Potentially looking for new neighborhood - love yours? Tell me about it...

LucyP2013

Hey ladies - DH and I currently live in Mt. Lebanon - we love it but we are expecting twins in June (already have a 4 year old) and are discussing our finances and living arrangements as we are not sure whether or not I'll be able to continue working.  One possibility includes moving to a community with lower taxes (and very reasonably priced housing stock - we'd be looking for something livable with at least 3 bedrooms - but that also needs a little love so we could get it at lowest cost possible - ideally under 150.)  Looking for insight into other communities - we are willing to cross rivers!  ;-)  Thanks for any insight/info you feel like providing. 

lala5507

We live in Moon and love it.  It has a good community feel, the school district is good and the house prices are lower than some other areas in Allegheny co. 

carcrashheart

It doesn't help the tax situation but we used to he in Whitehall. There were a few homes around us that were up for sale and well under that price. We were over by the church, so if we had stayed LO could have gone to catholic school for free through 8th grade provided we were members of the church. I am not a fan of catholic school but it meant school was a few doors down from us and tucked away in a neighborhood. That seemed worth it. I liked being closer to rt 51 and not so deep in to the south hills. Now that we have moved out of state i become infuriated with it taking so damn long to get to where we're going because we have to wind through the south hills. It just annoys me far too much. 

gwennythepooh

We live in McDonald and love it. It's a very small town just inside the Washington County border (a corner of town is Allegheny). Very walkable community. Houses and taxes are extremely reasonable. Because this is an old coal mining town, the houses are older and you can snag a good deal on one that need a little TLC (that was the case with ours). I definitely recommend looking closely at houses, as with anywhere there are good and less desirable parts. But I've never felt unsafe here.

That being said - it's not for everyone. While we have basics (we have a GE, we have a Dollar General/Family Dollar, banks, etc), it's still a small town. The Subway that went in a couple years ago was the first fast food (several mom and pop establishments). We are 15 minutes to Robinson, Canonsburg and Bridgeville, so you can easily get to more stuff.

MandyMilller

We live in Westmoreland County (lower taxes) in North Huntingdon. Good school district and closer to Allegheny County than some other parts of Westmoreland. The Westmoreland County Transit is very nice too if your H works in the city. Much nicer than the PAT buses. They've put a lot of new stuff in since I was a kid -- Target, Walmart, Starbucks, Applebees, etc.

 

There are a lot of new housing plans, but you could find an older 3BR in that price range. We just moved out of one of the older neighborhoods and sold our house for a bit more than that and it was a very nice house and neighborhood. Three kids would've been a bit cramped though.

october2004

Do you currently own a house in Lebo? Just asking because moving costs (realtor commissions, closing costs, etc.) are so expensive. It might eat up a lot of the savings you might get from lower taxes and a less expensive house, at least for the first few years.

I think you're probably going to have to move out of Allegheny County to get much lower taxes. I can't help you much there. But there are definitely 3-4 BR houses in Lebo in the $150,000 range. I am sure that the 4 BRs are fixer uppers, but if you are handy and want to stay, it could work.

Are you planning on sending your kids to public school? IMO, an excellent public school system is worth the higher taxes.