I'd presume at least Cranberry ranks well because it has a high concentration of educated people.

[SuburbanPioneer]

You can't go wrong with Marshall Twp, especially if good schools are important. There are many new homes available in your sq footage and price range in that area, especially towards Wexford end of the township. From there you also get the easiest access to the city (I279), the airport (I79) and the turnpike (I76).

Cranberry is another good choice. Lot's of new housing (which means many young families), lower taxes (different county) and relatively good schools. Regarding the school district there, it is not as good as North Allegheny SD, but mostly because it's not a mature SD yet and it doesn't have as many different programs as the NASD does.

[robrobrob]

Just my two cents. I would think that you would have to up your budget in order to get a house of that size in some of the areas mentioned. My sister lives in Mason, OH and she has a nice house about that size and I don't think I could buy something comparable for what she paid. A 3000 square foot house is much bigger than you think.

I know someone who bought the cheapest house in their Heartland Plan with few if any upgrades and paid 400,000 for a 2000 square foot house. Pittsburgh isn't the bargain that Cincy is.

[greg42]

Conway is a small town on a hill along the Ohio River in Beaver County. I live a few miles up the hill from Conway in Economy Borough, which borders it. Conway itself I would term a generally working-class area with older homes. The flat area where it meets the river is a large rail yard for Norfolk Southern. You can live there but I wouldn't call it the most appealing place.

A 4 bedroom 3000 sq ft house sounds like a suburban house, although I don't know that for sure. Unless you have a desire for more urban environs, looking way down in the city (at least 30 min drive away from Conway to the nearest part of the city) isn't particularly convenient.

Some of the good folks here have already put up some good suggestions on where you might want to start a search for homes:

Sewickley area: Sewickley proper and its surrounding municipalities are generally upscale and in the highly regarded Quaker Valley school district. This is in Allegheny County and many people who live there work in Pittsburgh. Although it has an upscale reputation, the properties and areas run the gamut from something like Leetsdale (right on the river, at the Beaver County line, has an industrial park right by the river and lower end housing) to Sewickley Heights (large multi-acre estates, some with old mansions, million dollar plus homes). Spots like Leet Township and Bell Acres are along the Beaver County line and have some reasonable options while still being in Quaker Valley school district. These are rural areas in parts. And Aleppo Township is another such option, although this will put you a little less convenient to Conway as it is on the south end of the Sewickley areas, closer to the city instead. Some of the in-town houses in Sewickley might work as well.

You may also want to look at Beaver. This would be in the other direction, north, but Beaver Area school district is good and it could be a good option if you want to live in a town rather than more suburban or rural type housing. Beaver Area schools do cover a couple of surrounding townships, but I don't know much about them or their desirability. Living in Beaver does put you much farther away from the attractions in the city.

Wild cards include the aforementioned western parts of Marshall Township (or Franklin Park really as well) in the N. Allegheny school district. These are also fairly rural in the western parts (west of I-79). You could also go into the growing Cranberry Township area (school is Seneca Valley) and still be in Conway from parts in about 20 min, which is similar to the drive time from some of the other areas mentioned.

You do have to watch because you can easily find yourself in a somewhat less accessible place that ends up being a 30+ min drive to Conway even while sticking within some of these environs that seem close by. This is simply because of where the main highways are and where they aren't.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

A 3000 square foot house is much bigger than you think.

.

It is indeed, I looked up my brother's 4 br 2 1/2 bath home and its "only" 2300 sq feet although it seems awfully big.

These folks might well be a bit flexible with their price- if they can't be flexible about what size home they can fit into. Depends on how much furniture they have to bring.

[Bong477]

The northern suburbs of Pittsburgh are all pretty nice and will be a reasonable drive. The naming is somewhat confusing, but things you should look for include Pine, McCandless, Wexford, Franklin Park, Marshall, Cranberry, Sewickley. Aside from Sewickley, they all fall into the nice American suburb category. Sewickley has a bit more character and charm. Schools are good in all of them, with some minor relative pros and cons.

You might not be able to find 3000sqft with 4 bedrooms for under 300k, but you can find a nice home for under 300k. Make sure you account for high property taxes in your housing budget, they can really catch you off guard depending on where you are coming from and you may have to reduce your home price by as much as 20-25% to get the same housing payment. Taxes are less in Cranberry which is a different county.