Looking for a cool part of the city to possibly live longer term

[donnyfontaine]

Originally Posted by Higherho

Mission hills section of Mt Lebanon. You can get lots up to 0.4 to 0.5 acres. Access to the light rail system, very close to a popular mall, and a stone throw away from Downtown Pittsburgh.

oh wow, that’s a pretty cool part of mt Lebo just off of street view. I checked out some houses in mt lebo a few weeks back (audobon Ave and I believe Kewanna) and ruled out that area since it felt cluttered and I got stuck in a traffic jam at 9pm, but orchard dr looks a bit more open

not a lot for sale or even sold in the last few months but that area looks cool. do you know if there are any parts around there that have nicer ranch style houses? definitely my favorite look architecturally

also interested in opinions on the sewickely area as well as Allison park

[Knepper3]

I mean you have all of Ohio Twp, Ben Avon, Kilbuck, Emsworth or even Bellevue if you want more urban. Those are all very easy travel to wexford, cranberry, strip which are my normal visits. You can also be on 279 or 79 in minutes if you just want a long drive. You could go out to Sewickley but more out of the way, love the area just not for the $.

[SteelCityRising]

I would recommend O'Hara Township, Indiana Township, Ohio Township, Ross Township, or Kilbuck Township. These areas will all have plentiful ranch or split-level homes with larger-sized yards; are safe; and are convenient to both Lawrenceville and Wexford without having to deal with tunnel traffic into and out of the city. I am particularly fond of both O'Hara Township and Ross Township for their great public services, but you can't really go wrong with most of the inner suburban townships to the north, northwest, or northeast of the city.

[corpgypsy]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

right away i'm thinking carnegie and crafton - the general areas, if not those boroughs specifically - would be strong contendors.

also, Heidelberg or parts of Collier Township that are along Route 50.

i believe those areas are not difficult to drive through/around, have access to interstate options, public parks, small town feel (well, sort of/maybe), and is just a great corner of the metro area, all things considered.

im not sure id call any place in pittsburgh 'chaotic' except for incoming and outgoing at the Squirrel Hill Tunnels, since there are people who believe in excess of 70mph approaching the tunnels will somehow allow them to bend space and time and avoid the traffic ahead.

Szug-bot, I believe you are spot on in this response to the OP and especially with the added nuances you supplied. The South Hills in general are great and of course Mt Lebanon is always a favorite, but the OP was concerned about traffic and congested feel and wanted a garage and sounded like perhaps a newer home requiring less maintenance and possibly some yard/land....So I agree with where you settled on this side of the city.

Collier Township has a huge range of housing types and pricing. For me 20 minutes to the airport...11 minutes to downtown...close to shopping of all styles in multiple directions...but not in view. Trails, parks and distinct neighborhoods/areas that can have rural feel, suburban feel or smaller lot "city" feel...OP did mention school district and it is Chartiers Valley which is a middle tier adequate school system.

A few years ago we retired to a neighborhood in Collier Township--- after 50+ years of living all across the country as well as in 4 very different parts of Pittsburgh--- and we self - congratulate ourselves on this choice almost daily. There is a mix of many ages and diverse economic demographics, and it is nicely pleasant on the eyes and well treed in most locations. I can get to a daughter in Point Breeze in under 25 minutes and to a Wexford hair salon in the same amount of time.

At the risk of being presumptuous, to the OP, feel free to direct message me and I would be delighted to try to answer any questions you may have re Collier and surrounding areas and maybe on some of the other areas where we lived here in the 'burgh...although there are several people on this thread that may have more knowledge on those in the current period of time. Anyway, as relocation was my life, and it seems you have a lot of experience with it as well, you may possibly have an outlook that was formed by the same experiences, and if I could be of any assist please don't hesitate. At least until you zero in on an area when choosing a knowledgeable RE agent will be an asset.

P.S. OP: OOPS, just reread your original post and "cool" may be the problem...I feel where my neighborhood is located is "kinda cool", but it may not be the same kind of "cool" you meant...

[szug-bot]

Originally Posted by corpgypsy

Szug-bot, I believe you are spot on in this response to the OP and especially with the added nuances you supplied. The South Hills in general are great and of course Mt Lebanon is always a favorite, but the OP was concerned about traffic and congested feel and wanted a garage and sounded like perhaps a newer home requiring less maintenance and possibly some yard/land...

Collier Township has a huge range of housing types and pricing. For me 20 minutes to the airport...11 minutes to downtown...close to shopping of all styles in multiple directions...but not in view. Trails, parks and distinct neighborhoods/areas that can have rural feel, suburban feel or smaller lot "city" feel...OP did mention school district and it is Chartiers Valley which is a middle tier adequate school system.

