Pittsburgh area help (Penn Hills, Butler, Indiana: employment, schools, taxes)

[OilmanMike]

I am going to be moving to the area in the next year or less.

I need help picking an area that's not rural but the yards are decent sized and maybe I could put up a 1500 sf shop building and work on my projects in peace.
I would like shopping, mall, restaurants etc nearby
Is there such a place in the area?????

[Dereksdad]

You could look around the Zelienople, Harmony, Evans City area. You should be able to get enough property reasonably for your shop, still close to Cranberry Twp for your other needs, and good access to highways to get around.

[Sealtite]

Also look around the Rt. 28 corridor, near the Butler / Allegheny co. line. Close to Pittsburgh mills mall, close enough to the city, rural enough to be considered "country" living.

[South Range Family]

Chippewa Township in Beaver County would meet all of those requirements. It's also half way between the Marcellus shale boom of Pennsylvania, and the Utica shale boom that is happening in Ohio.

[Mugatu]

Since you actually said you are looking for an area that's NOT rural, you could find what you're looking for just about anywhere in Allegheny County. You don't need to go that far out of the Pittsburgh city limits to find what you want.

So I'll go in another direction. Try western Allegheny county. Little towns like Imperial, Oakdale, Rennerdale, etc are surrounded by lots of land, and right on the edge of suburbia and country. Yet only a few minutes drive from the shopping mecca in Robinson and only 15 miles or less from downtown Pittsburgh.

But really, you could find what you want just about anywhere in this area. It's up to you where you want to live. You have many options.

[gg]

Originally Posted by OilmanMike

I am going to be moving to the area in the next year or less.

I need help picking an area that's not rural but the yards are decent sized and maybe I could put up a 1500 sf shop building and work on my projects in peace.
I would like shopping, mall, restaurants etc nearby
Is there such a place in the area?????

Lots of areas right around the city. Not sure why people are suggesting you look way out? Heck there are places in Indiana Twp, West Deer, O'Hara two and countless places around. There are occasional places that have good size yards right in the North Side. If you want cheap, Penn Hills, but that area seems to not be doing as well as many would hope. No need to move way out for a nice lot. You can live on acres right around the city no problem. Of course you didn't state a price range. That will dictate area.

[hinsey86]

I would head out of Allegheny county simply because of taxes. But as mentioned if you are looking inside the county, Indiana township/West Deer provide some great options. Of course it totally depends on any additional needs you have--work travel, schools etc. Right now we are keeping our eyes on the Harmony, Zelianople area--close to 79 but still rural. We are in Gibsonia on 1/2 acre now but want at least 5 acres eventually for a small farm.

[AnneWest]

The first thing that popped into my mind was, he needs make sure to check the zoning requirements for whatever he's looking at. If he's planning to build that large of a work-space building, it'll probably need to be commercially zoned.

[South Range Family]

Originally Posted by AnneWest

The first thing that popped into my mind was, he needs make sure to check the zoning requirements for whatever he's looking at. If he's planning to build that large of a work-space building, it'll probably need to be commercially zoned.

That would be about 32 x 48. That's only a big garage for storage. No need to be zoned commercial unless there is an actual business in there.

[Kippy]

Are you going to have to commute to work at all? If so, where is your place of employment and how far are you willing to commute?