How's the commute? (Mt. Lebo to Aspinwall) (Pittsburgh, Bethel Park: renting, credit) - Pennsylvania (PA) - City-Data Forum

ashpenni · 01-05-2010, 02:13 PM

My husband and I moved to Pittsburgh a little over a year ago and have been renting in the Southside for the past year. He works in Canonsburg and I currently work near the Airport. We are ready to buy a house and have fallen in love with Mt. Lebanon and intend to buy a house in the next four months (tax credit deadline!).

I have been offered a job in the Aspinwall area, for moderately better pay than my current job (9% increase). I am trying to get a good, honest estimate on what the commute will be like from Mt. Lebo to Aspinwall. If there's anything that will make my life miserable, it's spending more time than I have to driving to and from work. I'm very worried that this commute will be the dealbreaker on this job for me!

I view our options as this:
1. Take the job in Aspinwall, buy a house in Mt. Lebo and deal with the commute.
2. Take the job in Aspinwall, find another neighborhood to call home (my husband deals with a long commute better than I do), and have a bearable commute for myself.
3. Turn down the job and live in the neighborhood we have our hearts set on, Mt. Lebanon.

Other neighborhoods we would consider if I take this job are Shadyside and Squirrel Hill. This is about the furthest my husband will move from his job in Canonsburg. My worry in these neighborhoods is that we will have to increase our housing budget to get the same amenities we would in a Mt. Lebo home, which would likely make my boost in pay a wash. Other considerations: we have a Boxer, which means we need a yard of some sort; and we intend to start a family this year, so the neighborhood needs to be family-friendly; I'm also a grad student at Pitt, so I am on campus a lot.

Sorry! I got a little off-topic here...my main question is about the commute from Mt. Lebo to Aspinwall. I'd appreciate any frank information I can get on that. And if you have any advice to share on other neighborhoods we should consider, I'd love to hear that too!

robrobrob · 01-05-2010, 02:23 PM

There is still some traffic even though this would be a reverse commute. I come in 28 and am always amazed at how much traffic there is going the other way. There is even more traffic coming into town when I am heading home. It would also depend on where in Mt. Lebanon you live. I just did this drive last night and it probably took less than 20 minutes. However, it was pretty late.

Scientist Mom · 01-05-2010, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashpenni

Other neighborhoods we would consider if I take this job are Shadyside and Squirrel Hill...

... And if you have any advice to share on other neighborhoods we should consider, I'd love to hear that too!

If your husband is willing to commute from Shadyside or Squirrel Hill, you could probably consider many of the East End neighborhoods and have a similar commute (ie Greenfield, Point Breeze, Regent Square, Swisshelm Park) - also Edgewood and the nicer sections of Swissvale. Some of these may be a better commute for him than Shadyside because of quicker freeway access or closer proximity to bridges to the southside of town.

Hopes · 01-05-2010, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashpenni

I view our options as this:
1. Take the job in Aspinwall, buy a house in Mt. Lebo and deal with the commute.
2. Take the job in Aspinwall, find another neighborhood to call home (my husband deals with a long commute better than I do), and have a bearable commute for myself.
3. Turn down the job and live in the neighborhood we have our hearts set on, Mt. Lebanon.

I think option 2 is out of the question. Your hearts are set on Mt. Lebanon so that's where you should live. Plus, your husband's commute would be worse from the East End to Cannonsburg than your commute would be from Mt. Lebanon to Aspinwall.

That leaves options 1 and 3. I'm not going to lie to you. Your commute to Aspinwall will be worse than your commute to the airport area. In normal daytime traffic, your commute from Mt. Lebanon to Aspinwall will be 30 minutes. Normal rush hour traffic would be 40 minutes if you're not hitting the window. There are windows in rush hour traffic where it moves faster and people who can adjust their start times at work can take the best advantage of these windows. If the roads are in absolutely terrible condition (like you shouldn't be out on the roads anyway, it could take 50 minutes.)

I think the decision between options 1 and 3 would depend on your happiness at your current job, the stability of your current commpany, and the likelihood you could obtain a similar job offered in Aspinwall somewhere more convenient within the next few years. If there's no reason to change jobs right now, I'd wait. 9% isn't a huge monthly increase even at 100k/year when you consider taxes. I guess that's a long winded way of saying that I vote for option 3 based on what you've shared.

BrianTH · 01-05-2010, 09:01 PM

It also seems to me like you should live where you want then figure out the job thing.

On the commute: I don't know about on the Mt. Lebanon side, but on the Aspinwall side, you might think about trying the Bigelow-Baum-Negley-Zoo route to the Highland Park Bridge. That route bypasses 28, and it might be worth trying if you are hitting traffic on 28 during a reverse commute.

Copanut · 01-05-2010, 10:04 PM

Whoever makes the most money should have the shortest commute. At least that's what my wife tells me.

You could live along the 279 corridor and have an easy commute for both. But having lived in Mt. Lebo, I would hate the commute to Aspinwall. Only live in the South if you can take the T to work.

Hopes · 01-05-2010, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianTH

That route bypasses 28, and it might be worth trying if you are hitting traffic on 28 during a reverse commute.

Route 28 isn't the problem with the Mt. Lebanon/Aspinwall commute. It's the tunnel and the South Hills congestion. As Copanut (the lover of Mt. Lebo

) said, only live in the South Hills if you can take the T, and I'll add if you can work somewhere other than town.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Copanut

Whoever makes the most money should have the shortest commute. At least that's what my wife tells me.

Either way, you win because you will always have the shortest commute working from home!

BrianTH · 01-06-2010, 06:16 AM

I'll admit that my comment was based just on accepting robrobrob's report of reverse congestion on 28 at face value, having no personal experience with that myself.

TechieTransplant · 01-06-2010, 06:26 AM

I also do the reverse commute thing.....I live in Point Breeze and commute to Bethel Park/Upper St Clair every day. My wife and I have spoke about looking in Mt Lebanon. It has so much to offer. But the line of traffic I see in the morning, particularly between 7am and 9am is ridiculous. I am not a native to this area, and you have to beware of the natives comments. Natives think nothing of sitting in the longest most congested route to go anywhere.

ashpenni · 01-06-2010, 07:11 AM

Thanks for all the advice!! As for the breadwinner having the shortest commute...normally I would agree, but we moved here to Pittsburgh for my husbands job (he's the breadwinner). I left a fast-tracked career I LOVED and I knew if we moved here I would struggle to find the same type of opportunity. Part of our agreement in deciding to move here was that when I found a job, we would try to live as near to my job as possible (ie. I would have a short commute). Unfortunately, the definitions of a "short commute" back in Dayton, OH (where I'm from) and here in Pittsburgh are worlds apart. It does seem that Pgh natives think nothing of a 40 minute drive to work or sitting in standstill traffic every morning on the highway!!