Moving to Pittsburgh area and terrified!

[rapchef2]

Originally Posted by KmBubb

I guess since I drop her off in front of the school in my white 2003 Honda Civic (w/119K miles), I must be considered as one of the elite that are "lined up for blocks". Sounds like Captain Obvious may have his blinders on.

I have to laugh because I have you beat. We have a 1998 Toyota Camry and a 2001 Toyota Sienna That's one reason I've wondered if even my never-self-conscious husband might become self-conscious. Seriously though, we aren't the type to try to keep up. We just don't want to walk through the rest of our life feeling like we're looked down on. We want to be with people we can be ourselves with and not feel stressed. I won't let it scare me away from living in QV district, but perhaps I won't run to buy a fixer upper in Sewickley (like we'd find one anyway).

[rapchef2]

Just got back from our 7 hour tour of the Pittsburgh area (we arrived at 8pm Saturday and left Sunday at 1pm). I definitely was able to rule out some areas after seeing them. Not that there was anything wrong with the, but I just don't think we can live that close together. So it looks like we are steering more towards Beaver county (liked Center, Hopewell, some of Monaca), Moon, and other similar areas we get a chance to look at later. I really liked driving through Economy, but then saw those houses were in Ambridge schools. Well I can hopefully pinpoint my search a little more now that I've seen what some of the towns are like. I loved the Beaver houses, but those yards still aren't big enough. I know some people don't like sprawl, but my kids need a yard to run off energy!

While looking online, I discovered houses in the Riverside school district. Does anyone know anything about that area? I can't tell if it will pick up rougher areas or not.Thanks for everyone's help! I would have never know what areas to check if it hadn't been for this forum!

[CaptainObvious]

Originally Posted by KmBubb

Thank you Captain Obvious for your keen and subjective observations of Sewickley and the Quaker Valley School District. Nothing better than stoking the class warfare fires.

Our daughter attends QV high school and doesn' t make mention of negative stereotypes at the school. Her friends are very diverse, some are from upper class families, some are from lower class families. It makes no difference to us regarding our daughters friends/families "social status".

I guess since I drop her off in front of the school in my white 2003 Honda Civic (w/119K miles), I must be considered as one of the elite that are "lined up for blocks". Sounds like Captain Obvious may have his blinders on.

By the way, I' m a security guard and my wife is a nurse. We chose QV because it is an excellent school, and we don' t have animosity or hard feelings toward someone because of how little or how much money they have in their checking account.

No, I wouldn't call you one of the "elite lined up for blocks", I'd call you one of the working-class average folks that are incorporated into the wealthy school district as one of my previous posts suggested. That's fantastic you don't have animosity or hard feelings toward other people. I would hope you wouldn't. My point is that when your kids are wearing Levi's and ten of their freinds are wearing $400 Citizens, your kids are going to eventually ask you for those Citizens. Look at the recent posts on the internet from Mario Lemieux's (who lives in Sewickley Village) pool party. There are at least 100 kids there. My wife diligently pointed out that several of the dresses worn by the 7 year olds sported labels from Gucci and Marie Chantal--$800 sun dresses for a summer afternoon pool party. My point is that if your child is invited to such a party, and even if you do park in the governor's drive in your Civic, your kid wearing Wal-Mart just aint going to cut it with that crowd. I realize I paint with a broad brush, and Sewickley kids all-in-all are not very different than anywhere else, but kids can be harsh-that's all.

I still remember being tortured in school when all my friends had "Nike Airs" and my mom bought me "Diadoras", stating, "you don't need what 'all the other kids' are wearing". True enough, and a good lesson to learn, but it didn't stop the ridicule.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by CaptainObvious

Having said that, the real cool thing to do in Quaker Valley school district is to poo poo the top 10 in the state school district they have in their backyard for free, and blow $25k a year to send their kids to Sewickley Academy.

Can't help it, I see the date on the postings, but this really cracked me up because it's exactly what my boss used to do. Finally he wised up and made use of the top school district he was already paying for with property taxes.

I have just come across these forums today, what a wealth of info, and I hope also to contribute. I've lived in the Pittsburgh area for 18 years now.

Back to the original topic though, and original poster, rapchef2 if you are still looking for a more permanent place to settle, feel free to continue asking based on your new findings. I live in Economy Boro, Beaver County, which you say you liked. (Hey, want to buy a house? I'm ready to move back down to the city. ;-)) It's a rural area but certain parts of it can be convenient for various commutes (or shopping) and none of it is inconvenient to Leetsdale. It does have the downside of Ambridge Area school district, which is an average district. It's not horrible, as far as I've been able to discern (no direct experience, no kids), just not distinguished in any way. Well, except they have a few new school buildings. Economy Elementary is only a few years old, and Ambridge High is brand new. Also Highlands Elementary is just about brand new. This spending spree was the subject of a heated election a few years ago, but they weren't able to stop it. This district has perhaps the highest taxes in Beaver County, so it's not such a relief that you might get in some other areas. I'm still paying over $2000 combined annual on a roughly $120k house.

So I hope it's not too bad to update a month-old thread, but it appears this info (based on another thread) might still be pertinent. Hope you are getting along well after your move!

[ctoocheck]

I loved the Beaver houses, but those yards still aren't big enough. I know some people don't like sprawl, but my kids need a yard to run off energy!

Personally, I think the big yard for the kids is too high a priority. People THINK they need their own private green space, but often really don't. I don't know how old your kids are, but after they're done with the swing set and kiddie pool, (ie as teens) they're not gonna be able to run around a yard much unless it's big enough to play football. My house had a tiny yard, but I made good use of playing in our alleyway and parks. There is a ton of green space (woods) around my town, so we could walk a bit and go hiking and even swimming in the creek. I would have liked to have a campfire or something outside, but we could do that in the woods too. Heck, a friend of mine has NO yard at all, but has a fire pit thing-a-majig on his front porch.

So: a yard might be good for keeping an eye on your kids outdoors until teenage years. Then, unless it really is big enough, the kids (or I as a kid, at least) would prefer other options where mum isn't nagging you (no offense ). This is just my perspective, but I believe it is a legit point that many overlook, perhaps due to societal factors: a feeling of desire for private green space, the "2 kids, a dog, (2 cars) and a yard" status quo, or whatever.