To New Castle or not to New Castle, that is the question?!! (Philadelphia: where to stay, apartments)

[fleetiebelle]

A beer in a pub, $1.25,

Really, what kind of beer are you drinking? A pint of good beer usually costs about $4+ plus tip.

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by irish8

The States is a hell of a lot cheaper compared to Ireland! Think I should phone some insurance companies and find out how much insurance might cost on the house we're looking at. I wonder if they would charge more if it wasn't usually occupied? Guess they might, perhaps a higher risk factor.

I think you answered your own question. I remember going through this with my mom's house in the Pgh area after she moved into a nursing home. Although I am late to this discussion, I agree that a $10K house in New Castle or anywhere else is likely to be a dump. I would look at this house first. You can always get an insurance quote.

[irish8]

Originally Posted by Katiana

I think you answered your own question. I remember going through this with my mom's house in the Pgh area after she moved into a nursing home. Although I am late to this discussion, I agree that a $10K house in New Castle or anywhere else is likely to be a dump. I would look at this house first. You can always get an insurance quote.

Looking at a $15,000 house now, yep, moving up...lol $15000! Couldn't get a car in Ireland for that! Anyway, yes, I'll be going to PA soon, if everything goes to plan....and just when you say "ah, that's good...everything's going to plan...." BOOM!.....your'e struck by lightning or something...lol

[Katiana]

^^^ Can't get a new car in the US for that, either!

[alleghenyman]

[SIZE=3]I practice law in New Castle and live in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. I haven’t read the whole thread but here are my thoughts:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]The cost of living in New Castle very low. I would stay away from a $15,000 house unless you want to put some work into it and it’s in a good neighborhood, but a $40,000 house would be a good buy. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Crime in New Castle is low. There is very little violent crime or property crime, but as in other declining industrial cities in the US and Europe, there is a fair amount of drug abuse in the poor neighborhoods. Not all of New Castle is poor. Half of it is a decent place to live, but there is a lot of unemployment. The city has much of the charm of small town America, and is not run down, but the economy is slow. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]People are friendly and helpful. A large part of the population is Italian-American. You will find that people here tend not to be very well-educated, and not that interested in the outside world. The social life revolves around social clubs and some taverns. There is not the sort of nightlife that many young people want. In many ways New Castle reminds me of the small English cities I’ve been to in my travels. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]You could get something a little ways out of town in the country for cheap money. Outdoor recreation in this area is great – Moraine State Park is nearby, Lake Erie, Allegheny National Forest and 3 ski resorts are an hour away. Hiking, boating, hunting, fishing, camping, or anything else people do outdoors is popular around here, and people are ready to take you along on their trips. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
The commute into Pittsburgh takes an hour, Cleveland is about the same. Both are nice cities with fairly slow job markets, but computer skills are in demand and that is a growth industry in Pittsburgh due to Carnegie Mellon University which is a leader in the field. I am partial to Pittsburgh, which is very pretty, has good nightlife, is cosmopolitan and has a low cost of living and low crime rate if you stay out of the predominantly African-American neighborhoods. Honestly, I think Pittsburgh will be less of a culture shock, and you can get a nice house there for $100,000 and have more fun living there. I’d only recommend New Castle if you want to live in the country and have a quiet life.

One other thing to remember - the Northeastern US is culturally very different from the South. A lot of Europeans I've met who haven't been to the US don't understand this.

[Sheryl_Recc]

Irish8:

I drove past your proposed house yesterday. Took some snaps of it. The house, as you said, is medium-large by New Castle standards. Probably closer to large. There is no front yard to speak of....a strip of grass and a sidewalk. As I said, it's on a main road through town but it's one lane each way. Probably a little less heavily trafficked than New Wilmington Pike (Rt. 18) & is a little less noisy. It is past CVS pharmacy at a crossroads. The back yard is quite large, however, you could put a pool back there if you fenced it in, which is probably what I would consider anyway for privacy and increased home value.


I'll e-mail the pics to you as soon as I figure out how to download them...this is my first time doing it!

OK....good evening, Sheryl

[irish8]

Originally Posted by Sheryl_Recc

Irish8:

I drove past your proposed house yesterday. Took some snaps of it. The house, as you said, is medium-large by New Castle standards. Probably closer to large. There is no front yard to speak of....a strip of grass and a sidewalk. As I said, it's on a main road through town but it's one lane each way. Probably a little less heavily trafficked than New Wilmington Pike (Rt. 18) & is a little less noisy. It is past CVS pharmacy at a crossroads. The back yard is quite large, however, you could put a pool back there if you fenced it in, which is probably what I would consider anyway for privacy and increased home value.


