White Oak!! (Penn Hills, McKeesport, Jeannette: middle-class, for sale, rent)

[BMan_152]

Hello!
I am currently a single guy looking to purchase my first home. I have squared away my finances and looked at a few homes throughout the eastern suburbs, but am still seeking..

Anyway, I have had my eye on White Oak for a while, and have taken a couple drives in and around the neighborhood. My impression was that it seems like a bright, cheerful, and meticulously maintained oasis in between a bunch of gritty and depressed neighborhoods.. I was really quite impressed with the neighborhood based on my explorations, but would love to get some input from anyone that is more familiar with the neighborhood than I am..

#1 - What is your opinion of the neighborhood? Is it a nice place?

#2 - Are there any areas in White Oak that should be avoided? I was looking particularly around the Lincoln way part, but also explored the state street part as well.

#3 - What about the stability of the area? Do you see it changing (for the bad or good) in the next 10 years?

#4 - the tax/school.. I was absolutely thrilled to see that white oak is one of the lowest taxed neighborhoods in the county (very important to me.. I despise government theft). If my calculations are correct, buying a home in White Oak could easily cut $50 per month off the mortgage compared to a similarly priced house in Penn Hills. Do you see the taxes remaining relatively low? I know the school district raised their taxes last year.. Is the district in financial trouble?

Anyway, thanks in advance for your help! I read through everything I could find in this forum regarding white oak, but most of it was a couple years old.. Figured it couldn't hurt to start a new thread..

[I_Like_Spam]

White Oak is certainly a peaceful and orderly town, good access to shopping experiences out on Rte 30 and if you're working for WABCO, Bettis or one of the other ongoing enterprises in the valley.


But there are negatives. The Mon Valley is still suffering from the effects of the Steel Collapse of the early 80's, McKeesport Area is a sort crappy school district, and White Oak's population is significantly older than most places. A lot of houses are going to have to move, yet there is little reason for anyone to move into the area.


You'd do better with neighboring North Huntington, IMO.

[safak]

Unfortunately you are going to pay a lot more money in neighboring North HuntingDon as well.

White Oak is a good place if your budget is sub 100k, you have to be in the east suburbs, and you don't have to worry about schools. Although supposedly the catholic school right there is the cheapest in the area and pretty decent, I don't know that first hand.

Its not a dangerous place, there is more crime than North Huntingdon, or Jeannette for that matter, but nothing to scare anyone away just yet.

[guy2073]

White oak is a nice area, I would live there. Port vue is also nice for a little less money. Liberty boro is also a great area.

[PreservationPioneer]

There are also nice neighborhoods within the city of McKeesport. There is Fawcett Plan (near White Oak), Myer Park (Myer Avenue and Duquesne Avenue area), the neighborhoods near Renzie Park, Grandview District, "Pill Hill," the area near Auberle, and the somewhat less stable but still decent Library District, Christy Park, Bowman Avenue / East End area, and Upper 10th Ward. There is also Versailles, Little Boston, Port Vue, Liberty, Dravosburg, and Glassport to choose from, all of which seem decent to me.

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by safak

Unfortunately you are going to pay a lot more money in neighboring North HuntingDon as well.

White Oak is a good place if your budget is sub 100k, you have to be in the east suburbs, and you don't have to worry about schools. Although supposedly the catholic school right there is the cheapest in the area and pretty decent, I don't know that first hand.

Its not a dangerous place, there is more crime than North Huntingdon, or Jeannette for that matter, but nothing to scare anyone away just yet.

Jeannette is one of the "roughest" places in Westmorland county. White Oak is significantly nicer.

[BMan_152]

Thanks for all of the helpful replies

Regarding North Huntingdon, I have done some searching here, and it is an all around better location (better schools/Westmoreland county/more convenient drive to work/better stability), but as stated by Safak, it's more expensive, and a bit out of my price range (60-80000)..

I have heard good things about Liberty Boro as well, and have done some searching over there (though not as much as white oak).. Will have to check out the other neighborhoods you guys have listed. Thanks

[robrobrob]

I haven't followed the recent sales but sometimes homes in Blackridge dip below 100,000. One is for sale for 50,000 now and there are a few for sale for between 110-000-125,000 in the Churchill part. Keep in mind those are asking prices and most likely a home on the market now is still on the market because it is priced wrong.

I would also say that you should listen to Preservation Pioneer because he is familiar with the Mon Vally as well as Chalfant, right?

[SteelCityRising]

My concern about White Oak is that it houses a plethora of elderly homesteaders who left McKeesport and bought newer homes there decades ago in the 1960's-1970's. As they die off relatively rapidly a lot of homes there will be going on the market in the coming years, assuming most of the heirs wish to offload the houses instead of holding onto them. Will the homes sell to a new generation of middle-class families seeking the American dream, or will they sell to landlords who will rent them out to problem tenants? The latter has been the case in parts (not all) of Penn Hills over the course of the past decade.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

My concern about White Oak is that it houses a plethora of elderly homesteaders who left McKeesport and bought newer homes there decades ago in the 1960's-1970's. As they die off relatively rapidly a lot of homes there will be going on the market in the coming years, assuming most of the heirs wish to offload the houses instead of holding onto them. Will the homes sell to a new generation of middle-class families seeking the American dream, or will they sell to landlords who will rent them out to problem tenants? The latter has been the case in parts (not all) of Penn Hills over the course of the past decade.

AFAIK, White Oak has always been on the working side of middle class--more so than Penn Hills in its heyday. It doesn't help that it feeds into McKeesport Area SD. Suffice to say, it's not an American Dream destination for upwardly mobile families.

White Oak is interesting because it has a small, but fairly tight, core on the McKeesport border but is sparsely populated in the eastern half past the point of sprawl and into semi-rural territory (<500 ppsm). It also has its own eruv, which even few PGH Jews seem to know about.