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I find it tough to get "it" out. (The WORDS!) I keep wanting this kind of post to turn "EPIC" but I really hope that a few simple answers are at hand.
My wife and I have spent about the last 10-11 years tending to our combined families who had over the passing of time, arrived in a position of progressively ill health. Things have (finally) taken their natural course, and we are now considering a very few towns as a possible retirement location (with a lil' part time job for each of us if it becomes available. The employment is really not the main issue).
The City-Data page re California, PA appears to hold a LOT of the trappings we are looking for. Small size, close to essential services (Hospitals, Doctors), and some cultural goodies, like performing arts (music, stage), a variety of restaurants, and on and on. I'm telling you, while I mean to be ASKING questions, not answering them. HAH!
"Onward through the fog!" Things we would like and become involved with when possible~
*PA is a blue state.
*From posts/threads I have read so far, California, PA is rated very safe, via this very City-Data FBI "Crime-Index".
*It appears that within a short drive (Pittsburg, etc) there is access to a myriad of 'cultural' happenings, like entertainment, diverse dining experiences, green rolling landscape, an abundant water supply, and lush times of the year that show off the flora/fauna with I find beautiful.
!! Here, it gets a bit tricky. Do-able, but proceeding with guarded optimism !! MODEST and CLEAN Homes available for purchase for under $100K.
ABOUT US - A little disclosure:
We are a quiet, married couple. We do not drink alcohol, smoke tobacco (or other "stuff") and do not play with drugs. We are respectful, low-keyed, and easy to make and keep friends. We are both over 60, and will have retirement income available to us.
My wife: Holds a State of California Certified Substance Abuse Counselor
I hold a State of California Certification as a "Registered Addictions Specialist II" and "Certified Clinical Supervisor" Cert.
We are also on/off/on again being involved with a rather tough employment status: I have cut back to about 28 hours per week as a Senior Counselor for a State Licensed, local, private non-profit DUI/DWI program. Prior, I have worked with addiction and the consequences thereof, since the mid 80's, in all modalities. (Medical, Social Model, Drug Court), and as far as working "Inside the Mainline" the CDC (California Department of Corrections). My wife has an even more extensive resume in a similar position. She has worked for our county for years, mostly with adolescents, and likewise, about alcoholism and drug abuse issues.
I guess I will head it up at this point, and sincerely look forward to any feedback/suggestions anyone might have, and share with us.
The summary is: California is in the top 5 locations in our search for retirement.. I am actually going to try to fly out next week to get "eyes on" your beautiful area.
Now, the questions:
*Is it possible to locate a REAL 2 or more bedroom/1.5 or more bath in and/or about California, PA?
The City-Data shows a ridiculous (but impossibly gorgeous) crime index of under 100. (The Nat'l Avg is 319.2 .. subject to minor changes)
*Is that a real evaluation? Are there any "gang" folks lurking in the deepest shadows?
Are the long-term locals 'helpful' to new arrivals (remember, we're in our 60's, so were not coming into town with "KISS" blaring from the car sound system.
Are there parts of town that are to be considered "out of bounds?" As is stated in City-Data it looks like one 'bump' below Shangri La.
I could go on, and ask every question known to mankind as it relates to making California our 'final' home purchase, but I bet y'all know what I'm trying to find out. Can we find a CLEAN, well maintained home in a low crime area for at or less than $100K?
Thank you very much for your tolerance, help, and wisdom.
Last edited by snappingfish; 11-16-2012 at 12:26 AM..
I looked after I posted and I'll be darned, there are low cost homes listed. I'll be interested if someone from that area posts to give us the real scoop.
Try posting in the Pittsburgh forum. California had some problems in 2011 with drug gangs from out of state moving in, presumably because of it being a college town. This is the story I was thinking of: Man Shot Several Times Near Cal U; Search For Gunman Continues | www.wpxi.com Pennsylvania college towns seem to be growth areas for Detroit and NYC drug gangs to move into. Rural areas get the meth labs and the pot growers, because there are fewer police in rural area and very small towns, and more homes outside of town where it might take a while for neighbors to notice anything unusual happening.
I was in Washington, PA for a while, and it has a lot of blacks moving from out of state, as well as Mexicans, and an assortment of men who moved there for the Marcellus shale Gas industry. WashPA has huge problems with heroin. WashPA is at the other end of the county from Cal, but Cal is sort of the one bright spot of the MonValley, which is really pretty dead. So I don't really know what to tell about Cal. You might want to look to the north and west of Pittsburgh, too. Washing, PA is a gem in the rough, but it's are really creepy and downtrodden town. I expected it to be gentrifying, but it sure wasn't.
Pittsburgh has really been rapidly gentrifying over the past few years especially, so it comes as no surprise to me that the number of homicides in the suburbs is now outnumbering the number within the city proper. As rental prices edge upwards the troublemakers are being pushed out into lower-cost areas such as the Mon Valley. I don't ever foresee California, PA becoming a particularly dangerous place to live, but I'm not quite as optimistic about McKeesport, Duquesne, and other depressed towns nearby.
If I'm reading your post correctly, you want more information about California, PA and specifically a house priced under $100,000.
I can't imagine finding a house in that price range anywhere in America except for a blighted city rowhome or Appalachia, but maybe I'm wrong.
