Pittsburgh neighborhood for us (Lebanon, Washington: for rent, chapel, mortgage)

[macdee425]

Hello. My husband and I are interested in relocating to Pittsburgh. We currently live in Ohio and have grown tired of being here. The area is dead and just doesn't hold our interest anymore. He's retired US Navy and works as a prison corrections officer. He's used to moving and easily adapts. I am graduating in June with my masters degree in social work. We have three children 14, 11, and 8. We'll be visiting the area in July.

We're wondering, if we find jobs first, which neighborhoods might be good/ a fit for us. We are a racially-diverse family and it's important for us to live in an area that is reflective of and/or accepting of it. We'd like to visit these areas when we come in July.

Thanks!

[BrianTH]

Can you give us more information about your ideal neighborhood, and perhaps a rough budget?

[pit2atl]

Hill District Lower hill Crawford Sq

[PeterRabbit]

Stay where you are.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by rashan5

Hill District Lower hill Crawford Sq

Originally Posted by PeterRabbit

Stay where you are.

Can we at least try to be helpful? Crawford-Roberts? Sure. Upper Hill? Sure. The overall "Hill District" (with small children)? Are you serious? "Stay where you are"? I'd peg Pittsburgh FAR above Dayton ANYDAY in my book.

OP, unless you can give us more information about your budget and ideal living environment we can't really help you. Pittsburgh has just about every sort of atmosphere to offer. The city is overwhelmingly tolerant of diversity. We're not amazingly racially integrated, but racism is barely a blip on the radar here. If you're looking for urban living I'd suggest perhaps the Mexican War Streets in the North Side to you (without knowing your budget). You'll find gorgeous historic rowhomes there within walking distance of the stadiums, Downtown, restaurants, the aviary, a library, museums, etc. No offense intended, but judging based upon your prospective careers alone (corrections officer and social worker) I don't think you'll be able to comfortably afford to buy a home and raise a family of 5 in a place like Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, Regent Square, Friendship, Point Breeze, or Highland Park---some of the most highly-recommended neighborhoods in the East End of the city. You may find a bargain still in Bloomfield, Lawrenceville, Polish Hill (where homes rarely hit the market), Stanton Heights, or Morningside. Of all these neighborhoods the latter two will offer you the most "suburb in the city" atmosphere with yards. Bloomfield, Lawrenceville, and Polish Hill are all very densely-packed neighborhoods. Greenfield would be another recommendation. I would hedge away from Homewood, Larimer, Lincoln-Lemington, Hazelwood, Glen Hazel (all for crime), MOST (not all) of the Hill District (crime), and Uptown (not much to offer young children).

In the city, then, you may want to scope out:

-Crawford-Roberts (portion of Hill District bordering Downtown and the Consol Energy Center---where the Penguins play).
-Upper Hill (east of Herron Avenue)
-Morningside/Stanton Heights (suburb in the city aura)
-Bloomfield/Lawrenceville/Polish Hill (urban feel)
-East Liberty (transitioning yet likely to be a great place in 5-10 years)
-Greenfield
-Mexican War Streets (urban feel)
-Mt. Washington/Duquesne Heights
-Brookline
-Beechview
-Brighton Heights

Outside the city in the South Hills you have Mt. Lebanon and Dormont, both of which have relatively high property taxes, cute Downtown areas, walkable neighborhoods, good schools, and easy commuter rail access to Downtown Pittsburgh. Dormont might be more well-suited for your budget (until I find out more what you may be looking to spend). To the northwest you can try Bellevue or Avalon---two small towns convenient to the city. To the north there is West View, an independent town in a good school district a straight shot up I-279 from the city. Surrounding West View are the townships of the "North Hills"---a mostly affluent area that is also lacking in terms of racial diversity (i.e. one member's tag-line says he's from the "Great White North Hills"). Along the Allegheny River across from the city proper you have small old mill towns that are safe yet run-down----Millvale, Etna, and Sharpsburg. Millvale and Etna are in the Shaler Area School District, which is pretty good. Sharpsburg is the most affordable option in the Fox Chapel Area School District, which is often ranked as the best in the area (subjectively). Aspinwall and Blawnox are two more small towns in the Fox Chapel Area School District---Aspinwall being more expensive. Finally to the northeast of the city you have Oakmont, a cute little "Mayberry"-styled town.

[macdee425]

We can afford up to $1000 for rent/house payment. Of course, we have to sell our current home.

[macdee425]

Originally Posted by PeterRabbit

Stay where you are.

To Peter Rabbit: Why the suggestion to stay where we are?

