Living in Mt. Lebanon vs. Dormont (Pittsburgh, Mount Lebanon: foreclosures, buying, best school districts)

[Hopes]

I'm confident in my position. I am certain the OP would agree. I'm done arguing with you. There is no need to explain myself.

[adhzedan]

Have a nice day

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by Pitman

Baldwin-Whitehall is just about done with their new high school and taxes actually dropped by 1 mill this year and possibly more next year. So you never know.

Yeah, but did the school board go after every new sale to raise the assessed value?

It's been very easy for school districts to claim they haven't raised millage rates while they challenge the county's opinon of value.

[LAMBSN]

Originally Posted by COPANUT

Yeah, but did the school board go after every new sale to raise the assessed value?

It's been very easy for school districts to claim they haven't raised millage rates while they challenge the county's opinon of value.

No, Baldwin Whitehall did not go after the new sales. Not saying they won't in the future but they did not do that when they dropped it.

[RoughCollie]

Well, folks, I really appreciate all of your input.

We are coming to Pittsburgh to find a house soon and we will be looking at a lot of houses, including the ones in Dormont and Mt. Lebanon.

I just can't get over how friendly and helpful people in Pittsburgh are! I have a strong feeling we are going to love it there.

Just today, my husband was helped out, gratis, by a friendly guy he knows only from playing racquetball with him. I asked my husband where the guy was from, because I just knew he wasn't from here. I guessed he was from Pittsburgh, or at least Pennsylvania. My husband didn't know.

I delved a lot more deeply, and discovered that the man told my husband that his son and brothers live in Pittsburgh! What do you want to bet he's from there?

Thank you again for all your help. I really appreciate your kindness.

RC

[Luv4ThePaws]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Excellent consideration. I have warned people about this in the past. There is no sense in moving into an area where one can't afford to keep up with the Jone's---especially with teenagers who need to fit in with the crowd. There are other places to live besides Mt. Lebanon and Dormont. I don't know why the OP is only focused on those two areas/school districts.

Where would you recommend (maybe you already have, I am trying to make dinner and haven't read every post!) besides Mt. Lebanon that still has a charming downtown and quaint homes? We are visiting next week, but only staying a night as money is tight with us both being laid off. We would love to know other, more affordable areas that aren't so image-conscious. But, no master-planned subdivisions and endless strip malls, please! We are trying to escape that kind of life!

Thanks!

[Hopes]

I wouldn't call many of our small 'downtowns' charming. (I wish our river towns would invest in revitalization because so many people coming to Pittsburgh want that.) Aspinwall (good schools), Sewickley (good schools) & Oakmont (not as good schools) are charming. Some consider Bellevue (not sure about the schools) charming. Avalon (not sure about the schools) has some charming Victorians on side streets. In the city, Friendship, Bloomfield, Regent Square, Squirrel Hill, Shadyside (more image conscious) are interesting although the schools vary.

Do you need good schools? Are you only interested in top schools? Are you renting a house, apartment or buying? I'm just not sure what you're looking for.

[Copanut]

Staying one night is hardly going to be enough time IMHO to check an area out. Why not do more searches on the Net or contact an agent to send you info before you make the trip. Just my two cents.

[Luv4ThePaws]

We have info from an agent who we contacted last summer that has been helpful but we much prefer the opinions of locals, so thank you! With boarding our two big dogs, gasoline, lodging and food, we can't afford more than a day's visit right now! That's why we are trying to narrow it down to really check out the areas. We don't have kids but plan on it in the near future after we get settled in. Decent schools matter to us with caring teachers and extracuricular activities. However, good schools only go so far and with better schools often comes snobbery and pretentiousness and we are trying to stay away from that. Basically, a safe nice area of town with good hardworking and friendly people, a house with a little character for under $190k and a yard big enough for our 4 dogs (2 big, 2 little). I would like to be able to walk our (future) child to the park and library and just feel like I am part of a community for once.

Thanks so much!

[Hopes]

Sewickley can be pretentious.

You wouldn't run into much pretentiousness in Aspinwall itself, but the Fox Chapel school district has the most wealth of any district in the county. It doesn't have a library.

Avalon & Oakmont have libraries. There's some wealth in Oakmont, but not really. There's a country club there so everyone thinks it's a wealthy town, but it's really not. Neither Avalon or Oakmont have top schools.

If you want to move rather far away from the city, Freeport has it's own library. I'm not sure if you'd call Freeport charming. It think it may have a fairly decent school district. Here's a picture of Freeport: http://lh4.ggpht.com/_aGLbdAXBlsg/Rf...k/BRK_1239.jpg