North Huntingdon

Named after trees which have shaded the borough for over 300 years, White Oak has deep roots and branches of community organizations and businesses growing into the modern day. “I was one of the youngest people on my street when I moved here, and now I’m one of the oldest. Things have changed, but it’s so slow you don’t notice it,” says Keith Reigh, a member of the Rainbow Volunteer Fire Company who has lived in White Oak since 1978. “We have two great fire departments and a good police force. Even when we have the worst snow, the borough goes out and keeps the road clear for everyone.” Spreading out from a busy commercial intersection into a massive county park covered in old-growth forests and cutting-edge recreation amenities, White Oak combines natural beauty and suburban convenience on the eastern border of Allegheny County. White Oak’s blend of prewar, midcentury and early 2000s single-family homes pack sloping blocks off Lincoln Way and sit back on larger wooded lots and grassy subdivisions southeast of Long Run Road. Minimal traditional designs, ranch-style homes, Cape Cods and bungalows built in the early 1900s through 1960s are common, selling for $100,000 to $300,000 depending on lot size, interior upgrades and square footage. Colonial Revival two-stories and bi-level homes built in the 1970s through 2000s sell for $200,000 to $350,000. Some homes sit over integral garages, but people living in older properties solve street parking problems by adding short, narrow driveways and detached garages or carving out parking spots in the front lawn. While residents can catch the Port Authority Lincoln Highway Flyer bus at a few stops in the borough or Westmoreland Transit bus routes from the Carpenter Lane Park & Ride, most rely on personal vehicles to get around. Commuters drive north to Route 30 to merge onto Interstate 376 for a 17-mile drive into downtown Pittsburgh. Students and employees can find Penn State Greater Allegheny’s campus up Broadway Avenue on the northwest edge of the borough. Dozens of retailers and restaurants are concentrated in strip malls and roadside storefronts at the intersection of Route 48 and Lincoln Way, thinning out into commercial buildings and small offices further from the center. Oak Park Mall is one of the most popular plazas thanks to tenants like Giant Eagle, outpatient medical offices and Busy Beaver. Down Lincoln Way, locals enjoy Mediterranean cuisine at Rodos Greek Cafe or pick up New York-style pies from Rockaway Pizzeria. Away from fast food chains like Wendy’s and Subway, Plaza Azteca is a casual sit-down destination for Mexican favorites and margaritas in a dining room lit by colorful flower and sugar skull chandeliers. Several churches and a couple of synagogues provide religious services throughout the borough. The northeast corner of the borough is taken up by 800 acres of forests and rolling, grassy fields in White Oak Park. “There’s I don’t know how many picnic groves in that park. They just put solar panels up over one of the parking lots, we stay up on things as much as possible,” Reigh says. From parking lots on access roads throughout the park, locals can set out for forested hiking trails through rocky valleys, playgrounds with older slides or brightly painted new jungle gyms and a fenced-in dog park for furry friend meetups. While Heritage Hill Park is not nearly as sprawling, picnickers still enjoy the tree-shaded pavilion next to a mulchy, well-worn playground before crossing the grassy field to the White Oak Library or White Oak Pool. Kids start out at Francis McClure Elementary School which earns a C-plus from Niche, followed by Founders’ Hall Middle School which earns a C and McKeesport Area High School which earns a B-minus. McKeesport High students can receive technical and vocational education in areas like cosmetology and auto mechanics. On a Friday and Saturday each August, locals celebrate summer at Heritage Hill Park with lineups of local performers, family-friendly games and activities and all the essentials for a classic cookout at White Oak Borough Community Days. “We usually do a chicken sandwich and hamburgers, walking tacos. The pool’s open for the day, and there’s fireworks at night,” Reigh says. Earlier in the season, hundreds of vintage car, truck and bike owners register for a benefit car show and accompanying picnic and raffle drawings prepared by the Rainbow Volunteer Fire Company. Due to streams running throughout the borough, some homes and major roads experience flooding during heavy rain. Sections of Route 48 and Lincoln Way are commonly shut down until stormwater recedes and debris can be handled by the borough.

