Upper St.clair (Pittsburgh, Lebanon, Upper St. Clair: for sale, real estate, chapel)

[RachelleP]

Hi,
Just wondering if any one has any info. or opinions on Upper St.Clair.I am currently living in Los Angeles and am in search of affordable real estate and a family oriented community.My internet research has lead me to USC.I will be visiting the area ASAP.Thanks for any input

[stevo6]

I live in USC. You can e-mail me. Steve

[binabina]

Hi Steve,

My husband and I are interested in the USC area too. He works for a high-tech company on the West Coast and has 11 years of experience as an elec. engineer working with integrated circuit design. Are there any companies that are worth checking out in the Pittsburgh area that you know of?

[twistedsister52]

Please reconsider USC where you will find somewhat affordable homes, all for sale, because the taxes are sooo high. Even though it is located in Washington, Co. where taxes are lower than neighboring Allegheney Co. The poor folks that bought their homes many years ago, paid them off, and now pay around 5000.00 per year in taxes, are being forced to move.

[drew]

Originally Posted by RachelleP

Hi,
Just wondering if any one has any info. or opinions on Upper St.Clair.I am currently living in Los Angeles and am in search of affordable real estate and a family oriented community.My internet research has lead me to USC.I will be visiting the area ASAP.Thanks for any input

if your currently living in l.a. anything in pittsburgh will be mindboggilingly affordable we moved from boston 10 years ago.upper st. clair is nice although it has probably the highest taxes in allegheny county-the town government has just decided to build a 20-30 million dollar rec center without allowing any public input or vote.the school board is in the process of trying to get rid of the international baccelaureate program of which many citzens feel is religiously motivated.
peters township is next door there taxes are @1/3 of u.s.c. and the school system is as good as is the community

[stevo6]

Originally Posted by binabina

Hi Steve,

My husband and I are interested in the USC area too. He works for a high-tech company on the West Coast and has 11 years of experience as an elec. engineer working with integrated circuit design. Are there any companies that are worth checking out in the Pittsburgh area that you know of?

Bina: I can't recommend anything you, but you may want to search for the Pittsburgh Technology Council to find your way to an answer. There is also Westinghouse/Bettis and Google to look into and I understand Bechtel is coming to town. Most of the tech. industry is in the east end of Pittsburgh, about an hour's commute from USC.
Drew is in part correct about the taxes- they are very high, but they are high all over Allegheny County. Its the county tax that is innefficient , meaning its hard to know what your getting in return for it.
Yes , we've had some controversy with our school board and with this proposed Rec. Center, and I have not been pleased with the outcomes of either. In the broad picture though, USC is still a good fit for us.
One could go to Peters Township just to the south in Washington County and save a bit. Taxes are lower there but home prices are higher. In the end the cost of living differential is smaller than most think....but it is there. Schools are very good in Peters as well.

[rd620]

Anything in the area will seem affordable to a California coast resident. A million dollars buys you a mansion in Pittsburgh. I remember when I was visiting LA and got the tour of Hollywood star mansions and thought "hey you can that same house for $300,000 in the Burgh". As someone stated above it may be a little deceiving because the taxes are high in Allegheny County. Upper St. Clair and Mt. Lebanon are very nice. Fox Chapel is also very nice but I would not call it affordable ... at least by Pittsburgh standards. If you want to be in the city, Shadyside might work for you. These areas tend to be more family oriented with the exception of Shadyside which has a combination of families, singles and students.

Travel north or south of Allegheny County for more affordable housing ... at least as far as taxes go.

Bina,
I am a software engineer so I know some tech companies in the area. Pittsburgh Tech seems to be more software oriented so there are more jobs for software developers than electrical engineers. However, I am sure there are still some places around that are looking for good EE's. You may want to look into Bechtel as a possible employer. I would also check the PGH Tech Council as someone suggested.

[acct]

I have relatives that live in USC and say the real estate taxes are a killer!

[USC55]

Originally Posted by binabina

Hi Steve,

My husband and I are interested in the USC area too. He works for a high-tech company on the West Coast and has 11 years of experience as an elec. engineer working with integrated circuit design. Are there any companies that are worth checking out in the Pittsburgh area that you know of?

Union Switch and Signal is always hiring experienced Electrical Engineers. You can find them on the internet at Union Switch & Signal : Welcome!

[jhprentiss]

I moved here from LA too and we chose Mt Lebanon. USC has a somewhat "bel air" feel, if you want to keep up with the joneses, that's the place for you. The drop off line at USA high school is like a luxury car lot. Anything will be affordable for you, coming from LA.

We chose nearby Mt Lebanon, which has great schools, is closer to the city and more modest homes and people (although a pretty wide range of socioeconomic folk).

If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to help.