Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, or Baltimore?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Baltimore.

Gotta have my crabcakes.

Football and crab cakes, that’s what we do.

[Anonymous]

Pitt

[Anonymous]

Step one foot outside the Pittsburgh city limits and you're surrounded by MAGA rubes who believed Trump when he said he would bring back coal. Some of the most racist people I've ever met were in Pittsburgh.

No thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pittsbugh -- it frequently wins that Most Livable City award and it has gotten even better since that started happening.

+1

Pittsburgh native, but don’t live there now. It’s a nice city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you interested in the city proper, or general metro area? There are nice suburbs in Pittsburgh with decent schools, but no way I'd raise my kids IN the city. There are a lot of great up and coming neighborhoods in city limits for singles/DINKs, but not young families. We considered moving there (DH is from Pittsburgh) but decided against it for that reason.

OP here. I'm open to either, but would prefer a close-in/walkable suburb if I were to go that route.

Squirrel Hill in Pittsburgh.

Sewickley x 1000

Zero crime, amazing schools (Quaker valley) adorable downtown.

It’s about 15 mins from Pittsburgh proper, but downtown Pittsburgh isn’t so great

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The biggest negative for Pittsburgh is it is full of Yinzers.

Or that’s the biggest pro

[Anonymous]

I lived in all 3 cities. Philly would be my first choice, followed by Baltimore, then Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh has many advantages but I just can't get over the location. I feels claustrophobic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pittsburgh:
1. Cheapest of the three, although the nice areas are still expensive, but par for par compared to other two cities you're likely to fare better on the real estate end. Lots of great and affordable architecture.
2. Smallest city and metro area of the three, but still large enough to have the amenities of a city, with the supermarkets, shops and restaurants you need. Carnegie Mellon and Pitt ensure a sizeable presence of educated professionals in the area. Some good museums and cultural venues.
3. Easy access to the hills and mountains of western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Hiking, white water rafting, all easily doable.
4. Lots of gentrification and renovation in the downtown area and along the rivers.

Downsides: geographically the most isolated. It's a long drive to the next big city and there's very little in between other than rural America and small, often dying, towns. There's a stronger "rural" and hill folk presence in the metro area. DC snobs might not like this. Urban schools are hit or miss. Pittsburgh is also very hilly, which not everyone likes or appreciates. There's no beltway around Pittsburgh because there are too many hills.

I've never lived in Baltimore or Philadelphia, but this is spot-on for Pittsburgh. The only thing I'd add is that Pittsburgh is very, very white. And except for around Pitt and CMU, anyone who is non-white is probably poor. I don't know if that matters to OP, but it's a problem, IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you interested in the city proper, or general metro area? There are nice suburbs in Pittsburgh with decent schools, but no way I'd raise my kids IN the city. There are a lot of great up and coming neighborhoods in city limits for singles/DINKs, but not young families. We considered moving there (DH is from Pittsburgh) but decided against it for that reason.

OP here. I'm open to either, but would prefer a close-in/walkable suburb if I were to go that route.

Shadyside and Squirrel Hill seem like great city neighborhoods for families in Pittsburgh.

Raising kids in Squirrel Hill and can confirm. It’s an amazing quality of life for a family. We have everything we want/need within easy reach. Raising a family in the east end is definitely the most expensive way to do it in Pittsburgh, but people coming from larger cities are pleasantly surprised. We have a lot of suburban type amenities (big house, big yard, garage, etc) but we have the convenience of the city. We do sent our kids to private school but, again, in Pittsburgh you’re talking $20-30k per kid instead of $50k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Squirrel Hill in Pittsburgh or Mt Lebanon just outside the city would be your best bets for raising a family. Squirrel Hill has great older homes,in the city, is wslkable. Allderdice is probably the best high school in the City and the elementary schools are good too (Mineo?) that said, Mt Lebanon has better schools (although I think the elem kids still come home for lunch) and is walkable.

As much as I love my old stomping grounds of Shadyside, I wouldn't raise a family there. It is a fantastic neighborhood for 20 somethings and other DINKs.

Pittsburgh native and current Squirrel Hill mom here…

Colfax is the “best” neighborhood school in Pittsburgh Public Schools. Most of Squirrel Hill and Shadyside are zoned for there, which is why the real estate is so much more expensive. There will probably be some re-zoning coming up, but they are going to make Colfax a K-5 instead of a K-8 (and I believe convert Minedeo to the middle school). People also really like the PPS magnets (Montessori in particular). Environmental Charter School is also very popular and expanding. For the secular independents, you’re looking at Shadyside Academy, Winchester Thurston, St. Edmunds (a K-8) and Ellis (all girls).

Shadyside has a lot of families now. Particularly west Shadyside, which has bigger houses and basically no student rentals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which would you choose to raise two small kids in?

Baltimore. PA state university system is crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pittsburgh has to be one of the most boring places on earth.

You need to get out more. Or visit the rest of PA (besides Philly and Pittsburgh) if you think they’re boring. You need some perspective.