Relocating to Pittsburgh from Houston (York, Bethel Park: rent, mattress, house)

[TexasGrl2010]

Husband's job is transferring him to work in a town 50 miles west of Pittsburgh. I would wither up and die in a small town. I know that's relative. Pittsburgh is a small town in comparison to Houston at 4.5 million but I live in the suburbs of Houston and I think Pittsburgh has similar amenities to a larger city. We would want to be west of the city to accommodate my husband's commute but with fairly easy access to the city since I will be looking for a job myself.

Looking for an area that is family friendly, culturally and racially diverse, and safe. My current neighborhood is comprised of families from Russia, Indonesia, Africa, Norway, Brazil, and Mexico as well as the US. Not sure we will find that in Pittsburgh but hopefully something close.

Need a great public school system - I believe in and volunteer in the public schools and want my kids to continue to attend excellent public schools.

I'm open to ideas. I've had an area suggested - Robinson. Any info or other ideas?

[Citypoot]

Texas Girl,

I've lived in both Houston and Pittsburgh.

I think you will be pleasantly surprised about the notion of Pittsburgh being a "small town". Realize Pittsburgh's city boundaries are drawn pretty close to the vest, as the city's metro area actually about 2 million people.

What I found is Pittsburgh is the IDEAL size, in that it's small enough that 3 hour traffic jams and 10-lane highways don't exist, however, the things people REALLY want in a big city (pro sports teams, fine dining, great parks, museums, great shopping options, great colleges, great medical facilities, art festivals, theatres, symphonies, concert venues, a nice skyline, etc) all exist in Pittsburgh. It's almost like Pittsburgh is as small as you can get without losing the purpose of a big city, without QUITE crossing that line, and in that sense, I enjoy it a great deal more than Houston.

Racially, Pittsburgh is overwhelmingly white, a small black population of about 15%, and a very small "other" population (latino, asian, indian) combining for less than 5%. HOWEVER, one neat thing about Pittsburgh is many of its "white" neighborhoods, are very ethnically singular unlike more transient cities like Houston, so you get an italian neighborhood, a chech neighborhood, a polish neighborhood, an irish neighborhood, etc. Not to mention Pittsburghers or "Yinzers" as they're called, are their OWN culture, trust me on that.

But to answer your question...

If you're home budget is 150 to 250k, a good option on the west side of town is Bridgeville, McMurray, Bethel Park are all good options.

If you're home budget is 250 to 400k, Cranberry, Wexford, Bradfordwoods, Castle Shannon, and some of the ritzier subdivisions in Moon Township are all good choices.

If you're really high rolling in the 400K and up area, I'd look into Sewickely Heights, Treesdale, and Upper St.Clair.

Those are all good choices if you want a larger yard, a more suburban to rural subdivision on the outskirts of the city, where a 15 to 30 minute drive to downtown is in order.

Now if you want a nice home right IN the city, where the more metropolitan faire is at your fingertips, the layout of Pittburgh has most of these "inner neighborhoods" east of it's downtown area, such as Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, Washington's Landing, etc...and IF you can afford it, Mt.Washington is a neighborhood overlooking the city from a huge cliff, and while the neighborhood on the whole is middle of the road, the road right on the cliff edge, known as Grandview Avenue, has some very expensive properties with easily the most stunning urbanscape view of any home in the country (an opinion backed up by National Geographic).

The whole area around Pittsburgh is comprised of beautiful lush green hills, however the general consensus is the hills to the south and west of the city, in areas like Washington and Greene Counties, tend to be the most pastoral and "Irish-like", and with I-70 (the area's largest east west corridor) and I-79 (the areas largest north south corridor) intersecting in the town of Washington Pa about 45 minutes southwest of Pittsburgh, that area is probably your best bet strategically, but you're getting into cultureless rednecks when you're that far outside of the city. A good compromise where you're close to that key intersection yet still in the more educated and affluent suburbs of Pittsburgh is the Southepointe area, which is about halfway between Pittsburgh and Washington Pa along I-79. That area is sort of a yuppie-corridor with country clubs, corporate offices, sports bars, etc.

