Fox Chapel Schools: Good or Bad? (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh: transplants, public schools, to live)

[bluecarebear]

Originally Posted by erieguy

Until Chuck's went out of business you were a fan of Zelienople. I was just through Zelienople. Very little has changed before crossing the bridge.

Though entertaining, Cranberry should be the first as that's where the majority of false comments are posted about. The county line brings on a lot of assumed and clouded info.

And after crossing the bridge...the Cranberry sprawl has spread past Zelie now.

That Cranberry is expensive? It is. I would recommend doing what others have. Move past Cranberry and Seneca Valley - To the west, north, and east. Those that move out there don't go to Cranberry. It's avoidable. Even Slippery Rock is seeing a rise in housing prices and new development. Beaver, Lawrence, and South Butler (route 8) is getting the growth from those exiting the city.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by bluecarebear

And after crossing the bridge...the Cranberry sprawl has spread past Zelie now.

That Cranberry is expensive? It is. I would recommend doing what others have. Move past Cranberry - To the west, north, and east. Those that move out there don't go to Cranberry. It's avoidable. Even Slippery Rock is seeing a rise in housing prices and new development. Beaver, Lawrence, and South Butler (route 8) is getting the growth from those exiting the city.

I like Cranberry. Been here over 15 years.

Sure there's growth to all sides. Lots of people from Zelienople come to Cranberry. So do those from other areas. Your dislike of the area isn't followed by many...but I have no issue with less congestion if they decide to patronize other areas.

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by gladhands

That's not how data works. The first link in my last reply shows ALL the current listings and actually shows the median price (399,900 for units with at least 2br).

Here's up to date data from the West Penn MLS.


In the last 360 days in the North Allegheny SD there have been 193 houses sold with 17 of those under 100K. None of these are condos.


There are currently 148 active listings, again no condos, ranging from 27K to 2.9 million. 19 of those are under 200K. I've driven by the 2.9 million dollar listing, wouldn't pay more than 2.7, but that's just me.

[safak]

Originally Posted by erieguy

Without even looking I'll easily say $650k isn't mid-tier in Sewickley.

You think its higher than that?

If you just look at active listings right now, yeah it does seem a little higher, but when you see whats sold there etc I'd say mid tier is solidly in the 500-700k range.

[Paul2421]

Originally Posted by gladhands

I will back off my 650k claim with regard to that particular school district. The data still supports my point that 300k puts you on the low end of that district. In all fairness, my original claim was that 650k puts you in the mid tier of most desirable areas, not adjacent areas that share a school district with more desirable areas. That said, I recognize that a lot of people choose their location based on school districts, so it counts.

I still say 650k puts you in the mid tier of Fox Chapel, Sewickley, Squirrell Hill, North Oakland or Shadyside.

I kind of get what you are saying but it is pretty condescending to cherrypick the richest areas of the metro area as the only ones as desirable.

[gladhands]

Originally Posted by lettert

I kind of get what you are saying but it is pretty condescending to cherrypick the richest areas of the metro area as the only ones as desirable.

This is a fair assessment. Aside from those areas, and Mt Lebo, along with a handful of city neighborhoods with bad schools (this post was initially about schools) like Lawrenceville, Highland Park, Regent Sq, Southside Flats, and pockets of the North Side, there really isn't much in metro Pittsburgh that the average transplant is going to find appealing. People coming from the Northeast likely prefer more urbanized suburbs than those in the Pittsburgh metro area. Those coming from the South and West will be sorely disappointed with our housing stock.

[corpgypsy]

Having moved more than 10 times across and around the country (USA) and adding 3 more relocations to and from Pittsburgh, I'd have to wholeheartedly agree with gladhands' generalization:"People coming from the Northeast likely prefer more urbanized suburbs than those in the Pittsburgh metro area. Those coming from the South and West will be sorely disappointed with our housing stock."

[RogersParkTransplant]

I don't know. I lived in Boston for 8 years and Pittsburgh's Northside reminds me a lot of the Boston neighborhoods that I would never be able to afford. I grew up in California, but that has made me all the more enthusiastic about Victorian architecture. I think it's the natives who sometimes have a hard time seeing the appeal of Pittsburgh because they take certain things for granted, but really there are all sorts of people who like all sorts of things.

[Paul2421]

Originally Posted by gladhands

This is a fair assessment. Aside from those areas, and Mt Lebo, along with a handful of city neighborhoods with bad schools (this post was initially about schools) like Lawrenceville, Highland Park, Regent Sq, Southside Flats, and pockets of the North Side, there really isn't much in metro Pittsburgh that the average transplant is going to find appealing. People coming from the Northeast likely prefer more urbanized suburbs than those in the Pittsburgh metro area. Those coming from the South and West will be sorely disappointed with our housing stock.

I can't disagree with what you are saying but it essentially boils down to "upper class people will like upper class areas". Nothing to see here and I don't really see your point.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by safak

You think its higher than that?

If you just look at active listings right now, yeah it does seem a little higher, but when you see whats sold there etc I'd say mid tier is solidly in the 500-700k range.

$650k is higher than mid-tier.

What's sold is different than what's available or what property values are in the area.

A lot of properties available in Sewickley well below $650k. Lots of misconceptions that Sewickley is nothing but extremely expensive housing.