Possibly moving to the area relatively soon and could use some recommendations. (Pittsburgh: affordable house, neighborhood)

[jcampo13]

Originally Posted by zalewskimm

You would need to transfer from downtown to the Northside. Seemingly would be a short wait. You could also walk it as well in 15 minutes.

It's a 5 minute walk from Allegheny Station and google says it doesn't need a transfer. Does that station no longer exist?

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by zalewskimm

You would need to transfer from downtown to the Northside. Seemingly would be a short wait. You could also walk it as well in 15 minutes.

No, he wouldn't. Get on Red Line in Dormont, take it to the end of the line, and walk.

Edit: If forced to choose, I'd rather live around Potomac Station than Dormont Junction. Potomac is the nicer commercial main street of Dormont.

[Higherho]

You can plan out your route with the port authorities true time map. Will show you how long it would take and stops. All in near real time showing you the train location. As others stated, you will not need to transfer from the red line to north shore.

https://truetime.portauthority.org/map

[svband76]

Originally Posted by eschaton

No, he wouldn't. Get on Red Line in Dormont, take it to the end of the line, and walk.

Edit: If forced to choose, I'd rather live around Potomac Station than Dormont Junction. Potomac is the nicer commercial main street of Dormont.

Oh wow I stand corrected. Haven't take the T in a few years. So that's awesome. Potomac Avenue can be a little noisy. On Potomac Ave there's a decent little grocery store, old time movie theater, bakery, Thai food and of course the Dor Stop Diner.

[Knepper3]

Originally Posted by jcampo13

So I might be moving to the Pittsburgh area this year due to a potential job change. I have never been to the area before so I am definitely not 100% sure if I will take/get the job yet at this point. Regardless I would love to get some recommendations on neighborhoods/towns that fit what we are looking for.

The most important thing to me personally is walkability as I cannot drive a car. I need to live in an area with good walkability and access to public transit. Access to parks and water would be great as well if possible.

When are you moving? Probably early summer if I had to guess
Where are you coming from? South NJ near Philly.

Ok what exit? No really where about in South NJ? I actually grew up in South NJ, Manahawkin/Barnegat area but spent most of my free time on LBI. Most of my family is from Pittsburgh so we moved here 14 years ago.


Already some good options, I think the main thing is going to be schools. I've never really priced private schools but I know they are not cheap, most I am familiar are Catholic Schools which if that is what you are looking for there are many around. There are plenty of well rated schools though that wouldnt be far from Northside but not sure which wants are priorities. At 330k for a house you would have many areas available though some of the higher rated school districts that might be the lower/middle price range, still great homes though.


I'd try to rent somewhere you might like to buy to really get a feel but if not definitely explore. If it must be trains then south of the city but north of the city still has a decent bus system from what I've been told. I know many people in the winter that take the bus in from North areas like Avonworth/Northgate/North hills districts. (

[SteelCityRising]

Dormont is your best bet for walkable, family-friendly, decent public schools, and a half-hour or so commute via the train to work (no transfers). As has already been mentioned, though, the real estate market there is tight. The town is geographically small (less than one square mile I do believe). I'm guessing the most analogous South Jersey town to Dormont would be Collingswood.

We live on the North Side. It's fine for childless professional couples like us, but I would not want to send my children to the local public high school.

[Knepper3]

I don't like subsidies of any kind but to play devils advocate the person buying that home at a discount is going to have a restriction on that property for life that is going to affect resale so that person also needs to accept that if they ever want to sell they are not going to likely get anything near the prices their neighbors will get. They aren't really getting a big free chunk of equity.


I think the issue you also need to consider is putting someone an affordable house in a not as affordable area, how does that make sense? I'd love to be living near the coast but I can't afford it so I looked for somewhere that worked for the income I made.

[Doowlle34]

My sense is that, at that price range, you have (and you'll probably need) more options than just Dormont. As an example, while the below house is well-under your stated price range, the agent noted on a local Facebook page that there were 8 offers within about 3 days of the property going on the market:

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...6_M35983-43139

Knepper provides some good options in the North Hills.

At your price range, you used to be able to find something in Mount Lebanon as well, although I haven't been watching those listings that closely recently. Bethel Park still gets you on the trolley line, but has many less walkable amenities. I was also impressed by Carnegie this past Friday evening (drove through the downtown on the way back from the Panhandle Trail), as there seems to be a critical mass of restaurants/bars now, which seemed to attract large crowds with the coming of more temperate weather. It is a bummer, however, to see the large gap in the downtown due to the 2018 fire at Papa J's (and looking at the news reports, i forgot that an apartment resident, a 64-year-old man, was actually killed in this fire).

On Dormont, I wouldn't be so concerned with being close to Potomac, as the borough is so small, it's really accessible from any point (and, given the market now, you might not have the option to be too picky about the location). We are located near the Lebo border, and frankly, we probably use the Beverly Road shops in Lebo more than those on Potomac. Among other things, the new Mediterra location, which follows (I think) two failed restaurants in a space that used to be an auto repair shop, really completes the offerings in this small commercial area. That said, there are probably a better constellation of businesses in Dormont now than there has been for any of the 21+ years that we have lived here.

Folks debate schools here endlessly. We're very happy with the elementary school in Dormont. We do "piggyback" on Lebo for certain amenities, many of which are open to folks in other communities, including swimming and tennis. Certainly, the plethora of options available for kids in Lebo makes us wonder what other things we may have missed by choosing Dormont over a (low-end) Lebo home.

[erieguy]

Originally Posted by Knepper3

I don't like subsidies of any kind but to play devils advocate the person buying that home at a discount is going to have a restriction on that property for life that is going to affect resale so that person also needs to accept that if they ever want to sell they are not going to likely get anything near the prices their neighbors will get. They aren't really getting a big free chunk of equity.


I think the issue you also need to consider is putting someone an affordable house in a not as affordable area, how does that make sense? I'd love to be living near the coast but I can't afford it so I looked for somewhere that worked for the income I made.

Bingo

[Knepper3]

Originally Posted by Knepper3

I don't like subsidies of any kind but to play devils advocate the person buying that home at a discount is going to have a restriction on that property for life that is going to affect resale so that person also needs to accept that if they ever want to sell they are not going to likely get anything near the prices their neighbors will get. They aren't really getting a big free chunk of equity.


I think the issue you also need to consider is putting someone an affordable house in a not as affordable area, how does that make sense? I'd love to be living near the coast but I can't afford it so I looked for somewhere that worked for the income I made.

Sorry, somehow I post this on the wrong thread. Can't delete it now either.