We don't know for sure, but it is looking more and more like my husband is going to get a promotion that will send us to Pittsburgh. We know nothing about the area, but are excited as it is closer to family and friends. Can any of you Pittsburgh Mammas tell us any family friendly towns or neighborhoods surrounding Pittsburgh? I would love to send my kid to public school, so I would want an area with great schools. We are happy in the Suburbs, but like being near the city. Right now we are 20 miles from Dallas, and before we were 15-20 miles from DC. Also, where we are now, we have to register our daughter for the Mother's Day Out program next week. We are doing it, just in case things don't work out, and we are still here. But, I was wondering if we do go to Pittsburgh it will be September or October. How hard is it to get into a Mother's Day Out Program there? Here, if your kid isn't registered by February forget about it. I'm sure I'll have more Pittsburgh questions, if and when it becomes official, but I ask about schools because I was thinking about registering my daughter for MDO. Thanks.
P.S.: My husband is a huge Redskins Fan and I'm a NY Giants Fan. How welcoming is Pittsburgh to "outsiders". My grandmother was in Philly, and they were the worst when it came to "outsiders" and football.
LOL! I grew up in Pgh.
You might want to hide your sports affiliations. They don't look too kindly on non-Steelers fans, lol!!
You'll be able to find plenty of nice neighborhoods with nice school districts within 20 miles of the city.
The usual suspects of the best school districts:
Upper Saint Clair
Peters Township (Bonus: lower Washington County taxes)
Fox Chapel Area
Mt Lebanon
Baldwin-Whitehall
North Allegheny
Mars (Bonus: lower Butler County taxes)
Bethel Park School District
All great communities!
(Never let anyone know you are a Giants fan.....shhhhhhh....!)
Better become a Steelers fan, hahah! Kind of kidding.
Anyways, my husbands family grew up outside of Pittsburgh about an hour soutb of. So, I married into Steeler fans.. and they are die hard fans!
But, going back to original question, my BIL lives in Cannonsburg which I think is about 30 mins from Pittsburgh. It is a beautiful town and the school districts are awesome. His wife is a teacher and so when they married she knew exactly what she wanted out of the school districts for the house they picked.
Good luck! And get your snow suits ready! HeHe.
My husband and I were once in you situation and we absolutely LOVE Pittsburgh! Here is a link to a great website that we found very useful. http://www.greatschools.org/
We also came from the DC area and what a difference. We searched for schools first and house second, however, I hear little complaints about schools here at all. I can not say what is the "best" because every one is looking for a certain something. We found a lot of what we were looking for, take a look at Fox Chapel, West Deer, Pine Richland, North Allegheny and Hampton.
Also be prepared to trade in your Skins and Giants in favor of Steelers! It is not mandatory to be a Steelers fan but you won't want to advertise that you are not. HUGE local team support in Pittsburgh (that is for any sport here), like nothing I have ever seen before.
Good Luck and you will love Pittsburgh, which ever part you choose
Hi! All the districts mentioned are great options. I am a teacher in one of them. :)
The only Mom's Day Out program that I'm aware of in the north is in Sewickley. That's in Quaker Valley S.D, which you should add to your list of quality schools in the area.
Another option like Mom's Day Out around here is drop-in child care at St. Paul's Preschool in McCandless (north) and Belluah (sp?) Preschool in the east.
I think Pittsburgh is a very friendly place to live. You'll get chided for not being a Steelers fan, but it will be good natured.
We are having a long winter here, but with at least you lived in the DC area and have some blizzard experience. While winters can be tough, the summers and fall here are glorious. Good luck!
