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Review Elizabeth
Not Quite Suburban
2
rating
By
leadfoot9 (
Dec 03, 2016)
TL;DR: It's kind of suburban, kind of rural. The housing is cheap-ish, and the taxes are low-ish, but there's not much there. Expect to spend a lot of your time driving to places with an economy. Like any provincial area, you get nature and a low cost of living in exchange for... ...Read More
everything else.*******************************************************************I grew up here. It's not exactly the middle of nowhere, but it's still pretty provincial. There's one public transit stop in the entire 3-municipality school district, and only one real grocery store. You need to drive 10 miles or so to buy anything that isn't food or cigarettes. Sidewalks are almost non-existent. But at least one of the neighboring municipalities is even more rural and has to send its police to Elizabeth gas stations to fuel up. Looking at these ratings for Elizabeth makes me take everything else on this website with a grain of salt. I lived for a time in both Oakland and Shadyside. Shadyside is my dream neighborhood. I'd live there long-term in a heartbeat if I could afford it. I think the fact that it ranks only 3 points higher than Elizabeth on this website is... interesting. That is what prompted me to write this review.If you like deer hunting, quiet neighborhoods, and ardent Republicans, then maybe the Elizabeth area is a good fit for you. But, be warned, the commute to anywhere with good jobs is a long one. You're basically opting for the Westmoreland County lifestyle but the Allegheny County sales tax.I have no direct experience with the school system, but my cousin was an honor student at the local high school. She graduated without learning what the Great Depression was. Homework is apparently not a thing there, and large swaths of the school year are spent in study hall, to hear the students tell it. A family acquaintance was once attacked and beaten in the middle of the high school hallway by other girls, all while an accomplice videoed it to post online. My stereotype of an Elizabeth-Forward student is a racist, Kenny Chesney-loving redneck that drives a pickup truck to school. No, seriously. But somehow this site ranks it as a "B" in Education, while even the most well-reputed districts in the county are only getting a B+.Also, this website thinks there are 4 public and 1 private schools in the area. I don't know how they arrive at that, but using the broadest possible boundaries for "Elizabeth," there is ONE public school district with 6 or 7 buildings (4 or 5 primaries, 1 middle, 1 high school), and no private schools that either I or Google am aware of.It's not actually that hard to find a job here. Even though there are very few jobs, there's not much competition for them. I mean, the jobs are not good jobs, but they exist. I'd imagine the F in employment is due to all the retirees and housewives.Every year or two a house in my parents' neighborhood gets robbed around Christmas. A local business will get held up every few years. There's a convenience store that gets no real business and is an obvious drug front. Maybe that's an A+ crime rate. I don't know. I understand it's not bad-bad, but I'd figure that's enough to bump it down to at least an A. Police response time is pretty fast, at least.There are very few amenities here, unless you count free on-street parking. I don't understand where that B ranking came from. Maybe they're counting the gas station convenience stores as grocery store/coffee shop/entertainment venue/restaurant combos.My Rankings:Amenities: C-Cost of Living: A-Crime: B+Education: CEmployment: DHousing: B-Weather: B
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Family friendlyPublic transit is accessibleWalkable to grocery storesYards are well-keptLots of parksWalkable to restaurantsFriendly neighbors Safe at night Pet friendly Streets have sidewalksA quiet areaSense of community
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Compare Elizabeth, PA Livability
F
Amenities
Are there many local amenities in
Elizabeth?
Well, there are not many amenities close to this location.
Parks
Elizabeth Riverfront Park
Jacob's Park
Beedle Park
Clairton Park
Central Elementry School Playground
Round Hill Park
885 Andrew Reilly Memorial Park
Dead Man's Hollow Conservation Area
Entertainment
Family Funscape
Glassport Memorial Stadium
Food & Drink
Market Street Saloon
Beer D Spencer
Beer Belly's Bar & Grill
Frosty Cone
Scotty's Bar & Lounge
Fine Wine & Good Spirits
The Kickstand
Subway
F
Commute
Is public transit available in Elizabeth?
Of all people who commute,
5.6% take public transportation in
Elizabeth.