Looking for House In Pittsburgh Area (Penn Hills, Ross Township: apartment, rentals, crime)

[dandondon]

My wife and I are in our late 20's and are originally from the Ohio Valley. She took a position in Atlanta with a corporation 4 years ago that took us away. She is now being transfered to Ross Township just north of Pittsburgh. Neither one of us know a lot about the neighborhoods around the city. For my work I need to be able to get down town in about 30min+/-. For her work she would like commute under 30 min. My major concern is crime rate, but her company suggested Penn Hills and Bellevue.

We are looking to settle down with kids in the next 2-3 years also. I am just really confused on what area's to start looking at. Any suggestions would be of great help. Our house budget is 100k-150k if that helps any.

[Goinback2011]

Rent before you buy.

I'm renting a place in Bellevue (just moved back to Pgh after a hiatus of a couple decades). It takes about 20 minutes to get downtown by bus.

The houses are in your price range, but are big older homes. Bellevue was new around 1910. You'll find some homes from the 1950's but not many. There are lots of rentals here - some apartment buildings, some converted old homes. If you like the old Victorians or Four Squares and can put some money and elbow-grease into them, this is the place for you.

[Clint.]

I don't know much about Bellevue, but I know that if a low commute time is important it's a better choice than Penn Hills. Penn Hills could be a really long drive in the morning and coming home for both of you. There are a lot of neighborhoods in the North Hills that would be great for her. Obviously the closer you live to Downtown the shorter your commute will be, so whether you want to live in the City limits is also a question.

I'll second renting first and checking around locally before you buy. Most blocks that have houses selling in your price range will be pretty decent regarding crime - just look to see if people maintain their yards, homes, etc. and if things don't look rundown and not taken care of (regardless of whether they're expensive) then it's probably a pretty safe area. You can't inoculate yourself against it anywhere and Pittsburgh is generally pretty safe, so don't worry about it much.

[ElijahAstin]

I'd recommend staying away from Penn Hills. Not all of the municipality is bad, but due to continual deterioration, along with a terrible school district, if you ever want to sell your home, you're not going to get much of a return on your investment.

I would actually recommend looking in Ross itself, along with West View, which form the top-rated North Hills School District. You're very likely to find something decent in your price range.

[John Dark]

Originally Posted by dandondon

My wife and I are in our late 20's and are originally from the Ohio Valley. She took a position in Atlanta with a corporation 4 years ago that took us away. She is now being transfered to Ross Township just north of Pittsburgh. Neither one of us know a lot about the neighborhoods around the city. For my work I need to be able to get down town in about 30min+/-. For her work she would like commute under 30 min. My major concern is crime rate, but her company suggested Penn Hills and Bellevue.

We are looking to settle down with kids in the next 2-3 years also. I am just really confused on what area's to start looking at. Any suggestions would be of great help. Our house budget is 100k-150k if that helps any.

Look in Ross Township itself, or West View. IMO, both are better than Bellevue.

[Clint.]

West View is nice, and very close to Ross and pretty reasonable to Downtown. Penn Hills gets a worse reputation than it deserves, so maybe it will be self-fulfilling prophesy one day. The Penn Hills government would probably like Pittsburgh to annex some areas adjacent to Homewood, but it's a larger and more respectable place than one might think just listening to news reports. High sewer bills though.

If you were adventerous I'd suggest buying in the Hill District. It should be a premier place to live, with it's uber closeness to Downtown and easy access to 279 (commuting opposite the morning and evening rush no less), but it is alas not the safest or most desirable place to live for most people. They City is hoping to have an opportunity to change some of that with the ongoing Civic Arena redevelopment, but it won't be enough to push out the unwanted elements and turn the tide by the time your kids are ready for school. 10 years from now it's not going to be as much of a ghettos; maybe in 20 it won't be one at all.

[shlewis]

I highly recommend Bellevue so long as you don't care that it's a 'dry' town. If you can appreciate the traditional Pittsburgh foursquare with woodwork and character it may be a good fit. If you're more into new construction I'd steer clear.

There are some fantastic options in Observatory Hill that you may want to consider as well. It's Pittsburgh proper and would mean any kids would be fed into Perry. It's quick to downtown (15 minutes) and quick to Ross.

New construction is going to be difficult for you to find within 30 minutes of downtown for your budget.

[escilade18]

Originally Posted by John Dark

Look in Ross Township itself, or West View. IMO, both are better than Bellevue.

I would agree if they plan on settling down there with kids. For renting though, both Bellevue and Avalon are safe communities (although in a less than perfect school district) and the commute would be easy. Assuming the position is along McKnight road, it will take about 10 minutes to get there from either community

[ElijahAstin]

[quote=Brookline_sylvia;24083337]West View is nice, and very close to Ross and pretty reasonable to Downtown. Penn Hills gets a worse reputation than it deserves, so maybe it will be self-fulfilling prophesy one day. The Penn Hills government would probably like Pittsburgh to annex some areas adjacent to Homewood, but it's a larger and more respectable place than one might think just listening to news reports. High sewer bills though.[/quote[
I agree that Penn Hills is not all bad. In fact, I would venture to say that a sizable chunk of it is perfectly safe--nice even. That does not change the fact that (1) the crime and violence coming out of Homewood only lurks further east each year, (2) the school district is absolutely abysmal, and (3) factors (1) and (2) combined have left property values pretty close to stagnant. With the appreciation rates well below inflation, a homeowner's investment, barring an unforeseeable dramatic turnaround, would be a losing one in Penn Hills.

Originally Posted by Brookline_sylvia

If you were adventerous I'd suggest buying in the Hill District. It should be a premier place to live, with it's uber closeness to Downtown and easy access to 279 (commuting opposite the morning and evening rush no less), but it is alas not the safest or most desirable place to live for most people. They City is hoping to have an opportunity to change some of that with the ongoing Civic Arena redevelopment, but it won't be enough to push out the unwanted elements and turn the tide by the time your kids are ready for school. 10 years from now it's not going to be as much of a ghettos; maybe in 20 it won't be one at all.

What planet do you live on? You said it yourself; regardless of whether the Hill District should be a desirable location, it simply is not. Moving into a neighborhood based on forecasts made before its supposed incoming renaissances even remotely begins to take hold is a stupid gamble. If you want to indulge your more "adventurous" side, Garfield and East Liberty are the places to be. Even parts of Wilkinsburg. Definitely not the Hill.

[bradjl2009]

As with what others have said, I think you'd be pretty happy if you looked into a house in ross twp itself. The school district is decent, stores and the mall is very close, and you are also a rather short drive (distance and time) from the city and the great neighborhoods. Even though you said you want new construction, there isn't too much new in Pittsburgh and especially in your price range.