Alleghany Co. best places for kids (Pittsburgh, Mount Lebanon: health, houses, suburban)

[springinvermont]

Hey there! I'm new to the forum. My husband and I are moving to the Pittsburgh area and need some help on finding the best place to live. We have a 5 year old and a 10 year old and are coming from beautiful but expensive Vermont. Good schools are a must, which I know Alleghany County has (4 are in the top 10 for the state) and we would like a nice neighborhood where the kids can be safe, make friends, swim at the neighborhood pool, maybe play a little tennis or a go to the park nearby. We are looking at houses in the 250-330k range. I would love a place that is family oriented, has good grocery shopping, a health food store and is close to some fun family-oriented stuff to do. We aren't snobby and don't want to be around snobs! We are cool, educated people who like to entertain, cook good food and drink great, inexpensive wines and have great discussions. The areas that we have found to be of interest over the internet (and thanks to this forum) are: Franklin Park, McCandless, Mount Lebanon, Upper St. Claire, Marshall and Hampton. We appreciate any help. This is a huge move for us but we are so excited to get a little closer to family and of course we are the biggest Steeler fans Vermont has ever seen!

[la_torquemada]

Of those, Mt Lebanon is your best bet, IMO. You can search on Mt Lebanon on the forum, there are tons of threads discussing it already.

I also suggest you consider Squirrel Hill or Regent Square -- you would definitely find your "tribe" there, though you might consider private school (there are some good East End magnet schools and Alderdice HS has a good reputation, but not all the schools are as great). Private school is not as expensive as you might think though, so don't rule it out. There's also a big secular homeschooling community in Pittsburgh if that option interests you at all.

[jhprentiss]

We just moved from MA to Mt Lebanon and we're loving it. We have a three and a six year old. We're near the parks and the community pool. There's lots of good food, and you could get quite a house in your price range. The people have been friendly, not snobby, although some of the moms seems to have to way more together than I do. : )

Some people have the impression that Mt Lebanon is sort of snobby, but I haven't found that to be true (especially after moving from Boston!). There are some expensive homes, but in our area the homes are modest and well kept, and the people have been very friendly. And millions of kids! Everybody has kids and dogs.

The schools are known to be great here. We had to dig a little deeper because our son has AD/HD, so we talked to the principle and his first grade teacher, who were able to persuade us not to put him in a private school. There are no buses, everybody walks to school (or is driven), and there's no lunch, so they want the kids to go home for lunch (or bring their lunches, like my son does!). It's been a great atmosphere, very family oriented.

If you need any help orienting yourselves, feel free to ask.

Jen

[RowJimmy]

My parents, suburbinites in the exburbs find it freaky that in Mt. Lebanon the kids walk to school and come home for lunch. I think it sounds cool. My brother is considering that town because they got to put there kid in school in 2 more years.

[jhprentiss]

Well, by not bussing or making food, they save a ton of money, plus they change the culture quite a bit. I've heard they started it many years ago to keep "the black kids" from being bussed in, but that the people that have moved here like it that way, old fashioned. I've seen people of every color at my son's school.

[globalburgh]

I'm a product of Vermont schools and I met my wife at UVM. Other than the Steelers, she's my Pittsburgh connection. She grew up in McCandless and I'm impressed with her primary and secondary education, which is certainly better than what I got in Vermont. I really enjoyed my experience living where she grew up, but the good word you read above about Mt. Lebanon is worth your consideration (my wife's aunt and uncle live there and love it).

If you see some advantage to living in the N.A. school district, have no concern about choosing McCandless. All the assets you are seeking can be found there. Given your listed choices, I'd look for the best deal in terms of house price and local taxes.

I should add that when I read to my wife your post, she immediately said you should move to Squirrel Hill. And that's coming from a big time McCandless booster.

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by springinvermont

Hey there! I'm new to the forum. My husband and I are moving to the Pittsburgh area and need some help on finding the best place to live. We have a 5 year old and a 10 year old and are coming from beautiful but expensive Vermont. Good schools are a must, which I know Alleghany County has (4 are in the top 10 for the state) and we would like a nice neighborhood where the kids can be safe, make friends, swim at the neighborhood pool, maybe play a little tennis or a go to the park nearby. We are looking at houses in the 250-330k range. I would love a place that is family oriented, has good grocery shopping, a health food store and is close to some fun family-oriented stuff to do. We aren't snobby and don't want to be around snobs! We are cool, educated people who like to entertain, cook good food and drink great, inexpensive wines and have great discussions. The areas that we have found to be of interest over the internet (and thanks to this forum) are: Franklin Park, McCandless, Mount Lebanon, Upper St. Claire, Marshall and Hampton. We appreciate any help. This is a huge move for us but we are so excited to get a little closer to family and of course we are the biggest Steeler fans Vermont has ever seen!

Mt. Lebanon is the only town in your list where your kids can walk to schools, parks, friends' houses, etc. The rest of those places don't have real "neighborhoods", lack sidewalks and require a parent to drive their kids everywhere to do anything.

I also second the Squirrel Hill suggestions. It's a fantastic urban neighborhood located in the City of Pittsburgh. The neighborhood feeds into Taylor Allderdice High School, which is ranked in the top third of PA public high schools. And just living in Squirrel Hill would be a great educational experience for your kids.

[Hopes]

Coming from Vermont, she'd probably prefer Hampton, Franklin Park or McCandless to the urban type life of Mt. Lebanon and Squirrel Hill.

If you don't want snobs, stay away from Upper St. Clair and possibly Mt. Lebanon, springinvermont.

Check out this thread on Upper St. Clair to see how children from Upper St. Claire behave:

Upper St. Clair---Student Section

Somewhere on this site, a member who grew up in Mt. Lebanon said that people in Mt. Lebanon say that Mt. Lebanon has a bubble that keeps the wealthy in and everyone else out.

You said you didn't want to live around snobs so I'm just letting you know the types of things we hear from/about USC and Mt. Lebanon sometimes.

[Hopes]

I forgot to add that Franklin Park and McCandless are both part of North Allegheny School District. It's a huge district.

Hampton is a small district by comparison.

It is highly sought after by parents who look for quality education and don't want their children attending mega-school districts.

[Mr. Mon]

Knowing what I know, and love about Vermont, I’m going to make a giant assumption about your politics, attitude and general world-view, and say that you will not be too happy with life in either the North Allegheny area or Upper St. Clair. Both are very suburban (no walking for the kids), and while North Allegheny doesn’t have the reputation of being as snotty as USC, the Townships in that area are just as conservative. The walkable communities with decent schools, and safe reputation in you price range you’re looking in would be Regent Square/Point Breeze/Squirrel Hill parts of the City of Pittsburgh and Mount Lebanon. Between those, you’ll find the more Vermont like attitudes in Regent Square and Point Breeze, but the more walkable to school in Squirrel Hill and Mount Lebanon.

Good luck and welcome to Pittsburgh.