counties beyond city limits

[Ash3414]

I would suggest pine Richland, Hampton, Wexford/Mccandless, and cranberry. All fabulous places close drive to downtown but away from the city "life."

[Copanut]

There is no Wexford.

[trackstar13]

Why does everybody seem to be insisting that the OP should live in Allegheny county? If she/he wants lower taxes and a reasonable commute to downtown from time to time the OP would be fine living in Beaver, Washington, Butler, or Westmoreland counties. My parents still live in Allegheny county and as they are looking to retire they would like to leave because of the high property tax burden. They pay much more than the $4,000 per $100,000 rate that has been posted here and they have already been looking at comparable properties in Washington County and the property taxes are about 50% less than they pay now. I am always drawn to living in urban areas regardless of the taxes, but I have no problem with people wishing to live in the suburbs or exurbs. Sometimes I do wish these areas paid their fair share, especially if they share resources with the city, but our current property tax system in PA is extremely flawed.

The only thing I will say to the OP about living in the surrounding counties, you may want to be careful where you pick, because new schools and infrastructure can significantly change the tax situation. For instance, if you were living in an area like Cranberry Twp. that is seeing a significant population growth, you can probably expect significantly higher taxes in the near future. On the contrary, Beaver county has been losing a little population or staying about the same for several years now so property taxes may rise at a slower rate than an area that needs improved and increased amounts of infrastructure.

[XRiteMA98]

I was going to suggest that you look in washington county. this way you would be able to drive to the T and commute by T downtown. If you fond a job in Oakland you can take the bus.

Or in butler like people adviced you here. The commute is so much easier.

If I were you I'd first land a job and then figure out where to live. I personally have a rule that I never ever took a job that forced me to go through two tunnels every day. One is OK but if I can avoid even that one is even better.

As for greensburgh the commute is horrible. AT least this is me. I don;t like to drive and sit in traffic.

[Clint.]

Originally Posted by villageidiot1

Couple issues here. First, you want a house to retire in but you are concerned about resale value. Second, you "need to stay close (for commuting) to the city," but you don't know where you will be employed.

There is some information missing here to make a recommendation. Why is "downtown Pittsburgh is a central point of reference?" The only reason that I can guess why this would be true is if you are looking for a job in the health consulting field with one of several firms that are located in downtown Pittsburgh.

If you are looking for any other kind of healthcare position, you could end up finding it anywhere in the Pittsburgh region. Wouldn't you want to find the job first before you make a decision on purchasing the house you plan to retire in?

Well, maybe by the time she's ready to move, which is, afterall, "in the not to near future", there will be an expressway built from EBF straight to Downtown Pittsburgh so retirees can live far from the city but still easily commute to work there. Then, when they really retire they can can a good resale value on their house.