Anyone here from Upper Saint Clair? (Pittsburgh, Upper St. Clair: real estate, house, buying)

[jodalanvista]

I hear a lot of voices here that Upper Saint Clair is "snooty" and the schools are "too demanding" etc., but how can you be snooty living in a $200,000 house? That's actually pretty cheap (compared to the east coast, specifically North East), nothing to brag about.

As far as schools go -- pretty much all school personnel I spoke to seems rather nice (nicer than the people from Hampton and Peters that I managed to contact) and while they're very proud of what their pupils accomplish, they seem to think that any child would do well in their schools and they claim they have a good "special education" program as well.

Now I'm looking for the locals -- anyone care to dispel the myths about USC?

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by jodalanvista

I hear a lot of voices here that Upper Saint Clair is "snooty" and the schools are "too demanding" etc., but how can you be snooty living in a $200,000 house? That's actually pretty cheap (compared to the east coast, specifically North East), nothing to brag about.

Pittsburgh has a low cost of living. Real estate prices are lower here compared to other areas of the country.

For instance, a 200k house here might cost 600k to 700k in DC suburbs of Maryland.

Originally Posted by jodalanvista

IAs far as schools go -- pretty much all school personnel I spoke to seems rather nice (nicer than the people from Hampton and Peters that I managed to contact) and while they're very proud of what their pupils accomplish, they seem to think that any child would do well in their schools and they claim they have a good "special education" program as well.

I've never heard anyone complain that the schools are too demanding. USC schools are top quality.

Originally Posted by jodalanvista

Now I'm looking for the locals -- anyone care to dispel the myths about USC?

Does that mean that you only want responses from people who can dispel the myth?!?

Sorry, I can't do that when it comes to the snootiness. USC does tend to attract a lot of people with a snooty mentality.

[jodalanvista]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Does that mean that you only want responses from people who can dispel the myth?!?

No, not really. If you know the area well and want to emphasize that USC is the worst place to live and nobody in their right mind would want to live there, feel free to do so as well. We haven't made an offer, yet...

I do want to make a good choice and I do not want to live among snooty neighbors and have my kids complain they don't have "designer" clothing.

But I would like to hear from people who either live or lived in USC and know a lot of locals.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by jodalanvista

No, not really. If you know the area well and want to emphasize that USC is the worst place to live and nobody in their right mind would want to live there, feel free to do so as well. We haven't made an offer, yet...

Did I say that it's the worse place to live? Did I say nobody in their right mind would live there?

I said that it's a great school district and the housing prices are a good deal compared to other places in the country.

Originally Posted by jodalanvista

I do want to make a good choice and I do not want to live among snooty neighbors and have my kids complain they don't have "designer" clothing.

Your children will likely complain about that no matter where you live. Even children in middle class school districts want to wear the designer clothes.

Originally Posted by jodalanvista

But I would like to hear from people who either live or lived in USC and know a lot of locals.

I fall within that criteria.

You're wanting people to dispell the myth. I'm telling you that the snobby attitude is not a myth. But USC is still a great place to live. You just need to decide what's best for your family. I personally wouldn't base my home buying decision on whether the children will complain about not having the best clothes. They're going to complain about that in any decent township. I'd base my decision on the quality of schools. USC has that. I assure you that there are a couple snootier townships. It's not all bad in USC.

[scottrpriester]

Originally Posted by jodalanvista

I hear a lot of voices here that Upper Saint Clair is "snooty" and the schools are "too demanding" etc., but how can you be snooty living in a $200,000 house?

We were recently looking at homes there, believe me, the lowest home we could find was 189K. Average was 3-500K.

[Copanut]

Currently on the West Penn MLS there are 28 homes in the price range of 129,900, to 199000.

[BrianTH]

This isn't exactly what you asked for, but I live in the hip, diverse, progressive, cosmopolitan, yadda-yadda-yadda East End, and I absolutely agree that if you like Upper St. Clair and it is otherwise suitable for your intended lifestyle, you should live there, "snooty" or no. The bottomline is that it is a township of something like 20,000 people, and I am sure you can find any number of people to associate with to suit whatever preferences you might have. Meanwhile, your kids are going to find their own path, and as long as their home environment is well-grounded, odds are they will end up that way too (offer void while they are teenagers).

[jodalanvista]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Did I say that it's the worse place to live? Did I say nobody in their right mind would live there?

No, you did not. That was a "tongue in cheek" joke. I guess I should have put a ;-) at the end of that sentence. Sorry... Did not mean to offend you. I hope you'll accept the apology.

Originally Posted by Hopes

I said that it's a great school district and the housing prices are a good deal compared to other places in the country.

That seems to be definitely true. So far I'm quite impressed with the people from the schools in USC that I contacted. And since we're okay with not living in a brand new 3,000sf home, but would be happy with an older home as long as it doesn't need a complete renovation, I think we could find something we're happy with.

Originally Posted by Hopes

You're wanting people to dispell the myth. I'm telling you that the snobby attitude is not a myth. But USC is still a great place to live.

Well, if we move, I hope we'll find some people we can make friends with, nevertheless. It can't be all snobs, can it?

[Copanut]

Hey, my brother lives there, and he's always been snooty, even when we lived in a 11K house in the East. Even now, his return address says Upper St. Clair, hey, jerk, 15241 is a PITTSBURGH address.

Snobs are everywhere.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by jodalanvista

Well, if we move, I hope we'll find some people we can make friends with, nevertheless. It can't be all snobs, can it?

All or nothings aren't logical; therefore, they can't all be snobs.

Originally Posted by COPANUT

Hey, my brother lives there, and he's always been snooty, even when we lived in a 11K house in the East. Even now, his return address says Upper St. Clair, hey, jerk, 15241 is a PITTSBURGH address.

My family members who live in USC are snobs too. They became snobs after living there. I guess it rubbed off on them.