Portland to Pittsburgh (Penn Hills, Oakmont, Fox Chapel: renting, insurance, condo)

[fejman]

Portland ex-pats help!

My company has promoted me so we’re moving from Portland to Pittsburgh. We used to have a condo in NW Portland (23rd and Irving) and we currently live in Fairview Village (out by the old dog track). We love our home in Fairview but miss the amenities in NW.

We’ve been doing our research and until we get out there we know we can’t really make a decision but we’d like to narrow things down. We like the urban setting, quick access to shops, coffee, restaurants, etc. Obviously we want to live in an area of low crime. We’re both in our early 40’s & have a 6 year old so having other families around is important although certainly a diverse neighborhood is a good thing. We want to walk to school, shops, parks, etc. My office is in Harmarville, my wife isn’t sure where she’ll be working but we’re thinking downtown (she’s in the insurance biz). We’d like a neighborhood with “four square” houses, detached garages, mature trees, green spaces, etc.

To the ex-pats, if we were in Portland we’d be talking about Irvington or Westmoreland. OR, if I were to stand at the base of NW23rd and look north what street would I be standing on in Pittsburgh?

[aveojohn]

Check out Oakmont or why not Harmerville itself? I don't know what type home or price range you're looking for,or will you be renting?

[juliempdx]

Ouch! Just made the same exact move for my husband to go to grad school here. You are going to miss tri-met like crazy and litter free streets. We live in Squirrel Hill and it's very self contained with a lot of coffee shops and Schenley park which is a huge park. We would've liked to have lived in Shadyside but couldn't find a place that was affordable and not a dump. Wish I could help you more but we've only been here a month.

[aveojohn]

I don't know why people in this area are such pigs.Litter has been a complaint of mine for a long time.I have seen people throw there bags of garbage out the window of their car,its in a bag,take it home and put it in the trash.I think some people were raised in a barn.Sorry to get off thread.

[sketchbooks]

The closest equivalent to NW 23rd is probably Walnut St in Shadyside.
Shadyside and Squirrel Hill will have quick access to coffee, shops and the like: as for walking to school it depends where exactly you settle.
Squirrel Hill, Regent Square and Point Breeze are all right next to BIG parks (Schenley and Frick). Watch out with Regent Square since it spans three boroughs, all with different schools, taxes, etc. (regional government? ha!)
No lack of mature trees around here, but you may have trouble finding detached garages. Lots tend to be smaller here.
Oakmont seems to be a teeny bit like Westmoreland, but it's pretty far from downtown.

[PeterRabbit]

12 Mile Island is at Oakmont. Some people don't consider 12 miles far from downtown.

[AVYinzer]

Oakmont is nice but it is a long commute from downtown (trust me I live near there). I would suggest Aspinwall. It is between downtown and Harmarville. Very much like Shadyside with large Victorian homes. Very walkable town with amenities...and very safe as well. Not to mention, Fox Chapel School District which is one of the best in the county.

[onwardandupward]

Aspinwall is about half the size of Oakmont (around 3,000 vs. around 6,000 people), and their physical sizes are in the same proportions as well (about .4 sq. mile vs. 1 sq. mile), so they're both pretty small. They both have foursquare houses with mature trees and sidewalks. Personally I think Oakmont is prettier, and has a beautiful park right on the river. Aspinwall has a hospital and a large strip mall right next door which causes traffic jams as the road wasn't build for the amount of traffic it now has. As far as schools go, Fox Chapel (the school district for Aspinwall) is bigger and rated higher than Riverview School District in Oakmont. Your kids will be bused in Aspinwall, whereas in Oakmont they walk to school. Aspinwall is closer to downtown than Oakmont - probably 10-15 minutes closer on commuting time. Oakmont is right across the river from Harmarville, though, so it's going to be 10-15 minutes closer than Aspinwall when commuting to Harmarville.

Neither town is racially diverse; both are overwhelmingly white. Outside of the east end of Pittsburgh proper, and a few areas like Penn Hills, racial diversity is somewhat hard to come by in Pittsburgh neighborhoods, unfortunately. One way to compensate for that is to get your kids involved in activities where there is more diversity.

[nuwaver88]

Originally Posted by aveojohn

I don't know why people in this area are such pigs.Litter has been a complaint of mine for a long time.I have seen people throw there bags of garbage out the window of their car,its in a bag,take it home and put it in the trash.I think some people were raised in a barn.Sorry to get off thread.

I wait for the bus at the T station on Liberty and Wood. There are three trash cans lined up nicely about fifteen feet apart at this station. Yet, McDonalds's bags etc. end up on the ground. I have felt on several occasions about saying something, but did not feel like I would get much support from others at this stop. Inasmuch as I feel like it is being lazy and piggish, I also think it is a mentality to deliberately do the wrong thing for some people. Throwing it in the trash is conforming, and God forbid that some show their weakness.

[aveojohn]

Originally Posted by nuwaver88

I wait for the bus at the T station on Liberty and Wood. There are three trash cans lined up nicely about fifteen feet apart at this station. Yet, McDonalds's bags etc. end up on the ground. I have felt on several occasions about saying something, but did not feel like I would get much support from others at this stop. Inasmuch as I feel like it is being lazy and piggish, I also think it is a mentality to deliberately do the wrong thing for some people. Throwing it in the trash is conforming, and God forbid that some show their weakness.

People do as they see.When kids are raised with no manners this is what happens. So,now we have generation after generation of pigs and its not likely to change.I remember my mother telling me to throw my garbage in the trash can.I have always had a trash bag in my car and I will put a wrapper in my pocket rather than throw it on the ground.Once again it all goes back to parenting.