Is Pittsburgh right for us? If so, where?

[BrianTH]

I believe Summerset at Frick Park is the name of the development in question (it is not on what I would call "flats", but it is the big new development in Squirrel Hill):

Summerset at Frick Park

[BigSkygirl]

Summerset at the Frick is the development, a little out of the way for access to some of the amenities...you would have to get in the car but way closer than the 'burbs and a short commute!

[jimmyev]

Depending on where your wife ends up working, I'd shoot for the more rural areas outside of Allegheny County within an hours drive of the city. There are a handful of good school districts, most areas revolve around small towns with walkable main streets, and you can easily get a few acres with a newer, larger house for a very reasonable price. But you would be giving up diversity, and your children might be the only blacks in the school.

By way of example, the school I graduated from (but this was in the '80s - I'm sure things are a bit different now) had two black families. Their kids were always the odd-ones out (everybody wanted to know what their hair felt like, and they were expected to date each other), but they were successful - two head cheerleaders, a high school quarterback, and a class president/valedictorian.

After growing up in a rural area, going to college in an urban area, and living two decades in a suburban area, I just don't get the suburban thing. Kids have to have structured playtime in a friggin' playground - you can't just go out your back yard and get lost for hours in the woods. That being said, I've never lived in a Pittsburgh suburb - they might be different. Everything else here is different.

[edoubleatl]

Originally Posted by BigSkygirl

Summerset at the Frick is the development, a little out of the way for access to some of the amenities...you would have to get in the car but way closer than the 'burbs and a short commute!

If we were looking to move now, this place would definitely be on our list based on the information provided online. Nice looking homes, close to the action, but also safe. Maybe we can get a resale there in a few years should we decide to make the move. We will definitely keep our eyes on this type of development in/around the city.

[siennagreen]

Thanks BigSkyGirl for some optimism. I like hearing people's opinions who have come from elsewhere because it helps to place things inperspective. It can really freak one out when I hear so much negativity about Pittsburgh's public schools...but then I'm from the Baltimore area. We have some scary schools! And..we have some amazing schools with hard working and caring professionals who are giving their all in a battle.

May I ask how difficult was it for you to get your kids into the IB program?

[Craziaskowboi]

CITY NEIGHBORHOODS I'D RECOMMEND

1. Squirrel Hill - Squirrel Hill has a very convenient location. It has its own central business district along Forbes and Murray Avenues, and it's not far from The Waterfront "lifestyle" center in Homestead, or from the resurgent East Liberty shopping district. It's also very close to the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and all of their cultural attributes. There are many hospitals located nearby, and I-376 flanks the southern end of the neighborhood. It's a relatively diverse area too, with a sizable Jewish population, and an emerging Asian population.

2. Point Breeze - Point Breeze is like an extension of Squirrel Hill, but without the central business district. It's closer to East Liberty than Squirrel Hill is, but farther from I-376 and The Waterfront. It's located on the eastern edge of Pittsburgh's city limits, adjacent to the outlying boroughs of Edgewood and Wilkinsburg. Edgewood is a decent area, but Wilkinsburg is pretty rough, although it has a lot of potential being located between I-376 and the tony East End neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. It's not quite as diverse as Squirrel Hill, but adjacent neighborhoods have sizable black populations.

3. Shadyside - Shadyside is the richest neighborhood in Pittsburgh, and is located smack-dab between the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University to the west, and East Liberty to the east. It has a central business district along Walnut Street, but it's known to be very expensive. The schools in the area, particularly the private schools, are top-notch, though. I never spent much time in Shadyside, but being surrounded by academic, cultural and high-end retail assets gives this neighborhood some ambience.

SUBURBS I'D RECOMMEND

1. Franklin Park - Franklin Park is an affluent, new-money suburb located where I-279 and I-79 intersect north of Pittsburgh. It's part of the North Allegheny School District, which is one of the best in the state. Most of the housing there is relatively new, as the borough's population exploded after I-279 was built to serve Pittsburgh's northern suburbs. It's primarily a bedroom community, with most of the shopping located along McKnight Road in the adjacent suburbs of Ross and McCandless. (Ross Park Mall is the nicest mall in western Pennsylvania.) Like most Pittsburgh suburbs, Franklin Park is not very diverse, although there is an emerging Asian population there.

2. Mt. Lebanon - Mt. Lebanon is an affluent, old-money suburb located south of Pittsburgh along U.S. 19. It's not as convenient to any Interstates as Franklin Park is -- I-376 passes a few miles to the north -- but the school-district is one of the best in the country. It has a nice central business district along U.S. 19, and is convenient to South Hills Village in the adjacent suburb of Upper St. Clair. Unfortunately, Mt. Lebanon isn't very diverse either, although there is a more established Asian population there.

3. Marshall - Marshall is a township located in the northwestern corner of Allegheny County along I-79. It's located north of Franklin Park and south of Cranberry, which is in the southwestern corner of Butler County, where I-79 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike intersect. Marshall has the highest median household income in western Pennsylvania, and is also part of the North Allegheny School district. It's far enough north that it's more convenient to the shopping areas in Cranberry than it is to McKnight Road. Unfortunately, it's the least diverse of the three already-pretty-white suburbs I've listed.