Moving from Houston to Pittsburgh with 5 kids! (Bethel Park, Plum: apartments, rental) - Pennsylvania (PA) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

Hopes · 01-30-2014, 11:37 AM

I was looking on Craig's List. It seems you can get a 3 bedroom in Monroeville, Murrysville, and North Huntingdon for between $900 to $1,500.

Stay away from Penn Hills or any area that attends Woodland Hills School District (Forest Hills, Churchill, Turtle Creek, etc.) Penn Hills and Woodland Hills school districts are not desirable.

gg · 01-30-2014, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hopes

That's not true. Texas has a very low cost of living.

Their housing is cheaper than ours (they can get new construction for under 200k).

Their taxes are MUCH lower too.

For Texans, Pittsburgh is doable but it's not a big savings like you experienced.

(Crafton is great but not located conveniently for where her husband will be working.)

You can't compare a state to a city for cost of living. Austin for example is more expensive and Dallas is a little more expensive. Your comparison is enhanced a bit due to the size of Texas. I got a chuckle out of it.

Hopes · 01-30-2014, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by h_curtis

You can't compare a state to a city for cost of living. Austin for example is more expensive and Dallas is a little more expensive. Your comparison is enhanced a bit due to the size of Texas. I got a chuckle out of it.

I was just trying to point out to GoodJules that the windfall of moving here from San Fran doesn't necessarily apply here. We've had many people moving here from Texas complaining about how expensive it is by comparison due to our taxes. The OP is from Houston. Houston's metro is cheap by comparison. They're used to NEW construction down there for the price people buy 100 year old houses here.

gg · 01-30-2014, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hopes

I was just trying to point out to GoodJules that the windfall of moving here from San Fran doesn't necessarily apply here. We've had many people moving here from Texas complaining about how expensive it is by comparison.

It is expensive in Pittsburgh compared to other places. For example, if you lived in Titusville, PA and moved to Pittsburgh, you would be in shock at the prices. Love Titusville! Anyway, I agree that most places in Texas are pretty cheap. Why wouldn't they be? Who the heck wants to live in the dust bowl filled with super conservatives that want to take all your rights away. That state sure makes the news a lot.

I am not sure where to tell the OP to look. Do you think they would be accepted as easily in Murrysville as Penn Hills? Not sure about that. Maybe the city would be a better fit? Some of those burbs up that way aren't exactly friendly, but I just don't know. I think the OP needs for visit the schools as a very high priority to get a feel for everything there. There are still reasonable places in the city.

Ummsantos · 01-30-2014, 12:01 PM

It's not so simple as that. If you call the center they won't help like the folks on city data do :-) Mosques aside, good school districts in South Pittsburgh? Neighborhoods with parks and shopping in between both Mt. Pleasant and Pittsburgh.

Hopes · 01-30-2014, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by h_curtis

I am not sure where to tell the OP to look. Do you think they would be accepted as easily in Murrysville as Penn Hills? Not sure about that. Maybe the city would be a better fit? Some of those burbs up that way aren't exactly friendly, but I just don't know. I think the OP needs for visit the schools as a very high priority to get a feel for everything there. There are still reasonable places in the city.

Penn Hills school district sucks. There wouldn't be a large amount of Muslims in the Monroeville and Murrysville area if they weren't feeling comfortable. One of my children's sitters (Muslim) moved from the North Hills to Murrysville. I never heard her complain about the area.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ummsantos

It's not so simple as that. If you call the center they won't help like the folks on city data do :-)

That's disappointing. Are you sure? If I were worried about how my religious beliefs were accepted in a region, I would call my church in the new area. They know where their members live.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ummsantos

Mosques aside, good school districts in South Pittsburgh? Neighborhoods with parks and shopping in between both Mt. Pleasant and Pittsburgh.

South of Pittsburgh? I don't know much about the southern suburbs for concentration of muslims. There's a huge park down there called South Park. The good school districts are Mt. Lebonon (high jewish population), Upper St. Claire, Peters Township. A good school district that isn't as expensive would be Bethel Park. Jefferson Hills is another one. I'd check into all of those areas first to see if you can find housing in your price range. If not, we'll give you another list of areas.

I can't find a mosque south of Pittsburgh. There's one in Carnegie. You don't want to live there, and it's too far north to be convenient for your husband to commute. Based on mosque placement, Monroeville and Plum look like better options for being near like-minded people and your husband's commute. If you live south, there aren't any mosques nearby. The closer you get to the mosque in Carnegie, the worse the commute for your husband.

Disregard that large void of towns along the Monongahela River (the river south of Pittsburgh) because that's a huge depressed area.

SuburbanPioneer · 01-30-2014, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by h_curtis

Who the heck wants to live in the dust bowl filled with super conservatives that want to take all your rights away.

All my ex's.

Hopes · 01-30-2014, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuburbanPioneer

All my ex's.

How many ex's do you have? And do they all really live in Texas?

Hopes · 01-30-2014, 12:58 PM

I'd like to mention a few more things about Bethel Park. Not only is it located right next to South Park (a huge recreational park), but it has a nice community center, and many small playgrounds. There are organized summer activities at the small playgrounds scattered about the township. It would be an hour long commute for your husband. The mosque in Carnegie is 20 minutes away.

However, your husband's commute from Monroeville will be 30 minutes. There are two mosques located there---one in Monroeville and one in Plum. You really can't find better than living West of Pittsburgh in this area.

There isn't anything between Mt. Pleasant and the south hills that I haven't mentioned that would be appropriate. That whole area in between Jefferson Hills/Bethel Park and Mt. Pleasant is depressed or isolated for a muslim family.

rockthecasbah121 · 01-30-2014, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ummsantos

It's not so simple as that. If you call the center they won't help like the folks on city data do :-) Mosques aside, good school districts in South Pittsburgh? Neighborhoods with parks and shopping in between both Mt. Pleasant and Pittsburgh.

Most places close to a mosque or muslim population will be a pretty far commute to Mt. Pleasant for your husband. In that immediate area, Mt. Pleasant School District and Southmoreland are decent districts and there are some nicer housing developments. Greensburg and Irwin are slightly larger areas with decent schools and an OK commute to Mt. Pleasant. Greensburg is likely where you would be spending most of your time if you lived in any of these areas, as it has the mall, big box stores, chain restaurants, etc...

As far as getting closer to Pittsburgh, there isn't really much directly located in between the two areas and it's not that much of a straight shot for travelling in between either.