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| Median Home Price: $112,000 |
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New Wilmington is 10 miles from the sprawl of Prime Outlets in Grove City, but it feels like a hundred years. The borough, centered on the scenic campus of Westminster College, brings together "English" locals and the surrounding Amish farmers of Lawrence County. It's an unforced, friendly community that has both dignity and charm.
"It's a small, rural town with an agricultural past. People come in for supplies and church," says Tim Cuff, assistant professor of history at Westminster College. He and his wife, Carolyn, professor of mathematics, also at Westminster, love both the town and gown sides of New Wilmington, where they've lived since 1989.
"The access to I-79 south and Route 60 to the west means that we're not as isolated as we used to be," Cuff notes. Still, the Wilmington Area School District is one of the state's most sprawling, drawing students from 111 square miles.
New Castle, six miles west, offers convenient shopping; and Shenango Valley Mall is 25 minutes by car. Local merchants offer basics such as sandwiches and coffee--but no liquor. That ordinance gives this college town (about 3,000 residents; 1,600 students) a decidedly peaceful vibe. So does Brittain Lake by the college's playing fields. The huge body of water, whose boundaries were modeled after the state of Alabama's, provides a recreational space open for canoeing and fishing. Among the town's many attractive buildings lies a famous local landmark, the Tavern on the Square. Used as a stop on the Underground Railway, the site now houses a restaurant that offers sophisticated, candlelit dining. In the summer, tables migrate to the back patio under a century-old tree, where the hum of local traffic--horses and honeybees--sounds just right. |
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| Median Home Price: $365,000 |
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"Not many people know we exist. We're close to downtown and the airport, but still have a country setting," says 32-year resident Mary Grogan, who's raised her family here.
In the oldest, lowest section, broad, sidewalked streets run horizontally across the steep slope. Short vertical lanes connect yards punctuated by gazebos, swings and fabulous New England-style porches. The community center is a popular home to low-key pursuits such as the theater group. It's the polling place, too. "Everybody is political, in the sense that everyone votes and has an opinion, but there's no one-party affiliation. We have our own mayor and council as an independent borough," says Grogan.
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| Median home price: $71,278 |
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Pittsburgh's second-largest neighborhood sits atop century-old coal mines, and its values run equally deep. Perched along the crest of the South Hills, its solidly built four-squares bespeak strong family ties to this community centered at Brookline Boulevard and Pioneer Avenues one hill south of Mount Washington. When the century-old development was laid out, land was so cheap that much of it was sold for cemeteries; that sense of spacious suburban living persists in 1950s-style ranch houses just a few blocks from the business district. If you don't want the hassle of grass-mowing, this neighborhood also offers great apartment buildings.
Nearly 80 percent of Brookline residents own their own homes in this middle-class community, where average home values have risen slowly--about $20,000--in the past 10 years. And new families are finding a welcome here, too. "It's safe and peaceful and welcoming," says Beth McCracken, a paralegal who works out of her century-old farmhouse on Beaufort Avenue, a Brookline property she purchased with partner Ginny Bell three years ago. The pair stopped almost by accident at its "For Sale" sign a few years back; when they walked in, they fell in love with its woodwork, butler's pantry and big windows. "When it snows, there's almost a race among the neighbors to help you clear your sidewalk or windshield," she says.
"It's always been really kid-oriented around here. The more kid-friendly activities we offer, the more families are attracted," she says. Brookline Park is home to strong youth leagues in soccer, football and Little League baseball--the latter given grand status in the art-deco arch leading to the baseball diamonds.
The family feeling attracts second and third generations back to the community. On a sunlit weekday, the folks pushing strollers on Brookline Boulevard or enjoying swings at Moore Park's playground overlooking downtown are likely to be grandparents providing babysitting and spoiling. With the Liberty tubes two miles down the hill, the kids' parents can commute home from downtown in about 20 minutes. Spacious Brookline Boulevard, with four lanes and plenty of curbside parking, is scheduled for a $9 million facelift in the next few years. Stalwarts like Kribel's Bakery have been joined by newcomer Nico's Coffee Cove, and neighbors like McCracken and Bell often dine at the cozy Moonlight Cafe. < PREV NEXT >
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Nearby Volant, a crafts shopping village four miles down Route 208, has a reputation as an Amish center. But it's New Wilmington that walks the walk (or drives the buggies). There are as many horses on its streets as cars: Local Amish craftsmen often work with English-owned construction firms. 
The Cuffs live just a two-minute drive from campus in a home built before the town's 1797 founding. But many locals, he says, see the town as an affordable bedroom community not far from Pittsburgh, more than 50 miles south.
A marker at the borough's charming stucco community center (below) proclaims the neighborhood as an official historic district, a notable example of early-20th-century community planning and design. The design tradition continues, in homes designed by contemporary architects such as Tasso Katselas. Those newcomers are sandwiched between Tech Road's 1960s-style split levels by Chartiers Country Club and early-1900s mansions near the golf course. 
If you're looking to buy, chances are slim. "Turnover is sporadic, and houses aren't on the market long," warns Grogan. Most sell by word of mouth; outsiders may have a hard time getting in on the grapevine. But once you get here, it's like Brigadoon: You'll never leave.
Brookline has made an asset of the steep streets that fall away from either side of Brookline Boulevard with Brookline Breeze, a popular 5K foot race that pushes competitors of all ages. Debbie Brust, who's lived on Berkshire Avenue for 16 years, is director of this year's race, to be held Aug. 12.
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