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We're moving to Erie from the West coast for new work assignment and would very much appreciate suggestion on a good middle school for my child. A middle school with good after-school program in academic and extracurricular activities for kids. How are the public schools compared to private?
Also, since our work begins very early in the day, is there a safe place to live that we don't have to clear the snow in the morning in the winter?
Location: The Flagship City and Vacation in the Paris of Appalachia
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I will start off by recommending Harding Elementary School and Connell Elementary School, which are both K-8 and located in some of the nicer areas of the city of Erie. The public high schools in these areas are not the best, but if your kids perform at a high enough level, they could go to Collegiate Academy in the city, which is one of the top schools in the whole state. Also, in terms of private schools, Erie Cathedral Prep for boys is located in the city and Villa Maria for girls is located in Millcreek. Some of the public schools in the city of Erie and many of the suburban public schools are very good and we are friends with a family who recently moved to Erie from San Francisco and they live in our neighborhood. They looked into both the public and private schools and ultimately decided on the city schools because they had more offerings for one of their children that needed access to special education classes. It really depends on what you are looking for and the private schools in this area are extremely competitive in athletics if that is a main interest of your family.
In terms of your questions about the snow, are you looking at buying or renting?
Thank you so much for your reply. It will be our first time in Erie and we're planning to rent and have a feel for the place first. We're also from the San Francisco area and haven't had much experience living in a place with a lot of snow before.
I did some reading online and it seems that the Millcreek township schools, particularly Walnut Creek and Westlake middle schools, are also good in terms of academic and extracurricular activities. It's hard to tell which place would be a good fit for my son and family without local knowledge and experience though. How do you think about those schools? My son plays in a band and participates in extracurricular sports and we're inclined to go with the public schools at this point.
Location: The Flagship City and Vacation in the Paris of Appalachia
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Driver001
Walnut Creek and Westlake are both great middle schools for the area and I would have to give the slight edge to Walnut Creek since I currently know a family with a kid in Walnut Creek and their kids are very well spoken and seem to be performing at a high level. Millcreek schools are very good and the only issues I see would be the large high school experience if that is something you are worried about for your kids. In other words, Millcreek schools are great at the elementary school and middle school levels because there are choices of different schools and the school sizes are moderate. However, McDowell is a very big high school for the area and the state and I know there are well over 2,000 kids attending the school in grades 9-12. If you are used to a school this big and your kids can handle being in a large school than it should not be a problem. I would also recommend that you look into the Fairview school system and Harborcreek. I tend to favor the city schools because I live in the city and I believe that Collegiate Academy offers the best options for advanced placement classes and extracurricular activities that supplement the educational experience like Academic Sports League. There are many good choices for public schools in the area and the private schools are also good options, but sometimes not very affordable for everyone.
In terms of renting, I have posted a little about this previously. Erie is a very interesting rental market and the availability of single family homes to rent at a reasonable price in a good school district is not very good. We rented initially also and after we bought it is amazing how much money we save each month by owning. Some markets have a slight difference between rent prices and the cost to own, but Erie seems to have an unusually big difference right now. In regards to the snow removal, most of Erie is very flat so it should not be very hard to find a flat area. If you are a renter of a house it is usually your responsibility to shovel your driveway and sidewalk if you have one. If you are new to it and feel that it is a burden I would recommend hiring a plow company to do your driveway and sidewalk if you have the money. I own a snowblower and don't mind doing it so it isn't really a problem for me. However, I will say that a few couples we have met from warmer climates hire out their snow removal and I am a bit jealous sometimes when I see a big plow clear their driveway in a matter of minutes and a couple of young men jump out of the truck with multiple snowblowers and clear the sidewalks and walkways in a jiffy. Your best bet is to hire someone who does this by the season rather than a per visit charge because during a bad winter that can add up quickly. If you live in an apartment usually your landlord will take care of this issue.
Thank you so much for your helpful information. It's comforting to know there's service if needed since dealing with the snow season is one of my concerns given limited experience and constrained schedule.
May I ask what may be the reasons for your family and new neighbors from San Francisco to choose to live within Erie city? I like the convenience and easy access to markets, restaurants, being close to work and other things, but I was told it's not very safe with drugs, etc.
Location: The Flagship City and Vacation in the Paris of Appalachia
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Originally Posted by Driver001
Thank you so much for your helpful information. It's comforting to know there's service if needed since dealing with the snow season is one of my concerns given limited experience and constrained schedule.
May I ask what may be the reasons for your family and new neighbors from San Francisco to choose to live within Erie city? I like the convenience and easy access to markets, restaurants, being close to work and other things, but I was told it's not very safe with drugs, etc.
