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Old 12-26-2011, 09:48 PM
 
13 posts, read 26,640 times
Reputation: 16

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My family (my wife, two 2-year old twin daughters, and one more on the way) are looking to move to Pittsburgh (preferably "between the rivers" - Downtown, East End, etc.) from Eastern NC. We'll have a stable job situation, so no worries there. We're in our mid-20's, and don't mind a college atmosphere, but definitely enjoy hanging around young professionals and families like ourselves.

We're spending a weekend in Pittsburgh this coming New Year's Weekend and would love some ideas about how best to scout out the city. We definitely don't want to do some of the touristy things, but would rather see the city for what it is.

Here are a couple of questions:
  • What neighborhoods should we examine first?
  • Where do young pros & families live in the city?
  • Where do young pros & young families hang out?
  • What would you recommend doing to see the city for what it really is?
  • Restaurant recommendations? For my family? For a date with my wife?

Thanks in advance, guys!
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Old 12-27-2011, 12:04 AM
 
43,011 posts, read 107,636,560 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by derekbrown View Post
  • What neighborhoods should we examine first?
  • Where do young pros & families live in the city?
Are you buying or renting? What's your budget?
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Old 12-27-2011, 12:54 AM
 
62 posts, read 108,985 times
Reputation: 55
Shady Side seems like an ideal area for you and your family, and pretty much answers your first three questions. The Strip District is probably the most iconic place to visit in the city, and has a lot of restaurants (others can probably be more helpful as to the quality of the restaurants).
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Old 12-27-2011, 01:18 AM
 
43,011 posts, read 107,636,560 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Burghson86 View Post
Shady Side seems like an ideal area for you and your family, and pretty much answers your first three questions.
How can you say that without knowing their budget?
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Old 12-27-2011, 02:05 AM
 
62 posts, read 108,985 times
Reputation: 55
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopes View Post
How can you say that without knowing their budget?

I was simply stating an area that has the things they are looking for. I'm sure they could find something there that fits into their budget if that it where they wanted to live. You don't have to be a millionaire to live in Shady Side
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Old 12-27-2011, 06:27 AM
 
674 posts, read 1,406,145 times
Reputation: 690
Quote:
Originally Posted by derekbrown View Post
My family (my wife, two 2-year old twin daughters, and one more on the way) are looking to move to Pittsburgh (preferably "between the rivers" - Downtown, East End, etc.) from Eastern NC. We'll have a stable job situation, so no worries there. We're in our mid-20's, and don't mind a college atmosphere, but definitely enjoy hanging around young professionals and families like ourselves.

We're spending a weekend in Pittsburgh this coming New Year's Weekend and would love some ideas about how best to scout out the city. We definitely don't want to do some of the touristy things, but would rather see the city for what it is.

Here are a couple of questions:
  • What neighborhoods should we examine first?
  • Where do young pros & families live in the city?
  • Where do young pros & young families hang out?
  • What would you recommend doing to see the city for what it really is?
  • Restaurant recommendations? For my family? For a date with my wife?

Thanks in advance, guys!
College atmosphere and 2 year old's don't really mix (I am the mother of a 2 year old). I would stay away from the student/party heavy areas like Oakland and the South Side. I don't know how many families are living in the actual downtown area. I think it's more young professionals without kids and empty-nesters. I personally wouldn't live with young children downtown. As you may have heard, our downtown is rather small geographically. There aren't playgrounds or anything else that I would really want to have nearby if I was living there with children.

Shadyside, Squirrel Hill and many other places in the East End are full of young families. There are also some students, but they tend to be more grad student types so it's a little quieter. There are lot of nice parks nearby and neighborhood playgrounds scattered throughout.

I would recommend taking the family downtown to Market Square and PPG Place to see the ice rink, the Wintergarden and the gingerbread house displays. I would also recommend the Children's Museum over on the North Shore for the kids.

