Considering relocation to Pittsburgh (Bethel Park, Plum: middle-class, townhouse, transfer)

[QueenB2912]

Hi all~

My family is thinking about moving to Pittsburgh and I need some help!!

Employment is not a concern as it would be a transfer for my husband. We have two kids...one entering 7th grade in the fall and one entering kindergarten. My husband will be working close to downtown and is willing to commute ~ 30 - 45 minutes.

My top 2 priorities are housing & schools. Ideally I'd like a 4br/2.5 ba (basement would be great) for under 205k. Could do 3br/2ba but would need a basement for sure.

I understand there can be drawbacks to anyplace, so please no negative posts. Thanks so much in advance

[Hotlanta2]

Originally Posted by QueenB2912

Hi all~

My family is thinking about moving to Pittsburgh and I need some help!!

Employment is not a concern as it would be a transfer for my husband. We have two kids...one entering 7th grade in the fall and one entering kindergarten. My husband will be working close to downtown and is willing to commute ~ 30 - 45 minutes.

My top 2 priorities are housing & schools. Ideally I'd like a 4br/2.5 ba (basement would be great) for under 205k. Could do 3br/2ba but would need a basement for sure.

I understand there can be drawbacks to anyplace, so please no negative posts. Thanks so much in advance

Oh my, there are so many places to live that are nice for families. If you could tell us what is important to you in the type of neighborhood you are looking for I'm sure everyone on this forum would be more than happy to assist you in finding the right place for you.
Are you a city person? Do you like rural? Suburbia? A 45 minute drive will allow you to choose just about anywhere to live!

[mattjd]

Originally Posted by QueenB2912

Hi all~

My family is thinking about moving to Pittsburgh and I need some help!!

Employment is not a concern as it would be a transfer for my husband. We have two kids...one entering 7th grade in the fall and one entering kindergarten. My husband will be working close to downtown and is willing to commute ~ 30 - 45 minutes.

My top 2 priorities are housing & schools. Ideally I'd like a 4br/2.5 ba (basement would be great) for under 205k. Could do 3br/2ba but would need a basement for sure.

I understand there can be drawbacks to anyplace, so please no negative posts. Thanks so much in advance

For $205k, you have a lot of options in some nice, middle class areas, but obviously you wouldn't be getting a spectacular 4BR house for that price.

If you want to live in Allegheny Co. and pay high property taxes, then you should look into Ross Twp, Jefferson Hills, Plum, Bethel Park, South Park, etc. But, you can certainly find houses for that price in areas like Wexford, Allison Park, and Moon Twp. too. There would be a lot of homes available for you in Monroeville and Baldwin, but you can find better schools than Gateway and Baldwin.

If you are ok with living outside of Allegheny, then I'd suggest you look into Westmoreland Co. at Trafford, Hempfield, North Huntingdon, and Murrysville. All have excellent school districts and, depending on how close you are to the highway, could be 45-1hr commute, although the parkway east is unpredictable and can be real nasty at times.

If I were in your situation, I'd concentrate on Bethel Park and Ross. You would find a whole lot to choose from, plus these are good, middle-class communities, and it's doubtful that your home would lose much value here in the next 30+ years. The commute from these areas also isn't too bad, especially if you could find a house fairly close to the T in Bethel Park.

[JoeLeaphorn]

What is "close to downtown"?

In my experience, there is no such thing from the perspective of traffic. Pittsburgh has a tremendous congestion problem in that all roads converge on a very small area of the city known as the Golden Triangle. Bordered by water on two of the three sides, and relatively small as a city center goes, the "last mile" can be the worst in terms of parking and getting to your place of business.

[QueenB2912]

Thanks guys!

Hotlanta2 ~ I'm pretty easy going in the way of what I'm looking for. I'm not a big city girl, but I do like to have the basics close by. I guess what's most important to me is to live in a nice, safe community with good schools and recreational sports. My daughter plays soccer and my son will be playing sports soon too ~ soccer, baseball.

We're just your average middle class family so I don't need anything upscale, but I also don't want a total fixer upper. My husband has a friend that lives in Washington (E. Washington I think) and they really like it. Not sure if that commute would be too long?

"Close to downtown" means less than 5 miles out ~ I believe north.

[Hotlanta2]

Originally Posted by QueenB2912

Thanks guys!