I'll e-mail the pics to you as soon as I figure out how to download them...this is my first time doing it!

OK....good evening, Sheryl

Thanks so much for that, Sheryl! Yes, it looks like a large house....compared to Irish homes, it's huge! What would your opinion be of the neighbourhood? Run down, noisy, dirty, rough, dangerous.....I'm not sure which word you might choose (or maybe it's fine?!!!)
It would be great to see the photos but don't worry at all if you can't download them....but if you can great! I can't figure out how to download photos too!

[irish8]

[quote=alleghenyman;2752355][SIZE=3]I practice law in New Castle and live in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. I haven’t read the whole thread but here are my thoughts:[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]The cost of living in New Castle very low. I would stay away from a $15,000 house unless you want to put some work into it and it’s in a good neighborhood, but a $40,000 house would be a good buy. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Crime in New Castle is low. There is very little violent crime or property crime, but as in other declining industrial cities in the US and Europe, there is a fair amount of drug abuse in the poor neighborhoods. Not all of New Castle is poor. Half of it is a decent place to live, but there is a lot of unemployment. The city has much of the charm of small town America, and is not run down, but the economy is slow. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]People are friendly and helpful. A large part of the population is Italian-American. You will find that people here tend not to be very well-educated, and not that interested in the outside world. The social life revolves around social clubs and some taverns. There is not the sort of nightlife that many young people want. In many ways New Castle reminds me of the small English cities I’ve been to in my travels. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]You could get something a little ways out of town in the country for cheap money. Outdoor recreation in this area is great – Moraine State Park is nearby, Lake Erie, Allegheny National Forest and 3 ski resorts are an hour away. Hiking, boating, hunting, fishing, camping, or anything else people do outdoors is popular around here, and people are ready to take you along on their trips. [/SIZE]

The commute into Pittsburgh takes an hour, Cleveland is about the same. Both are nice cities with fairly slow job markets, but computer skills are in demand and that is a growth industry in Pittsburgh due to Carnegie Mellon University which is a leader in the field. I am partial to Pittsburgh, which is very pretty, has good nightlife, is cosmopolitan and has a low cost of living and low crime rate if you stay out of the predominantly African-American neighborhoods. Honestly, I think Pittsburgh will be less of a culture shock, and you can get a nice house there for $100,000 and have more fun living there. I’d only recommend New Castle if you want to live in the country and have a quiet life.

Yes, we know N.C would be of course much quieter compared to Pittsburgh but thta's ok. If we had the funds to buy a home in a nice part of Pittsburgh we would, the only reason we are moving to the States in the future is because house prices in Ireland are too, too expensive...we'd prefer to be mortgage free and concentrate our money on other things. N.C would be similar to a medium sized Irish town,I guess. Although here in Ireland we don't have the same social issues which seem to exist in America...don't get me wrong, we have our fair share of problems of course, we have our rich, our middle class and our poor but the difference that the poor in Ireland are taken care of by the State. That doesn't seem to be how it works in the US. Seems that in the US the poor are left to fend for themselves........ah, the hands off approach. Maybe I am wrong but it seems that many working class families in the States are just surviving....it's not really like that here.

Anyway, thank you for your input, every once of info is needed!

[alleghenyman]

I don't want to give you the idea that there is Dickensian poverty in New Castle. It's a clean, well-kept town with decent people, and it doesn't have the crime or decay of the rough parts of Pittsburgh.

I've never been to Ireland but in England I've been through sleepy old towns where many of the young people move away, and that is what New Castle is like. Like some of those English cities, it has the strong family and neighorhood social ties that keep the place from going down the toilet. It's not a bad place to live by any stretch.

I think about moving here myself for the same reason as you - the low cost of living - but my girlfriend's employment situation prevents this and I like a little more nightlife at this stage of my life.

Good luck to you, if you really know what you want I think you will be satisfied!

PS: sorry my previous post looked so strange, I typed it in Word and the formatting carried over.

[espoba]

Hi Irish8,

I grew up in New Castle and my entire family lives there. It's a great place to raise kids and you're right, you can get an great home at an affordable price. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!