In terms of Pittsburgh's most progressive, diverse, alive areas, again I'd direct you to those more urban suburbs like Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, and Oakland. Squirrell Hill has a large Hesidic Jew population, borders predominantly black neighborhoods, has a small but present Asian population, and the whites there tend to be very liberal, as is the scene in neighborhoods like Regent Square and Point Breeze.

The weather (prepare yourself) will seem brutal to a southerner mid-December through Mid-March, with even November and April having a handful of frigid days, however, the tradeoff is your summer months are 82 and pleasant instead of 96 and relentlessly stagnant like Houston. I'd say both cities are similar in that they both have 3 months a year that really limit recreational options outdoors, only Pittsburgh is is about Dec 15 through March 15, and Houston is about June 5 through September 5.

Mark my words though; on your first night in Pittsburgh, treat yourself to a 5-star dining experience atop Mt.Washington overlooking the city at a restaurant like The Lemont, the Tin Angel, or a place more reasonably priced like the Kohl Hill Steakhouse or The Monterray Bay Fish Grotto. Experience the breathtaking archetecture of Fallingwater an hour southeast of town and stop by the spectacular mountain waterfalls in nearby Ohiopyle State Park, take in a ballgame at PNC Park when the Astros come to town and experience ESPN's "Most Beautiful Ballpark In America". Take in a play at the Benedum Center or Pittsburgh's nationally renowned symphony, take in a night of drinks and wild times on Carson Street in Pittburgh's partying Southside neighborhood, enjoy a night of drinks out on a paddleboat of the Pittsburgh Gateway Clipper Fleet seeing the city's stunning archetecture from angles you can't see any other way. Rent a romantic mountain chalet and enjoy skiing and winter horseback ride at Appalachian resorts nearby like Seven Springs or Hidden Valley, liven your intellect by taking in renowned lecturers at great colleges like Carnegie Mellon or University of Pittsburgh, take in the city's great celebration of the arts at museums such as the Andy Warhol Museum, The Mattress Factory, or any one of several Carnegie Museums all of which are stunning.
Enjoy a day of exotic animals at the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium, and then make your way over to the National Aviary, aptly named as one of the finest in America. Perhaps you should arrive to that 5-star restaurant that first night by taking the city's famed Duquesne Incline up Mt.Washington, where a great history of the city will greet you atop the incline house, but for a truly comprehensive education on Pittsburgh, stop by the Heinz History Center shortly after moving there where you'll learn of the many incarnations of this great American city. Take a fall drive at peak color through the area's sleepy little towns south of the city along Route 40 also known as National Pike, once America's most significant east-west route, as it passes through towns like West Alexander, Claysville, and Centerville, as it makes it's way towards Nemacolin Woodlands, a spectacular world-class resort in the mountains famed for its fall wine-tasting parties and exquisite grounds. Another nice area resort is Ogelbay across the border in Wheeling West Virginia, and more affordable. Pittsburgh also has a great waterfront casino called The Rivers which is brand new and just got table-games to go with their slots if high-rolling is your thing. Also, don't miss the Pittsburgh Arts Festival or Shadyside Arts festival each year in early summer, as they really are a great way to experience and mingle with fellow Pittsburghers, and if you get a hankering for the ocean being from Houston, fear not, as really great family beaches like Rehobeth Beach, Delaware and Ocean City New Jersey are only 6 to 7 hours away, and provide a chance to take in other area cities like Washington DC, Baltimore and Philly on the way there if you so desire.

One thing that is a nice hobby to enjoy if you have a yard up here, is gardening. Pittsburgh naturally has moderate summer temperatures, with pretty decent soaking rains from passing storms, and the soil is NOTORIOUSLY good for tomatoes. The soil is so fertile in this part of the country from the moderate temperatures and quenching rains that really bountiful diverse summer garden is easy to achieve. And if you want some AMAZING farm-faire such as produce, cheese, basket-weaving, butter, etc....then take a country drive out to some of the legendary Amish areas in eastern Ohio about an hour away, who are most famous for having perhaps the best cheese you'll ever eat or find anywhere on earth.

