Where are the Suburbs?? (Lebanon: homes, garage, architectural)

[rubybelle]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

I really think you have to pick where you want to live in relation to the city. Your request is far too vague. Also, if you want a typical cookie cutter house, I assume that you want something that is new. Is this right? Pittsburgh is pretty affordable if you are willing to consider something older and smaller. However, if you want something new then you have fewer options.

I don't get this. Why does someone have to live close to the city? The only time I go into the city is either for a ball game (which is hardly ever) or to see a play (about once a year if I'm lucky) and to visit the museums, which once you go to them, you hardly ever go back again within the next few years.

[JoeP]

Pittsburgh is either city living or rural.

Huh??????

Much of allegheny county is suburban.

Just because there are many older burbs does not make them not burbs.

[rubybelle]

Originally Posted by JoeP

Huh??????

Much of allegheny county is suburban.

Just because there are many older burbs does not make them not burbs.

That is not what I meant at all. I consider Bethal Park to be more suburban and it's pretty old.
What I consider to be a typical suburban area:

Sidewalks
Two lane streets with curbs
Choice of grocery stores within a quarter mile!
Streetlights
Gated and no gated communities
Fences
Safe - at all hours
Have a neighborhood feel to them - where you can let your kids out and they won't have to walk a half mile to visit a friend. Someone lives directly across the street and you don't have to worry that your kid will get hit by a car whizzing by. Think the neighborhoods shown on TV programs like Weeds, Desperate Housewives, and the like.
You can drive, bike or walk to areas.
Playgrounds, parks
Lots and Lots of retail and restaurants, within a mile or two - MAX
Great schools
The so-called suburbs here in Pittsburgh I consider to be rather rural. Not farm like rural, but not suburban either. It's this weird in-between thing that's going on here. Like, in many new neighborhoods, the developer tears DOWN ALL the trees to build a house, clear the land for a two acre lot, then plant some ugly little two foot tree next to the corner of the driveway and call it a suburban house. NOT! And the closest house to it is another three or four acres away!
etc. etc. etc.



PS - I too, do not like the so-called suburbs of places like Las Vegas because they have these tiny little houses right on top of each other with no green space. I don't even know what to call that...

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by rubybelle

That is not what I meant at all. I consider Bethal Park to be more suburban and it's pretty old.
What I consider to be a typical suburban area:

Sidewalks
Two lane streets with curbs
Choice of grocery stores within a quarter mile!
Streetlights
Gated and no gated communities
Fences
Safe - at all hours
Have a neighborhood feel to them - where you can let your kids out and they won't have to walk a half mile to visit a friend. Someone lives directly across the street and you don't have to worry that your kid will get hit by a car whizzing by. Think the neighborhoods shown on TV programs like Weeds, Desperate Housewives, and the like.
You can drive, bike or walk to areas.
Playgrounds, parks
Lots and Lots of retail and restaurants, within a mile or two - MAX
Great schools
The so-called suburbs here in Pittsburgh I consider to be rather rural. Not farm like rural, but not suburban either. It's this weird in-between thing that's going on here. Like, in many new neighborhoods, the developer tears DOWN ALL the trees to build a house, clear the land for a two acre lot, then plant some ugly little two foot tree next to the corner of the driveway and call it a suburban house. NOT! And the closest house to it is another three or four acres away!
etc. etc. etc.



PS - I too, do not like the so-called suburbs of places like Las Vegas because they have these tiny little houses right on top of each other with no green space. I don't even know what to call that...

It's my understanding that most of the developments in and around Pittsburgh do NOT have sidewalks or curbs. Now -- I haven't lived in Cranberry since 1984, but I know for a fact Sun Valley (built in the 60's) didn't have them, neither did the Ryan Developement that connected with Sun Valley. Neither did Fernway.

If memory serves there was a Ryan development down Rowan School Road called Fox Run -- they didn't either... and the upscale Canterbury Heights? Trails? didn't either.

So that would lead me to believe -- and I am making an assumption here -- that prevailing building/development codes do not require sidewalks or traditional curbs. The streets are usually paved with what is more commonly called a berm -- a raised slanted paved road side to steer the rainwater runoff towards a drain.

While sidewalks look nice and are "practical" they are somewhat problematic. In some areas the homeowner owns the sidewalk, which means they can screw with it. In some places the homeowner owns the yard beside the sidewalk and the strip of land between the sidewalk and the road, but not the sidewalk itself, so if the city decides to come in a replace the sidewalk, they can massacre all your landscaping and tell you tough luck.

Where I live the sidewalk is mine but there are codes with what I can and can't do to it. But the curb is owned and maintained by the city, and my curb is a nightmare that I have reported and reported and reported.... and the broken curb is cracking my sidewalk. But we have 85 year repaving schedules.... which means once every 85 years our street gets fixed.

Halley's Comet comes around more often. I expect my road to be repaved sometime before the next time Halley's rolls around... which won't be in MY lifetime....

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by rubybelle

I don't get this. Why does someone have to live close to the city? The only time I go into the city is either for a ball game (which is hardly ever) or to see a play (about once a year if I'm lucky) and to visit the museums, which once you go to them, you hardly ever go back again within the next few years.

I was asking the original poster whether she wanted to live north, south, east or west of the city. If all she wants is a cookie cutter house there is no way to narrow that down. People live close to the city for a variety of reasons, cultural attractions, sporting events, etc. Clearly, if you only go to the city three times a year then it doesn't matter where you live. However, some people go to the zoo or museums on a more regular basis. This is why the zoo and museums sell membeships. Other peopel need access to doctors and hospitals, the best of which are usually found in Oakland.

[l3lacksheep]

It baffles me that someone would desire something called typical or "cookie-cutter". But based on my images of of that Wexford (north of the city) and Peter's Township and Upper St. Clair (south of the city) would be my only recommendations...

Most of the closer, older suburbs (Mt Lebo. comes to mind) have smaller older homes, most are brick or stone with single car garages. While I loved the architectural diversity and the closeness to the city and to cultural areas the tiny garage situation was a pisser...

[OyCrumbler]

Originally Posted by rubybelle

I don't get this. Why does someone have to live close to the city? The only time I go into the city is either for a ball game (which is hardly ever) or to see a play (about once a year if I'm lucky) and to visit the museums, which once you go to them, you hardly ever go back again within the next few years.

Nicer and greater variety of restaurants, more events in general, and usually more work to be found are probably some good reasons to live close to or in a city. Also, if you build a suburb-like city/town in the middle of nowhere and unattached to a city, it can't really be a suburb.

[sr1234]

I was just in Cranberry for the first time in ages. Wow! Talk about suburbs. I think the population estimates are missing about 50,000 people from their data of the community. Every restaurant you can imagine and a lot of new retail developments. It is mindboggling going up there after driving through some of the dying areas of Pittsburgh.

[melneale]

Mt. Lebanon and Upper St Clair would be the best choices. My family lives in Bethel Park and it does not really fit the cookie cutter idea you described

[Mr. Mon]

Originally Posted by sr1234

I was just in Cranberry for the first time in ages. Wow! Talk about suburbs. I think the population estimates are missing about 50,000 people from their data of the community. Every restaurant you can imagine and a lot of new retail developments. It is mindboggling going up there after driving through some of the dying areas of Pittsburgh.

Cranberry is great, especially if you like ethnic restaurants. They have an Outback Steakhouse and a P.F. Chang's! It's wonderful.

Truly every restaurant you can imagine.