The city of Erie is actually pretty big in terms of square miles and certain areas of the city are much different than the rest. For instance, Millionaires Row, Glenwood Hills, Frontier Park, and the neighborhood around Mercyhurst are very desirable and pretty low crime. The family we know from San Francisco likes the older architecture of the city, especially the Frontier area and the walkability of the neighborhoods. From our neighborhood you can ride your bike to Presque Isle or State Street/Dobbins Landing very easily and Frontier and Liberty Parks, which have some great events during the summer. Even if you are used to the suburbs in San Francisco, the suburbs in Erie will be much different to you, with most of them other than Millcreek being pretty rural. We love living in the city because of the close access to amenities and the ability to be rather centrally located. For instance, we have also made friends who live in Lake City and friends who live in North East. Both of those areas are on the extreme ends of the east and west parts of the metro and for us being in the city we are centrally located to both of them. The couple we know in North East almost never goes to Lake City and vice versa. It can be frustrating sometimes because we all know each other and usually we just end up having them over to our house because we are more central to both of them.
For some reason the city of Erie gets a bad reputation by many in this area and the only complaint I have is the higher property and school taxes than surrounding communities. Certain areas of the city are somewhat dangerous, but nothing in comparison to Detroit, Philly or most major cities. During the brief time I have lived here I have been surprised by the anti city of Erie feelings and I am not really sure why people are so afraid of the city. Some of the schools in the city are excellent and as I mentioned previously I believe Collegiate Academy offers some of the best academic programs in the state and possibly the country. In fact, I know someone I work with who lives in Millcreek and they are paying tuition to send one of their kids to Collegiate Academy because they do not live in the city. Here is a good blurb about the school from the website:
Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy is an urban, college preparatory magnet school with a 100% four-year college acceptance rate.
We are ranked #2 in Pennsylvania by both Newsweek and the U.S. News & World Report, which also awarded us a gold medal. We are ranked among the top one percent of high schools in the country.
Approximately 500 eighth graders apply for about 225 freshman openings; admission requirements include a minimum grade point average of 3.0, national standardized test scores at the 75th percentile or above, and two teacher recommendations. The total student body takes approximately 1,000 Advanced Placement and/or college courses each year. Collegiate Academy offers 23 Advanced Placement courses. Students enroll annually in more than 650 AP courses, all taught by College Board authorized faculty. Students may also participate in high school dual enrollment courses at local colleges and universities.
Newsweek's annual report of top American public high schools again ranked Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy number two in Pennsylvania and in the top one percent nationally. Collegiate Academy graduates have an average SAT combined math and critical reading score of 1120 and writing score average of 557. The class of 2012 received over $16.5 million in college scholarship offers.
I like the convenience and easy access to markets, restaurants, being close to work and other things, but I was told it's not very safe with drugs, etc.
Every city has crime; Erie is no different.
As for convenience, nothing in Erie is more than 20 minutes away from anything else. That's one of the benefits to living in a smaller city.
I'm looking at houses for rent in the area and many houses in the Millcreek such as 3 Bedroom house Millcreek don't have car garage. I may be a bit naive, but I thought I'd consider houses with covered parking only as I need to start work early and don't want to spend an extra hour or so to scrap snow off my car in the winter.
I'd like a 3 BR/2 bathrooms house in nice family friendly neighborhood near Harding Elem school or Westlake middle school, preferably with car garage. Buying seems like a great idea also.
Location: The Flagship City and Vacation in the Paris of Appalachia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Driver001
I'm looking at houses for rent in the area and many houses in the Millcreek such as 3 Bedroom house Millcreek don't have car garage. I may be a bit naive, but I thought I'd consider houses with covered parking only as I need to start work early and don't want to spend an extra hour or so to scrap snow off my car in the winter.
I'd like a 3 BR/2 bathrooms house in nice family friendly neighborhood near Harding Elem school or Westlake middle school, preferably with car garage. Buying seems like a great idea also.
There was an article about renting in Erie in the paper today:
More than half of area renters are unable to afford a two-bedroom apartment at Erie County's average market rent of $681 per month, according to a new report released by the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania and the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
Renting in the Erie area is tough and we also had trouble finding a rental house that met all of our needs when we moved to the area. With that being said, even if you have a garage you will have to deal with shoveling, snowblowing or hiring a plow company. Not having the garage may be what you have to sacrifice to get the house you want in the area you want for the price you can afford. For us buying was the way to go after we rented for a little while and it was partly due to the rental market issue, but mainly due to the freedoms associated with owning. Also, don't give up on finding that rental and maybe it would be good if you found a real estate agent or someone you could compensate to find you a rental. I just checked Craigslist and the other rental websites and there are at least 4 houses in my neighborhood with "For Rent" signs in the yards, but they are not posted on any of the websites. As I have mentioned previously, Erie is a a challenging rental market and it pays to have some knowledge of the area when looking for a rental.
don't want to spend an extra hour or so to scrap snow off my car in the winter.
If it takes you an hour to scrape off your car, you need better equipment! Also, this past (or current, the way things are going, LOL) winter aside, it does not snow every single day, no matter what anyone else says.
That being said, you might be better off buying a home. You'd get what you want at a decent price.
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