I was born in Pittsburgh but have lived elsewhere, from coast to coast. After 19 years in a major midwest city, I couldn't wait to get back to my hometown, and moved back several years ago.
Unlike some posters, I have no elitist scorn for nor prejudice toward suburbs, having lived in Upper St. Clair and Pleasant Hills in the South Hills. Some city neighborhoods are very lovely and fairly safe, e.g., Shadyside, Point Breeze, Squirrel Hill, Regent Square. The southern suburbs - Mount Lebanon, Bethel Park - are old and established, not stripmall nightmares like Cranberry and the North Hills. They also have good schools. Transportation, especially between ML and downtown, is fairly convenient. The western suburbs, like Robinson, are nice enough, but involve more of a commute. The Parkway West is a pain in the rear! I'd avoid the eastern 'burbs except Forest Hills and Oakmont (the latter requires a pretty long commute, though).
The Burgh (the city, that is) certainly has a lot of economic problems, due largely to extremely inept, entrenched politicians, but it also has some goodhearted folks and fascinating ethnic traditions. I think Allegheny County is better governed than the city itself, one possible reason to live outside the city proper.
Pittsburgh has a world class symphony, ballet, two new stadiums and at least one winning pro team (go Stillers!), outstanding medical facilities, interesting old shops and neighborhoods, churches, ethnic and neighborhood festivals, a fun old-fashioned amusement park (Kennywood), and a lot more to offer.

I relocated to pittsburgh two years ago with my family. We experienced the same thing. My best advice is to live west or south of the city -- less traffic. The area around the airport is great. Close to shopping-robinson town center (nice mall), convenient to the city, turnpike and airport. I would look in the moon township, robinson, kennedy, south fayette or sewickly areas. Good luck!!

If you are young and hip then I agree with ElisaChristina's post. She is right on. Those areas are wonderful and full of wonderul people. Convenient to downtown and full of fun things to do.

A little off subject, but for those of you who currently live in Pittsburgh - someone on the Europe board has organized a get-together. I assume you could find the thread by searching "Pittsburgh" on that board, but I believe it's planned for 2/19 at the Robinson Panera at 1:00...

yea i am sorry to be negative as well. but if you can get out of moving to pitt, do it! the city is kinda sucky. especially if you have other options (not sure if you do). do something fun like NYC or chicago! maybe even minneapolis / seattle / austin / boston. i have been city hopping for years and these are the best!

What about the Mt. Lebanon/Upper St. Clair areas? I heard that they are nice suburbs and the info from the Mt. Lebanon website and video they provide seem to indicate that it is a friendly, desirable place to live.

mdex:

Upper St. Clair is an upper middle class neighborhood. Personally, it is located in the South Hills section of Pittsburgh and way overcrowded. Same with the airport, however, Moon Township, Coraopolis, or Sewickley, these places are around the Airport area but haven't grown as much in population which is a good thing and all are close to Pittsburgh. In all the places I mentioned you could easily buy a house for under $200K save some places like Sewickley Heights.

I have lived in NYC, Dallas, Minneapolis, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, St. Louis AND Pittsburgh. I absolutely loved my eight years in Pittsburgh. The people were so friendly! It was easy to get places in a relatively short period of time, unlike NYC and LA. I would consider moving back to Pittsburgh if the opportunity presents itself. Its all about attitude. Make the best of wherever you live! You'll be much happier in the end!

The GTG is planned for the Panera at Robinson on Feb 19 at 1:00, TravelinMom.

Come and join us.

Rule #1 in Pittaburgh - don't buy a house in the city proper. You are subject to the ciries outrageous payroll tax. The problem then becomes: prepare for nightmare commutes. Coming into Oakland and downtown from the suburbs is horrible. Best bet: try places just over the city limits - Edgewood, Brentwood, Whitehall, etc.

Pittsburgh is the toughest city in the US to get around - it's carved up by hills and rivers into small pockets. That is why, as many people have said, it is very provincial. But I would describe it as neighborhood oriented. It is about the friendliest place around, but few people move there so it is very aging and inward looking place.

And if you don't plan on becoming a Steeler fan, don't bother moving there. It is the city religion.

Best advice -- start building up your calf muscles now. Everything in Pittsburgh is on a hill!!

A couple people talked about the high quality medical care. Which ones? What are the good hospitals? Thanks.

Is there a heavy Jewish population in the Pittsburgh area?

There is a Jewish population is Squirrel Hill although Jews are everywhere.

The medical facility you are speaking of is University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). It is top notch and the place of many transplants. Thomas Starzl has a wing (famous doctor who started the major transplant program).

"There is a Jewish population is Squirrel Hill although Jews are everywhere"

It wouldn't look for too many on The Hill or in Homewood.

Like mdexphys I am moving to Pittsburgh, and am looking for info on where/not to live.

