Young Family Moving to Pittsburgh (Lebanon, Swissvale: rent, townhouses, neighborhood)

[ghjp0829]

Hi There,
We will be moving to Pittsburgh this summer with a 3 year old and a 1 year old and we are looking for advice on suburbs because we are completely unfamiliar with the area. We don't need to worry about schools because I am a stay at home mom and this move will only be for one year. My husband will be working downtown and would like to keep his commute under 30 minutes. We are open to townhomes or single family homes with 3 bedrooms and pet friendly because we have a dog. Budget wise, we really don't want to go much over $1500/month. Is this possible? What suburbs should we be looking at? We would love to be in an area with other young families. Thanks in advance.

[prnlvsxy]

Wexford and Cranberry would be nice.

[eschaton]

I dunno where you are moving from, but if your husband works downtown and you don't care about schools, you might want to consider living in the city as well. Driving into downtown isn't really fun - parking is scarce and expensive. You could, for example, rent a three-bedroom unit in Squirrel Hill for that price, be around a lot of other young families, and your husband could take the bus into work. I think more of the three bedroom units there are one floor of a two-family structure, but there are townhouses as well.

[svband76]

Originally Posted by ghjp0829

Hi There,
We will be moving to Pittsburgh this summer with a 3 year old and a 1 year old and we are looking for advice on suburbs because we are completely unfamiliar with the area. We don't need to worry about schools because I am a stay at home mom and this move will only be for one year. My husband will be working downtown and would like to keep his commute under 30 minutes. We are open to townhomes or single family homes with 3 bedrooms and pet friendly because we have a dog. Budget wise, we really don't want to go much over $1500/month. Is this possible? What suburbs should we be looking at? We would love to be in an area with other young families. Thanks in advance.

Dormont is my choice. Walk a few block to the train for a 20 min ride to downtown. Leaves you with transportation for the kiddies. Let me know if you need more advice. Good luck.

[MamieRose]

Agree Dormont is a great choice for this poster. There is a great and recent post on Dormont here:

Suburb of the week: Dormont

[Lost_In_Translation]

Dormont, Green Tree, Aspinwall (near zoo), Mt Lebanon, Swissvale, all relatively close

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by Lost_In_Translation

Dormont, Green Tree, Aspinwall (near zoo), Mt Lebanon, Swissvale, all relatively close

Regent Square area in general would be a great place to look for a rental. That area is absolutely swarming with kids under 5, and I'm pretty sure some of the local buses get on the East Busway over there.

[corpgypsy]

I think that respondents to this post may want to be certain that the OP truly means downtown Pittsburgh, the way we define it, and not Oakland or another area.


So, ghjp0829, without divulging too much personal info such as the name of your husband's employer, would you be able to state the address, or landmarks or addresses next door or on the same block etc, perhaps? This will make a big difference as to commute and suggestions.


Also condition of the home you desire will be important because there may be an assumed level of understanding on what you would consider comfortable, nice or livable etc. to some posters. Do you want updated or do you want older dated to be in a city environment. I think you mentioned suburban, that also may mean different things to some on this site, TRUST ME Do you want to hang out at parks and libraries with your children, by driving or walking or maybe it does not matter. Do you have 2 vehicles? What type of shopping and other activities of daily living matter to you as far as drive time and location etc. Do you value having an integral garage with 2 young children? AND of course washer and dryer in the unit? These things need to be considered before you take advice, based on an assumed level of understanding.


Also what type of neighborhood and daily priorities for living might be a better way of asking what you desire...sorry I can get long winded as I personally always have a VERY long wish list when I relocate

[Paul2421]

sticking to suburbs here walnut capital has some townhomes right near westview in your price range. coming from the north is the easiest commute into town by car and there is a park and ride right there for the bus.

[ghjp0829]

Thank you all for the help so far. Just to add some additional information like corpgypsy suggested:
My husband will be working near the intersection of Seventh Avenue and Grant Street. We have two cars so we would prefer to not have to worry about finding street parking for both of them. He would prefer to drive to work so access to public transportation is not of great importance. We are coming for a small town in the South so we are very used to having to drive to playgrounds, libraries, museums, etc. But we would like to have access to a large grocery store within 5 miles. And a washer and dryer hookup would be a necessity. We would prefer something with a neighborhood feel where it's common to see kids playing outside in their yards, and a playground in the neighborhood would be a huge bonus.
Again, I very much appreciate all of the help.