Moving to Pitts -- question about Pleasant Hills (Pittsburgh, Penn Hills: insurance, houses)

[Bonegirl]

We're moving to Pittsburgh area this summer. In my internet searching, a lot of inexpensive houses keep popping up in Pleasant Hills (15236). What kind of area is this? Is there a reason why everyone's moving out? Is it close to a train line to the city? We're also considering something like Ross or Hampton Township, or Bethel Park area. How do these compare with Pleasant Hills?

Thanks for any ideas.

[kgold97]

Hi. A couple years ago, I moved from the Cleveland's suburbs to Pittsburgh's south hills. Pleasant Hills is your typical post WWII suburb. In my opinion, it doesn't contain much charm. Its is home to strip plazas and a bunch of chain stores. The same can be said of Ross Township.

For accessibility to the trolley, Bethel Park would be the best option. Prior to moving to the inner city, I lived in Bethel Park and took the trolley into work. Bethel Park is broken into 3 areas and is one of the largest suburbs. Overall, you can't really go wrong with Bethel Park. It has a park, a mall, and a few trails nearby.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by Bonegirl

We're moving to Pittsburgh area this summer. In my internet searching, a lot of inexpensive houses keep popping up in Pleasant Hills (15236). What kind of area is this? Is there a reason why everyone's moving out? Is it close to a train line to the city? We're also considering something like Ross or Hampton Township, or Bethel Park area. How do these compare with Pleasant Hills?

Thanks for any ideas.

It all depends on where you are working at, but Pleasant Hills is a rough commute into the city and Oakland. When the suburb was built up, it was a good bedroom location for many of the thousands who worked at National Tube, Duquesne, Clairton and other major industrial enterprises in the Mon Valley. Those employers are long gone but the houses are still there, so the supply of middle class housing is pretty high considering the demand in that sector. High supply leads to depressed prices, I doubt that you'd find many homes less than 30 years old in zip code 15236


Ross and Hampton are a lot easier trip into the city by car, the school districts are more highly rated than in Pleasant Hills.


The LTR cars from town go through Mt. Lebanon, Shannon, Bethel Park- none go to the north and none to Pleasant Hills. Although busses from Pleasant Hills do ride in on the dedicated South Busway avoiding much of the traffic.

[markson33]

Pleasant Hills is kind of a blaw place, with bad access to the city. The South Hills as a whole is more difficult from a commuting standpoint than the North Hills.bethel Park is nice enough, but very convenient.

If you are traveling into the city to work Ross would be much more convenient. It's similar to Bethel Park, but with better access.

This question really depends on where you will be working or commuting to. Pittsburgh really isn't that easy to get around in, so pay close attention to what tunnels and bridges you have to traverse.

[Bonegirl]

I'll be working from home, and probably my husband as well. So we're not too concerned about commuting, although we intend to take in many cultural events in the city (we usually prefer public transit for that kind of thing). What we'd really like is someplace like Mt. Lebanon, which we've ruled out because of the high taxes and the way everything is so squished together. We'd like a big enough lot so that we're not staring into our neighbors' windows. We love the charming, older homes (1925-1957ish). And we'd like something with a real "town" feel, where you can walk around.... Someone on here referred to another township and said, "there's no 'there' there," and we'd like someplace where there's a 'there.' Would Bethel Park fit the bill, or is there another place that would be better?

School district matters also, and we've filtered out certain "yes" areas and certain "no" areas. But it's still confusing because some houses we've looked at say "assigned" next to a school name, and some seem to be allowing you to choose between several nearby schools. Is this correct?

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Bonegirl

And we'd like something with a real "town" feel, where you can walk around.... Someone on here referred to another township and said, "there's no 'there' there," and we'd like someplace where there's a 'there.' Would Bethel Park fit the bill, or is there another place that would be better?

You're probably referencing me, as I frequently criticize Cranberry Township for being home to tens of thousands of people yet simultaneously feeling like it has no "there" or "sense of place", so to speak.

Have you considered Oakmont? It's a great small town about 15-20 minutes northeast of the city along the Allegheny River. It was a wide median splitting its two main drags (one of them being old-fashioned brick instead of asphalt), numerous small businesses (including the awesome Oakmont Bakery), a great library, decent (not excellent) public schools, and a true sense of community. Charm oozes out of every pore of the borough. The homes vary in terms of era and lot size, but there may be something that would suit you well. I personally love Oakmont and would live there myself if not for my love of the city.

[onwardandupward]

I'll second Oakmont - it sounds very much like what you're looking for. A real small town feel, with good schools (Riverview School Disctrict). You'll find "better" schools with higher ratings, but because the school district is made of of Oakmont and a smaller, more disadvantaged town next door, the overall test scores reflect that.

I know of many academics and professionals who send their kids to Riverview, and they turn out to be just as high-achieving as their parents.

Just my $.02.

[Bonegirl]

Yes, SteelCity, I think it was you I referenced about "there". Anyway, thanks for the tip, I hadn't heard of Oakmont. I just looked it up on the map and, well, it's right near Penn Hills, which I keep reading scary things about on this forum! On the other hand, it does sound delightful, since bakeries and libraries are two of my favorite things! One concern we have is about flood zones. How close can you be to a river and not have to worry about being in a flood zone or having to buy flood insurance?

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by Bonegirl

We love the charming, older homes (1925-1957ish). And we'd like something with a real "town" feel, where you can walk around.... Someone on here referred to another township and said, "there's no 'there' there," and we'd like someplace where there's a 'there.' Would Bethel Park fit the bill, or is there another place that would be better?

Neither Bethel nor Pleasant Hills is really a "town" town, more like groups of subdivisions.

Crafton might be a good choice, an easy public transit trip into the city on the West Busway and a lot more towny kind of town with larger older homes.

[escilade18]

Originally Posted by Bonegirl

Yes, SteelCity, I think it was you I referenced about "there". Anyway, thanks for the tip, I hadn't heard of Oakmont. I just looked it up on the map and, well, it's right near Penn Hills, which I keep reading scary things about on this forum! On the other hand, it does sound delightful, since bakeries and libraries are two of my favorite things! One concern we have is about flood zones. How close can you be to a river and not have to worry about being in a flood zone or having to buy flood insurance?

The part of Penn Hills that borders Oakmont is not the bad area of that municipality (which tends to be the part of Penn Hills closer to East Hills/Homewood.) I am not aware of a flooding problem in Oakmont, and it does have more of a 'town center' feel to it than Bethel Park or Pleasant Hills which are more Suburbia with shopping malls and plazas having more of a prominent role.