Another overlooked point of interest in southwestern Pa is Meadowcroft Village, which is a village made of relocated 18th century structures actually built and still standing in Western Pa, and also home to one of the oldest known sites of human existence at what's called the Meadowcroft Rock Shelter, where carbon dating has traced found artifacts and remains back over 100,000 years.

Don't overlook the SPECTACULAR scenery of West Virginia to the south either, with Coopers Rock State Park only about 90 minutes away and home to adventurous rock climbing, or the aforementioned Ohiopyle State Park if you want to test your bravery on some of the most spectacular whitewater rafting in the eastern U.S. And for a scene like no other, take a day trip in the fall about 4 hours south of town to West Virginia's New River Gorge Bridge, which is the highest single-span arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere, which is closed down one day each fall at peak color in October, so hundreds of base-jumpers can leap off to the amazement of spectators.

And if you get a hankering for the BIGGEST of the big cities, remember that New York City is just 6 to 7 hours away, making for a very doable long weekend in the Big Apple if so inspired.

I think you'll find Pittsburgh to be a city that is a wonderful blend of big-city amenities, but downscaled just enough to provide a cozy, manageable, neighborly feel. And I think you'll find the bounty of ways to entertain yourself within a 6 to 7 hours radius of the city, to be perhaps the richest 6 to 7 hour radius of any metro in the country. Everything from New York City, to the ocean, to the Smoky Mountains, to Niagra Falls, to the entire eastern Seaboard metroplex, to the Kentucky Derby, to the Carolinas, are all within about 6 to 7 hours of Pittsburgh. You feel like if you left your house early in the morning, you could be damn near anywhere doing damn near anything by early afternoon. That stunning diversity within a half a day's drive, is something I missed in Houston.



Small things you may need warned about coming from Houston that the natives know by heart...

#1- Drive slowly at night keeping an eye towards the edges of the road. The forests of western Pennsylvania are TEEMING with white tailed deer, and the area's large hunter population causes them to be acting particularly edgy in the fall.

#2- When you get a green light in Pittsburgh, be wary of the first car in light in the opposite direction making a left-hand turn before you proceed. This is called "The Pittsburgh Left", and as Pittsburgh roads are older and rarely have left-hand turning lanes, the first couple cars in a line with their lefthand turn signal on are NORMALLY permitted by you the oncoming driver to make their left so the line of cars behind them aren't stuck until your line is clear.

#3- Watch for "black ice" in the winter ESPECIALLY on overpasses. Pittsburgh due to hills and rivers is LOADED with bridges, and those bridges tend to ice over more than any other part of the road system during wet winter weather. A good rule of thumb is to back off the throttle and anyone's bumper going over a bridge in the winter.

#4- You need to prepare yourself for more cloudy days than you're accustom to. The "drear" factor
is a notorious knock on Pittsburgh in the winter and early spring, but remember and remind
yourself, the stunning lushness of the region in the late spring through mid-fall wouldn't be
possible without the ample shade and rain provided in the winter and early spring. It's a
tradeoff; a place like LA is always sunny, but in return every non-irrigated landscape is
dead dusty brown. You can't have it both ways.

I think you'll find Pittsburgh lives up to the hype of being the Great Rebounding City it's been labeled as in recent years, however, like all cities, appreciating it requires YOUR PARTICIPATION. Any city can seem "boring and depressing" if you sit at home, stay to yourself, and ignore all the fun stuff to do within your reach.

An outgoing, engaged, socialable adventurous person, will absolutely love the Pittsburgh area.

[BrianTH]

Unfortunately I'm not sure you can get all of: (1) culturally and ethnically diverse; (2) good public schools; and (3) west of the city. Pittsburgh hasn't had much international immigration in recent decades, and the suburbs with good public schools tend to be a very high percentage white, and very assimilated.

Holding aside location, I think the area that would come closest to what you are looking for is the Squirrel Hill part of the Pittsburgh public school district (which also includes some smaller nearby neighborhoods like Greenfield and the Pittsburgh part of Regent Square). The feeder schools in that area are very good, and the area is relatively diverse by Pittsburgh standards (it has lots of people associated with the local universities and hospitals, which helps).

The problem is that is on the eastern side of the City, so it would be a good haul to get out west. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what else to say--unless someone comes up with something I am missing, I think you can only get two out of those three things.

