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My husband and I are looking at relocating to Pittsburgh next year. We have a son who would be six when we move. We currently live in Los Angeles, although I grew up in Northeastern Pennsylvania and lived very briefly in Pittsburgh in 1990 (in Greenfield) when I attended Pitt for a summer session before deciding on a different career path. I then worked there for several months before moving back to NEPA. I really liked Pittsburgh, but that was almost 30 years ago so I’m sure things have changed quite a bit.
We aren’t sure where we’d be working. My husband has a very specialized job, so right now the only place where he could potentially get a job is in the Mt. Washington area. There’s also a possibility we’d flip things and I would go back to work full-time and he would work freelance from home. I do non-profit, so I could end up working anywhere.
Right now I’m looking at the above-mentioned areas (Dormont, Brookline, West Liberty). While I’d prefer something with a bit more diversity, higher for me in importance is getting a little more house for my money. But I don’t want to be too far out from the city. Would be looking to get a 3 bedroom house with a decent-sized yard and hoping to get something around $200K. What are the advantages/disadvantages to each of these neighborhoods? Are there others that I should be looking at? I’ve zeroed in on these just based on research I’ve done online and their proximity to where my husband could potentially get a job. Right now his work commute is 45 minutes one way, so we’re okay with a little bit of driving, but would like to keep it 20 minutes or under for whichever one of us ends up working outside the home. Prefer access to restaurants that aren’t chains, and I realize I won’t get as close to Trader Joe’s there as I do here (there are 4 or 5 within 3 miles of my apartment) not having it be a long trek would be great.
Looking forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts and suggestions!
Trader Joe's is 2 miles from Dormont. Housing is somewheat nicer in Dormont. Brookline has a better main street. Dormont has T train and bus, while Brookline has only bus. Both are great little towns. I like Brookline's rather generous greenspace and trails near the Rec Center. Both are great.
West Liberty isn't a neighborhood, it's just a street between Beechview and Brookline.
Looking on Google Maps, it seems like for some reason Google has chosen to call the upper portion of Brookline West Liberty, but AFAIK people do not call it that.
FWIW, Brookline is part of the city, while Dormont is a first ring suburb. Personally it wouldn't matter to me, because although city schools have a bad rep, Brookline has a perfectly fine K-8 school, but YMMV. I like Dormont a bit more personally, because it has light rail access, a bit more urban of a business district, and better quality housing stock. Both are very walkable if you live close to the business district.
City taxes are set up significantly different from suburban taxes in Pittsburgh as well. if you live in the city, you pay a 3% wage tax, while it's only 1% in most of the suburbs (including Dormont). However, in the city, you pay significantly less in property taxes. Whether it works better or worse for you financially depends upon how your income relates to the value of your home.
Brookliner here for 8 years so I can give you some insights. I am not sure what areas constitutes West Liberty so I will have to leave that to someone else.
The housing market in Brookline is all over the place, and is really street/house dependent.
As for the streets, there aren't really any bad streets in Brookline, just less desirable due to topography, current occupants, and location/design. So the older core of Brookline is where you find the more grid pattern brick/block streets, older style homes, and is much more walkable to the Blvd. Around that you get the more 1960s suburban style with small ranches on winding streets. Although you still have sidewalks in those areas, its more of a hike to the main part of the neighborhood. But keep in mind Brookline has hills no matter what part of the neighborhood you live in. I am a block off the Blvd, but my back yard is nearly vertical.
In terms of housing, I see very little difference between Brookline and Dormont. The styles are almost identical although I feel like Dormont has a more cramped feel to it. Brookline houses are either pre-war or 1960s ranch. We have a lot of the standard "Pittsburgh house" with the kitchen/living/dining/foyer on the first floor and three bedrooms and a bath on the second floor. Sometimes you get a breakfast room off the kitchen and a walk up attic, sometimes you don't. As for whats on the market, you tend to see either a fully flipped house in Brookline, or one that hasn't been touched in 40 years or more. The difference shows in the price. I believe finding a grandma house that hasn't been touched for a lower price is the way to go. They usually have a solid history of maintenance but don't have the latest design updates. That saves you money and allows you to make those decisions.
This is well below your budget and would allow for you to remove the metal awning, strip the carpet, and do any other updates you would need. These houses do move fast though.
Brookline has a lot of great programs for kids, with a very strong youth sports program and many other activities for kids. We also have many community events throughout the year. On paper it seems as though Brookline is not very diverse but that is changing. A walk on the Blvd or a ride on the bus shows you the diversity.
As for your husbands commute, depending on where he works he could easily grab the 39 Brookline bus to Station Square and then take the incline up to Mt. Washington. The drive would be easy too .
There are no chain restaurants in Brookline, but hope you like pizza! We have multiple pizza shops, but we also have a Syrian restaurant, Pita Land grocery store, Las Palmas, and a new spot that moved over from Dormont, Parker's which serves sandwhiches and breakfast foods. We also have your standard, CVS, gas stations, post office, liquor store, beer distributor, hair salons, doctors offices, ice cream shop, coffee shop, dance studio, yoga studio, and various other small businesses . It is basically everything you could need to run your errands.
