Possible move to Pittsburgh (Lebanon, Sewickley: apartment, rentals, homes)
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Hi There!
I have been trolling the Pittsburgh forum for a couple of months when I found out that there was a chance that we’d be relocated there. Well, my husband finally has an interview with them next week, so it’s becoming a reality that we’ll be there in the next couple of months!
I know you guys are very helpful and informative and I was hoping that you’ll be able to help us. This will be all over the place, but I’ll try and keep it “readable”.
Location/Housing:
If the job was offered and we accept it, I know the office will be in downtown (Liberty St, or is it Rd?) Commute time should not be more than 30 mins.
We will be put up in corporate housing for 1 month, so I have time to look for a place. We are looking for a place at least 3 bedrooms with 1.5 bathrooms. We’d like a place close to bike paths and playgrounds as well as walking distances to some amenities like the grocery store and coffee shops. If we rent, we were thinking of something between $1500-2000. We have considered buying as well if it suits our needs (and wants!) Schools are not too important right now if we rent, but if we were to buy it would be. We also have 2 cats.
Health care:
I am expecting #2 and will be around 25 weeks along if we are to relocate, so finding a family doctor would be on top of my list. I would also like to find a midwife. I’m not sure if midwifery is popular in Pittsburgh, but I would like to have a planned home birth as that what I did with my first. Also, if I can’t find a good family doctor, I would like to find a paediatrician for my son.
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1) I’m really sad that there’s no proper Chinatown in Pittsburgh anymore. So, are there any Asian markets around to buy Chinese produce? If so, where are they located?
2) Maybe the ladies can help me out here, but are there any decent maternity shops around?
Kid’s activities:
With an active almost 2 year old, are there any soft play areas or mom groups that get together (I guess it depends on which area we rent/buy). Also, at what age do kids generally start playschool there?
Finding help:
I know we would like to find someone reliable and trustworthy to babysit our son/ light housekeeping while we going through this transition. Are there any reputable companies or someone that you could recommend that could help us? I would also assume that there will be a lot of students looking for a summer jobs, so we would consider hiring them as a part time nanny. Not sure if I would consider craig’s list as a source of finding someone.
I think that’s all I can think of for now. TIA!!!
Last edited by tikketyboo; 03-23-2012 at 03:40 AM..
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We are looking for a place at least 3 bedrooms with 1.5 bathrooms. We’d like a place close to bike paths and playgrounds as well as walking distances to some amenities like the grocery store and coffee shops. If we rent, we were thinking of something between $1500-2000. We have considered buying as well if it suits our needs (and wants!) Schools are not too important right now if we rent, but if we were to buy it would be. We also have 2 cats.
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1) I’m really sad that there’s no proper Chinatown in Pittsburgh anymore. So, are there any Asian markets around to buy Chinese produce? If so, where are they located?
Asian markets = Strip District. There are a few. Plus that area is where you'll find the open produce and fish markets along with the area's largest concentration of ethnic food shopping. Several coffee places of differing quality. And the city's best farmer's market on Saturdays.
If it weren't for the playground requirement, I'd say that's also where you should look for an apartment. Adding in the playground, I think you might be better served looking at Mexican War Streets. Huge park/playground area there at the Aviary. Lots of moms. Rentals are tough for 3BR, but doable for $2000 if you can find one.
Second choice would probably be Squirrel Hill/Shadyside/Point Breeze area. SqHill in particular for access to small ethnic markets/restaurants/coffeeshops.
Just my opinion, but I wouldn't look at the burbs until you're ready to buy.
Pediatrician - We use the Bass Wolfson group in Squirrel Hill and really like all of the doctors. I would look there for housing options. Basically, you will live close to a lot of things. Once here you can figure out if you want to flee to burbs for schools, write a check for private or use the city schools. In the meantime, you will be close to museums, a few parks and in a large urban neighborhood that doesn't feel very urban.
Your budget is reasonable and shouldn't be very limiting. You may be able to come under it.
Squirrel Hill, Point Breeze, and Regent Square will be obvious recommendations. Shadyside may be mentioned too, its also nice, but not nearly as baby/toddler friendly as the others. They are all city neighborhoods in the East End of the city. That said, they are pretty suburban in some respects with a lot of detached homes many of which have yards, driveways, and garages (Shadyside a bit less so than the others). Really, not much to complain about except the price tag (which is high for the area but pretty reasonable by many city standards) and taxes. Mt. Lebanon and Sewickley are good suburb recommendations. Without knowing your degree of "urban tolerance," I'm not sure if the North Side (including the Mexican War Streets) is a great option, not long ago it was pretty sketchy but is fairly nice now and could be an option for you. If you lose the walkability requirement and just want to be close to things but not neccasarily walking distance to a grocery store, a lot of other options open up.
I don't think there are many family docs that do deliveries in the Pittsburgh area, not sure if you wanted that per se or just a doc for the whole family. As far as a home birth, you can probably find someone to do it, but I don't think its particularly common here. Could be wrong, not my thing. We use Paul Rowland who is part of Childrens Community Pediatrics for our daughters and have been happy.
There's no chinatown, but there are plenty of Asian markets in the area. SH has a very large Asian population. Wouldn't worry about that.
Maternity shops are scattered throughout the metro including the usual chains (Old Navy, Gap, Motherhood, Pea in Pod, etc) and a few boutiquey type places.
@sskink: Thanks for your recommendations. We have thought about the Mexican War Streets, but just looking at the area with Google streetview, it looks like there are some streets that look really nice and then the next block over, it looks pretty shady. Also, I am curious to know what the surrounding area is like - to me it looks pretty "rough".
@robrobrob: Thanks for the recommendation! Do you know if there is a directory for preschool listings?
@Bong447: I haven't considered Regent Square... I'll check that out.
Another question in regards to tax. As a renter, would you have to pay the property tax? Where we are currently living, we have to pay a council tax on top of rent.
You will not have to pay any property taxes per se outside of your rent but there is a wage tax to consider. It's 3% within the city limits, 1% in most outside municipalities. The local wage tax is on top of the approx 3% state income tax.
@sskink: Thanks for your recommendations. We have thought about the Mexican War Streets, but just looking at the area with Google streetview, it looks like there are some streets that look really nice and then the next block over, it looks pretty shady. Also, I am curious to know what the surrounding area is like - to me it looks pretty "rough".
As Bong said, it really depends on your "urban tolerance". We have several friends living in MWS who bought recently and just started families. They walk or ride their bikes to the Giant Eagle, take their kids and dogs to the park by the Aviary, and live quite normal, peaceful lives.
Sure, you may hear distant gunfire from 10 blocks up the hill, but even if the rough areas there's a Pittsburgh ethic where we only shoot our own
My husband had his interview, and he sounded hopeful that we'll be heading there. He also had some time to check out the city and had felt that Pittsburgh is one of those "up and coming" cities that will boom within the next 10 years. He also mentioned that it's a very family oriented city (or maybe it was the places that he went to and the people that he chatted with) and mentioned that he would rather buy a place instead of renting. With a toddler in tow and one coming soon, it might not be a bad idea - rather than having to move twice. I have been looking at the Howard Hanna website and places in Mt. Lebo looks quite appealing. Are there good and bad areas in Mt. Lebo that I should be aware of? As I mentioned before, it would be great to have some basic amenities (grocery store, post office, coffee shop) within walking distance (<1 mile)? Is this possible in Mt. Lebo?
Thanks again!
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