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The woman who runs that program is AMAZING and INTENSE and I'm slightly in love with and terrified of her.
My fellow Brookliner already laid out the case for living in our little slice of urban paradise tucked away in the South Hills. All I will add is this: Brookline 2014 on Vimeo
--How hard is it to find decent schools-- and I do not mean affluent private schools. We are hoping to find a fine arts or science focused magnet school that is culturally diverse. How hard is it to find a good public school or get into a good magnet school in Pittsburgh?
The Pittsburgh Public Schools have their challenges and shortcomings, but overall, you could do worse for an urban school district. The quality of education in the city depends on where you live. Taylor Allderdice High School is considered the best in the city, and it's located in the East End. Its "feeder" neighborhoods include many of the best in the city, such as Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, Point Breeze and Regent Square. (It should be noted that part of Regent Square is located outside the city limits in an underperforming school district, so if you move there, be sure to find a house inside the city limits.) Allderdice is also the most diverse of the city's public high schools with regard to race, ethnicity and income.
If Allderdice doesn't do it for you, then you'll probably be better off looking at some of the city's more urban suburbs. The one I'd recommend first is Aspinwall. Aspinwall is part of the Fox Chapel Area School District, which is one of the best school districts in Pennsylvania. It has a small central business district, and it's also possible to walk to the Waterworks Mall, which isn't really a mall, but more of a large shopping plaza with a bunch of stores. Aspinwall is right across the Allegheny River from Pittsburgh's East End, via the Highland Park Bridge. The East End is the "favored quarter" of the city, with most of its cultural and civic assets, and most of its nicest neighborhoods as well. From Aspinwall, you can take the "1" bus to downtown Pittsburgh, the "75" bus to East Liberty, Oakland and the South Side, and the "91" bus to Lawrenceville. It should be noted, though, that the buses do not run 24 hours, so if you think you'll be somewhere until after midnight, then you might want to take your car.
Other walkable suburbs of Pittsburgh include Mt. Lebanon and Sewickley, and also Dormont if you can handle a school district that's decent but not award-winning. Those three suburbs are a bit farther removed from the action in the city than Aspinwall is, though they're all served by bus routes as well. (Dormont and Mt. Lebanon are also served by light rail.) I'd possibly recommend Oakmont too, though the Riverview School District might be at risk.
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Originally Posted by KrisBD
--How easy/hard is it to get around the city? I enjoy walking and often take public transportation in the city. I hate driving in traffic and would like to say good bye forever to 5 mile drives taking 30-45 minutes!
The biggest difference between Chicago and Pittsburgh is the layout of each city. The flat terrain in Chicago is easy to put a perfect grid on; the jagged terrain in Pittsburgh is disruptive. It takes a while to figure out where you're going in Pittsburgh, and you often have to rely on landmarks to do so, but once you figure it out, it's not all that bad. Most of the notable destinations in the city are served by bus, and the neighborhoods themselves are walkable, but walking between neighborhoods might not always be possible due to the terrain. The highway system in Pittsburgh is a joke unless you live north of the city.
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Originally Posted by KrisBD
--Rent or own? My job will be in downtown Pittsburgh and I want to live within 20 minutes or so. We're looking to stay in or near the city for 3-5 years. How is the housing market?
Pittsburgh has an unusual real estate market. If you don't mind a fixer-upper, you can buy for cheap pretty much all across the city. The problems are with new housing, high-end housing and apartments, all three of which there are a shortage of in Pittsburgh right now. The rental market is tight enough that it's easier to buy -- unless, of course, you want something new or higher-end, and in those cases there's upward pressure on prices because developers are having trouble keeping up with the demand for them. This is one of the consequences of Pittsburgh having its economy destroyed back in the 1970s and 1980s: There was no need to build anything residential, so once the city started to recover about 10 years ago, there wasn't enough new housing, and developers have been playing catch-up since. Of course, if you're coming from Chicago, then prices for new housing and rentals might still seem reasonable in Pittsburgh.
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Originally Posted by KrisBD
--Neighborhoods! So many! Can you tell me your favorite that might fulfill these high hopes: access to green space (parks, hiking trail, space for a garden/back yard), city amenities!-- grocery stores, variety of restaurants, things to do, diversity, family and dog friendly, unique.
Most of the city's nicest neighborhoods are in the East End, and all but a handful of East End neighborhoods are either gentrified or gentrifying. Basically, if you want a ready-made neighborhood in the city, then look in the East End. Shadyside and Squirrel Hill are tony neighborhoods with thriving central business districts. East Liberty is reemerging as the commercial and logistical nexus of the East End. Highland Park, Morningside, Friendship and Point Breeze are well-kept residential neighborhoods. Lawrenceville has become a "hipster" neighborhood if you're into that kind of thing, though it should be noted that parts of Lawrenceville are still in transition. Oakland is where the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University are located, so it's basically a college neighborhood. Bloomfield is located between Oakland and Lawrenceville, and it's always been a relatively vibrant neighborhood. Greenfield and Stanton Heights are more modest but stable neighborhoods. Larimer seems to be the next East End neighborhood in line for redevelopment. Regent Square is a decent neighborhood that straddles the city limits and has a good central business district.