Trader Joes is 10-15 mins away, along with Whole Foods, Giant Eagle, and Fresh Market. We do have an Aldi's in the neighborhood .
I could probably talk for days about Brookline as you can tell...but overall it is a very quiet, safe, family friendly, and affordable neighoborhood. It is by no means hip and will never be hip. Recently a friend told me he feels it is skewing more LL Bean looking these days, so it is skewing more towards a Regent Square vibe than a Lawrenceville vibe..which is fine by me as I am skewing more middle aged than young and hip.
Brookline and Dormont are excellent choices. You mentioned that one of you might be working in Mt Washington. That's another area to consider. You could also consider renting first. It would give you time to get to know Pittsburgh better. I moved here from CA five years ago and didn't rent first. I had two dogs and three cats at the time and knew it would be very difficult to find a rental.
One thing to be aware of is that while home prices are significantly lower than in CA, property taxes as a percentage of home value are much higher. Just be sure to factor that in to your budget and you'll be fine.
Brookline and Dormont are excellent choices. You mentioned that one of you might be working in Mt Washington. That's another area to consider.
Yep, and the Duquesne Heights area (which is usually lumped in with Mt. Washington) tends to have housing that's a little more spread out and "suburban", but it's still in the city.
Brookliner here for 8 years so I can give you some insights. I am not sure what areas constitutes West Liberty so I will have to leave that to someone else.
The housing market in Brookline is all over the place, and is really street/house dependent.
As for the streets, there aren't really any bad streets in Brookline, just less desirable due to topography, current occupants, and location/design. So the older core of Brookline is where you find the more grid pattern brick/block streets, older style homes, and is much more walkable to the Blvd. Around that you get the more 1960s suburban style with small ranches on winding streets. Although you still have sidewalks in those areas, its more of a hike to the main part of the neighborhood. But keep in mind Brookline has hills no matter what part of the neighborhood you live in. I am a block off the Blvd, but my back yard is nearly vertical.
In terms of housing, I see very little difference between Brookline and Dormont. The styles are almost identical although I feel like Dormont has a more cramped feel to it. Brookline houses are either pre-war or 1960s ranch. We have a lot of the standard "Pittsburgh house" with the kitchen/living/dining/foyer on the first floor and three bedrooms and a bath on the second floor. Sometimes you get a breakfast room off the kitchen and a walk up attic, sometimes you don't. As for whats on the market, you tend to see either a fully flipped house in Brookline, or one that hasn't been touched in 40 years or more. The difference shows in the price. I believe finding a grandma house that hasn't been touched for a lower price is the way to go. They usually have a solid history of maintenance but don't have the latest design updates. That saves you money and allows you to make those decisions.
This is well below your budget and would allow for you to remove the metal awning, strip the carpet, and do any other updates you would need. These houses do move fast though.
Brookline has a lot of great programs for kids, with a very strong youth sports program and many other activities for kids. We also have many community events throughout the year. On paper it seems as though Brookline is not very diverse but that is changing. A walk on the Blvd or a ride on the bus shows you the diversity.
As for your husbands commute, depending on where he works he could easily grab the 39 Brookline bus to Station Square and then take the incline up to Mt. Washington. The drive would be easy too .
There are no chain restaurants in Brookline, but hope you like pizza! We have multiple pizza shops, but we also have a Syrian restaurant, Pita Land grocery store, Las Palmas, and a new spot that moved over from Dormont, Parker's which serves sandwhiches and breakfast foods. We also have your standard, CVS, gas stations, post office, liquor store, beer distributor, hair salons, doctors offices, ice cream shop, coffee shop, dance studio, yoga studio, and various other small businesses . It is basically everything you could need to run your errands.
Trader Joes is 10-15 mins away, along with Whole Foods, Giant Eagle, and Fresh Market. We do have an Aldi's in the neighborhood .
I could probably talk for days about Brookline as you can tell...but overall it is a very quiet, safe, family friendly, and affordable neighoborhood. It is by no means hip and will never be hip. Recently a friend told me he feels it is skewing more LL Bean looking these days, so it is skewing more towards a Regent Square vibe than a Lawrenceville vibe..which is fine by me as I am skewing more middle aged than young and hip.
As a follow up the house i linked to yesterday has sold already after being on the market one day.
One of you should get a job lined up before making the move.
Oh, that’s definitely the plan. We won’t move without one of us getting a job first. My point is that if it’s me, I have more flexibility in where my job might be. Right now I’m gathering info based on the idea that he’d have the full-time job as that’s what he’d prefer.
As a follow up the house i linked to yesterday has sold already after being on the market one day.
Good advice on the grandma house and the head’s up at how quickly they sell!
And pizza is my favorite food, so that might give Brookline the edge just with that!
How are you fixed for good Mexican food? As a born and raised Angeleno, that’s my husband’s favorite.
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