City, Suburbs, What are our options? (Pittsburgh, Beaver Falls: for sale, real estate, crime)

[cfam6]

Our family is considering a move to Pittsburgh in a year or two. We need to decide this fall/winter though for my husband to apply to the programs. He'd be working at the university medical center. We need to live within 30 minutes of the hospitals so my husband can get back there if called in for an emergency. (Traffic shouldn't be a huge concern because this would be nights/weekends)

We have 4 children (9,6,and infant twins) so we'd like a large house with at least 4 bedrooms. We're open to living in the city or in suburbs. We like a neighborhood that is family friendly, but has a little more character than a cookie-cutter subdivision. We live in one of those now though, so it's not a dealbreaker! We can spend up to $400K for a house-- maybe a bit more. A large yard or even a few acres would be perfect and I know this isn't something we'll find right in the city and it might be hard within our search range. Let me know!

Schools are not important because we homeschool.

What areas would work best for us? Please help me narrow down the search so I can research a few suburbs or city neighborhoods rather than the whole metro area! Right now the northern and eastern suburbs appeal most to us as we have family in Beaver Falls.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by cfam6

What areas would work best for us? Please help me narrow down the search so I can research a few suburbs or city neighborhoods rather than the whole metro area! Right now the northern and eastern suburbs appeal most to us as we have family in Beaver Falls.

Beaver Falls is northwest of Pittsburgh. Where is the hospital where your husband would be working?

[Herodotus]

With your budget, you can live most anywhere in the city. Both Shadyside, and Squirrel Hill should be within your budget. Both are adjacent to Oakland, which is where the hospitals are located. With schools not being an issue, there is no reason not to choose one of these neighborhoods. Nearby Point Breeze, and Regent Square are also very nice, but are a bit more" strictly residential" than the other two. though RS has a nice business district, though not on the level of the other two. You won't find huge yards anywhere in the city, but Squirrel Hill is adjacent to two very large parks, Frick and Schenley.

[SteelCityRising]

If you're looking for character, family-friendliness, and some semblance of walkability to your neighborhood, then Squirrel Hill is what immediately comes to mind. Your dollar won't go as far for housing in this neighborhood as it will in most other city neighborhoods; however, you should still be able to find a nice 4-BR home with character on a tree-lined street there for $400,000. You'd be close to both Frick Park and Schenley Park, and you'd be within 30 minutes of the following UPMC Hospitals---Presbyterian, Montefiore, Mercy, St. Margaret, Passavant-McCandless (depending upon traffic), Children's, Western Psychiatric, and Shadyside. Squirrel Hill has a great business district lining Forbes Avenue & Murray Avenue with restaurants, shops, and offices. Crmie is generally very low. There was a murder here not long ago, but that was a crime of opportunity in which an elderly man who lived along Fernwald Road was killed in a botched home invasion committed by someone known to him. I-376 (known as the "Parkway East" by the locals) runs through the neighborhood, which could have your husband Downtown in 10 minutes, depending on traffic, and to the Oakland hospitals in 15 minutes (alternately he could take Forbes Avenue and cut over to Fifth Avenue). I've always seen a lot of young families with children in Squirrel Hill, too.

[30STM]

if you're husband is on emergency duty its his repsonsiblity to be at the hospital STAT and sure he does not want to hang out out waiting. Being on call like that can take a toll on ones lifestyle and health. I suggest you support your husband and his job and move close to the hospital.

[PreservationPioneer]

Check these neighborhoods out (all safe, family friendly, and historic/ full of character):

East:
Point Breeze
Highland Park
Regent Square
Squirrel Hill
Shadyside
Morningside
Stanton Heights
Friendship

West:

Crafton
Ingram
Windgap

North:

Bellevue
West View
Brighton Heights
Ambridge
Sewickley

[SuburbanPioneer]

Obviously, you won't find a large house on an acre of land in a good city neighborhood for that price. While Squirrel Hill and Shadyside are both excellent, keep in mind higher city taxes, higher population density and less desirable surrounding neighborhoods.

In your situation I would personally look at what's available in Fox Chapel, which is a very nice suburb north east of the city. Most of it is above/upper middle class, large custom homes, acres of private property, nice parks and very good schools. It also has probably the best commute to Oakland of all upscale suburbs around the city, while having no issues with crime anywhere around the area. Also, as with most good suburbs in this area, your income tax will be at 1% compared to 3% in the city.

[irishvan]

Also, look into Aspinwall. This is a suburban town in the Fox Chapel School district. You still get a slight city feel with sidewalks, corner stores, bus accessibility. There is a hospital, church, grocery store, restaurants all minutes away. The houses are all big old very well maintained properties. You won't have a big yard though.

[jay5835]

Here are two nice 4 BR houses in the best part of Squirrel Hill that are in your price range: 15217 Real Estate & 15217 Homes For Sale — Trulia.com

There are even more if you're willing to lower your budget: http://www.trulia.com/for_sale/15217...0-450000_price

[cfam6]

Thanks! lots of great options and I can't wait to look. Jay5835 - thank you for the link especially. It helps me put a picture to mind really quickly without starting a search somewhere else.

And Yes, I do know that all of our "wants" will not be met in regards to the yard/property. The local parks are a good alternative.

Regarding his on-call schedule. He's never taken home call before so I can't actually speak for the frequency at which he will be called in for an emergency. He'd be working at the large hospitals though and they have many people on the teaching services. The in-house people would cover most situations. As far as living near his job for his sake-- of course that is a priority for both of us. I'm more of the city fan though. He'd rather live in a quiet suburb or even in a rural area. No need to lecture me about supporting him.