new kensington, vandergrift (Pittsburgh, Lower Burrell, Arnold: hardwood floors, low crime, houses)

[unionjack3902]

We will be relocating to ptt area in 18 months or so and wondering what the plusses minus's are of new ken and/or vandergrift. We are both adults no children and will becoming from Birmingham alabama which has a MUCH WORSE crime rate, juveniles 17 and under off the streets weekdays by 9 pm or a $500.00 first offense fine! Housing seems cheap there and we are orig from new england where the houses are usually well over 100yrs old and still in great shape, but even so we dont mind a fixer upper if it has "character". Any and all thoughts will be appreciated

[PAgirl2020]

There are mostly older houses in both areas. I don't know where you need to commute for work. New Ken is closer to Pittsburgh, by about 20 minutes or so. I'm not sure why you're either Vandergrift or New Ken, there are some places around/in-between them such as Leechburg, Allegheny Township, Lower Burrell -- you may want to consider them as well. New Kensington/Arnold has some bad areas. You will be able to find a house in any of the aforementioned areas for a good price.

[rothbear]

You might want to look a bit further north into Armstrong Co. as well. Very low property cost with some nice homes, and pretty low crime rates.

[Jay_F]

Originally Posted by rothbear

You might want to look a bit further north into Armstrong Co. as well. Very low property cost with some nice homes, and pretty low crime rates.

Plus, no vehicle emission test required!

[unionjack3902]

As I mentioned birmingham is HIGH crime the 6th highest per capita in the nation, so crime might be nothing there to us. It does however tend to be centralized in the african american sections of town here. Already over 55 murders this year !!!! Mostly looking for a victorian, or 20's bungalow style, maybe a craftsman also, hardwood floors NO repeat NO Home depot wood paneling. The idea of out of the city where you can hear the crickets chirp at night would be a HUGE pluss LOL.

[PeterRabbit]

You're right-on about Birmingham's numbers. We (another site) had it at 53 murders around August 12 and on our charts it is rated at #6 in the country.

I don't think New Ken is as dangerous as it is run down. It's a former mafia town and they left during the 1970s. In the 1960s in the afternoons and weekends you couldn't find a parking spot downtown. If you live right in town you won't likely be hearing crickets. In Vandergrift that might be all you hear. As others have mentioned, you will be able to find what you want at a good price in just about any area around there. You might like Creighton which is kind of across the river from New Ken. There's access to a newer main highway there which would get you to the stadiums or downtown in a hurry. The zoo is even closer. Largest mall in Western Pa a couple miles away.