Commute Time + Good District + Decent Taxes = Perfect (Pittsburgh, Washington: chapel, new home)

[sazzaro]

My husband just got a job at CMU. The rest of us will be moving in June. We want a combo of a decent commute time plus a good school district plus decent taxes. HELP!

What is the commute time from Peters Township? Taxes and school district seem good. What is the best time to get on the road (a.m. and p.m.) if you want to avoid much of the traffic?

Thanks!

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by sazzaro

My husband just got a job at CMU. The rest of us will be moving in June. We want a combo of a decent commute time plus a good school district plus decent taxes. HELP!

What is the commute time from Peters Township? Taxes and school district seem good. What is the best time to get on the road (a.m. and p.m.) if you want to avoid much of the traffic?

Thanks!

Commuting from Peters Township to CMU will be terrible. The best school district within a short commute time would be Fox Chapel School District. Consider housing in Fox Chapel or O'Hara because O'Hara is also part of the Fox Chapel School district. If you live in Fox Chapel, his commute time will be 15 to 20 minutes---30 minutes in the worst imaginable traffice (i.e., rubber neckers looking at an accident). I know this because I drive regularly to Squirrel Hill via the Highland Park Bridge.

There isn't a decent commute time outside of Allegheny County. Peters Townships taxes are low because it's in another county. But out of the townships in Allegheny County, Fox Chapel is among the lowest.

These are the Allegheny County townships with the lowest taxes: Ben Avon Heights, Fox Chapel, Ohio, Kennedy, Indiana, Ross, Liberty, Sewickley Hills, Robinson and Sewickley Heights.

Check out the following site for a detailed listing of some of the lower tax municipalities surrounding Pittsburgh: http://www.twp.cranberry.pa.us/townshipfinances/taxcomparison.htm (broken link)

Fox Chapel is the closest to CMU.

[Smoker]

Why don't you tell us what you're comfortable spending on a new home and what your idea of decent taxes are?

[fadein2us]

I actually work in Peter's a lot as a computer tech. I'm always on the road so I would say that (in terms of taxes) it's better to live outside of Allegheny county. Many people leave in Washington county or sorrunding counties to save on the taxes. Really, it's a difference of 1% which may or may not be a large amount to you. However, different areas here have different expenses and local taxes.

Going from Peters to CMU might be a hike! You will probably have to use rt 19and go through the tunnels, or, you can hop on 79 north and take the highway into town.

Fox Chapel is a nice area though as the person said before this thread. CMU is awesome. Congrats to your husband.

[piquin]

Wow, with all respect, what a crazy thread! It's old, so hopefully no one is reading it. But just in case...

I am not sure a fractional difference in tax rates is a good way to choose a home. All the suggestions made here would result in hours in traffic every day, burning away any small tax difference in gasoline, sitting in traffic stuck behind some tunnel or bridge. Not to mention dying of boredom in Peters township or wherever.

Perhaps that's why most of the professional CMU staff live in the East End, mostly Squirrel Hill, Greenfield or Regent Square. I think most of the time instead of being quick to reply with a factual-but-misleading answer to an out-of-town poster, it would be better to ask a clarifying question. Like, "Are you sure you want to live in the countryside with nothing to do and doom your husband to hours of commute, while your husband's colleagues meet up regularly for after-work drinks at one another's houses in Squirrel Hill?".

[selltheburgh]

Originally Posted by piquin

Wow, with all respect, what a crazy thread! It's old, so hopefully no one is reading it. But just in case...

I am not sure a fractional difference in tax rates is a good way to choose a home. All the suggestions made here would result in hours in traffic every day, burning away any small tax difference in gasoline, sitting in traffic stuck behind some tunnel or bridge. Not to mention dying of boredom in Peters township or wherever.

Perhaps that's why most of the professional CMU staff live in the East End, mostly Squirrel Hill, Greenfield or Regent Square. I think most of the time instead of being quick to reply with a factual-but-misleading answer to an out-of-town poster, it would be better to ask a clarifying question. Like, "Are you sure you want to live in the countryside with nothing to do and doom your husband to hours of commute, while your husband's colleagues meet up regularly for after-work drinks at one another's houses in Squirrel Hill?".

Also, Point Breeze, Highland Park, Lawrenceville and Shadyside. Friendship, Morningside and East Liberty also have CMU staff living there.