Moving to PGH (Sorry, another one of those threads!) - Pittsburgh - Pennsylvania (PA) - Page 6 - City-Data Forum

greg42 · 08-12-2010, 05:10 PM

Highland Park is generally fine. It puts you in a really inconvenient spot for the airport, though, no matter how you try to get there.

ferraris · 08-13-2010, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greg42

Highland Park is generally fine. It puts you in a really inconvenient spot for the airport, though, no matter how you try to get there.

I don't know if I would say "really inconvenient." It should still be doable in under 45 minutes, and could be worth the sacrifice if everything else about the area is right for you.

LongTrail23 · 08-18-2010, 08:58 AM

All -

Thank you for everything. Your help was great and I hope indicative of how the people are in PGH. We decided to do a 6 month lease out closer to the airport so that we can have some time on the groun before we decide we we want to actually settle.

Being that both of us never had been to PGH before, it was hard to really understand exactly what we were looking for in the short time period we have. Now we will have 6 months to get a feel for the city and what would be best for us.

Thanks!

greg42 · 08-18-2010, 09:20 AM

Well, that will work. At least you'll only be stuck out there for 6 months, if indeed you find that is not for you. It's certainly not an urban sort of neighborhood. Good luck and certainly don't hesitate to come back and ask more questions as they come up once you get on the ground and see some of these places we've been mentioning.

BrianTH · 08-18-2010, 11:05 AM

I think that is a great plan--good luck in your search!

LongTrail23 · 11-01-2010, 02:10 PM

Well after living here for ~2 months (and loving it!), we are now looking to buy a home that we can stay in for a while (>10 years). This means we are looking for a place with young families, decent commute to downtown and older homes. I know that people hate on the taxes in Mt. Lebo, but we love it there! Being close to the T is a HUGE selling point. It also seems to have a lot of character for a 'burb and the schools have a good reputation (along with some haters! haha)

We also love Regent Square, but were hoping for some info on schools. Do most kids stay in public schooling or private?

@BrianTH - I think I saw you live down there. Assuming you like it? It really is beautiful down there and being close to Frick would be awesome!

We have never really made our way North of the city, anything we should look at up there? W\o trying to be a snob, not really looking for newer/typical homes. I am sure Cranberry is nice and offers some great value, but it is not really a place for us.

DaBurgh · 11-01-2010, 02:14 PM

LT - Great to hear!

BrianTH · 11-01-2010, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LongTrail23

We also love Regent Square, but were hoping for some info on schools. Do most kids stay in public schooling or private?

@BrianTH - I think I saw you live down there. Assuming you like it? It really is beautiful down there and being close to Frick would be awesome!

We lived in an apartment here, then bought a house, then moved up to a second house. So I think it is safe to say we like it!

On schools: there are actually three different school districts and four different municipalities, so it is quite complicated.

The Pittsburgh section is now in the Minadeo (Squirrel Hill) feeder pattern. That's a pretty decent school and overall feeder pattern, and there are also a variety of Pittsburgh Public Schools magnet programs people have done. There is also the Environmental Charter School right in the neighborhood, but because it is chartered by Pittsburgh and quite popular, it is currently drawing from all over Pittsburgh.

The Edgewood and Swissvale parts are in the Woodland Hills school district. Some people go to Edgewood Primary, which is now K-5. The middle school and high school, however, have pretty poor reputations.

Wilkinsburg . . . well, Wilkinsburg schools are pretty bad, and while we live in the Wilkinsburg section, we aren't going to use them.

In Edgewood, Swissvale, and Wilkinsburg, another popular option is the Propel charter schools (they just opened a second Woodland Hills location, and Wilkinsburg people can also use them). They have a pretty good location, and because they are charter schools they don't cost anything.

There are many private options. Some of the local Catholic schools aren't too expensive (St Bedes in Point Breeze seems to be the most popular option in Regent Square). Shadyside Academy has its junior school in Park Place, just up Braddock a bit. St Edmunds in Squirrel Hill is pretty close and well-regarded. The rest of the popular East End private schools--Falk (Pitt's lab school), Winchester-Thurston, Ellis (for girls) and so on) are also sometimes used. Falk is probably our personal #1 choice right now, but we are also looking at St Edmunds and the new Propel school.

Edit: Oh, and there are some nicer, older suburbs up the Ohio River valley you might consider. There isn't anything like the T or East Busway, however, and only Sewickley is really what I would consider to be a walkable place in the sense of Mt Lebanon or Regent Square.

Another place you might consider is Aspinwall, which is pretty close to Downtown, nice and walkable, and in the Fox Chapel school district. Again, it doesn't have something like the T or East Busway, but at least it is close and does have bus service.