Pittsburg Area Towns (Pittsburgh, Lebanon, Upper St. Clair: for sale, how much, house)

[Hopes]

Also, put weight in the back of the vehicles---sand bags, extra tires, whatever weight you can find.

That's what we did back in the day before there was front wheel drive or four wheel drive.

Most rear wheel drives will do fine with weight. For the days that's not good enough, you probably shouldnt' be out on the roads anyway.

It's the weight of the engine that causes frotn wheel drive cars to do better in the snow.

I had a rear wheel drive WV bug back in the early 80s and I was able to drive in the worst weather---when only big trucks were out---because the engine was in the back.

So, just load up weight in the back, and you'll be fine.



As for the property taxes, I warned you about that in the other thread. It's always wise to consider property taxes in your house price.

People coming from other areas sometimes complain, but the cost of living is still lower here than many places when you consider the other taxes.

You don't have to stay near 275k mark to get what you want. There are properties available for much less.

[Mugatu]

Originally Posted by touretteboy65

Thanks. I imagine the network of clearing roads there during the winter is a top priority, so I'm not too concerned with the adjustment. My wife hates the drivers here in Orlando, so she would welcome any improvement over what she deals with here.

You'll rarely see the rudeness and agressiveness on the roads here that is the norm in Orlando. People are actually polite to a fault on the roads here, and often drive well below the speed limit. I still have trouble being patient and toning down the aggressive driving I learned in Orlando. lol But one word of caution...Pittsburghers DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT know how to merge. Watch for cars slowing down or coming to a complete stop on on-ramps to highways! And some on-ramps actually DO have stop signs. Yes, stop signs at the end of on-ramps. Sheer lunacy...

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Here's a 4 bedroom/2-1/2 bath in Pine/Richland for 269k. The yard isn't 1/2 acre but it's rather large and it doesn't appear to have neighbors immeidately next to the house since the second picture is of the side yard. Granted, it's not country or rural, but it's the first example I'm showing.

Richland Real Estate - 404 BANBURY CROSSING, Richland, PA, 15044

Here's a 3 bedroom/2-1/2 bath in West Deer for 220k. It's not an acre but the property is a nice size. It's smack in the middle of the woods. Totally secluded.

West Deer Real Estate - 25 Deerton, West Deer, PA, 15024

CHECK THIS OUT:

5 bedroom, 3-1/2 bath in Pine/Richand for 200k with over 5 acres!

Richland Real Estate - 4032 Ewalt Road, Richland, PA, 15044

Here's a 4 bedroom/ 2-1/2 bath for 222k in Shaler in the middle of the woods.

Shaler Real Estate - 564 Wetzel, Shaler, PA, 15209

There's a lot more. There are some in McCandless, Franklin Park, Hampton. I just don't have time to post them all right now.

This is very doable for the OP.

Don't forget my favorite place -- that little alcove of Beaver County, just over Butler County and Allegheny County lines -- Bradford Park. I just do not know anything about the schools. Very rural, very close to Cranberry shopping, very close to 79/279 access and Pittsburgh....

[Hopes]

He doesn't necessarily want the area to BE rural. He wants his children to still have friends who live nearby.

He just wants it to feel secluded without actually being secluded.

Furthermore, I think Cranberry shopping is a negative for the OP.

He wants to avoid congestion and Cranberry has become VERY congested in the business district and some roads going to developments.

Any area that would depend on Cranberry for daily convenience wouldn't be a good fit IMO.

I'm sure Bradford Park is a beautiful little town. I'll have to check it out when I'm out that way sometime.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Tallysmom

Don't forget my favorite place -- that little alcove of Beaver County, just over Butler County and Allegheny County lines -- Bradford Park. I just do not know anything about the schools. Very rural, very close to Cranberry shopping, very close to 79/279 access and Pittsburgh....

The Bradford Park corner of Economy Borough is not what I'd call truly rural. It's rural in the sense that there are not commercial areas around at all, but most of the houses are fairly close together like a more modern housing development in that section. Some are on half or so acre lots. Prices are all over even within this very small section. If you move in certain directions from that area, there are houses with land and some of them are not expensive. Economy Borough except for the small tip of it that reaches the river at Rt 65 is very rural. It's in the Ambridge school district, which has a lot of new buildings and thus high taxes but not particularly fantastic schools. (Again, not horrible, really. Neighbors send their kids there, etc., but it's not where we would typically recommend people choose.) The drive to downtown is not bad, under 1/2 hour with no traffic, but it's more like 40-45 minutes during rush hour. Cranberry is fairly convenient for shopping, but it is somewhat congested. But, if you go in the other direction it's not that much farther to the Beaver Valley Mall area with much of the same shopping. We just deal with the congestion in Cranberry because it's closer. It's not a big enough problem for us to worry about, and we try to go at times that are less congested (weeknights, as long as it's after evening rush, are not a big problem; Saturdays are awful).

I didn't bring it up because for the taxes you pay most people would not want to be putting their kids into Ambridge schools. People move to Beaver County for lower taxes than Allegheny, and they probably are, but not by much! Ambridge SD has one of the higher rates in Beaver County. For me, with no kids, it's certainly a safe and quiet place to live, although now after several years I am left wishing it was less car-centric, so I will probably move eventually. No, my house is not big enough to offer to the OP.

BTW, it's particularly convenient if you are going from your house to get onto I-79 south or coming home on I-79 north. Your easy access is at the Warrendale half-interchange. You can't get on going north there or get off going south; the only way to do that is Cranberry or turn around at Wexford. But it is an easy setup if your goal is to commute towards downtown Pittsburgh. You take Warrendale-Bayne Rd west from Rt 19 or the interchange, right on Pleasant Hill, left at the stop sign (still Pleasant Hill though) then left at Golden Grove Rd. At that corner some houses are in Allegheny County (Marshall Township), some are in Beaver. Make a right on Bradford Park and you'll see more of the area I pass through every day.

[mhen]

Originally Posted by greg42

BTW, it's particularly convenient if you are going from your house to get onto I-79 south or coming home on I-79 north. Your easy access is at the Warrendale half-interchange. You can't get on going north there or get off going south; the only way to do that is Cranberry or turn around at Wexford. But it is an easy setup if your goal is to commute towards downtown Pittsburgh. You take Warrendale-Bayne Rd west from Rt 19 or the interchange, right on Pleasant Hill, left at the stop sign (still Pleasant Hill though) then left at Golden Grove Rd. At that corner some houses are in Allegheny County (Marshall Township), some are in Beaver. Make a right on Bradford Park and you'll see more of the area I pass through every day.

My parents moved to Econ. after my brother and I graduated from some "crummy" school in Pittsburgh. They have a 15 year old 4/2.5 on 4 acres that they got for under $200,000. Not so bad. I go to Sunday dinners up there most every week and it's a nice little afternoon drive.

Edit: My parents also live right across the street from Marshall Twp. (right where Greg is referencing)... so that was my point. In a decent-ish location for a decent-ish price. I didn't go to Ambridge, so can't comment there...

[touretteboy65]

Am I right in assuming that north (and northeast) of Pittsburgh is the best place to start my search? Somewhat developed to take care of everyday needs with good schools, but not a crushing amount of congestion and crime?

[Copanut]

The South is just as good as the North if you're looking for good schools.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Copanut

The South is just as good as the North if you're looking for good schools.

He doesn't want congestion.

[Copanut]

You're right, I made it from the Park to Downtown Pgh on McKnight road in 42 minutes. Who are you kidding?