Up and coming middle income towns in the Pittsburgh area? (Penn Hills: for sale, crime)

[ferraris]

You mentioned Brookline. That should be in your price range if you are interested in living there.

[Goodjules]

I just bought a huge old house in Crafton this past Dec. for well under $200k. It needs some TLC but is perfectly livable as it is now. The Carlynton school district isn't great, but it's definitely not bad. Lot's of young families on my street. In fact I met another neighbor yesterday. A grandmother with her two year old grandson. It seems that mom was due to give birth to a daughter yesterday and Grandma was watching the little boy. Very safe and family friendly area. There isn't much on the market now, but two are on my block. I expect that come spring more properties will come on the market. I had an excellent realtor who has been working the area for 35 years. DM me for his contact info and any other questions you might have. it doesn't take long at all to get into Pittsburgh. However, I'm not commuting so I can't give you a picture of what rush hour is like. Still, the distance isn't far at all to get to downtown. And, we're a short drive to the Robinson area malls, Costco, Ikea, etc. as well as the airport. I think it is well worth your time to visit the area and see how you like it.

[Goodjules]

Forgot to mention that I believe that my neighbors, very middle class families, send their kids to the local schools. I see moms going back and forth during the school day. We're close to a public elementary school and a Catholic school. Do you have kids yet? My kids are 18 and 21 so I'm not too far removed from the whole school dilemma. I discovered that it is well worth visiting the schools in the area you're considering. Most offer scheduled tours or app'ts. I use my kids' k-8 school as an example. It had middle of the road test scores which might have put some people off. But 60% of the kids were English language learners (this was back in CA) which skewed the test scores. The school was wonderful. Dedicated teachers and staff, VERY involved parents, lots of multi-cultural activities. It was more than just a school, it was a community. I have very fond memories of the place. My kids got a great education and were exposed to kids from all walks of life. Had I just looked at the test scores I might have overlooked it and missed out on one of the best experiences of my life. I'm not exaggerating when I say this. Ignore the fear mongers and do your own research.

[Tirade]

Originally Posted by Imagen

Thank you for the replies. To expand on what we're looking for, I'll go into greater detail. As far as the house, we actually prefer older. No older than 1920's. I love Craftsman although we'd consider any kind of architecture but prefer 2 story homes and are looking for a minimum of 3 bd, 1 ba. I'd be willing to live as far away as Cranberry or as close as Brookline for example, as long as it's an easy commute to town. Preferably no more than 30-45 min. outside of downtown pgh. I don't like living in "The boonies", I like the diversity of urban living however I like my space..I don't want to live right on top of my neighbor. Gosh..maybe I'm looking for something that just doesn't exist in this town? lol! I feel like I'm being pretty open to all possibilities though. I understand that the term "middle class" is subjective or sadly even obsolete nowadays. Honestly, to describe my ideal town - Blue collar, modest but well cared for homes, safe/low crime rate, decent school district, convenient to shopping..I don't mind driving.

robrobrob, you may be right. Part of me thinks that maybe I'm just delusional as far as what we can afford vs. what we should be able to find. It would certainly easily explain why I simply can't find anything we like in our price range. I just can't wrap my head around the possibility that you can't find anything less than $200,000 without compromising your children's education and safety in this town.

It's funny you mention Brookline because there's a lot of quality housing stock here for under $100k. A quick search on Zillow just now shows that the highest-priced property in the neighborhood is $195k.

Allegheny County isn't the Bay Area or Manhattan. Finding a quality house in a nice neighborhood for under $200K is very, very easy. If you're having trouble finding something with a $200k budget, then you need to find a new real estate agent (or get one ASAP if you don't have one).

[Hopes]

Check out this bungalow in Ross Township for 145K

Ross Twp Real Estate - 727 Perry Highway, Ross Twp, PA, 15229

[Imagen]

Burghgirl17, what does the area of South Fayette consist of? And what school district is it? I suppose safety is in the eye of the beholder. I know even the worst areas in Pittsburgh don't compare to the worst neighborhoods in other major cities, but let's take where I live currently as an example, Turtle Creek- too many drugs on the streets, too many vehicular and home robberies..this isn't a town known for violent crime, but petty crime is on the rise. I know no town is without it's petty crime, I'd just rather have a bit less than what seems to be going on here.

What I find frustrating is when looking at real estate I find beautiful houses in neighborhoods that, simply because of their proximity to neighborhoods with bad reputations, are questionable choices. Take the neighborhood of Blackridge for example. Bordered by Churchill, Wilkinsburg and Penn Hills and in the Wilkinsburg school district, this neighborhood has lovely houses with great curb appeal and are the right price for us, but how safe is it, really? If it's only a matter of schools, my children already attend a charter school that they could continue to attend while living in Blackridge. But are houses so cheap because the outlook for the area is not good, even if it's not horrible now? Oh..it's all so frustrating!!

[Imagen]

Jiliegt, Crafton is not a place I've looked into but I'll look into it more. Thank you for the info! Tirade, I absolutely love many of the houses we've seen in Brookline! Wonderful craftsman characteristics! However, as far as safety/crime and school quality go, I'm not sure if we'd be any better off than we are in Turtle Creek. If it weren't for these things, I probably wouldn't hesitate to buy a house here. Hopes, that is a lovely house and just the style we're looking for! Unfortunately, we need a minimum of 3 bedrooms. Bummer!

[SlurmsMcKenzie]

Originally Posted by juliegt

I just bought a huge old house in Crafton this past Dec. for well under $200k. It needs some TLC but is perfectly livable as it is now. The Carlynton school district isn't great, but it's definitely not bad. Lot's of young families on my street. In fact I met another neighbor yesterday. A grandmother with her two year old grandson. It seems that mom was due to give birth to a daughter yesterday and Grandma was watching the little boy. Very safe and family friendly area. There isn't much on the market now, but two are on my block. I expect that come spring more properties will come on the market. I had an excellent realtor who has been working the area for 35 years. DM me for his contact info and any other questions you might have. it doesn't take long at all to get into Pittsburgh. However, I'm not commuting so I can't give you a picture of what rush hour is like. Still, the distance isn't far at all to get to downtown. And, we're a short drive to the Robinson area malls, Costco, Ikea, etc. as well as the airport. I think it is well worth your time to visit the area and see how you like it.

Rush hour to downtown from Crafton (the back way, through Sheraden) is probably a 15 minute drive. I take the bus too so I am not certain.

I'd say Crafton is firmly middle class, with most homes in the 75 to 175 range. The school district is solid, if unspectacular. The town elementary school is great, the locals came out in droves when the school board tried to close it a few years back. A merger may occur someday as Carlynton is just so small. I wouldn't be at all surprised if my daughter (she is 2 now) is one day attending high school at Montour or Chartiers Valley.

From what I can tell (from looking at realty websites), housing is starting to sell at a quicker rate in Crafton and homes aren't sitting for as long as they used to, which I take as a good sign.

Crafton is also about as safe as it gets. It is a very quiet town where neighbors watch out for each other, as I have learned in my short time here.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Check out this bungalow in Ross Township for 145K

Ross Twp Real Estate - 727 Perry Highway, Ross Twp, PA, 15229

It's not necessarily greatest fun fronting right on busy Perry Highway (that may be what makes price lower), but that is a nice area overall IMO and nice looking house.

I think that area and West View (which is just south of there) should still fit in the price range. There's nothing on the decline about that area and the schools are good.

[Hopes]

Hey, she said she liked craftsman style homes. That's what I found on short notice.