Castle Shannon (Bethel Park, Lebanon, Upper St. Clair: mortgage, house, school district)

[annie101205]

Can anyone tell me about Castle Shannon? Is it a nice place to live? Good school district?

[ExPit]

Seems like castle Shannon is one of those "not quite" places... not quite as nice or as expensive or good a school district as Mt. Lebanon. Not quite as suburban as Bethel Park, or convenient as Dormont or Greentree, but in the same Keystone Oaks School District, which is not quite as good and not quite as bad as others.

[right-here-i-say]

Has potential, but just like the rest of the PIttsburgh area, the whole school district thing makes sure Castle Shannon will always be lower middle class / poor.

[Pitman]

Originally Posted by right-here-i-say

Has potential, but just like the rest of the PIttsburgh area, the whole school district thing makes sure Castle Shannon will always be lower middle class / poor.

That is a bit harsh, Sure the school district is average, but Castle Shannon is not a poor or even lower middle class area. In comparison though it is surrounded by nicer, higher income areas (Mt Lebanon, Bethel Park, Whitehall). I wouldn't worry about settling down in Castle Shannon, but it wouldn't be my first choice either.

[annie101205]

thanks for all the post regarding Castle Shanon. It sounds like I will be looking else where.

[Copanut]

I wouldn't be so quick to rule out Castle Shannon. It's a decent area with working class people and professional types. If you like small town living the area of CS that abuts Mt. Lebanon golf course is true Leave it to Beaver land. The T runs through CS and you can take advantage of all the amenities that Mt. Lebanon offers. Don't write it off so quickly.


Google maps has a street view of the area, check it out.

[screechybat]

I have lived in Castle Shannon since 1996 when I bought my house there. It is quiet, clean, safe, has an excellent school district (my kids are 7 & 9), is close to everything, has excellent public transportation, the taxes are lower than many surrounding areas, the people are friendly and the community has much to offer. If you want to live in Mt Lebanon or Upper St Clair for status, go right ahead. But you'll pay through the nose for taxes. My family is perfectly happy growing in Castle Shannon, and we don't have to worry about huge mortgage payments to make if we experience a job loss.

[bboy36win]

Originally Posted by screechybat

I have lived in Castle Shannon since 1996 when I bought my house there. It is quiet, clean, safe, has an excellent school district (my kids are 7 & 9), is close to everything, has excellent public transportation, the taxes are lower than many surrounding areas, the people are friendly and the community has much to offer. If you want to live in Mt Lebanon or Upper St Clair for status, go right ahead. But you'll pay through the nose for taxes. My family is perfectly happy growing in Castle Shannon, and we don't have to worry about huge mortgage payments to make if we experience a job loss.

Actually, the millage rate is higher in Castle Shannon than in Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair.

2008 Total Millage rates (county + municipality + school district):
Castle Shannon Borough: 33.90
Mt. Lebanon: 33.47
Upper St. Clair: 29.74