Of course, if you want to be on the cutting edge of gentrification, look on the North Side of the city. Allegheny West and the Central North Side seem to be where most of the action is, especially in the vicinity of Allegheny Commons and the Mexican War Streets. East Allegheny (a.k.a. Deutschtown) is being tidied up as we speak, at least west of I-279. Manchester and Brighton Heights are quiet but stable. California-Kirkbride and Northview Heights aren't in very good shape, and neither are Troy Hill, Spring Hill or Spring Garden. Allegheny Center is an example of mid-20th-Century urban planning gone wrong, and that neighborhood probably won't be made right until most of what's there is demolished and the street grid restored, unfortunately.
South of the Monongahela River, the South Side is the epicenter of Pittsburgh's nightlife. Carson Street is lined for almost a mile and a half by restaurants, bars and nightclubs. And though it has a reputation for being "bro central," there's enough different kinds of nightlife there to suit most people. The South Side Works is a new mixed-use development that continues to improve as more things are added. Going up the hill away from the river, there's not quite as much going on, though some of the South Hills neighborhoods are seeing increases in their immigrant populations. Brookline, Beechview and Banksville are growing Hispanic enclaves even though the metropolitan area overall is noteworthy for its minuscule Hispanic population. Carrick has become a destination for Bhutanese immigrants and refugees. Arlington is kind of sleepy but has good bones. Unfortunately, there's been a lot of ghettoization in Allentown, Beltzhoover and Mount Oliver in the last couple of decades.
As for the West End, there's really not much of note out there, and it's the easiest part of the city to pass by, though the West End Overlook has my favorite angle of the Pittsburgh skyline.
Squirrel Hill could be perfect, but tends to be a bit more expensive, so it depends on your budget. It is right between two giant parks and has a lot going for it. I'm going to throw my support behind Mt. Lebanon (full disclosure: I grew up there, so I am biased). It's close to the city, on the T, walkable, has a business district, great school schools (that excel in the fine arts) and there are deals to be had in terms of housing. Good luck with your move and welcome!
You've already received some very solid advice. As a renter who is watching, aghast, as median rental asking prices are quite literally escalating on an annual basis in his neighborhood due to a prolonged rental shortage I would behoove you to consider buying here, if possible. In terms of real estate appreciation Pittsburgh tends to enjoy slow and steady returns, save for a few rapidly-gentrifying neighborhoods like Lawrenceville and Polish Hill, where you may have bought a dated and nondescript (yet livable) home for $89,900 in 2007 and then sold it in 2014 for $199,900 with minimal updating.
Are you planning to move out of the region entirely in 3-5 years, or would you just be looking to upgrade your living space?
Squirrel Hill, in my opinion, is the city's best neighborhood for young families (and arguably for anyone). It offers Colfax Elementary School and Taylor Allderdice High School, two of the city's best-performing public schools. It is wedged between Schenley Park (home of Phipps Conservatory) and Frick Park, my personal favorite in the city due to its rural and secluded ambiance. The business district is among the most comprehensive in the city, offering, at the very least: A movie theater; two Starbuck's locations; numerous Asian-influenced or authentic Asian restaurants; delis; several houses of worship; close to a half-dozen pizzerias; a great library; the Jewish Community Center (like a YMCA---and not only for Jewish people, despite its name); jewelers; gift shops; galleries; bars; MANY banks; a full-service Giant Eagle grocery store; a gas station; a few bakeries; a board game store; legal/medical/financial offices; a few tech firms; a 24-hour Rite-Aid; several ice cream parlors and/or "fro-yo" places; yoga studios; a post office; a couple of florists; a shoe store; a bike store; a mattress store; and much, much more. We've had many wonderful "date nights" in Squirrel Hill, and as a same-sex 20-something couple we very much enjoy that the neighborhood is so diverse in its population---many fellow LGBT community members; interracial couples; recent immigrants from Asia; college students; elderly Jews; DINKs; families with many children; etc. all co-existing harmoniously. Rents have long been considered to be "high" here, but with rents rising rapidly in the Strip District, Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, Friendship, Polish Hill, the Lower North Side, and South Side these days the rental premium is no longer that noticeable in Squirrel Hill. DO expect to pay a premium if you're looking to BUY a home in Squirrel Hill, though. Expect to pay at least in the high-$100k range, even for a dumpy and dated bland home on a street a very long walk from the business district along the South Squirrel Hill border with Greenfield.
