Moving to Pittsburgh area and terrified! (Chester, Aliquippa: section 8, for sale, real estate) - Pennsylvania (PA) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

javajive711 · 06-05-2009, 08:49 AM

-Ambridge/Aliquippa: older "charmers" indeed. a lot of ghetto mixed in there too. not good schools at all. not particularly safe either. I'd shy away.

Aliquippa is a big area. Aliquippa proper and Aliquippa school district are NOT where you want to be--the mills moved out, and the drugs moved in, unfortunately. But Center Township and Hopewell Township (which both have Aliquippa mailing addresses) have their own school districts, and are safe, convenient suburbs. Particularly in Center Twp., you can get a nice house with a big yard in a nice, quiet neighborhood for a good price. Hopewell is just as nice, but a little more expensive (very close to the airport, closer to Allegheny Co.).

Ambridge isn't all that bad. There are good and bad pockets of it. The schools there are okay, not great, but okay. And Ambridge is right next to Leetsdale--your commute would be very short.

The town of Beaver is very nice, and the schools are good. Just be aware that Beaver is NOT the same as Beaver Falls (a place with similar problems to the town of Aliquippa). I grew up in New Brighton, which is sadly going the way of Beaver Falls.

rapchef2 · 06-05-2009, 09:37 AM

Thanks to everyone so far! I realize I'll have to give something up, so the posts with details on what I'll have to give up and where have been very helpful. A 25 minute commute is what my husband does right now, so as long as we stay in that range, we are willing to live anywhere that meets the most important criteria (probably schools and safety). It would just be nice to include some of the others as extras. So please keep the ideas coming. This is going to be a quick move and we want to get it right the first time around.

Also, can anyone give me ideas of taxes in these areas? Because that will affect our price range significantly. Around here, a decent house that would suit our needs is anywhere from $2500 to $3500 in taxes, so that is what we were basing our house price on. It sounds like your taxes around Pittsburgh may be even more, but perhaps I'm wrong. If we found a lower taxed area, we might be able to get around $130k to $135k for a house.

Thanks again! You've all been so helpful!

javajive711 · 06-05-2009, 09:52 AM

The property taxes (and local income tax) are going to vary depending on which county you're living in. Beaver County (Ambridge, Beaver, Center, Hopewell) will have much lower property taxes than Allegheny County (Sewickley, Moon, Kennedy Twp, Bellevue). That said, if you're interested in being closer to downtown pittsburgh and the convenience it brings, the extra taxes may be worth it to you. (I'm a city girl, so it's a no-brainer for me ;-) )

To get an idea what the taxes are like, you can look at realtor's websites (Howard Hanna and Coldwell Banker are 2 of the more well-known realtors here).

WellShoneMoon · 06-05-2009, 09:54 AM

I second (or third) the motion that you take a look at Beaver PA (and as a previous poster said, this is NOT the same thing as Beaver Falls). It's a really nice little town about 25 min. drive from Leetsdale. If you look around I'm sure you can find a nice house that you can afford and that you'll like. Beaver is a walkable little town, very safe and family-friendly, and the schools are excellent. One website notes that Beaver's public schools are among the top 10% in the state. Check the City-Data page for Beaver: http://www.city-data.com/city/Beaver-Pennsylvania.html

I grew up there, and I'm happy to see that it still retains its nice, small-town character. The only downside to coming from Beaver is the funny looks you get from some people when you tell them the name of your home town ...

South Range Family · 06-05-2009, 05:02 PM

The town of Beaver would be an excellent first choice. It's a straight shot down 65 to Leetsdale. I have a co-worker that lives on top of the hill from Leetsdale. I believe that is considered Leet Township, and is part of the Sewickley school system. It's another good choice. You may also want to consider the Bon-Meade plan across the river from from Leetsdale, in Moon Township. Hopewell, and Center Townships are close runnerups. There are many good choices, but I would stay in Beaver County.

I almost forgot the excellent choice of Chippewa too.........

CaptainObvious · 06-05-2009, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by javajive711

-Ambridge/Aliquippa: older "charmers" indeed. a lot of ghetto mixed in there too. not good schools at all. not particularly safe either. I'd shy away.

