Questions about relocating to Pittsburgh..moving (Butler, New Kensington: rent, teaching jobs, school districts)

[Hopes]

That's correct. Stay away from New Kensington. (And Brackenridge.) I don't even need to tell you these things. As soon as you see the areas, you'll know you wouldn't want to live there.

If you are set on living less than 30 minutes away, look at Lower Burrell. I'm not sure how good the school district is, but it's a nicer area to live than New Kensington.

Oakmont is 30 minutes away from Cabot. Look there. Nice area.

Also look at Deer Lakes School District. It's only 11 minutes away from Cabot. Although not the best school district in Allegheny County, it's definitely better than most of Butler County's school districts. It's rural, but it's mixed with suburban housing developments.

And seriously consider the other areas I already mentioned.

[love2him]

Thank you!!! I appreciate the suggestions. It is always nice to have some feedback when you have no clue about an area.

Have you lived in the Pittsburgh area for awhile?

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by love2him

Thank you!!! I appreciate the suggestions. It is always nice to have some feedback when you have no clue about an area.

Have you lived in the Pittsburgh area for awhile?

I was born here. I've lived various places throughout the world. But I've lived here most of my life.

Is this your first time relocating? If you decide to make the move, I hope you like it here.

Do you currently live in a rural area, a city, or a suburban neighborhood? What's your preference?

[love2him]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Is this your first time relocating? If you decide to make the move, I hope you like it here.

Do you currently live in a rural area, a city, or a suburban neighborhood? What's your preference?

We first moved to St Louis from Minneapolis 14 years ago. That was our first major relocation. I have lived in the burbs my whole life. We would prefer not to be too rural- which Cabot appears to be. My husband grew up in Philly, so still has family there.

[greg42]

Ah, would prefer not too rural. That will help a bit narrowing down perhaps. Perhaps.

Probably need to go west towards Mars and Cranberry. The roads prevent you from having nicer routings from some of the other desirable suburban areas like Richland and Hampton, though those would also be options. The places in range along the Allegheny mostly aren't appealing. Something like Freeport area would be closer but it might not be less rural enough. Going south of that you get less appealing spots pretty much until you get to Oakmont. West Deer is there, as Hopes mentioned, but it's pretty rural out there. Since you're not necessarily looking to commute to Pittsburgh, it's not as much of a drawback as it is for some people, but it might still seem too rural. So are parts of Richland though.

There are suburban shopping areas along PA Rt 8 in Hampton and Richland, some along the "old" Rt 28 (but mostly farther south, plus the mall near Tarentum right off the highway) and on Rt 228 starting a few miles west of Mars into Cranberry (and also on US Rt 19 in Cranberry). It really kind of depends what feels too rural. Cabot itself I'm confident will feel too rural for you, but it depends upon your priorities otherwise. Larger homes for rent are somewhat few and far between in most of those areas so you may have to use a fairly wide search in order to find what you like house-wise.

Apart from somewhere like Freeport these places are going to take more than 30 minutes to get to Cabot I think. You could get pretty close to Mars in 30 min, or somewhere off Rt 8 that could get you close to Richland (aka "Gibsonia"). Oh and the other place we're neglecting is Butler, but I've never heard anyone say that's appealing. Also, if you're looking for somewhere less rural, we'll assume you might want to go into the city sometimes, and going north of Cabot to live will put you farther away.

[onwardandupward]

I hadn't responded to this post because I had never been to Cabot, but in looking at a map, I see that it's only 30 minutes from Oakmont, which several other posters mentioned. Along with the other suggestions, I would strongly recommend looking at Oakmont. It's a very quaint walkable town with a decent school district, and close enough to Pittsburgh that you could go in for events. With small children, you would be able to go for walks to the park, the library, etc., which you couldn't do in most of the suburbs of Pittsburgh. It's worth checking out.

[love2him]

We will definitely check out Oakmont. My husband is in Pittsburgh right now for another interview. We would definitely prefer to be closer to stuff rather than a rural area. My husband is willing to commute up to 30 minutes. How would traffic be from Oakmont area to Cabot?

[onwardandupward]

Originally Posted by love2him

We will definitely check out Oakmont. My husband is in Pittsburgh right now for another interview. We would definitely prefer to be closer to stuff rather than a rural area. My husband is willing to commute up to 30 minutes. How would traffic be from Oakmont area to Cabot?

As I mentioned, I've never been to Cabot, but looking at Google maps, you would take 28N and then 356N. Assuming your husband works normal business hours, he will be driving against the traffic both ways. The only traffic he would encounter might be getting across Hulton Bridge in Oakmont, but that shouldn't be much of a delay.

[PghVixen]

I live in the Allegheny Valley (actually, halfway between Cabot and Oakmont) and know the entire area well. Oakmont is my favorite town in the entire Pittsburgh area, and that's saying a lot. There is quite a delay on the Hulton Bridge in either direction at almost any time of day. However, once he's across the bridge and heading up to and onto Rt 28 north, he won't have delays and it would take him anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes (more in bad weather). It's about 25 miles between the two. Rt 356 is the main road from Rt 28 (four-lane, limited access) to Cabot (two-lane, businesses and residential) and 356 is slow going in some spots.

Cabot is a very rural village, but has some newer houses here and there. The closest newer and nicer housing developments are in Sarver, which is in the Freeport Area SD (Sarver is a little southeast of Cabot) and Saxonburg, which is in the South Butler SD and is just west of Cabot.

New Kensington is an armpit - stay away.

Highlands SD is not as bad as the other poster says - it's the school board that's a problem. But there are few really nice houses available for rent here.

[PghVixen]

Also, you may want to look at the Mars area and Seven Fields (same zip code). Seven Fields is pretty much a planned town; Mars is an old town but has lots of new developments here and there around it, as well as rural spaces. Both are close to shopping and highways in Cranberry Township, and the drive to Cabot isn't bad, though it's all two-lane back roads - Rt 228 to Saxonburg Blvd and then cut through Saxonburg to get over to Cabot.

But Mars, Seven Fields and Cranberry are all very congested during rush hours. If you are all about quintessential suburban living, soccer moms and SUVs, you'll be in heaven.