Moving to Pittsburgh area from out of state.. how is Bethel Park? (Lebanon: lawyer, new home)

[atlbraves49]

Originally Posted by guy2073

bethel park is a nice area, there is never going to be a housing shortage, you will have alot of choices. athletics are a source of pride for school age families, as in usc and mt lebo. i dont see houses deprecating in value in bethel park. there is easy accedd to the t, and driving to the southside is not too hard.

areas i would also look at are south fayette, scott twp, south park, norwin school district.

okay dorothy has children in south fayette, she maybe able to tell you about that area better.

i live in usc, i am middle class, i was able to find a nice house for under 100,000 ,i had to put some money into it but it was the area we wanted.

Definitely going to consider scott twp and probably even south park.

S Fayette is probably stretching it on the commute. USC is probably my limit going west.

[sskink]

Originally Posted by atlbraves49

Definitely going to consider scott twp and probably even south park.

S Fayette is probably stretching it on the commute. USC is probably my limit going west.

Have to warn you that a commute from Scott Twp to the West Mifflin area is going to be painful. Scott is nice, but commuting-wise, you don't want to be on that side of Mt. Lebanon. Too few routes, too many lights = traffic choke points whichever route you choose.

The issue with heading toward West Mifflin from Mt. Lebo or USC is that there's basically only one direct route, Broughton to Curry Hollow. And that gets severely backed up, especially on the evening commute back. Whitehall or South Park would avoid some of that.

Whitehall has some very nice neighborhoods, with housing stock very similar to areas of USC like Trotwood/Old Trotwood but $50-$100K less. Schools are OK if not "great" to ML/USC standards.

[atlbraves49]

Originally Posted by sskink

Have to warn you that a commute from Scott Twp to the West Mifflin area is going to be painful. Scott is nice, but commuting-wise, you don't want to be on that side of Mt. Lebanon. Too few routes, too many lights = traffic choke points whichever route you choose.

The issue with heading toward West Mifflin from Mt. Lebo or USC is that there's basically only one direct route, Broughton to Curry Hollow. And that gets severely backed up, especially on the evening commute back. Whitehall or South Park would avoid some of that.

Great info to have, thanks.

Originally Posted by sskink

Whitehall has some very nice neighborhoods, with housing stock very similar to areas of USC like Trotwood/Old Trotwood but $50-$100K less. Schools are OK if not "great" to ML/USC standards.

That's good to know, maybe something to consider at least for the "pre" school years.

[JLeigh2182]

My parents moved us to Whitehall when I was in middle school and still live there now. I'm a graduate of the high school and my sister and her husband bought their first house there.

It was a great area to grow up in. My father worked in Pleasant Hills at the time so the commute for him was a breeze.

The school district is large and there are plenty of sports, clubs, and other activites to get involved in, but you're quite a few years from having to worry about that.

The houses in my parents neighborhood very rarely go up for sale. People walk their dogs and kids play in the yards. It's a nice area. I never had any complaints.

[atlbraves49]

Originally Posted by JLeigh2182

My parents moved us to Whitehall when I was in middle school and still live there now. I'm a graduate of the high school and my sister and her husband bought their first house there.

It was a great area to grow up in. My father worked in Pleasant Hills at the time so the commute for him was a breeze.

The school district is large and there are plenty of sports, clubs, and other activites to get involved in, but you're quite a few years from having to worry about that.

The houses in my parents neighborhood very rarely go up for sale. People walk their dogs and kids play in the yards. It's a nice area. I never had any complaints.

Any idea what might account for the mediocre school ratings?

*edit1* The one I linked to was apparently the wrong school (ranked a 6 but near Allentown), Going to keep looking but I recall them being close to a 6 when I looked at houses on Zillow

*edit2* I'm guessing it's Baldwin High School? ranked a 7 but the middle school is ranked a 6..
http://www.greatschools.org/pennsylv...r-High-School/

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by atlbraves49

*edit2* I'm guessing it's Baldwin High School? ranked a 7 but the middle school is ranked a 6..
Baldwin Senior High School - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - PA - School overview

Baldwin shares the school district with Whitehall. It's much more downscale overall, a working-class white kind of suburb. There's nothing bad, dangerous, or sketchy about that area though.

[JLeigh2182]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Baldwin shares the school district with Whitehall. It's much more downscale overall, a working-class white kind of suburb. There's nothing bad dangerous or sketchy about that area though.

This is fairly accurate. Baldwin Boro, Baldwin Township, and Whitehall all share a school district.

There are some more run down areas of Baldwin, but nothing unsafe. I thin Eschaton was correct in using "working-class".

There is an apartment complex in Whitehall that has a lot of immigrants through Catholic Charities. I remember reading somewhere that the district has the highest ESL population in Allegheny County.

I received a wonderful education in the district and don't feel like I missed out on or was deprived of any opportunities. I liked the diversity of being able to go to school with so many kids of different economic and cultural backgrounds. Sure, it wasn't Mt. Lebo or Upper St. Clair but I did just fine.

Here is an article from 2001 (a year after I graduated) about the Catholic Charities refugees and the programs at the school.

Baldwin-Whitehall staff strives to integrate 200 refugee students and make their schools 'islands of tolerance'

Let me know if you have any other questions. Whitehall might not be what you decide on but Baldwin is not a "bad" district nor a "bad" place to live.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by JLeigh2182

There is an apartment complex in Whitehall that has a lot of immigrants through Catholic Charities. I remember reading somewhere that the district has the highest ESL population in Allegheny County.

That complex has a very large Asian population nowadays. I'm not sure what countries in particular are represented however. Probably some of the Bhutanese refugee population is located there for sure.

[JLeigh2182]

Originally Posted by eschaton

That complex has a very large Asian population nowadays. I'm not sure what countries in particular are represented however. Probably some of the Bhutanese refugee population is located there for sure.

You're absolutely correct. I see them walking frequently between the apartments and the Giant Eagle in Brentwood.

I wouldn't be surprised if there were 15+ different nationalities residing there right now.

When I was in school there was a high Bosnian population. But since they have been in the area for so long so many have them have purchased houses and are now sending their children to the schools in the district. It really has been a fascinating shift in the past 15 years.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by atlbraves49

*After some more research it seems Whitehall may be a more affordable option.. thoughts?*

Baldwin Whitehall is a pretty diverse community, a lot of refugees have settled out there.


Further, if the OP is Roman Catholic, St. Gabriel's School is a tuition free elementary school which can be a point of positivity if that's what the OP or someone else reading this is interested in.