Recommend areas for a forever home! (Pittsburgh, Allentown: house, neighborhood, luxury)

[urbanbird]

They are really selling it to say good things about Wilmington. I live in the historic district, one block away from the most beautiful homes in the city. We've had 27 shootings in our 3 block radius in the last year. 10 people killed in front of my home in two years. It's beautiful, close to ammenities, but the gangs and drugs are really taking over. The killers and the people being killed aren't even residents of my street!

[ferraris]

Urbanbird, I don't think you yourself have chimed in on school districts yet. Are you seeking top ranked schools, or just something generally acceptable?

[Goodjules]

Crafton.

[SlurmsMcKenzie]

Originally Posted by juliegt

Crafton.

What she said. Truly one of the best (if not the best) values in the Pittsburgh region.

[gg]

A forever home would most likely be out of Allegheny County. Butler or Westmorland would be a better choice IMHO. Why pay these crazy taxes and it is only going to get worse, with the lack of funding, because there is no money. Just a very poorly managed region.

[urbanbird]

We aren't actually considering public schools very much, sorry, I should have mentioned that. But the schools around here are so bad, all of PA's schools are probably better.

How do you guys feel about southside flats area? Wilkensburg area?

[urbanbird]

I'm loving the Crafton area by the way!

[urbanbird]

To give you an idea of the crime level I'm used to in Wilmington, DE:



The big red balloon, if you can see it mixed in with all of the bright red SHOOTINGS!!!! is my house.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by urbanbird

We aren't actually considering public schools very much, sorry, I should have mentioned that. But the schools around here are so bad, all of PA's schools are probably better.

How do you guys feel about southside flats area? Wilkensburg area?

Southside flats is not really good for families. It's generally safe, but it's Pittsburgh's biggest nightlife destination (home to something like 60 bars) and attracts a lot of people on the weekends. Parking can be a major issue in the evening and the drunks can pose problems by starting fights, vandalizing, urinating/vomiting on your property, etc.

Wilkinsburg is a unique case because it is large enough to have several different neighborhoods in it, some of which are really bad. If you want to have a family oriented life in Wilkinsburg you should basically stay west of the busway and south of Penn Avenue. Regent Square and Whitney Park are the two areas of Wilkinsburg that could be worth looking into. Keep in mind that Regent Square has some very high property taxes (but lower home values and lower income taxes than the city) and that the public school district should definitely be avoided. Regent Square itself is an anomaly because only a small section of it is in Wilkinsburg, the rest is in Pittsburgh, Edgewood, and Swissvale.

I think Regent Square fits the bill for everything you've said except for having a view. You have easy access to the playground, trails, and woods of Frick Park; there's a nearby business district along Braddock Avenue, and you have really easy access to explore the rest of the East End and downtown. There's also a strip mall style shopping center called Edgewood Town Center nearby, it's nothing to brag about but it would be convenient.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by urbanbird

To give you an idea of the crime level I'm used to in Wilmington, DE:



The big red balloon, if you can see it mixed in with all of the bright red SHOOTINGS!!!! is my house.

Wow, I don't even think a map of the worst ghettos here would have that much concentrated crime. In your price range it isn't even a question, really. The only way you could spend $150K in a ghetto in Pittsburgh is if you were a sucker for historic homes or a view....and even then it would still probably be cheaper than $150K.