Moving to Pittsburgh...lots of advice needed!

Hoping123

Hi ladies,

 In June I will be moving with my husband and two young children to Pittsburgh and I need some advice from people who know the area.  The ladies on my local nest board are always super helpful (much more than google!) so I figured I would give this board a try!

 We will both be working in the UPMC system so we are looking to live either right near by (Shadyside or Squirrel Hill) or with a commute under 30min.  Ideally we want a safe area, 3 bedrooms, 2 parking spaces and preferably a townhouse/condo set up as right now we are only committed for a year and it would be great to have things like snow taken care of for us, but we will consider a house.  As I am sure you can imagine we are finding these preferences difficult to combine...any thoughts on areas in the city or good commuting towns would be greatly appreciated!  

People have suggested the Downtown Kindercare or Bright Horizons Small Wonders?  Any thoughts on these or other daycares would be greatly appreciated...we are on many wait lists and just need to see what works out.

 If you made it this far...thanks!

DomerJenC

I would definitely focus your search in Shadyside and/or Squirrel Hill.  They are safe neighborhoods near the hospitals, and I wouldn't personally spend too much time trying to find a place with a long commute if you will only be here a year.

I really like Regent Square and Highland Park as well, but I don't know the specifics of the areas - I've only visited.  Both would be relatively close to the hospitals, but more "up and coming".  Greenfield and Lawrenceville might work from you, too.

You might consider looking at daycare at Pitt or one of the other colleges.  I know there is Carlow Montessori... they have full-day preschool and extended day options.  With 2 kids you could also look into a nanny situation.

AmandaJLewis

Hi, and welcome! I live south of the city but have friends in the east end with children at Carriage House, the JCC, and Tender Care centers in that area.

Outside of the neighborhoods already mentioned I don't really have any other suggestions as I am less familiar with that side of the city. good luck with your move! (and we are always happy to help answer any other questions you may have about the area)

lishie

There are a decent number of condos in the east end. I live in the city in Friendship and love it. we use a Shadyside center and I've been happy with it. My older son started in the PreK3-6 program in Pittsburgh Public Schools this year, and I've been very happy with it. DS loves it.

Feel free to PM me for more details.

egpitt22

When you say UPMC, are you working for one of the hospitals, or in the downtown office?

psychgalbride

We currently live in a rowhouse in Squirrel Hill.  2 parking spaces in a condo may be hard to find in Squirrel Hill/Shadyside.  Expand your search to include Greenfield, Point Breeze, Aspinwall, Highland Park, and Regent Square. 

Summerset at Frick Park community may be an option for the maintenance free/short term lease you are looking for:  http://summersetatfrickpark.com/residences.php/Apartments/The_Reserve

 

 

 

MrsAmers

Hi and welcome to Pittsburgh!

 

I?ve been living in the East End since 1994 and we have two kids, so I?m happy to help.

 

I don?t know of a lot of condo options in the area. Your best bet is probably to look at apartment buildings if you want the benefit of not having to shovel, etc. Apartment buildings are also more likely to have parking lots than rental houses, although there are some nice rental houses in Highland Park, Squirrel Hill, Point Breeze, Friendship, etc, it is just going to take more work to find them since they are generally through private owners instead of companies. If you are interested in looking in Highland Park, we have a listserve that might be helpful ? send me an email and I can help ? amers at att dot net.

 

We live in Highland Park and my husband works in Oakland. The commute, not including kid drop-off and pick-up is 15 minutes. When you include the trip to daycare in Squirrel Hill it is about 30 minutes. We love Highland Park ? huge city park, friendly neighbors, good highway access, nearby shopping and good housing stock. Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, Point Breeze, Regent Square, Friendship, and Bloomfield are all places that I would look for housing as well.

 

We absolutely love Carriage House Children?s Center in Squirrel Hill. It is harder to get into the infant and toddler rooms, but there is more space at the preschool age, depending on how old your kids are. There is also a very good Tendercare in Shadyside and a lot of church daycares. Our daughter goes to Kindergarten at one of the Pittsburgh Public Schools magnet options and we are very happy so far.

 

Hope that helps!

 

 

Hoping123

Thanks so much for your replies everyone...I really appreciate all the input into neighborhoods and daycares.  

 lishie I am going to PM you tomorrow to ask a few more questions...thanks for the offer.

egpitt22 - we are going to be at the UPMC hospitals in Oakland and Shadyside, not downtown.

 MrsAmers - thanks for the info.  We looked at carriage house but they are totally full.  We are on the wait list but not much hope!  Good to hear that kindergarten is going so well!

 Thanks!!! 

4EvR&4AlWz

No help here as I live in the North but curious if you guys will be fellows or interns (I presume fellows since it isnt match day yet)?  If so, what program?

egpitt22

If you're going to be in Oakland/Shadyside, I would stick more to the suggestions you've been given for east end daycares, rather than the downtown ones...not that there's anything wrong with the downtown ones you mentioned, but it would be much more convenient to look elsewhere, especially if you end up living in the east end.

Good luck with everything!!