Outside the city I'd consider Sewickley, Mt. Lebanon, Aspinwall, Oakmont, and Dormont, listed generally in order of descending cost of housing, if you're looking for established older "streetcar"-styled suburbs with a crunchy vibe and walkability. The closest thing we have here to Evanston, for example, would probably be Mt. Lebanon, which is a fraction of its size but still packs a nice punch for what it is.
Pittsburgh is different from many other Rust Belt areas like Cleveland, for example, in that our city proper, overall, is in excellent condition while many of our denser suburbs have been struggling. Cleveland's city proper can't hold a candle to the rapid renaissance Pittsburgh's city proper has been enjoying; however, other than Mt. Lebanon we really can't compete with many of Cleveland's relatively large, urban, and upper-middle-class suburban "streetcar" areas. We have a lot of tacky newer urban sprawl, unfortunately, along with a lot of places like West Mifflin and Penn Hills that peaked in the 1970s or 1980s and have been on a slow decline ever since.
--Rent or own? My job will be in downtown Pittsburgh and I want to live within 20 minutes or so. We're looking to stay in or near the city for 3-5 years. How is the housing market?
If you are only going to be here 3-5 years, then rent. Yes, you can get a cheap place in the city but you will get no money back and you may actually lose money from the sale.
If you are only going to be here 3-5 years, then rent. Yes, you can get a cheap place in the city but you will get no money back and you may actually lose money from the sale.
If you're going to be in Pittsburgh for at least 3 years, don't rent -- you're only throwing money away.
You're extremely unlikely to lose money in pretty much most of the solid Pittsburgh neighborhoods.
And it's amazing how quickly the years zip by.
"3-5 years" -- in Pittsburgh -- almost always turns into 20-30.
Many of my dad's graduate students opt to buy, even though they really are only going to be here for 5ish years (academic job market being what it is, they are almost certainly going to have to move to do their post-doctoral work) because it is such a better deal than renting in Pittsburgh. Greenfield and Stanton Heights are both very popular with grad studnts with young families who want to buy a home rather than rent. They're both very close to the universities but have mostly escaped the high housing costs of the rest of the East End. They're not going to make a lot, if any money when they sell, but that isn't the point. They're not making "an investment in real estate" and expecitng a massive return, but they are paying less for their mortgages than they would for rent, and they're building some equity instead of lining a landlord's pocket.
The couple that let me come into their home to warm up after my accident a couple weeks ago (in Stanton Heights) were a post-doc and his newly-wed wife, PhD student in the midst of writing her dissertation.
We need the OP to come back and give more information, but I'm really not sure judging by what they said that Mount Lebanon would be for them. Mount Lebanon isn't really urban, or even a "streetcar suburb" - it's a suburb which was built out around the car between 1920 and 1950 or so. While Uptown Mount Lebanon is quite nice, having both walkable amenities and light rail access, the area of Mount Lebanon which is walkable to Uptown Mt. Lebo is pretty small, all things considered. Unless you really planned well, you would have to lead a pretty car-dependent life there. This is particularly true for parents because there is no school bus service, meaning with any potential house you'd need to consider if you were comfortable with your older child walking themselves to the school - and if not, you'd need to drive them to school every day.
Aspinwall might work though. It's the only one of the traditionally "good schools" suburbs I'd suggest for the OP. But it really sounds like they want the city. Given they brought up magnets my guess is they were sending their kids to Chicago Public Schools already.
--How hard is it to find decent schools-- and I do not mean affluent private schools. We are hoping to find a fine arts or science focused magnet school that is culturally diverse. How hard is it to find a good public school or get into a good magnet school in Pittsburgh?
Aspinwall feeds to O'Hara Elementary School in the Fox Chapel Area School District. I would classify it as diverse but you may not. The school has a lot of Asian families, ESL families and Indian families, however it does not have a lot of African American families. So, you can have diversity in the burbs. Most people who move to Aspinwall love it.
That being said magnets are basically a city school thing. As far as city neighborhoods, I like Squirrel Hill the best due to the size of its business district and the fact that it has a library and a "community center" in the middle of it. Downside it is so big that it may not be "walkable". It would depend on where you live. Squirrel Hill has a good local elementary school.
Thanks everyone!
We are looking for housing with a budget between 200-the low 300's
I love and prefer old houses but don't want a fixer upper after such a big move! (we just rehabbed a 115 year old farm house in the city-- selling it will fund the move--if all goes well
My husband is the beer and spirits buyer for Whole Foods (but we know there are some odd restrictions in Pittsburgh-correct?) and I am an artist and director of education for the National Veterans Art Museum (we are hoping to open a branch in Pittsburgh!)
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