HEY! Thanks toobusytoday, for taking the time to reply. I would imagine that you, in being a mod, would allow for an accurate knowledge of the area, the Real Estate goings on as to price, inventory, supply & demand and certainly someone I can count on for (IMHO) a reasonable response as it pertains to these questions: about the 'blighted, rowhome', etc, our searches have found dozens of listings (all over the country) similar to THESE, a few listings in California PA. These are supposedly current as of a few minutes ago, and from Realtor (dot) com. I have little or NO knowledge of the area, so again, hearing from folks like you is valuable; (For another example, another location my wife and I are looking at is in/about the Bend, Oregon area, and I sent a sample of those listings HERE. And if you can stand the heat, (and I DO mean HOT in the summer) look at THESE beautiful places. As I mentioned, we are not necessarily looking for a 'close to work' home, but rather a (relative) safe location, where the property taxes are held in check by a reasonable county/state budget (I wouldn't worry so much about the taxes, but since we started looking, the differences are INCREDIBLE! Look at (Mod cut - single listings are not allowed) great-looking home, and if you click the 'property history' button, you can see that this place sold for $265K in 2006, but the taxes are UNDER $1K per year! Amazing! So, I hope that you notice I have actually done a bit of work in the search for the 'right' home.
The question(s) I have regarding California, PA (or as a strong component for ANY home search) is most likely prioritized by :
(1) low crime - Nat'l avg is 319.2, while California is an overwhelmingly low 95!
(2) Cost-more precisely bang for the buck. You saw the AZ listings. The market in California looks pretty good on paper, but is it real, or hyped up
(3) Pride in the community, with folks keeping an eye out for the "Al Bundy" type of eyesore house; AND a friendly area, where neighbors/locals can and might develop into friends.
Again, thanks for the reply, Hope to hear from you again.
Regards
Last edited by toobusytoday; 11-17-2012 at 09:35 PM..
I looked after I posted and I'll be darned, there are low cost homes listed. I'll be interested if someone from that area posts to give us the real scoop.
I wondered if you had looked into those home prices. Looks like you did, and as I, were "shocked" for lack of a more fitting term, that the RE 'bust' was and is still in control of certain areas, and sadly, might STAY there for a while. I've noticed lately that in some markets (Bend OR, for example) are trending upward, but v-v-e-e-r-r-y-y slowly, and v-v-e-e-r-r-y-y cautiously. One false BLINK from the fed, and I can see a double-digit "bump" from what meager gains have been realized. Me, and Suze Orman, and "The DON."
But I would follow with this: who doesn't like a 10% (or more) return on their money, as opposed to the 0.05% the banks are giving up?! Who said "its the arithmetic"? They were right! Watch.....
In Bend, you can, TODAY, go in with an $80,000 CA$H offer on a 3bed/1.5 Ba home, built within the last 20 years, and probably get your home inspection and title search completed within 2 weeks, 3 at the most. Now, having completed those two simple steps, you own a home in Oregon. Look at Oregon classifieds for rentals in Redmond, Oregon. EASILY a $750-$800 lease.
The arithmetic:
You're in (with closing and escrow) about $84,000. You lease it for $750 per month (of course with first and last + deposit, in case they sneak out in the middle of the night.) $750 X 12 months = $9000. A $9,000 annual ROI (return on investment) for $84,000 is equal to 10.7%
Try posting in the Pittsburgh forum. California had some problems in 2011 with drug gangs from out of state moving in, presumably because of it being a college town. This is the story I was thinking of: Man Shot Several Times Near Cal U; Search For Gunman Continues | www.wpxi.com Pennsylvania college towns seem to be growth areas for Detroit and NYC drug gangs to move into. Rural areas get the meth labs and the pot growers, because there are fewer police in rural area and very small towns, and more homes outside of town where it might take a while for neighbors to notice anything unusual happening.
I was in Washington, PA for a while, and it has a lot of blacks moving from out of state, as well as Mexicans, and an assortment of men who moved there for the Marcellus shale Gas industry. WashPA has huge problems with heroin. WashPA is at the other end of the county from Cal, but Cal is sort of the one bright spot of the MonValley, which is really pretty dead. So I don't really know what to tell about Cal. You might want to look to the north and west of Pittsburgh, too. Washing, PA is a gem in the rough, but it's are really creepy and downtrodden town. I expected it to be gentrifying, but it sure wasn't.
EVERY and ANY peek I take at City-Cata always includes a scroll down to the Fed Crime index. I currently live in a small/medium town (26500 pop) and have for 12 years. "....book from cover...."! The beautiful Northern California coast, bordering the Blue Pacific etc.etc. GARBAGE! Have you ever heard of "East L.A."? According to the Fed crime index, we have TIED with El Monte and a few other righteous WAR ZONES. In (the state of) California. Try 539! Yup! FIVE HUNDRED THIRTY-NINE on the same Fed Crime index. So, I hope you understand that when a town with a crime index of 95 (NINETY-FIVE) shows up it is rather like spotting the edge of town NIRVANA! Imagine California, PA, taking a 560% (FIVE HUNDRED PERCENT leap in crime!.
So, be glad, if you're n California, PA. I haven't looked, and it would take a long time to do it, but I would think that a crime index of 95 puts California in the lowest 10% of crime-rated towns. (Just a wild guess but wow! Sounds like a place that (RIP) Andy Griffith would flee to from Mayberry when the second traffic light got put in!
California looks like a nice little town, but I really know nothing about that area. Your town, snappingfish, with a population of 26,500 sounds pretty darn big to me. I found the on-line version of the local paper - heraldstandard.com: News
My guess is that the houses are low priced for a reason. According to Zillow, the avg. home price in PA is $141,000.
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Hi, toobusytoday.