[South Range Family]

50 miles West of Pittsburgh would put you in Ohio.

[JoshM25]

Hmmm... a town 50 miles west of Pittsburgh? You must be referring to Stuebenville, Ohio. Am I right?

If so, then you absouletly do not want to live there. I spent 4 years of my life in college there... and although housing is cheap, stay away from there like the plague.

A good alternative, if you want to be close to work and the city, would be Oakdale. It's a much smaller town than you're probably used to, but still a nice area. As other posters have mentioned, Robinson would be the best fit for you most likely.

[Geeo]

Wow, Citypoot, that was one of the best descriptions of Pittsburgh I've ever read here. You should be working for the Chamber of Commerce! You summed up the area in a nutshell and eloquently described the high quality of life we enjoy here.

[rhondee]

I'm sorry I just realized your work will be 50 miles west of Pittsburgh so yeah that would put you in Ohio. I don't know the location of the town where you'll be working ,but the town of Beaver,Pa. in Beaver County is nice.

[Scientist Mom]

Originally Posted by TexasGrl2010

Husband's job is transferring him to work in a town 50 miles west of Pittsburgh. I would wither up and die in a small town. I know that's relative. Pittsburgh is a small town in comparison to Houston at 4.5 million but I live in the suburbs of Houston and I think Pittsburgh has similar amenities to a larger city. ?

Pittsburgh is not a small town but rather a medium-sized city. In some ways it is more "city-like" than Houston (parking, housing stock, fewer strip malls in the city itself) because it is older. Houston has better restaurants and Pittsburgh has better sports and architecture but other than that I find the 2 cities to be pretty equal in amenities.

Originally Posted by TexasGrl2010

Looking for an area that is family friendly, culturally and racially diverse, and safe. My current neighborhood is comprised of families from Russia, Indonesia, Africa, Norway, Brazil, and Mexico as well as the US. Not sure we will find that in Pittsburgh but hopefully something close.

Need a great public school system - I believe in and volunteer in the public schools and want my kids to continue to attend excellent public schools.

Here you will have to compromise. The East End is the most diverse and there are a handful of acceptable public school options but not "a great public school system". It not nearly as diverse here as Houston, even in the East End.

[Gnutella]

If you want ethnic diversity, the closest you'll get to that on the western side of town is in Mt. Lebanon or Scott Township. There's a decent Asian presence in both places, and they're both part of the Mt. Lebanon Area School District, which is one of the best in the state. Commuting from that area shouldn't be too hard since it'd be a reverse commute, and you wouldn't have to go through any tunnels. The only drawbacks I can think of are that Mt. Lebanon can get expensive (give Scott Township a look if that's the case), and it'd still be a very long commute too, since Mt. Lebanon borders the city of Pittsburgh.

[Scientist Mom]

I have also lived in both Houston (Med Center area, Montrose, and Clear Lake) and Pittsburgh (city proper). Citypoot has made so many good points.

Originally Posted by Citypoot

It's almost like Pittsburgh is as small as you can get without losing the purpose of a big city, without QUITE crossing that line, and in that sense, I enjoy it a great deal more than Houston.

Me too!

Originally Posted by Citypoot

I'd say both cities are similar in that they both have 3 months a year that really limit recreational options outdoors, only Pittsburgh is is about Dec 15 through March 15, and Houston is about June 5 through September 5.

Agreed - with the exception that snow storms occasionally make it difficult to get around whereas extreme heat does not. It is a little like dealing with street flooding in Houston though.

Originally Posted by Citypoot

One thing that is a nice hobby to enjoy if you have a yard up here, is gardening.

Agreed - we are enjoying gardening with our kids here. Wouldn't have dreamed of gardening in Houston.

Originally Posted by Citypoot

Everything from New York City, to the ocean, to the Smoky Mountains, to Niagra Falls, to the entire eastern Seaboard metroplex, to the Kentucky Derby, to the Carolinas, are all within about 6 to 7 hours of Pittsburgh. You feel like if you left your house early in the morning, you could be damn near anywhere doing damn near anything by early afternoon. That stunning diversity within a half a day's drive, is something I missed in Houston.

Yet another great point!