Moving to Pitts. Pa from SC! (Pittsburgh, Penn Hills: fit in, transplants, sales)

[penilane]

My husband got a job in Jeannette, PA. We are moving from South Carolina. We have 3 kids 8, 5, and 10 months. I need info. on schools, pediatricians and neighborhoods. Here's the thing, I like living in the suburbs and having malls and shopping close by. I'm interested in Murrrysville, Monroeville, Plum, Penn Hills. Any honest info. would be helpful. I also have concerns about how you guys treat southerners, am I or my kids going to be given a hard time about our accents or if we say "ya'll" is that a big deal? Also, some helpful advise on how to prepare for winter weather would be great. One more thing, how hard is it to find a house to rent in the area? Thanks

[BrianTH]

Welcome! There are lots of nice, convenient suburbs in Pittsburgh, so I might suggest you be as specific as possible about what you are looking for in terms of yards, style of houses, budget, and so on, and then people here can help narrow down your choices. As for the welcome you will receive, I think people in Pittsburgh generally are nice, but they don't always have a lot of experience dealing with non-Pittsburgh people. My advice is to be patient and outgoing, and you should be fine.

Dealing with winter is basically a matter of having good tires on your cars and dressing appropriately. I highly advise going for the layering approach as opposed to trying to buy a bunch of bulky coats, and don't forget to keep your head and feet warm and dry.

Finally, there are a lot of houses being rented these days, but it all depends on your budget and which neighborhoods you are targeting. I'd suggest that once you have settled on a list of neighborhoods, you contact some real estate agents located in those areas and see if they can help you with rentals. If you have time for some visits, you can also just drive around and look for signs (a Pittsburgh tradition).

[Tinare]

Hi Penilane (love your screen name!),

Of the neighborhoods you mentioned, Murrysville's school district (Franklin Regional) has, I think, the best reputation. My aunt and uncle used to live there and my cousins (who are now in their 30s) were very involved in soccer and other activities and my impression was always that it was an active community. It has the advantage of being in Westmoreland County which generally has lower property taxes than Allegheny County (when you go to buy) but I can't speak to Murrysville's millage rates specifically.

Penn Hills has some parts that are, unfortunately, pulling the rest of the area down a bit, and it's getting a reputation as not being as a good a neighborhood. I'm not sure that it's not somewhat unfairly maligned, though.

Monroeville isn't my cup of tea, just because the Route 22 business district is very busy and strip-mally, however, it still has some nice neighborhoods. And there are, surprisingly, some areas that feel somewhat countryish, though. Another Aunt and Uncle lived about a mile or a mile and half from the Mall, yet had a huge wooded lot and you couldn't see their neighbor's houses.

I don't know a lot about Plum. I always thought that it and Murrysville were very similiar, but someone else might set you more straight on that.

I'm not aware of any anti-Southern feelings around here, and we're close enough to West Virginia that I don't think "ya'll" is totally a foreign expression. You may need to learn to say "yinz" though instead. In general, Pittsburghers are a relatively friendly bunch, though I have heard from some transplants that they thought it was hard to get to know people as so many folks here are natives and have their established groups of friends and family. But I think that can happen anywhere and if you get involved in things that interest you or your kids, then you meet folks easily that have similiar interests.

[vtPGH]

Originally Posted by penilane

I'm interested in Murrrysville, Monroeville, Plum, Penn Hills. Any honest info. would be helpful. I also have concerns about how you guys treat southerners, am I or my kids going to be given a hard time about our accents or if we say "ya'll" is that a big deal? Also, some helpful advise on how to prepare for winter weather would be great. One more thing, how hard is it to find a house to rent in the area? Thanks

Of the places mentioned, Murrysville would be the closest to Jeannette. Some parts of Murrysville, particurely out around Export and Delmont, are around a 10 minute drive to Jeannette.

Having lived some as a kid in South Carolina, then spending the rest of my childhood in Murrysville and the Franklin Regional school district, I really don't anticipate you or your children would get much grief over Southern accents. I remember a kid in my high school days who moved up from South Carolina, and the girls found his accent and 'gentlemen' charm very appealing...for what its worth.

As far as finding an actual house to rent, as opposed to a duplex or townhouse, that may be a bit challenging in either of the communities you mentioned. Murrysville is predominately single family homes, but their are a decent amount of rental townhouse developments.

[highway29south]

As one southerner to another, get ready for some fun! The difference between a Pittsburgher's accent and a southerner's is quite interesting!

When I moved here as a teenager from southern Virginia, I constantly got asked "where are you from?" I lost my accent real quick just to fit in. I didn't realize that the language difference was that big. I said so many things that were normal for where I was from that got me lots of strange looks here in Pittsburgh. And some of the things they said threw me. Where we'd say ya'll, they say yinz (I thought they said "hens" first time I heard it! Made no sense at all). "Red up" means clean a room or area. And so on. Here's a helpful site:

PITTSBURGHESE .com

Some people here have the accent real bad and some hardly have one at all.

People here in Pittsburgh are friendly but I found them hard to get to know. Most people grew up here so they have established relationships with extended family and friends. It took me many years to make some friends that I could really count on (I don't mean to say that to scare you.I was young when I moved here and I lived in an isolated area of the city). Southerners tend to talk to everyone. People here are a little more reserved but still friendly. It just takes some getting used to.

You are welcome to email me if I can be of more help. And welcome!

[Johnny C]

North Huntingdon Township is a great place to live if you work in Jennete. Norwin School district is solid and the area is very safe. Also, its in Westmoreland county, so property taxes are less than monroeville and surrounding areas.

[PeterRabbit]

I'll second North Huntingdon. I don't know how easy it would be to rent a house there. Sales tax is 1% cheaper in Westmoreland county. 6% vs. 7% in Allegheny county where Pgh. is.

[Johnny C]

As for shopping, there are some major retail stores in North Huntingdon, and the downtown Irwin area has been showing signs of improvement. Nearby Greensburg has the Westmoreland county mall as well as some big box retail stores.

Also, North Huntingdon Township would place you around 20 min away from shopping in Monroeville (large mall and lots of other retail stores) as well as the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead.

[penilane]

Thank you everyone for your help! Please keep writing. The more I know before we go up there the better. I only have about a 3-4 week time frame to find something. I don't want to move the kids around too much trying to find the right place. As for as rent amount is concerned, I don't want to pay more than about 1,200/month. Is that possible in Murrysville area for a 3br/2b house, or a townhouse is ok?
Thanks again, the info. so far is very helpful. I'm actually kinda getting excited about the move.

[Johnny C]

You could buy a decent house in the area for 1200 a month, so that shouldn't be a concern. I wouldnt sweat the whole accent thing - we have our own crazy dilect up here, after all.