Family friendly area in fox chapel? (O'Hara Township, Edgewood: renting, houses, neighborhoods)

[eyeball2]

Hello all,

we are living in the city now but are looking to move to the suburbs as the kids get older. we like fox chapel because of the schools and the commute to oakland. are there any family friendly areas in fox chapel where the kids could have others on the street to play with. thanks in advance for your help.

[gg]

Aspinwall or in Fox Chapel around Delefield- Valley Dr area.

[caroline2]

Fox Chapel is blessed with an incredible number of kids! Almost 42% of households have a child under the age of 18. (By comparison, in Edgewood it's less than 20% and in 15217 it's less than 25%.)

The only advice I can give is the trivial advice -- for especially family-friendly properties, avoid ones on the busiest roads.

[robrobrob]

In comparison to a brand new subdivision Fox Chapel is hit or miss with kids. Definitely a lot of kids around but their aren't really subdivisions in Fox Chapel. Two subdivisions in O'Hara are Falconhurst and Croft. Each have tons of kids but if you have to live in Fox Chapel this won't work.

[gameguy56]

Aspinwall may be your best bet if you want a 'street' and not a high-speed SUV thoroughfare.

[Hopes]

Kids don't gernerally play on the streets in Fox Chapel Borough itself. Most houses are spread too far apart due to the zoning regulations that require X number of acres to build a home. The older neighborhood near the schools doesn't really have many kids because there are many of empty nesters in that area. The families with children usually arrange 'play dates.' You'll have to work at socializing your children in Fox Chapel itself. There are lots of organized activities. The township pool is very busy in the summer. But free play in the streets isn't the mentality of the borough residents.

Look for a newer housing development in O'Hara Township. Newer developments attract younger families with children. Family incomes fall more into the 'play in the streets' mentality in OHara. I'm not saying that negatively. Fox Chapel Borough has significant wealth where parenting is more structured (and often involves nannies). The neighborhoods in the borough that aren't extremely wealthy have lots of empty nesters. O'Hara is a mix of middle to upper middle class areas where parenting is more free range and the newer housing developments will be most likely to have families with school aged children.

I wouldn't recommend Aspinwall. Kids don't really play in the streets there and the playground is usually empty.

[gg]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

In comparison to a brand new subdivision Fox Chapel is hit or miss with kids. Definitely a lot of kids around but their aren't really subdivisions in Fox Chapel. Two subdivisions in O'Hara are Falconhurst and Croft. Each have tons of kids but if you have to live in Fox Chapel this won't work.

These two subdivisions are great.

[gg]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Kids don't gernerally play on the streets in Fox Chapel Borough itself. Most houses are spread too far apart due to the zoning regulations that require X number of acres to build a home. The older neighborhood near the schools doesn't really have many kids because there are many of empty nesters in that area. The families with children usually arrange 'play dates.' You'll have to work at socializing your children in Fox Chapel itself. There are lots of organized activities. The township pool is very busy in the summer. But free play in the streets isn't the mentality of the borough residents.

Look for a newer housing development in O'Hara Township. Newer developments attract younger families with children. Family incomes fall more into the 'play in the streets' mentality in OHara. I'm not saying that negatively. Fox Chapel Borough has significant wealth where parenting is more structured (and often involves nannies). The neighborhoods in the borough that aren't extremely wealthy have lots of empty nesters. O'Hara is a mix of middle to upper middle class areas where parenting is more free range and the newer housing developments will be most likely to have families with school aged children.

I wouldn't recommend Aspinwall. Kids don't really play in the streets there and the playground is usually empty.

Lots of poor information here. Firstly there are places in Fox Chapel that kids can and do play in the streets. W. Waldhiem, S. Pasadena areas. Fox Chapel Manor, but these streets are very expensive. Most all over a million these days. Windsor Circle is an area you see kids.

Aspinwall's park is used ALL the time when kids are not in school. They play hockey, basketball and all kind of things there. I drive by there at all hours and after school there are always kids playing there. Aspinwall has quite a few kids that walk around, but having a son of my own, I will tell you kids don't go out as much as they used to. Just this generation is more into computers it seems. Riding bikes is something I don't see often anywhere. Just the way it is.

[robrobrob]

Hopes is back.

I agree with Hopes. Most of the homes in Fox Chapel are on larger lots and this means that they are spaced further apart. Because of this arrangement kids don't really live that close together. So it is a lot harder to find an area where there are a lot of kids that play in the street. W. Waldheim/Windsor Circle is a nice area for families but by no means are there kids everywhere.

Regarding Aspinwall, Hopes is right the playground is almost always empty. Curtis is right that the basketball and deck hockey courts are used a lot by older kids. Frankly, it depends on the block in Aspinwall. Some blocks are packed with kids. Others, like my old block, only have a few.

[caroline2]

"Having others on the street to play with" -- the OP's question -- is quite different from "playing in the street". I don't personally know any parents who consider playing in the street, all other things being equal, a desirable benchmark for family-friendliness. I associate that with areas in which there is no room in the yards, driveways, or houses itself to play.

eyeball2, if you have any other questions about family life in FC, feel free to PM me.