Restaurant recommendations really depend on your budget and preferences. Are you and your wife like more hole-in-the-wall diners or do you like upscale settings and dining?
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Old 12-27-2011, 07:40 AM
 
13 posts, read 26,640 times
Reputation: 16
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopes View Post
Are you buying or renting? What's your budget?
Ideally, we'd like to buy, but believe it may be wiser for us to rent at first. That being said, our budget is probably around $200k to buy or sub-$2k to rent.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Burghgirl17
Restaurant recommendations really depend on your budget and preferences. Are you and your wife like more hole-in-the-wall diners or do you like upscale settings and dining?
We like either, but it's thoroughly exciting to find that great hole-in-the-wall. We're also fans of "trendier" restaurants (ie: Dinette or Salt of the Earth).

Thanks for the responses so far, they've been very helpful!
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Old 12-27-2011, 07:54 AM
 
Location: Mexican War Streets
1,584 posts, read 2,084,223 times
Reputation: 1389
Quote:
Originally Posted by Burghgirl17 View Post
College atmosphere and 2 year old's don't really mix (I am the mother of a 2 year old). I would stay away from the student/party heavy areas like Oakland and the South Side.
I must have missed the part where the OP was looking for parenting advice. I think that's a fairly obnoxious post considering he stated up front that he doesn't mind the college atmosphere, is in his mid-twenties and has TWO two-year olds. Presumably, he understands what he's doing.

You could absolutely raise a family in either Oakland or the South Side and be quite happy. I have several friends with kids on the Southside and so far so good, they seem to really enjoy living there.

As far as the OP goes, I'm going to make some assumptions based on your post. I believe you're looking to live within the City, so there's no need to consider any of the suburbs and while we don't know your budget, presumably it will be enough to get into any of the City's neighborhoods, although what you get for your dollar will vary.

Most of the recommendations that you hear will no doubt put you in the East End of the City (as you yourself indicated), and there are many great neighborhoods there. Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, Regent Square, Friendship and perhaps even Bloomfield and parts of East Liberty will be mentioned. All worthy choices that you should investigate.

Often overlooked during this process is my part of the City, the lower North Side neighborhoods that surround Allegheny Commons Park (Deutchtown, Mexican War Streets, Allegheny West). My wife and I are both professionals as are most of my neighbors, own our home (and got more bang for the buck than we would have in the East End), are closer to downtown and feel like we have a great variety of things for our son right in the immediate neighborhood. For me also, it has more of an urban feel than much of the East End, which I prefer, but still a sense of a residential community. It's just different than the other parts of town and fit us better. While you stated your desire was to live "between the rivers", these parts of the North Side are practically downtown and I've found traffic to be considerably better than other part of the City. Should you find yourselves at the Children's Museum during your time in town, take a couple of minutes to walk around the surrounding neighborhoods as they might just spark your interest.
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Old 12-27-2011, 08:37 AM
 
5,802 posts, read 9,850,291 times
Reputation: 3051
I would start with Bloomfield, Friendship, Lawrenceville, Greenfield, Highland Park or maybe even parts of Mt Washington...Shadyside, Point Breeze and Squirrel Hill are the cream of the crop and are obviously the most expensive for owning.
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Old 12-27-2011, 09:55 AM
 
4 posts, read 8,750 times
Reputation: 10
My mother's cousin used to give tours of the burgh. I grew up there, but never discovered a lot of the little special places until my "guided tours".

Buhl Planetarium (North Side) is good for all ages. Penn Brewery, also North Side, where you can watch a great micro brewery and have a taste.

Cathedral of Learning, Gulf Building (look for the colors denoting weather).

PPG has an area downtown that's all made of glass. Make sure the driver doesn't doesn't get involved looking up and lose sight of the street.

Andy Warhol museum is different and had a stainless steel car on display last time I was there. Primanti Brothers (sandwiches) in the Strip District. Also the Frick Museum as it has an additional car museum.

ps I lived in Va Bch for 27 years and know OBX folks like to sport Panther shirts. Not recommended. Replace Y'all with Younz (pronounced yoonz) and see how it feels to be local.

I forgot...a place to live. Try CMU (Carnegie Mellon) area (20 mins away avoids congestion) while keeping you near Millionaires row.

Last edited by Mako1a; 12-27-2011 at 10:09 AM..
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