Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania > Pittsburgh
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 02-22-2009, 06:00 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
1,142 posts, read 2,810,263 times
Reputation: 1144

Advertisements

We live in the west area of Pittsburgh and it's very nice here. Mostly neighborhoods and shopping areas, no factories and lots of nice middle class homes with some upper middle class areas. It's nearest to the airport for easy travel and intersects with the Parkway West and Interstate 79. Downtown is about 20 minutes away. East of the city is more urban and trendy (Shadyside and Squirrel Hill) and closer to downtown. Pittsburgh doesn't have the same pollution issues it used to though it does rate low in some air quality issues. The local papers have articles you can search to give you more information- The Post Gazette and Tribune Review are the two major papers here.

Hope that helps.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-22-2009, 07:48 PM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,451,232 times
Reputation: 35920
I would second the suggestion to live west of the city if proximity to the airport is important to you.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-22-2009, 08:23 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
524 posts, read 1,033,560 times
Reputation: 276
Quote:
Originally Posted by easybay View Post
When buying our first home (20 years ago) our realtor said to always buy west in a city, since prevailing winds normally blow west to east, and city planners generally built factories in the east end of cities.

We have always used this theory as to where to start looking, and it worked for us when we moved to DC (purchased in Vienna) and Houston (purchased in Katy). Now when researching Pittsburgh, the advice on these boards seems to be to look east of downtown - Squirrel Hill and Shadyside keep being listed as nice areas.

So, help me out here - is Pittsburgh the exception to this generalization?
I have never heard of this generalization, but I have to say that it does not apply to Pittsburgh. East of the city is where most of the universities are, and where historically the supervisors, managers, etc. of industry built their homes and mansions. I'd say forget about that particular piece of advice, and concentrate on what type of housing, schools and proximity to other resources such as the airport that you're looking for. Those issues will be much more valuable in deciding where to live.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-23-2009, 07:26 AM
 
765 posts, read 2,436,427 times
Reputation: 701
We would definately like to live closer to an airport - The drive to IAH is about an hour each way - very inconvenient.

I would prefer to be in a townhouse closer to downtown, but my husband is definately a 'burbs kind of guy. He can't stand high density living, traffic, and looking for a place to park. He wants his own space. We have a daughter who will be a senior in high school when we move. I don't really want to base where we live on a school district - although it usually helps for resale! We might have to suck it up and put her in private school for her senior year.

So, closer to the airport is west....specific neighborhoods would be great, and any high schools with great art programs would be a great help.

Thanks!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-23-2009, 07:28 AM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,451,232 times
Reputation: 35920
Quote:
Originally Posted by onwardandupward View Post
I have never heard of this generalization, but I have to say that it does not apply to Pittsburgh. East of the city is where most of the universities are, and where historically the supervisors, managers, etc. of industry built their homes and mansions. I'd say forget about that particular piece of advice, and concentrate on what type of housing, schools and proximity to other resources such as the airport that you're looking for. Those issues will be much more valuable in deciding where to live.
Although I recommended the west side if proximity to the airport is important, I agree with the above. I have never heard this piece of advice, either, and indeed, in my city, the "east side" is considered more upscale than the west side.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-23-2009, 08:19 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
1,519 posts, read 2,667,446 times
Reputation: 1167
Quote:
Originally Posted by easybay View Post
We would definately like to live closer to an airport - The drive to IAH is about an hour each way - very inconvenient.

I would prefer to be in a townhouse closer to downtown, but my husband is definately a 'burbs kind of guy. He can't stand high density living, traffic, and looking for a place to park. He wants his own space. We have a daughter who will be a senior in high school when we move. I don't really want to base where we live on a school district - although it usually helps for resale! We might have to suck it up and put her in private school for her senior year.

So, closer to the airport is west....specific neighborhoods would be great, and any high schools with great art programs would be a great help.

Thanks!

Most of the Western neighborhoods are more suburban-y than not. I used to live in Crafton and found the west to be very good from a traffic standpoint. If you are commuting into downtown there are many ways around without using the tunnels. There is also a west busway that makes public transportation from that side of town very convenient and quick. You might want to look into Robinson and Moon Townships. Both are suburbs with decent public schools. They have some areas that are less dense (as much as that is in a close suburb) but are still 15-30 minutes from the city center, depending on traffic. It might be a good compromise for the two of you. Robinson is Montour School District which used to be fairly highly rated, but I'm not sure if that is still true, and Moon is Moon Area. Also, Montour used to have a good theater department, but I don't know how it is for the rest of the arts. These two areas border each other with Moon being closer to the airport. They are both close to Robinson Towne Center for shopping -- it's a large complex with all of the national chains you could probably want. Both have easy access to both 279 (the Parkway West) and I-79 which is the major north-south interstate. Settler's Cabin is a large county park nearby, and Raccoon State Park is another Park a bit further out. Both areas have a variety of housing stock. If you are looking for a more rural area, I don't know much about Imperial, but it is still close enough to commute to downtown, but is an area that borders some farm land and has a more country feel. Good luck!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-23-2009, 08:59 AM
 
765 posts, read 2,436,427 times
Reputation: 701
Thanks!

Most of the housing answers direct people to live near the colleges (east side).

My daughters talent is in painting and drawing (not theatre). We'd be prepared to go to a private high school for one year especially if it had a great art program- hmmm - I'll just think of it as an extra year of college tuition!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-23-2009, 09:23 AM
 
Location: O'Hara Twp.
4,359 posts, read 7,504,014 times
Reputation: 1611
I think a lot of frequent travelers live in Sewickley which isn't really West but is still pretty close to the airport. There also is a private school in the town Sewickley Academy.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-23-2009, 09:36 AM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,316 posts, read 120,451,232 times
Reputation: 35920
Yes, I was thinking Sewickley, too. It is west of the city as well.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 02-23-2009, 09:45 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
1,519 posts, read 2,667,446 times
Reputation: 1167
Sewickley is another good suggestion. It's a bit of a small-town feel with a central village. It is also one of the best school districts in the area (Quaker Valley).

I don't know of any specifically good private or public schools for visual arts in the area, but there are a lot of programs available outside of school. My sister-in-law who ended up graduating from CMU with a fine arts degree took Saturday classes through CMU and the Carnegie when she was younger. I found this link with information about various programs and organizations in the area that I thought might be helpful to you.

Art Schools & Classes, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Resource Guide
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania > Pittsburgh

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top