Thinking of relocating with family to the Pittsburgh area (West View: middle-class, rent)

[kjunderwood2009]

I am thinking of relocating with my family to the Pittsburgh area for my education needs. We are currently in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We get a set amount of income every month which doesn't exactly make us well off but not left destitute either.

I need to know where the most reasonable housing is for a family of 5. Kids age 10, 7, & 4. We need a safe neighboorhood with affordable rent. We are handy when it come to fixing a place up too. Don't want to be too close to town unless necessary.

What are the best schools? I have a son with autism & ED needs so schools are important.

How about employment?

Recreation?

Public Transportation?

Any real information you want to pass on...no mater how good or bad...?

[stburr91]

Originally Posted by kjunderwood2009

I am thinking of relocating with my family to the Pittsburgh area for my education needs. We are currently in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We get a set amount of income every month which doesn't exactly make us well off but not left destitute either.

I need to know where the most reasonable housing is for a family of 5. Kids age 10, 7, & 4. We need a safe neighboorhood with affordable rent. We are handy when it come to fixing a place up too. Don't want to be too close to town unless necessary. Affordable rent, safe neighborhood, and good schools, that can be a hard combo to find.

What are the best schools? I have a son with autism & ED needs so schools are important.

How about employment? Depends on what fields you work in.

Recreation?

Public Transportation? All depends on the area.

Any real information you want to pass on...no mater how good or bad...?

I think we'd need to know what your budgets are, and what fields you work in to give you more info.

[I_Like_Spam]

Sharpsburg is an inexpensive community in the decent Fox Chapel school district with pretty frequent public transportation coming through all day.

[Sideblinded]

So many issues you have concerned with are things that are unresolved in this area.

[steindle]

What do you mean by "close to town?" Obviously public transportation gets more sparse as you get farther from the core.

That said, my first thought when I saw your priorities was Aspinwall or Sharpsburg.

[Hopes]

I agree with the others about affordable rent and great schools being a difficult combination, especially for a large family needing a bigger rental.

I'm going to say West View---the North Hills School District is a good school district.

West View is affordable and safe. It's not far from the city but it's not too close. Public transportation is good.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by steindle

That said, my first thought when I saw your priorities was Aspinwall or Sharpsburg.

It doesn't sound like they can afford Aspinwall.

If I could only afford to live in Sharpsburg or West View, I'd chose West View.

Fox Chapel has great schools, but North Hills School District's schools are very good too.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Hopes

It doesn't sound like they can afford Aspinwall.

If I could only afford to live in Sharpsburg or West View, I'd chose West View.

Fox Chapel has great schools, but North Hills School District's schools are very good too.

Agreed. West View gets the edge over Sharpsburg in my eyes, but Sharpsburg is much closer to the city (just a quick hop over the Highland Park Bridge). Fox Chapel is considered to be "better" than others, but sometimes I wonder about the objectivity of such claims. West View is on my ever-expanding photo tour list for whenever Spring arrives (if ever).

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Agreed. West View gets the edge over Sharpsburg in my eyes, but Sharpsburg is much closer to the city (just a quick hop over the Highland Park Bridge).

West View is closer to Downtown though.

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Fox Chapel is considered to be "better" than others, but sometimes I wonder about the objectivity of such claims.

It is a good school district but North Hills is too. Honestly, when people come here with a limited budget, needing a large house and good schools, it blows my mind that people recommend Fox Chapel. I've done it in the past myself, I'll admit. The reality is that in order to live in Fox Chapel school district, people with limited incomes are stuck with Sharpsburg which is mostly lower and working class. Whereas, West View is mostly working class and middle class. West View is a step up from Sharpsburg and the schools are good.

People here on CD need to accept that not everyone can afford THE BEST OF THE BEST and that many looking for great schools would be actually happier in a school district where they don't have to live among the impoverished to afford living in the school district. It seems like all anyone reads is "best schools" without taking into consideration a family's budget and what area would be a better fit for them in other areas important to them.

I'm off my rant now. I like Fox Chapel. But if you don't have at least an uppper middle class income, it's not the most desirable place to live because there are other school districts that are a better fit for middle class and working class families.

[SteelCityRising]

It's also a good point to make that if your child is amongst the poorest in a relatively affluent district like Fox Chapel, then it's likely that as soon as they reach middle school they'll face socioeconomic bullying when the more well-off students notice your child can't afford to "keep up" with them in terms of fashion or whatever else. I went to a public school district that was primarily a mix of "haves" and "have-nots" with a few middle-class floaters such as myself who mingled with both groups. The middle school bullying abated somewhat in high school, but I noticed for many of the disadvantaged students who had been bullied in middle school they had trouble adjusting in high school and being accepted into established social groups.

I still feel tremendous guilt for not having stood up to bullies myself to defend those who couldn't help themselves, but as a former bullying victim myself I was always paranoid standing up for someone would just make them target me again instead. I drove by the Morewood Avenue driveway to Winchester Thurston the other morning and noticed an armada of luxury SUVs and sedans lined up with one unassuming economy-class minivan blended into the pack. It made me wonder if any of the Lexus or Porsche drivers made the "soccer mom" feel paranoid or excluded. It's difficult sometimes to be the "working-class" one in an "old money" area. This is why I don't know if I'd advise raising a family in Sharpsburg just to send your kids to Fox Chapel.