Young post-doc family relocating to Pittsburgh (Scranton, Crafton: cul-de-sac, low income, new home)

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

I can only speak for Fox Chapel. It is far from a non diverse, but if you define being diverse having people from the ghetto in the district then I guess you would be correct. To me diverse means people from different backgrounds and different parts of the world. The common goal in the district is to have a good education. It isn't all super rich. O'Hara, Blawnox and Sharpsburg are in the district, which are cheeper than the Borough. In Fox Chapel you are going to have kids from all over the world, which is certainly better than a bunch of gang members running around. That is my idea of diversity anyway, not just Americans. I would suggest focusing on the Fox Chapel district if you want a really easy commute in a really good school. Aspinwall is a pretty cool old town with all kinds of people living there. Never understood why people feel the ghetto folks make a school diverse. To me, it just brings a school down, but to each their own. I am happy to show some stats to back up my thoughts if you like, but is it really needed? Lots of people are very pro-city here. No way would I deal with city schools when you have a district like FC so close.

Ladies and gentlemen, h_curtis!

Originally Posted by aughraseye

Thanks, everyone, for your food suggestions!

h_curtis, thanks for weighing in. Greatschools.org has Fairview Elementary at 90% White, 6% Asian, 1% Black, OHara at 85% White, 11% Asian, 1% Black, and Hartwood at 81% White, 13% Asian, and 2% Black.

The school my kids currently attend is 53% White, 23% Asian, 19% Black, and 4% Hispanic (and no gang members!). I'm hoping to find something similar in Pittsburgh. Still,the schools in the Fox Chapel area are undeniably high-quality. I will definitely check the neighborhood out.

BTW, the current plan is to rent until we find a house. Hopefully that will work out with the lease and everything.

FCASD is very socioeconomically (but not so much racially) diverse. Your desired school profile is unattainable in a good suburban Pittsburgh district. I'll echo the others and say Colfax and Minadeo are the best options for you.

Originally Posted by Lobick

I don't think you're harming your kids by living in the suburbs but, as a child of the suburbs myself, I'm hard pressed to identify the positives. Might you identify a few?

Quieter? More modern homes? More living space? Lower taxes [outside Allegheny County]? These may not be factors you particularly care about, but they certainly matter to a lot of other people.

[aughraseye]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Other people have covered the main points. If you're stuck on staying in neighborhood schools, These are the typical neighborhoods people consider...

Wow, thank you for the helpful info!

As for raising kids in the city vs suburbs and diversity, I feel a little silly requesting a "rainbow" of multiculturalism, but what I really like about being where the university families are is that they are in similar situations as we. In the suburbs I envision kids who grew up in the same house their whole lives, with tightly-knit circles of friends, older parents, etc. We have moved from Arizona to CT, and now from CT to PA, and honestly as post-docs (that is if *I* can get a post-doc position as well) we may very well be forced to move again (there's a good chance we'll stay, but you never know). My kids' friends have all been in similar situations. One of their closest friends moved back to Argentina when her parents finished her degree, another to Providence, another to Brooklyn, etc, and we've been able to keep in contact with them through Google Hangouts, visiting when we can, etc. Not that this is necessarily ideal, but it is our situation, and I feel it might be more difficult to integrate into more-settled suburban communities.

[scrapp]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

So, the commute to Oakland is fine. The commute from Aspinwall would be even better. I used to live in Aspinwall and loved it.

The one thing you have to understand is that there are few posters here that promote city living without acknowledging the positive of suburban living.

I think it is fair to say that the commute depends on what you are comparing to. I think FC area to Oakland has to be better than any of the usual suspects from the south (e.g. Mt Lebo.). On the other hand, I live in Sq Hill north and can walk to work in Oakland, so FC isn't going to beat that as far as commutes go. The down side is that Sq Hill north isn't cheap and you'll end up with an older home (mine is >100 years) and I'm really not into that.

When we were looking at the suburbs the FC area seemed the best for our commute to Oakland. But I liked the more modern houses out in the Hampton/Allison Park area more than older ones close to 28 and that just makes the commute longer. With two working parents and young kids, we opted to try and minimize the distance between work and schools...

Our school strategy was to start with public (Colfax) and move on to switching if we had trouble there... (just finishing our 6th school year with kids there).

[scrapp]

Originally Posted by Stijl Council

I'm almost certain his kids were at Environmental Charter. That is probably not an option for the OP at this point in the year; FECS is very popular, usually has a huge waiting list, and the lottery has already happened so they'd be at the end of the list. (The same consideration probably makes puts the popular PPS magnets off the table for this coming school year, though your chances there are better than your chances at FECS.)

BTH (despite all his preaching about downtown city living) doesn't actually live in the city. Since ECS siblings and city residents have priority in the ECS lottery, he'd have to be very lucky to get his kid into ECS.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by scrapp

BTH (despite all his preaching about downtown city living) doesn't actually live in the city. Since ECS siblings and city residents have priority in the ECS lottery, he'd have to be very lucky to get his kid into ECS.

I believe he said before his daughter goes to Ellis. I think his son is still too young to go to school.

[Bong477]

Given your preferences, you are probably best off continuing to look in Squirrel Hill and possibly spreading out to the other nearby neighborhoods mentioned by eschaton if you can't find what you are looking for.

Also, make sure you understand what your property taxes will be before you finalize your housing budget.

[Joe Magarac]

Originally Posted by aughraseye

As for raising kids in the city vs suburbs and diversity, I feel a little silly requesting a "rainbow" of multiculturalism, but what I really like about being where the university families are is that they are in similar situations as we.

I have no reason to think that you have even considered sending your kids to Catholic school. But if you have, my kids' school - Sacred Heart in Shadyside - is probably closer to your present situation than any city school or Fox Chapel school. It's about 70% white, 10% Asian, 10% black, and 10% other, and a ton of the parents either work for or are otherwise tied into the universities, especially Pitt and CMU.

As for the city/suburb debate generally, I don't think you'll find much difference between your potential neighbors whether you live in the city (any of eschaton's suggested neighborhoods would work well) or the suburbs (Aspinwall and Mt. Lebanon both look a lot like Squirrel Hill, though they don't attract as many temporary residents or have as many renters). If you lived in the Fox Chapel School District, you'd get a much less byzantine set of school options, but at the cost of a more difficult commute and - for your purposes at least - a more settled population. If you lived in the city, you'd get an easy commute and an easier time meeting new people, but at the cost of dealing with lots of school choices, sometimes inadequate city services, and the mute incomprehension of h_curtis. But it's really a reverse dilemma - if you are the rare grad student with $300K to drop on a home, you'll do well anywhere in Pittsburgh or the region.

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I believe he said before his daughter goes to Ellis. I think his son is still too young to go to school.

Are we talking about BrianTH? He has one son. He sends him to St. Edmund's Academy in Squirrel Hill.

[ElijahAstin]

AFAIK, $300k won't get you a ton of house in the Colfax/Minadeo catchments, but you should at least
be able to get something big enough for a small family.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

Are we talking about BrianTH? He has one son. He sends him to St. Edmund's Academy in Squirrel Hill.

Oh, my confusion. I guess he said once if he had a daughter, he would have sent her to Ellis.