We are educated, nonreligious liberals with a traditionalist bent. We have boys 6 and 2. I will be working in the city and my wife will be working at home. We currently live in LA and have also lived in San Francisco and environs, but those places are neither kid-friendly nor affordable, especially with one paycheck.

Web research keeps pointing us back to South Hills, specifically Bethel Park, since it seems to have a combo of space, family-friendliness, and some kind of town/commercial activity, all with houses we seem to like at a price we can afford. We have a househunting trip planned but hope to narrow our search.

Any intel out there on South Hills? Is it Stepford? Is it so family-friendly that it's somehow stuffy or boring? We want friendly neighbors, hopefully with kids, and not to live in retail-chain purgatory.

Seems like the north and east are busier, maybe less kid-oriented--is that others' experience? And is the city itself to be avoided if you aren't willing to do private schools?

Much appreciate any seasoning others can put on the limited info we've gleaned so far. Many thanks!

3RiverRelo: From reading your message, I think you would be quite happy in Squirrel Hill, IF you can find a home there in your price range. You note that you've lived in LA and San Fran, which I guess I would describe as two very metropolitan cities. I love Pittsburgh, but it has been described by some as more 'provincial'- and though I think that is part of the city's charm, it might make it harder for someone not from Pittsburgh, but who has lived in very metropolitan cities to acclimate - - - especially in areas like the suburbs. Squirrel Hill is a very diverse neighborhood, with small town charm, beautiful homes most with nice yards, adjacent to two huge & beautiful city parks, and also with (if I recall correctly) some of the best - if not the best - public schools in the city. I guess I also think SH may be well-suited for you because you specifically described yourselves as 'liberal' - SH is so diverse & is also where many of the professors & administration of the area Universities live. From my experience (though not having lived there) I believe the South Hills/BP are nice, but your description of your family & what you're looking for immediately put me in mind of SH....good luck!

" I think you would be quite happy in Squirrel Hill, IF you can find a home there in your price range"

Avoid Squirrel Hill. Homewood and Oaklan influences have been encroaching on Squirrel Hill for years, making it an increasingly dangerous neighborhood. High crime is a real problem in the city. The old Jewish population has largely died off or moved to South Hills and students from Oakland are taking up more and more space. It isn't the family neighborhood that it once was. You are also subject to the outageous city payroll tax.

One thing for sure: get out of the city. If I'm moving to Pittsburgh, my place of choice would be Mt. Lebanon by a mile. It's a more affluent version of Squirrel Hill in South Hills. Houses are more expensive but there is no city payroll tax and no crime worries.

3RiverRelo:

Pgh is so different it might as well be a different planet. Throw your expectations out the window.

The suburbs in Pittsburgh aren't like anyplace else. There terrain is so hilly that you almost never see the neat rows of ticky-tack houses that you see elsewhere. Pgh has the friendiest and most down home people in any big city.

Now the downside: people in Pgh are too unsophisticated to be stuffy but they certainly are boring. You will likely find Pgh very boring. It simply has not changed an iota since the 50's. This is no exaggeration. Everytime I return, I feel like I stepped into a time machine.

The big shocks will be how difficult is is to get around because of the hills and rivers. Even worse is the weather. Pittsburgh is among the most overcast cities in America. Pittsburgh is also the least cosmopolitan place you can imagine. Say good by to all those great ethnic restaurants you are used to. Say hello to the "Red Bull" for blah roast beef.

I'm sure that some people will go ballistic at this, but I've lived in Pgh, SF and LA and know what I'm talking about.

"Is it so family-friendly that it's somehow stuffy or boring? We want friendly neighbors, hopefully with kids, and not to live in retail-chain purgatory."

My guess is that anyone who has the values needed to write this paragraph is going to very unhappy in the Burgh. Politically, Pittsburgh is a liberal place. But socially, it is EXTREMELY conservative.

metellus, your assessment is blunt-- but basically right. Politically, Pittsburgh reflects its union-based roots in many ways, but socially it's regressively conservative. On the bright side, it is family-oriented and certainly a good place to be from. And compared to somewhat-more-desirable cities, the real estate prices are rock-bottom reasonable. And I repeat: Despite that social conservatism, there are some fine cultural outposts-- museums and theatres-- that make living there good.

Yes houses are cheap - because they don't go up in value. After you've lived in Pgh for 5 years, you won't be able to afford a house anywhere else. They'll have have appreciated and yours won't. It is very easy to end up trapped, so think carefully about moving there.

Here's a few demographic items that anyone moving to Pgh should know:

1. Allegheny county is the oldest county in America. The place reflects the aging population.

2. It is one of only two cities in the US that is majority Catholic, hence to extreme social conservatism and the corrupt or at least inept city government machine that has run the place into the ground for the last 50 years. These guys are still waiting around for the steel industry to come back.

Culturally, Pittsburgh has a lot of such a small place. Personally, I'd rather have sunshine and good Indian restaurants than the ballet, but of course, that's a personal choice.