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[quote=Anonymous]We live there now -- moved from an expensive MoCo suburb and the housing is much less expensive. One thing you have to be careful of, though, is the property taxes. Allegheny County does not reassess on a regular basis so you have an original owner who is paying $5,000 a year in property taxes. Do not assume that you will pay that on your home b/c as soon as you close the school district will ask that your house be re-assessed and you will likely lose. So look at recently sold houses in the areas where you are looking to find out what you can expect to pay.

I agree with the pp that everyone is kind and friendly. There are more and more transplants coming every year. I also live south of the city (referred to as the South Hills) and I live in one of the suburbs frequently mentioned in this thread (USC/Mt. Lebanon). Many transplants flock to these suburbs b/c of the schools.  One thing that you have here that you don't have in the DC area is local control of the schools. In our suburb, some parents were upset about a change to the curriculum for one of the arts courses in the middle school. They expressed their views directly to the superintendent and the board and a compromise was worked out.

I work from home and my dh takes the T. If you go further south to Peters Township, you can get more house for your money (and lower property taxes as you are in Washington County, not Allegeny) but you have a longer drive to the T, as the last stop is in USC and a longer drive to the city. Although we sometimes wish we had a newer, bigger house (which we could have gotten in Peters), we are thankful we do not have to deal with the additional traffic as it is a very quick drive to the city from where we are. Also, we love our school which is our top priority right now.

Depending on where you will be working, you may want to look in the North Hills. North Allegheny is also a very well regarded school district. It is the largest suburban school district and is comprised of many areas. I could not get a handle on that area and personally felt more comfortable in the South Hills. But perhaps if I had a longer time to look, I would have ended up there. There are more stores and restaurants in the North Hills (nicer mall, etc.). Hampton is smaller than North Allegheny but I didn't know anyone there and had met people in the South Hills and that made a difference too. Fox Chapel and Sewickley are also very nice -- definitely swankier but you will likely not get the cost savings on a home that you would get in the other areas so we crossed them off the list.

In terms of the Pittsburgh Public Schools, there are mixed reviews and you may want to check out city data if you are considering living in the city. There are magnet schools that are well regarded but I understand it is hard to get a slot if you do not apply before kindergarten. There are some private schools but considering the quality of the suburban publics and the fact that they are so close to the city, it did not seem worth the money to us.

Good luck![/quote]

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