Frum Pittsburgh Community

amother

Fri, Jun 07 2024, 11:34 am

I’ve read everything I possibly can on here about the Pittsburgh community. I still have questions.

Heres the background info - DH and I own rentals in the Pittsburgh and Tampa area but we live in Florida. He flys back and forth for work in PGH when needed, and stays in the family home (a large home that his parents and him jointly own but don’t live in full time) when he is up there. We are up there quite a bit (few times a month) and we really love it there. We also really love Florida but the neighborhoods in the Tampa area don’t consist of houses of frum people close together. Walking to Shul is miserable. No kosher restaurants.

We are trying to decide if Pittsburgh or Florida is best for being our “main home” and it comes down to the community.

We want a community with neighbors who are frum and easy access to stores and good schools. We want our kids to be able to play outside with a vibe sort of like BP.

Does anyone know if Squirrel Hill is this way? Heard of great things about the Shuls and obv its a large Jewish community. Are there large groups of kids who play outside? Are most of your neighbors frum or is it sporadic?

Any insight is helpful.

amother

Watermelon

Wed, Jul 03 2024, 10:45 am

I have some experience with both communities, and it sounds like Pittsburgh (Squirrel Hill/Greenfield) is more of what you are looking for- neighborhoods with groups of kids playing together outside, walking around on shabbos, more established schools. There is Yeshiva Schools which is Chabad, and Hillel Academy which is a standard out of town day school. The range there is from loosely affiliated through kollel families.

Tampa may get there eventually, but as it stands- Pittsburgh already has the infrastructure. More kosher options including fully stocked grocery, etc.

amother

Forestgreen

Wed, Jul 03 2024, 1:54 pm

amother OP wrote:

I can't compare to Tampa or BP but I can speak about Pgh. Squirrel Hill and Greenfield are the places to live. Sq Hill much nicer, cuter, but Greenfield has less expensive housing. These neighborhoods are next to each other and walkable to each other (warning: LOTS OF HILLS) Both areas have lots of kids playing outside together, and you'll often see kids walking around in groups to each others' houses, playgrounds, shops. Not all of your neighbors will be Jewish or frum but there is a pretty high concentration. Big Lubavitch community, also MO, some Kollel types too. Pittsburgh Jewish area is notable for being quite walkable (but very hilly) so you can walk to school, friends, shul, grocery, library, other shops. Pgh also notable for having all types of Jews living here, from Reform on up. There are many community events in which all the Jews can get together, we didn't have as much flight of Jews from urban areas like in other cities. Cons are: high housing prices, limited housing options, limited school options, only a few kosher restaurants. Pros: unity among various Jewish groups/sects; Pgh has lots of cultural and sporting events, it's a self-contained smaller "big city"; much less materialism and "keeping up with the Joneses" than other communities. Like nobody cares about your purse, car, or stroller brand. School might be a problem though in that by high school, the regular Orthodox day school (Hillel) loses many students so class sizes are quite small.

amother

↑ Dandelion

Wed, Jul 03 2024, 1:55 pm

amother Forestgreen wrote:

And some very very very steep hills.

amother

DarkYellow

Wed, Jul 03 2024, 6:43 pm

Agree with above. I adore Squirrel Hill though. It's certainly cheaper than the tri-state area but it's one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city, and houses are older and often quirky, and the market is tight. I have a friend (not frum, so she was maybe a bit less picky about specific blocks) who took over a year to find a house and that was pre-Covid.

Some blocks have more frum people than others but the odds are you will have a mix of neighbors. Definitely not Boro Park.

It's really hilly (a big challenge if you do like to ride a bicycle!) but if you're up for it it's so nice being able to walk to things like Giant Eagle, the kosher store, the Carnegie Library, and two huge parks. My best friend lives there and I wish we could move. It's a fun city too, big enough to have what you need, not overwhelming. But winter is tough!! Very cloudy.