We just decided to relocate to Pittsburgh for my husband's job. We have a 14 month old daughter and are looking for some insider info from Pittsburgh residents on areas that are family-friendly and safe. His job is going to be in the East End close to Shadyside, so we'd prefer to stay on that side of town or maybe northern suburbs. What do I need to know about life in PGH? 
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Hi! I was born and raised in Pittsburgh's East End, and now live in the east suburbs (after escaping to NYC for a while). Welcome - the 'burgh is a great place for families! There are a *ton* of neighborhoods in Pittsburgh and the surrounding boroughs. I'd be happy to give you some suggestions on where to look - are you looking to rent or buy, how big and what kind of residence do you want, and what's your general budget?
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I was also born and raised near Pittsburgh, but moved to the Boston area after college. I still miss it! Some good school districts within about a half hour to the north of Shadyside are North Hills, Fox Chapel, and Hampton Township. I feel like traffic is worse on the southside - so even though places like Mount Lebanon and Upper St Clair are only 12-15 miles away, the commute would be more like an hour or so.
Otherwise, Pittsburgh is an awesome place to have a family. There are the Carnegie Museums, the Science Center, the inclines, Kennywood, Sandcastle, the zoo & aquarium, aviary, and so on. You guys will have a blast!
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@gingerblonde: I'm Pittsburgh blogger! We have two girls - 10 months and 3.5.
We live in the north hills & my husband works in east Liberty.Let me know if you have any questions. We are house hunting & it's a great market right now!
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I'm not too familiar with Pittsburgh, but I visit family in McMurray just outside of Pittsburgh each year. That is a lovely town.
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@raspberries: Awesome, thanks! We are really excited about it. It sounds like it will be a place full of fun opportunities for kids. Thanks for the suggestions!
@ms.line: Ordinarily I wouldn't want to buy right off the bat, but it's so obviously cheaper to buy than rent, and we are hoping to buy into an area where the house will appreciate. We'd like something with 4+ bedrooms, 1800+ sq ft., a fenced yard for the dog, and a garage would be great. Our search has been focused on Morningside, Highland Park, Regent Square, Point Breeze, Squirrel Hill and Edgewood, primarily. Some people have suggested looking north to Aspinwall, Glenshaw, Fox Chapel... others said east like Forest Hills or Churchill. I think we are going to do private schools if we aren't in a north hills suburb. We'd like to stay under $350K if we can, but if that isn't realistic, I need to know that!
@Mrs. Jump Rope: My husband will also be working in East Liberty! I'd love to chat about the housing market and the commute - it looks like it is a hotter market than I originally thought, for sure. We are coming from Seattle though, so it's hard to imagine that it would be worse!
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@gingerblonde: I walled you!
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@gingerblonde: I'm in the Pittsburgh area! I grew up to the south side, spent four years living in Squirrel Hill, then three in Aspinwall. Now I'm right outside of Allegheny County to the east. I loved Aspinwall, but I think my bedroom now is bigger than the average yard there (and my bedroom isn't that big!). If you don't mind a small yard, then I really recommend it. It's such a cute town that is really close to everything while being in a great school district.
The in-town neighborhoods you mentioned-- I wouldn't recommend. Maybe Squirrel Hill or Point Breeze, but a lot of the neighborhoods on the East End have rising crime rates. Also, the income tax in city limits is 3%. Most towns outside of city limits are 1% or 1.5% and also have lower property taxes.
Feel free to wall me if you need suggestions for anything. I house hunted in the north hills a couple years ago, but ultimately ended up where I am now.
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You can definitely get something great for $350k! It's hard to find off-street parking in the East End, though. I think Regent Square, Point Breeze, and Highland Park are great places to look. I personally find Squirrel Hill a overrated/overpriced, especially considering the large student population that lives there. You might want to look at Greenfield and Stanton Heights, too. FWIW, I've never had any problems with crime in the city. I'm not sure about rising crime rates, either - the East End is rapidly gentrifying and the housing market is hot. East Liberty used to be considered a "bad" neighborhood (but my parents still took me to the library there every week as a kid with no problems), and now it's super yuppie with Google offices and $14 craft cocktails.
Edgewood is just outside city limits, so the income taxes are less, but the school system isn't great. There are some real gems to be found, though - we almost bought a house there.
Going into the east suburbs, you could look at Oakmont (near where I live), Churchhill, and Plum.
I think Aspinwall is very cute and very well situated. Fox Chapel proper gets pretty pricey, but if you look at the surrounding neighborhoods of Blawnox and O'Hara, the prices are usually lower and it's the same district. You could go further north to Ross/Hampton/Wexford, but that felt too far from the city for me.
My biggest suggestion would be to move fast when you see something you like!
Just let me know if you have any more questions!
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