Edgewood? (Pittsburgh, Wilkinsburg, Swissvale: affordable apartment, renting, new home)

[morenife]

Hi everyone,

Recently, I posted about 3 areas my family was considering for our new home in Pittsburgh . We are relocating this summer.

Unfortunately, those places fell through and we are now looking at other areas like Edgewood and Swissvale. Can anyone be so kind to give their personal opinions and experiences regarding living in these areas.

We have a little one who will need childcare/preschool. Any reviews on the Edgewood Childcare centre/school will be helpful too.

I stumbled on this website:
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Would you say this is a good description of the area?

[jea6321]

if you are buying, edgewood has some pretty high property taxes. its a nice area but borders some rough areas

[morenife]

Hi jea6321, We will be renting

[guy2073]

Edgewood is a nice quite area, i alwas like working there. Even the boro employees are helpful and pleasent

[morenife]

What about the towne center, it's great to have something within walking distance but I read about some crazy shooting last year.

Any one have info on the Edgewood day school?

[DaisyDaisy]

We've been in Edgewood for about 10 years. The first few as renters, now own a home. It's a great place to live. Easy to get to Frick Park, Regent Square, downtown.
There's a great park - Koenig Field - there's a walking track and they do soccer, T Ball and more. They just put in a new play structure for kids, too. It's also where they do seasonal things like Halloween party, community day, Christmas tree sale, etc.
The downside if you have kids (for some) is the Woodland Hills School District. Many people here send their kids to Catholic (East Catholic, St Bede, Sacred Heart) or other private schools. That said, many also do send their kids to Edgewood Elementary and I haven't heard anything negative about that. The issue is more at the middle and high school levels. We have friends who send their kids to Woodland Hills Academy. We didn't pursue that because the location was the other direction for us in mornings, but I heard it may be moving to Swissvale or Swisshelm Park next year, which would make it more convenient to Edgewood. We would have considered that but had already enrolled our oldest in kindergarten at a Catholic school for fall.
We were planning to move this summer, but once the school issue was covered, we decided to stay.
I think the Edgewood Town Center shooting was unfortunate but pretty random. Crimewise, Edgewood has the occasional burglary and there was a month a year or two ago where this guy was breaking into cars but he got caught. I heard about an armed robbery and checked with a police friend here. He said it wasn't Edgewood residents but a meet up to pay for an item sold on Craigslist. The "buyer" of the shoes showed a weapon and took the shoes and maybe money but also got caught. That link you listed does have livability for Edgewood but when you click on any of the links the stats are for Pittsburgh overall, FYI.
The Edgewood School on Swissvale Ave is very popular. There could be a waiting list; check soon.

[eschaton]

Edgewood is really two different areas within one borough. The Regent Square area has smaller houses and yards, but is walkable to the South Braddock business district, which isn't huge, but a nice family-friendly area. Segments of Regent Square are also in Swissvale, Pittsburgh, and Wilkinsburg. In terms of safety, they're all roughly equal, but the Pittsburgh section is more desirable for families due to the better local schools, while the Wilkinsburg section is least desirable.

As you move east, walking to Regent Square becomes longer, and particularly once you cross the Busway it's no longer really walkable at all. I would not suggest renting here honestly, although it's a great place to buy a big historic home if you can put up with high property taxes and are okay with the local schools.

Edgewood Towne Center is just a strip mall. Although 95% of it is in Edgewood, it's pretty far removed from the inhabited portions of the borough, separated by the highway and the busway. You could walk to it from portions of Swissvale, but I'm not sure why you'd want to.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Edgewood Towne Center is just a strip mall. Although 95% of it is in Edgewood, it's pretty far removed from the inhabited portions of the borough, separated by the highway and the busway. You could walk to it from portions of Swissvale, but I'm not sure why you'd want to.

ETC is pretty close to the inhabited portions of Edgewood.

It would seem to be a good project to build a pedestrian tunnel underneath the busway/PA railroad to connect the area and increase walkability.

It might have already been excavated, this kind of tunnel isn't unique in Pittsburgh, so it might only have to be cleaned out and new steps constructed.

[morenife]

The house we are considering is on Elm street which about 10 minutes walk to ETC & EDC. It won't be too close to Regent square though. Would you say that's a great area to settle. I keep thinking about ' nightmare on elm street" haha!

If the ETC issue was totally random," very unlikely to happen again situation", it helps to settle my fears bit. We don't have a car yet so we would be commuting a lot by bus and foot.

I will call EDC to find out about spaces/waiting lists.

[morenife]

After going back and forth for weeks trying to decide on where to live; considering East Allegheny, Highland park and...even recently considering Edgewood....... by a stroke of good luck, a nice cosy affordable apartment became available (within our budget) in Highland park area today. It's not much i.e. nothing fancy, modern but it will definitely provide a secure roof over our heads as we become one of Pittsburgh's new residents. Yay!!! I really fell in love with the area when we were looking a secretly wished we would find something.

I want to thank everyone who took time to read through my confusion and offered clear advice. This forum has given us so many reasons to look forward to Pittsburgh. You've all been very kind, welcoming and sincerely helpful.

Counting down to moving now.