Up and coming middle income towns in the Pittsburgh area?

[selltheburgh]

Originally Posted by Copanut

Blecch, the epitome of boring suburban living.


Try Shaler or Ross.

Are they very different?

Monroeville has good restaurant options at least.

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by Imagen

I have to say, I really like the architecture of those areas and it's convenient to town and northern pgh, where my husband works. I'll have to take a closer look with an agent and get a feel for the area.

I looked at Highland Park, Regent Square, Edgewood, Aspinwall, Bellevue, Ben Avon, Avalon, Carnegie, Crafton, Brighton Heights and more. Visit as many places as you can that have the kind of architecture you want in your price range that are within your acceptable commute distances. The other factor is what is on the market when you're ready to buy. There were areas I would have preferred to Crafton but there was nothing on the market that I liked when I was ready to buy. It's not that I disliked Crafton, it's just there were other areas I liked a little better for a variety of reasons. Crafton was in my top five so it's not like I settled for less. The house I found had the right combination of features and location and it felt right. I have no regrets so far. In fact I'm quite happy here. It really makes a difference when you feel that you are choosing between areas that you know fairly well. Good luck!

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by Imagen

Thank you for the replies. To expand on what we're looking for, I'll go into greater detail. As far as the house, we actually prefer older. No older than 1920's. I love Craftsman although we'd consider any kind of architecture but prefer 2 story homes and are looking for a minimum of 3 bd, 1 ba. I'd be willing to live as far away as Cranberry or as close as Brookline for example, as long as it's an easy commute to town. Preferably no more than 30-45 min. outside of downtown pgh. I don't like living in "The boonies", I like the diversity of urban living however I like my space..I don't want to live right on top of my neighbor. Gosh..maybe I'm looking for something that just doesn't exist in this town? lol! I feel like I'm being pretty open to all possibilities though. I understand that the term "middle class" is subjective or sadly even obsolete nowadays. Honestly, to describe my ideal town - Blue collar, modest but well cared for homes, safe/low crime rate, decent school district, convenient to shopping..I don't mind driving.

robrobrob, you may be right. Part of me thinks that maybe I'm just delusional as far as what we can afford vs. what we should be able to find. It would certainly easily explain why I simply can't find anything we like in our price range. I just can't wrap my head around the possibility that you can't find anything less than $200,000 without compromising your children's education and safety in this town.

I would look at Emsworth. Part of the Avonworth School District which is pretty good and much better than Northgate. Ben Avon which is upper middle class is part of Avonworth.

Cheswick and Springdale are also safe blue collar towns with decent schools.

I think the trick is to find a blue collar town that is in the same school district as some more affluent areas as opposed to a blue collar town that is in the same school district as some lower income areas.

[Rodeno]

Dormont...

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by Rodeno

Dormont...

Taxes are way too high.

[Imagen]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

I think the trick is to find a blue collar town that is in the same school district as some more affluent areas as opposed to a blue collar town that is in the same school district as some lower income areas.

I think your on to something there. My challenge is to identify those towns and research them.