Relocation (Pittsburgh, New Castle, Robinson Township: real estate, apartment, rentals)

[smabel85]

My husband will be attending the Community College of Beaver County (in Beaver Falls) in the Spring. I graduated last year with my Bachelor's degree in Finance and currently work for an investment bank in Memphis and assume that I will most likely find a job in Pittsburgh. What would be some suggested towns that would be about halfway between the two cities? We are looking to rent. If anyone has knowlede of any real estate companies or websites in these areas that specialize in rentals that would be helpful too.

[velcro21]

Look at Moon Township, Robinson Township, North Fayette, and Imperial; possibly Sewickley and surrounding areas. The problem with coming from Beaver County to the city is the Ft. Pitt tunnel. Without traffic, you can get to the city from any of these places in about 20-30 minutes. With the tunnel traffic in the morning, it could be twice that. (There are some ways to shorten this commute but you'll have to invest some time in finding alternate routes). I would also suggest looking for work in Robinson Township, Carnegie, Greentree, or even Beaver--anywhere short of going into Downtown. I know most of the finance jobs will be Downtown but if you can find something outside the city, it will save you some commute headaches.
All things being equal, Robinson Township is 15 minutes from the Center Township exit (CCBC) and 15-20 minutes from Downtown (all via Route 60).

[birdlady]

Originally Posted by smabel85

I graduated last year with my Bachelor's degree in Finance and currently work for an investment bank in Memphis and assume that I will most likely find a job in Pittsburgh.

Don't assume anything in this town. I would take a trip here before you move to see if you really can find a job. Just because you have a Bachelor's degree in Finance does not necessarily guarantee you a job. The job market in Memphis is probably completely different than in Pittsburgh.

I don't know much about the Finance market but Bachelor's degrees are like high school diplomas here. There are a lot colleges here pumping out Bachelor degrees so competition is very high. Good luck.

I also wanted to note that Beaver Falls is not somewhere I would wish to live. The whole Beaver area is extremely depressed and it is very hard to even find a $7/hr job.

Here is Beaver Falls at a glance. Unemployment is at 12.2% which is substantially higher than the national average. Also note that the average income is $29K. There hasn't been a new single family house permit issued since 1997. That was 10 years ago! //www.city-data.com/city/Beaver...nsylvania.html

[PghREA]

You might also want to try the Youngstown, OH area for a job. Beaver Falls is about 1/2 way between Youngstown and Pittsburgh. New Castle is another choice.

[birdlady]

The only part of New Castle I would recommend is Neshannock. My grandmother lives there and the community is one of the wealthier/nicer looking ones. Honestly, New Castle is a huge hub for drugs in this area. They get funneled through New Castle and down into Cranberry and Wexford area.

[South Range Family]

The community college is not in Beaver Falls, unless he is going to the Beaver County Airport for air traffic control school. That's in Chippewa, but has a Beaver Falls Address. The campus is in Center Township. It's very convenient to route 60.
It's in a decent area. I would live in Center, or Hopewell. Moon is in Allegheny County. I don't know if that would cause a problem attending a Beaver County school.

Chippewa has apartment buildings about a half mile from the airport. It is also 10 miles from the Ohio state line. Youngstown would be another 20 miles from there. Chippewa is a safe sleepy town that is located at the last free exit of route 60.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by birdlady

I don't know much about the Finance market but Bachelor's degrees are like high school diplomas here.

There is a demand for finance majors in Pittsburgh. Furthermore, bachelors degrees in finance aren't like high school diplomas.

She would be wise to eventually work part-time towards her masters over the next few years, but it's not necessary for obtaining an entry level position in finance.

[Maaz]

The community college is in Monaca, not Beaver Falls (and I'm not aware of any other campuses but I could be wrong). Monaca is about 10 miles closer to Pittsburgh than Beaver Falls is. Two things to keep in mind: If he lives in Allegheny county and goes to a Beaver county community college, he will pay about double the tuition.

Secondly, traffic coming into Pittsburgh from the Fort Pitt Tunnel is quite bad in the morning. I've seen it take over an hour to get from Robinson to downtown Pittsburgh many times. So ---- if you're going to live in Allegheny county and are definitely working downtown Pittsburgh, I would live in or as close to the city as possible to avoid traffic everyday. Going to Beaver county for classes from Pittsburgh shouldn't be bad unless they are evening classes.

If you happen to find a job in Robinson, Moon, or anywhere else near the airport, you could maybe live in Beaver county, pay the lower tuition, and avoid the traffic going into Pittsburgh all together, but in your field, there's still a good chance the job will be in downtown Pittsburgh.

[Seattle Guy]

Originally Posted by birdlady

I don't know much about the Finance market but Bachelor's degrees are like high school diplomas here. There are a lot colleges here pumping out Bachelor degrees so competition is very high. Good luck.

The whole Beaver area is extremely depressed and it is very hard to even find a $7/hr job.

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You said it, Pittsburgh is good for churning out college grads with no prospects for a job. School are expensive in Pittsburgh too.

[smabel85]

Would you equate Pittsburgh's economy and job outlook to Beaver County's?