Hotlanta2 ~ I'm pretty easy going in the way of what I'm looking for. I'm not a big city girl, but I do like to have the basics close by. I guess what's most important to me is to live in a nice, safe community with good schools and recreational sports. My daughter plays soccer and my son will be playing sports soon too ~ soccer, baseball.

We're just your average middle class family so I don't need anything upscale, but I also don't want a total fixer upper. My husband has a friend that lives in Washington (E. Washington I think) and they really like it. Not sure if that commute would be too long?

"Close to downtown" means less than 5 miles out ~ I believe north.

Since you already have a friend in Washington, I suggest Peter's Township. It is a beautiful suburban area, with some rural parts thrown in there. It has top ranked schools, a brand spanking new Rec Center, tons of parks, great sport teams (for your son & daughter to become involved in) and it's not too far from downtown. I'd say it would be somewhere around a 30 minute drive downtown. It's an up and coming area with some rather large estates and all the homes are kept up very nicely. Plus the taxes are less than they are in Alleghany county. You'd also have the option to shop at either the South Hills area (Upper St. Clair) or Washington with their brand new Giant Eagle, Super Wal-Mart, Target, Petsmart, Sam's Club, Lowes, etc.
Type in Peter's Township on Realtor dot com and see if anything pops up that interests you. I wish you the best of luck!

[QueenB2912]

Thanks Hotlanta 2 ~ I appreciate your help. One more question....what do you all consider high taxes? We live in NJ right now & our taxes are about 5k/year for a 3br/2ba townhouse!

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by mattjd

For $205k, you have a lot of options in some nice, middle class areas, but obviously you wouldn't be getting a spectacular 4BR house for that price.

If you want to live in Allegheny Co. and pay high property taxes, then you should look into Ross Twp, Jefferson Hills, Plum, Bethel Park, South Park, etc. But, you can certainly find houses for that price in areas like Wexford, Allison Park, and Moon Twp. too. There would be a lot of homes available for you in Monroeville and Baldwin, but you can find better schools than Gateway and Baldwin.

If you are ok with living outside of Allegheny, then I'd suggest you look into Westmoreland Co. at Trafford, Hempfield, North Huntingdon, and Murrysville. All have excellent school districts and, depending on how close you are to the highway, could be 45-1hr commute, although the parkway east is unpredictable and can be real nasty at times.

If I were in your situation, I'd concentrate on Bethel Park and Ross. You would find a whole lot to choose from, plus these are good, middle-class communities, and it's doubtful that your home would lose much value here in the next 30+ years. The commute from these areas also isn't too bad, especially if you could find a house fairly close to the T in Bethel Park.

I would reccomend Ross Twp. It is part of the good North Hills School district, near the best shopping area IMO in the Pittsburgh region, good upkept houses, not as confusing to get around since it is newer, and near the Parkway North which is the newest and easiest of the three Parkways to drive.

[JoeLeaphorn]

Originally Posted by QueenB2912

"Close to downtown" means less than 5 miles out ~ I believe north.

Five miles out in almost any direction is not trivial, especially if you have to go through a tunnel. In Pittsburgh, as the crow flies has nothing to do with the reality of driving as the topography is a big problem. Further, you need to cross bridges almost anywhere you live. This can be a problem if your bridge is scheduled for rehabilitation or, worse yet, demolition.

If you are looking North, what is called the North Boroughs are very nice, affordable, you can find property if you want it, and you can get very nice houses for what you want to pay.

Really, though, if you could name the locality of your husband's employment, it would help. All of the North Borough school districts have very good schools, North Allegheny, Avonworth and Sewickley are all good school districts.

[tmorrisn]

Originally Posted by QueenB2912

Thanks Hotlanta 2 ~ I appreciate your help. One more question....what do you all consider high taxes? We live in NJ right now & our taxes are about 5k/year for a 3br/2ba townhouse!

I think you'll find the combination of property/school taxes to be similar here. You'll generally pay around 2.5% (or more) of what your property is worth and assessments do vary. Howard Hanna includes property taxes in their listings so it's worth paying attention to - be forewarned that boroughs have different tax rates, so think of what kind of monthly payment you'll have rather than the cost of the home.
You can find 250k homes with taxes ranging anywhere from 5k to 10k (with 6 or 7k being a good average). Outside of Allegheny County, taxes are lower but I'm not that familiar with those areas. Good luck with your search!