As far as an ideal neighborhood, we'd like one that is racially diverse because that's what we're used to. We would like there to be children in the neighborhood, of course. As far as schools, our oldest attends a performing arts school and the other two attend all-girl and all-boy schools, respectively. I work as a hospital discharge planner and also a qualified mental retardation professional.

[macdee425]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Can we at least try to be helpful? Crawford-Roberts? Sure. Upper Hill? Sure. The overall "Hill District" (with small children)? Are you serious? "Stay where you are"? I'd peg Pittsburgh FAR above Dayton ANYDAY in my book.

OP, unless you can give us more information about your budget and ideal living environment we can't really help you. Pittsburgh has just about every sort of atmosphere to offer. The city is overwhelmingly tolerant of diversity. We're not amazingly racially integrated, but racism is barely a blip on the radar here. If you're looking for urban living I'd suggest perhaps the Mexican War Streets in the North Side to you (without knowing your budget). You'll find gorgeous historic rowhomes there within walking distance of the stadiums, Downtown, restaurants, the aviary, a library, museums, etc. No offense intended, but judging based upon your prospective careers alone (corrections officer and social worker) I don't think you'll be able to comfortably afford to buy a home and raise a family of 5 in a place like Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, Regent Square, Friendship, Point Breeze, or Highland Park---some of the most highly-recommended neighborhoods in the East End of the city. You may find a bargain still in Bloomfield, Lawrenceville, Polish Hill (where homes rarely hit the market), Stanton Heights, or Morningside. Of all these neighborhoods the latter two will offer you the most "suburb in the city" atmosphere with yards. Bloomfield, Lawrenceville, and Polish Hill are all very densely-packed neighborhoods. Greenfield would be another recommendation. I would hedge away from Homewood, Larimer, Lincoln-Lemington, Hazelwood, Glen Hazel (all for crime), MOST (not all) of the Hill District (crime), and Uptown (not much to offer young children).

In the city, then, you may want to scope out:

-Crawford-Roberts (portion of Hill District bordering Downtown and the Consol Energy Center---where the Penguins play).
-Upper Hill (east of Herron Avenue)
-Morningside/Stanton Heights (suburb in the city aura)
-Bloomfield/Lawrenceville/Polish Hill (urban feel)
-East Liberty (transitioning yet likely to be a great place in 5-10 years)
-Greenfield
-Mexican War Streets (urban feel)
-Mt. Washington/Duquesne Heights
-Brookline
-Beechview
-Brighton Heights

Outside the city in the South Hills you have Mt. Lebanon and Dormont, both of which have relatively high property taxes, cute Downtown areas, walkable neighborhoods, good schools, and easy commuter rail access to Downtown Pittsburgh. Dormont might be more well-suited for your budget (until I find out more what you may be looking to spend). To the northwest you can try Bellevue or Avalon---two small towns convenient to the city. To the north there is West View, an independent town in a good school district a straight shot up I-279 from the city. Surrounding West View are the townships of the "North Hills"---a mostly affluent area that is also lacking in terms of racial diversity (i.e. one member's tag-line says he's from the "Great White North Hills"). Along the Allegheny River across from the city proper you have small old mill towns that are safe yet run-down----Millvale, Etna, and Sharpsburg. Millvale and Etna are in the Shaler Area School District, which is pretty good. Sharpsburg is the most affordable option in the Fox Chapel Area School District, which is often ranked as the best in the area (subjectively). Aspinwall and Blawnox are two more small towns in the Fox Chapel Area School District---Aspinwall being more expensive. Finally to the northeast of the city you have Oakmont, a cute little "Mayberry"-styled town.

Steel,
Your information has been so helpful. Your descriptions of the various areas is invaluable. It sounds like I need to do some driving around when I visit. I will look into the areas that have the urban feel as well as the ones that may be most affordable for us, if $1000 per month makes them affordable for us. I have no idea what kind of salary to expect in your town. We do pretty good here but are ready to move on and try someplace else. I hope that both the education and experience will count for something if I apply for opportunities.
Education is also important so that's good to know some of the schools that are highly favored.

Any further information that you can share would be greatly appreciated. I have also requested you as a friend on this site for future reference.

[Rodeno]

If you have a grand to spend per month on rent, you might as well buy a house. A mortgage of below $1000/month can get you a lot of house in Pittsburgh, really almost anywhere.

[macdee425]

I don't know what to expect when it comes to a mortgage or rent. If this works out for us, I will have to rent a place until our current home sells. I was asked earlier what was I looking to spend for rent. I got the impression that some of the areas are expensive such as Aspinwall , Shadyside and Squirrel Hill. Any information I receive will be helpful. Thanks for yours.