Aliquippa is a big area. Aliquippa proper and Aliquippa school district are NOT where you want to be--the mills moved out, and the drugs moved in, unfortunately. But Center Township and Hopewell Township (which both have Aliquippa mailing addresses) have their own school districts, and are safe, convenient suburbs. Particularly in Center Twp., you can get a nice house with a big yard in a nice, quiet neighborhood for a good price. Hopewell is just as nice, but a little more expensive (very close to the airport, closer to Allegheny Co.).

Ambridge isn't all that bad. There are good and bad pockets of it. The schools there are okay, not great, but okay. And Ambridge is right next to Leetsdale--your commute would be very short.

The town of Beaver is very nice, and the schools are good. Just be aware that Beaver is NOT the same as Beaver Falls (a place with similar problems to the town of Aliquippa). I grew up in New Brighton, which is sadly going the way of Beaver Falls.

Point well taken...Hopewell, especially the parts toward Moon, are indeed nice....wasn't aware they had their own school district either. Aliquippa proper is the place to avoid.

I definitely wouldn't discount Beaver, but had ruled it out because of the "25 minute" rule the OP had imposed. At 5:00am, 25 minutes to Leetsdale is doable. At rush hour, via Rt. 65, it would certainly take you longer. Having said that, Beaver does indeed meet all your requirements. I don't have first hand experience with their schools, but it has all the small town charm you could ever want. They've really done a nice job with the little downtown area (and you can't beat Kretchmar's Bakery!!!

). Chippewa however, was mentioned by another poster, does not meet the commute requirements of the OP- it is much longer than 25 minutes.

CaptainObvious · 06-05-2009, 09:49 PM

Incidentally, I was in Ambridge this morning...are they building/did build a new school there? There appears to be a very new high tech-ish looking building in the middle of a not very nice section of town. Anyone know? Off topic, I know, but I was just wondering.

rapchef2 · 06-05-2009, 10:30 PM

Since I don't live in a big city, it's hard to determine driving times. What appears on the map to be a 30 minute drive comes out to be an hour on mapquest. Exactly what hours are the ones that significantly slow traffic?

Is Washington county too long of a drive? I also was checking into Ohio and West Virginia, but they are what mapquest is telling me is an hour drive to Leetsdale. Would you agree that it would take an hour to go from Leetsdale to say New Cumberland, Weirton, or perhaps Chester OH?

Oh, someone mentioned Bellevue before, and a realtor sent me a bunch of houses there that might be doable for us. Does anyone have other input on schools there (I think most showed up as Northgate, which I haven't seen anything posted about that one)? The houses look very close together, do they tend to have backyards? And are there areas to avoid there?

Ugh! I'm completely stressing myself out trying to find someplace affordable with space enough for three kids! Thanks again for your continued help!

rapchef2 · 06-06-2009, 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by javajive711

-
Aliquippa is a big area. Aliquippa proper and Aliquippa school district are NOT where you want to be--the mills moved out, and the drugs moved in, unfortunately. But Center Township and Hopewell Township (which both have Aliquippa mailing addresses) have their own school districts, and are safe, convenient suburbs. Particularly in Center Twp., you can get a nice house with a big yard in a nice, quiet neighborhood for a good price. Hopewell is just as nice, but a little more expensive (very close to the airport, closer to Allegheny Co.).

Ambridge isn't all that bad. There are good and bad pockets of it. The schools there are okay, not great, but okay. And Ambridge is right next to Leetsdale--your commute would be very short.

I tried to look up Center Township on Howard Hanna, and it lists three, Center Township BEA, BUT and another. What is the right school district called?

And by Ambridge having an okay school district, what does that mean? I probably should have defined "good" schools anyway. We are far from rich (if all we can afford is a $120,000 house!), so we don't need (or want) an affluent school district. We just want nice kids, minimal drugs and violence, caring teachers (I realize this is subjective), and decent academic ratings (meaning above average, but doesn't have to be in top 5%).

Thanks!!!!!

TechieTransplant · 06-06-2009, 06:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rapchef2

We just want nice kids, minimal drugs and violence, caring teachers (I realize this is subjective), and decent academic ratings (meaning above average, but doesn't have to be in top 5%).

Thanks!!!!!

I think that's what anyone who cares anything about their family wants, a situation like that can easily be found within the city limits, and, you wouldn't have to hide inside your home in fear every day.