Last Minute Questions (Pittsburgh, Lebanon, Dormont: wood floors, rent, new house)

[PeterRabbit]

Regent Square is part Pgh., Wilkinsburg, Swissvale and Edgewood. In the Pgh. part you would go to Alderdice school in Squirrel Hill and I'm pretty sure that's the school for south Point Breeze also. The schools in the other areas are bad. There are private schools in Shadyside which isn't far. There's likely others around due to the merger described below and wealthier people didn't want their kids going to school there. They bought some of the vacated public schools to turn them private. I don't know if any are still operating.

Woodland Hills School District includes the communities of Braddock, Braddock Hills, Chalfant, Churchill, East Pittsburgh, Edgewood, Forest Hills, North Braddock, Rankin, Swissvale, Turtle Creek and Wilkins Township. These are all nearer eastern suburbs and many have Pgh. zip codes that begin with 152xx. The formation of this system mixed upper middle class neighborhoods that were used to having a good school system with lower income/poor areas. It has troubles and a bad reputation. When the merger was approved house prices in the better areas dropped as much as 50% overnight.

There's many towns and areas around and in Pgh. that have another area's zip code because of convenience or they don't have their own post office. Part of Point Breeze has a Homewood zip code of 15208 and the other has 15206 (East Liberty). It may also have a 15217 which is Squirrel Hill. Wilkinsburg is Pittsburgh 15221 but it also services Churchill and Forest Hills which are more desirable communities yet still Pgh. 15221 mailing address. Be sure when you're buying youre in the right neighborhood because it can mean a big bucks difference when you go to sell. Someone tried to tell me there's no difference between Oakland and Shadyside and in the nicer parts there's no noticeable division, but the $300,000 property in Shadyside sells for $200,000 in Oakland. I'm not trying to confuse you just make you aware to be aware.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by jinxd_13

How are the schools for the other East End neighborhoods besides Squirrel Hill and Greenfield ie point Breeze and Regent Park? Are they Wilkinsburg

To address the Regent Square part of this question, there are four municipalities in Regent Square and three school districts. The Pittsburgh part of Regent Square is served by the Squirrel Hill public schools. The Wilkinsburg part is served by Wilkinsburg schools. The Swissvale and Edgewood parts are served by the Woodland Hills school district (I have seen mixed opinions about Woodland Hills, by the way).

This one should get some fun responses, what is teh first resyaurant we shoudl eat at (anywhere in the city ya'll want)?

Lots of great possibilities, but since you are adults-only, I'd recommend Legume in Regent Square (a French/Italian bistro with an ever-changing menu featuring local ingredients).

[stasia]

Definitely check out Dave and Andy's in Oakland for ice cream. My favorites are their cinnamon and birthday cake! And their homemade cones.

Stay away from the Cheesecake Factory; what a tourist trap! The food is really pretty terrible there. I can never understand the long wait. There's a restaurant called Dingbats in Butler and in the Pittsburgh Mills; their turtle cheesecake is divine.

I have a soft side for Fatheads in the South Side. Incredible burgers and a good beer selection. Penn Brewery has solid German food and solid microbrews.

And just to show that I'm not completely biased against chains, I'll give a shout out to Claddagh in the South Side Works. Their food really is pretty good, and hey, they serve Strongbow! I've also gotten desserts from there (bread pudding and chocolate cake) that were excellent.

[guylocke]

When you are ready to celebrate and head someplace nice, go to Monteray Bay on Mt. Washington (make reservations!!). And you MUST have the crab cake. Yes, they are $15 A PIECE, but they are worth every cent.

[jinxd_13]

That better be the best crab cake I ever ate Guylocke

Thanx for all the good advice Stasia. We have Cheesecake Factory here and, althogh I have nothing against chains (I work for one after all), I would, at least, like to go to chains that we haven't been to. Ya'll gotta remember, i am from Al Copelands home so any of his stuff has been sooo done here. May the (insert mean guy word here) RIP. Claddagh sounds interesting. Is it an Irish Pub type place? Me and my honey have matching claddagh tats over our hearts with Celtic crosses and eternity knots with "Friendship, Loyalty and Love" in Gaelic. So sweet you could puke huh

And Humanoid. Thanx for teh advice about Eat and park. we prolly won;t go there ourselves but kids usually like low quality food once in awhile for a treat...especially smiley face cookies ~winks Kat~

And Brain, I have heard oodles of good stuff about Legume. It is definitely on our list! As to Regent Square (and Mr Rabbits info filled post), i guess we will have to look on a street by street basis. That ffeder doc I have will be invaluable.

And I would like to extend an open invite to the cubs game Sat. Any of you guys that would liek to come out and watch the game with some crazy southerners and show us the right way to watch baseball (we don't have a decent team within a billion miles down here and this area is all about football) coem on down to the game. This is me (soory this is the only pic I have right now woth the blonde in my hair)


and this is my hunny(with puppies)

[

weirdos and stalkers not welcome but the rest of you I would love to put a person with the personality!!

[jinxd_13]

Wow, those are really big.LOL, especially my big ole head.

[fleetiebelle]

Claddagh sounds interesting. Is it an Irish Pub type place?

If you like an Irish pub type dealio, I'd recommend Piper's (Piper’s Pub » Piper’s Pub) on Carson St. on the South Side. They have pretty authentic pub grub, a great scotch and beer list, and they show soccer games on the big screen.

[stasia]

There is definitely some city love for Piper's Pub. Everyone always has such good things to say about it, but the one time I finally went, they were out of Strongbow, and their Hoegaarden was skunk. I don't actually remember the food because I was so bummed about the alcohol.

Yes, Claddagh is an Irish pub chain. The ambience is really dear; there are small, slightly differently themed dining rooms. Solid food, I think. They have a chicken sandwich with spinach artichoke spread on it that's just killer.

Claddagh Irish Pub

[stasia]

Originally Posted by jinxd_13

Any of you guys that would liek to come out and watch the game with some crazy southerners and show us the right way to watch baseball (we don't have a decent team within a billion miles down here and this area is all about football) coem on down to the game.

If you're coming to Pittsburgh looking for a good baseball team ... well, then you're coming to the wrong town!!

[jinxd_13]

I am a spinach artichoke addict (especially spinach ug ug ug ug) We don't care if the team is good as long as they have a kick butt ballpark with a breathtaking view of the city. Know any like that?