Elizabeth Township (not Elizabeth boro)

[Hopes]

I checked out the mobile homes in West Elizabeth satellite thinking they were fishing camps. That's quite something right down there next to the river between all of those businesses. Lots of junk yards too. It's not even like they get to enjoy fishing on the river with all of those barges. I've never seen trailers on private lots in a town like that. I'll bet the houses were lost in a flood years ago and the trailers were bought instead of rebuilding.

[Catia]

LOL-- that'd be a fishing camp in some Quentin Tarantino flick !

-I seriously felt like Juliet Lewis might just walk out of one of those trailer homes right into my car & start talking replete with yinzer accent.

West Elizabeth felt surreal, you could not plan that neighborhood scene any better if you tried.
It's got soul, & skeletons in it's closets, many many skeltons.

[alastad]

Originally Posted by Catia

Ok, so anyone here ever live in Elizabeth Township or familiar with the area?

Not Elizabeth Boro.

I was driving aimlessly checking out houses around Mckeesport & Versailles, & then crossed the Boston Bridge & fell in love with the area while driving & walking around over the past couple weeks.

From Boston to Buena Vista & all the roads in between been driving & walking looking for properties FSBO etc that I can't find online, because there is not much for sale in the area.

Found a house, put in an offer, & am smack in the thick of everything now.

I did find a tiny forum that has some info about the township, but not getting much response--
LOL a poster actually thought my questioning about the area was 'hokey' lol--whatever that means.

I figure yinz here probably know a bunch about it due to the trails along the yough.

So--tell me what you know!

I discovered Elizabeth when trying to find the Buena Vista access area of the trail, and fell in love with it too! There was a 4br house there, someone bought it now, but it was only $29,000, and IDT anything was wrong with it! Sort of an ugly house honestly, I mean it def needed a cosmetic update, but hey, it's an entire 4br house in a wonderfull area for only `$29,000, I would've taken it, if I could afford a house.

[guy2073]

This is how i get rid of my stress.

I put my kayak in under the boston bridge. I paddle away from mckeesport until the water gets Crystal clear and shallow. I stap my paddle to my kayak, lean back and let the current take me back to boston.

I love the area, it is so nice and peaceful.

There is or was a good deli in greennok

[gg]

Is Elizabeth in decline, stable or on the upswing? Can't imagine it is on the upswing if homes are selling for under $30,000. I have never been there, but am interested in the area.

[Catia]

gg--IMHO, it is not on the upswing or decline.

I'd say 'stable' for lack of a better term, because 'stable' doesn't entirely explain it, as there are other things to consider. I'd not invest in rental property hoping to make $$ there, but to live there--If you have stable work within a commutable distance, then 'stable' does more describe it.

Yes, there are some cheap homes in the area, those homes DO need work, & people aren't flocking to live there due to location & lack of jobs. Most who live there have deep roots.

I had looked at a bunch of cheaper houses that were/are on the market there. All of them have not had updates since the 70's at best. Most were in need of serious remodeling--plumbing/wiring etc, most were not insulated at all, think 70's paneling over deteriorating plaster, old w/w carpeting over old asbestos tile, old furnaces, drop ceilings--most had some basement dampness issues due to watertable & old construction practices. Additions over crawl spaces or old porches is also a big one.
When the mills closed, this area was hit hard-people who stayed made do with what they had-& that is how most of it remains today.
So when you see the cheap houses, know you will need to gut most of it.

When you say "Elizabeth", I am assuming you are talking about the surrounding areas as well???

"Elizabeth Borough" is just a tiny little spot-but it is in Forward Township. If you are not from the area, it is easy to confuse this, because it sits on the border of Elizabeth Township.
There is the larger area Elizabeth Township--it encompasses a bunch of tiny little villages/towns
like Buena Vista/Greenock/Boston/Mt Vernon/Central.

Are you considering the actual borough of Elizabeth, or one of the surrounding tiny towns? Or something more rural? Do you have kids? The school district is Elizabeth Township/Forward Township combined & appears a pretty decent school district.

Note: if you are searching the area, some of Elizabeth Township shares a post office zipcode with McKeesport--this is the only thing it shares with McKeesport--the zipcode digits & the postal route--This is true for the Boston/Mt Vernon areas, with a zipcode of 15135.

This zipcode issue does make things confusing because some of the properties on the market ARE listed as McKeesport--but are clearly NOT McKeesport--they are Elizabeth township & taxed as such.
Unless you are from the area, you are not going to know this.
You do not get much flow from McKeesport into Elizabeth Township.
Versailles Borough sits between McKeesport & Elizabeth Township. Elizabeth Township is then further removed by being separated by the Yough River & the Boston Bridge.

So the 15135 zipcode in Elizabeth township is not in anyway McKeesport, although even the real estate websites have 15135 listed as McKeesport, since they all tend to use the zipcode system to designate the areas & search criteria.
To the best of my knowledge, from the locals, all of 15135 is not McKeesport sch dist, it is Elizabeth/Forward School Dist.
15135 is a post office designation only.
I make this distinction because if you have kids, school districts are really important.
Also, McKeesport & Elizabeth Township are as different as night & day & I do not see this changing any time soon, so in that way, I will say Elizabeth Township is a very stable, tight-knit community, tight police force, low crime, more suburban & a lot of it rural, old fashioned.

McKeesport is urban, mostly on the decline & has a lot of the high crime element & gang activity that comes with being on an urban decline.

Elizabeth Township zipcodes:
15037--general eliz twsp
15047--greenock
15018--buena vista
15135--boston/mt Vernon

to make matters more confusing, Elizabeth Borough is also 15037, although it is Forward Township, but this distinction is less important, as Forward Township & Elizabeth Township are much more alike & share a school district.