Relocating to Pittsburgh (Scott Township, Washington, Robinson Township: best town, rent, evictions)

[Jessiangel1]

I've been pouring through these threads, but I'm seeing older posts, so I figured I would ask again. My husband has been offered a job transfer in Carnegie. I am a legal secretary. We are looking to move most likely south, due to his office. I've read numerous times that Allegheny County has really high taxes and not to move there, but with my husband being in Carnegie, I think that would be our best bet. We have 2 dogs and want some yard and trees for them, so we aren't really looking in the city. We went last week for a few days and checked out the south side and really liked it. I'm wondering if we could get some recommendations for safe areas near Carnegie. From what I've seen, I don't believe we'd actually want to live in Carnegie, but towns around there? Our daughter is grown and getting married, so schools are not that big of a deal, except for resale value of the home. We are looking more for safety, a decent sized yard, quiet/friendly neighborhood and inexpensive. We are hoping to buy a house and due to Chicago's economy, will most likely be landlords for a while. We are relocating from the south suburbs of Chicago, which is not the safest of areas. Thanks for any help!

[shadowfax]

Cecil is a pretty quiet little community that is close to Carnegie but is in Washington County. It was voted the best town in PA to raise a family last year. It would be worth looking into.

[jay5835]

Talk to Goodjules. She lives in a wonderful house in a swell neighborhood. Might be just what you're looking for.

[Tinare]

More information would help to help you target areas, but near Carnegie some areas to look at would be Crafton, Ingram, Scott Township, Robinson Township, Bridgeville, Moon, North Fayette and South Fayette.

Some questions that might help get you better answers -- How much yard are you looking for? Areas close to Carnegie are suburban, is that what you'd like or are you thinking more land than a typical suburban lot? What would be your husband's max desirable commute? What's inexpensive to you as far as home price/what's your budget? What type of house are you interested in (old, new, ranch, colonial, etc.)?

[Hopes]

You don't have to stay in Allegheny County. Parts of Washington County are within reasonable commuting distance.

[Jessiangel1]

Typical suburban lots are fine, I think. We were driving around and noticed quite a few houses and the yards looked a decent size. I'd love to have more land, but with our budget, I highly doubt we can find anything like that. We really want to keep it to about $120,000 max. We will be landlords, and having been landlords before, we've been dragged through the mud with tenants skipping out, not paying rent and evictions, so I'm trying to make sure we can cover everything just in case. Fixer uppers are fine for us. As I said, we've had tenants who have completely trashed our properties, inside and out, so we've been really good at being able to fix up houses. I'm thinking about 30 minutes give or take commute for my husband would be fine. As for the type of house, we are not picky. We have our two dogs, a boxer and a mastiff, so a house large enough for them to spread out and a yard big enough to play with their Frisbees is fine. I' going to look into Washington County and especially Cecile. Any other ideas would be great. Thanks for all the help!

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Jessiangel1

Any other ideas would be great.

You can look anywhere between Washington, PA, and Cranberry Township, PA along I-79.

From Carnegie, Washington, PA is 27 minutes way and Cranberry is 25 minutes away.

You can also go West on 376 or Route 22.

That's a very large area to house hunt.

It's almost all suburban and rural. Almost everything is safe in those directions.

[Burghgirl17]

There are a lot of good areas out that way.

Washington County may be a good option - lower taxes, and if you get a place near-ish to I-79 your husband will have an easy commute to Carnegie. Are you planning on continuing to work as a legal secretary? There are more and more law firms opening up in the Southpointe Area just over border into Washington County. Other than that, you'd be looking at a commute to downtown as that is where most law firms are located.

[keyser412soze]

Originally Posted by Jessiangel1

I'm thinking about 30 minutes give or take commute for my husband would be fine.

I know Washington County/Cecil has been said, but you could also live out in Beaver County (past the airport) and still have a 30 min or less commute to Carnegie. With that range, there's lots of options for places in your price range with a yard, or even 10+ acres.

Good luck!

[Jessiangel1]

Wow, thank you all so much for the help! I had no idea there were so many options in our price range. We plan to make one more trip out there before my husband makes a final decision (hopefully this holiday weekend), and I really appreciate all the target areas. This gives us a great point to start looking.