Escape to home sweet home with a spot in Cowansburg. This Westmoreland County enclave is made up of wide-open terrain, with rolling hills courtesy of the Appalachian Mountains. Properties here are spread out on sizable lots, providing residents with an element of seclusion. “It’s more of a rural area,” says area Realtor Darcy Riazzi of CENTURY 21 Fairways Real Estate, who has been selling for over 20 years. “You are more likely to get a house with a little more property and some privacy. The prices are lower than more urban settings.”<br><br>Cowansburg offers a mixed bag of homes, in an array of colonial- and Craftsman-inspired styles. These houses were built across a wide timeline, that dates back to the early 20th century and spans to recent years. The lots around Cowansburg are the common denominator — most are roomy. Properties that stretch multiple acres aren’t uncommon. Homes here dot sinuous county roads, that are otherwise lined with forestry. Homes in Cowansburg can sell for prices that range from under $100,000 to more than $200,000. <br><br>Kids in Cowansburg can enter schools in the Yough School District. Young students can start at HW Good Elementary for kindergarten to fourth grade. HW Good has a B-minus overall rating on Niche and a student-teacher ratio of 13-to-1. The C-plus-rated Yough Intermediate Middle School is next, for Grades 5 to 8. Extracurricular opportunities at Yough Intermediate Middle School include a boys soccer team and girls soccer and basketball teams. The area’s Yough Senior High School is particularly close for Cowansburg residents. This B-rated high school offers multiple STEAM-related classes, including an engineering course. <br><br>Cowansburg residents of all ages can head to nearby Crabapple Lake Park for outdoor fun. This community facility features a playground, multiple athletic fields and a lake that’s open to fishing. There’s even a pool here, that’s usually open during the summer months. The park also hosts multiple events, including free movie nights with an available concession stand. <br><br>Crabapple Lake Park is part of Herminie, a small community in the area with a quaint main drag called Sewickley Avenue, which has multiple restaurants that Cowansburg\ residents can hop over to enjoy. Herminie Diner is a well-liked option here, renowned in part for its breakfast. The breakfast menu here features everything from banana bread French toast to omelets with gyro meat. Speaking of gyros, the gyro platter on Herminie’s lunch menu is well-liked as well. Zala’s Cafe is another popular spot down the street, where residents can stop in for pizza, wings and an adult beverage, like a caramel apple martini. Cowansburg residents looking to scoop up groceries for a home-cooked meal can head down to the Giant Eagle Supermarket in nearby West Newton, just about 6 miles away. <br><br>Cowansburg is also just about 33 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, which is accessible via Interstates 76 and 376. So while this is a community perfect for those seeking a bit of privacy, it’s also not out of the reach of the rest of the region, a convenient juxtaposition.

Hempfield Township is the oldest local municipality in western Pennsylvania. With early 18th-century beginnings, this rural locality became known for its stills and distilleries where local farmers produced grains. Nowadays, busy town centers cluster around the major highway intersections, giving residents a chance to enjoy the area’s evolving culture and growing amenities. "It's a good town to raise a family in," says Debbie Macurak, Realtor at Berkshire Hathaway<br><br>There’s a wide spectrum of home styles, sizes and landscapes to choose from in this sprawling township. Buyers can pick out a manufactured home for $50,000 to $100,000 here, increasing with the size and level of updates. Simple midcentury ranch designs and split levels go for closer to $200,000 to $300,000. Condo units are available in growing Greensburg for those seeking maintenance-free living, priced around $250,000. Buyers will also find brand new builds cropping up throughout town, inching over $400,000. Historical homes scatter across the sprawling township in varying states of upkeep. Many buyers look to this area to reinvest in these character-rich residences. "Certain areas move more quickly than others - the rural properties tend to sit longer," Macurak says. Most Hempfield listings find new owners within a few weeks on the market. <br><br>The top-rated local school district is a primary draw for many Hempfield Township buyers. There are 11 campuses located throughout the area, ensuring doable daily drop-offs and pickups. Many Hempfield kids start at Maxwell Elementary and Harold Middle before continuing to Hemfield Area Senior High to finish their studies. Each public school has an overall score of B or higher on Niche. There are also several private and faith-based education options in town for those interested in exploring alternative schooling opportunities. <br><br>Parks and playgrounds accompany most of Hempfield Township’s residential developments - walkable amenities for many residents. Lynch Field is among the most popular, where residents bring the kids for ice hockey games and leash up the dogs to walk the woodsy trails. There’s a gym onsite where locals gather for group classes and workouts. Residents here also like to ride the Five Star Trail, a creekside biking route that starts in Youngwood and funnels into downtown Greensburg. The colleges nearby also have outdoor facilities that play host to youth sports. The township gathers at Robertshaw Amphitheater for live music performances during the popular SummerSounds concert series on mild Friday evenings. The Westmoreland Fairgrounds are a few miles away, filled with flashy rides, food and farm animals during the summer. The venue also hosts a holiday light show featuring towering apparatus’ crafted by the local welding society. <br><br>Hempfield Township locals can head to the closest town center for grocery shopping and other weekly errands. Greensburg is the largest, lodging a Giant Eagle Supermarket and the Westmoreland Mall, chock-full of clothing retailers. DeLallo Italian Marketplace is a staple stop for anyone passing through town, famed for its prepared meals and imported foods. Downtown Greensburg’s growing selection of local restaurants draws residents from across the region. The White Rabbit Café is a morning go-to for many, and Sittay’s Mediterranean Kitchen is a big hit with locals looking for a casual lunch and dinner spot. <br><br>Downtown Greensburg is bookended by a medical park and a business district, allowing lots of Hempfield Township locals to stay in town for a day at the office. Central Pittsburgh is a 30-mile trip away for city commuters, which typically amounts to 45 minutes in the car. Hempfield residents have access to Interstate 76 and several other intersecting highways for straightforward commutes across the region. City buses have stops lining the main roads for locals who prefer a car-free commute. The Greensburg Amtrak is in downtown Greensburg, a convenient option for long-distance travel. The Arnold Palmer Regional Airport is also a 15-mile ride east. Diverse housing options and a growing community await in Hempfield Township.