A few years ago we retired to a neighborhood in Collier Township--- after 50+ years of living all across the country as well as in 4 very different parts of Pittsburgh--- and we self - congratulate ourselves on this choice almost daily. There is a mix of many ages and diverse economic demographics, and it is nicely pleasant on the eyes and well treed in most locations. I can get to a daughter in Point Breeze in under 25 minutes and to a Wexford hair salon in the same amount of time.

thanks, corn...my intrest in this thread right away checked out since my reply (the first) is now buried and forgotten, the personal sniping had begun, and ridiculous suggestions on where to live were given. i stand by my suggestion, since subsequent posts have seemed to ignore each of the finer points of donnyfontaine's (the OP) post.

those areas i mentioned are fantastic for urban living. the main street of Carnegie IS cool. there are people of all ages, in clusters. admittedly, my experience is not extensive - one can only live anywhere for TWO YEARS minimum to have a comprehensive summary of what a place is like.

i think the South Hills is a broad area. there are certainly some nice communities there, but the driving is maddening, in my experience, if you need to get to anywhere that is out of the South Hills. A commute from, say, Green Tree to Bethel Park? Not bad. South Park Township to West Mifflin? Not awful at all.....but from those places to Downtown? Oakland? Ross Twp? etc...

[jea6321]

Ben Avon, Ben Avon heights, Ohio township, killbuck, ross township. Possibly highland park, aspinwall, morningside.

sounds like north or eastern city neighborhoods would be your best bet for both location and what you are looking for.

with a 700k budget, you may also want to consider the option of building new if time frame is not critical. You might only be able to really find what you want going that direction.

[donnyfontaine]

Ok so a lot of good info. Validating a lot of my previous thoughts, but also adding some points to look. My brother lived in Brighton Heights for a little which was a depressing area for me, but I can add Ben Avon back in the mix since I previously just lumped that with Brighton.
But general sentiment is North Hills, north of: Avalon, West View, Reserve twp, and Etna.
For my own pre-disposition, I'm realizing I really prefer the north hills, since I always disliked driving to any part of the south hills when I lived on the north side (basically the tunnels). So driving to the north hills from south hills would bring the same annoyances. Plus more nuanced reasons that no one else could know, I always had soccer practice in the Kirwan Heights/Heidelberg area as a kid, so my opinion/view of that area is already burned into my brain (I've driven past that exit sign hundreds of times I swear).

New shortlist: O'Hara, Ross, Kilbuck/Ben Avon heights, Sewickley area (Glen osborne/aleppo?)

I will say I do like Aspinwall, but it's hard to find any land on those houses, plus it seems like there might be some flood risk there and I am totally averse to any flood risks (after spending time in CA, I have basically no tolerance for anything "random natural disaster/climate risk" related). Plus I want to bump out highland park/morningside since I don't know if I'd feel great about having to spend so much just to have a little space... this sounds dumb, but I don't like areas where there is so much street parking/cars up and down streets in front of houses, unless it's the width where cars can be parked with space for a car to easily go each way. Kind of a dumb hangup but hey it's my money

Ppl that do have houses, preferably in similar areas, did you narrow it down to a few areas and pick a house, or narrow it down to one area and wait for the right house to pop up? I feel like I have a very specific aesthetic in mind, and if I narrow to one area I won't find it, but don't know if it would be a mistake to just pick a house once I've narrowed down the areas (nature-y, space, non-congested, good schools, 20 mins to the city etc.)

[gg]

Originally Posted by donnyfontaine

...I really prefer the north hills, since I always disliked driving to any part of the south hills....

New shortlist: O'Hara, Ross, Kilbuck/Ben Avon heights, Sewickley area (Glen osborne/aleppo?)

I will say I do like Aspinwall, but it's hard to find any land on those houses, plus it seems like there might be some flood risk there and I am totally averse to any flood risks (after spending time in CA, I have basically no tolerance for anything "random natural disaster/climate risk" related). Plus I want to bump out highland park/morningside since I don't know if I'd feel great about having to spend so much just to have a little space... this sounds dumb, but I don't like areas where there is so much street parking/cars up and down streets in front of houses, unless it's the width where cars can be parked with space for a car to easily go each way. Kind of a dumb hangup but hey it's my money

No flood issues in Aspinwall except maybe on Delafield around the 28 on ramp, but that isn't real flooding, it is super fast water runoff. Upper Aspinwall has larger lots for the most part.

I didn't think South Hills was a good fit as I stated due to how intense the traffic is there.

[donnyfontaine]

Originally Posted by gg

No flood issues in Aspinwall except maybe on Delafield around the 28 on ramp, but that isn't real flooding, it is super fast water runoff. Upper Aspinwall has larger lots for the most part.

I didn't think South Hills was a good fit as I stated due to how intense the traffic is there.

I always thought that and figured Etna/millvale were the big flood risks, but Redfin added a flood risk thing that I think is making people hypochondriacs. And yea I’ll find myself taking drives to north park when I want to decompress for a bit but every time I go to the south hills it stresses me out more haha

[tyovan4]

Originally Posted by donnyfontaine

I always thought that and figured Etna/millvale were the big flood risks, but Redfin added a flood risk thing that I think is making people hypochondriacs.

Depends where in those communities.. there are plenty of hills - I live on top of one and if I flood, it means that we ALL need to build an Ark.