Comments | pittsburgh: brookline and dormont

dabroots in pittsburgh

brookline and dormont

May 10, 2009 09:18

For family-related reasons, there's a very good chance I'll be moving to either Brookline or Dormont, this summer. I've driven through both communities on my way to other places, and they at least looked pretty decent and reasonably friendly ( Read more... )

places: brookline

Comments 28

furious_mold May 10 2009, 13:42:46 UTC

I lived in Beechview for a couple of years - it's close enough to Brookline and Dormont for me to comment ( ... )

dabroots May 10 2009, 14:08:25 UTC

Thanks for all the info.

Does the T run at night? It might be especially handy for me.

furious_mold May 10 2009, 14:16:32 UTC

It's been about four years since I lived there, but the T had limited service at night. This may have changed over the years.
I remember the last T I needed to get home from downtown arrived at the station between 11pm and 12am.

My memory is a little fuzzy, though. Better to ask the current residents.

dabroots May 10 2009, 14:43:13 UTC

I'll check the schedule online. It wouldn't be often I'd wanting to ride it past midnight, though. I don't miss the cost of living in NYC, but I sure do miss its 24/7 subway.

Thread 5

musiquephan May 10 2009, 14:09:55 UTC

I love Brookline! I still own a house there but for family reasons (seriously) I moved back into my old neighborhood. I'd move back in a hearbeat if I could.

I like Brookline much better than Dormont--it just has such a homey vibe about it. The neighborhood is safe, it has a great little strip of stores on Brookline Blvd. I liked the fact that I could walk to the Blvd for quick errands.

Busing into the city is easy--buses run down Pioneer, McNeely, etc., and some take the scenic route (like down Fordham). You'll have to check with PAT on the exact schedules, especially to Oakland.

And Brookline is generically 30 minutes from everywhere I needed to get to--figuratively speaking.

There is a library banch on Brookline Blvd...I've never been in there, though.

Can't comment on Landlords since I own a home there (its for sale, by the way lol).

Hope that helps. Good luck!

dabroots May 10 2009, 14:30:47 UTC

Good. Thanks for that positive vibe.

I'm not in the market for a house, but my ex-wife might be, and it's actually her move out there with our son that's causing me to be going there, myself. She's currently planning to just rent, but will eventually be interested in buying a place. What's your house like?

musiquephan May 10 2009, 16:26:03 UTC

ROFL My X-husband lives in it ( ... )

dabroots May 10 2009, 17:47:36 UTC

Ah, that kind of family reason. Okay.

Thanks for the link. It sounds quite decent, really. All the plumbing and wiring is in good shape? My sister is a realtor out in Indianapolis and she's thrilled when someone buys a house, at all, these days.

i live in beechview themachinestops May 10 2009, 15:35:28 UTC

The libraries are kind of dinky, but since you can order any book from any branch using the online catalog and have it shipped to your local branch, that doesn't really matter. And the libraries are much quieter and homier than the ones closer to the heart of the city, better for studying or having some quiet reading time ( ... )

Re: i live in beechview dabroots May 10 2009, 15:57:29 UTC

The libraries are a relatively minor factor. Here in my current neighborhood (borough, really) of Swissvale, my library happens to be only a block away, making it very convenient for picking up books and movies I've had sent in from other locations. Someone else commented that the Mt. Lebanon library is pretty good, and I've that several items I've put on reserve have come from there.

I don't mind a bit of a hike to reach the T. From what I'm hearing and reading about Brookline, it sounds more like my cup o' tea than Dormont. How is it for little diners, Chinese, and that kind of thing? You mention you live in Beechview--is that part of Pittsburgh-proper?

Re: i live in beechview bloodysock May 10 2009, 18:45:35 UTC

My boyfriend lives in Brookline. We walk to eat all the time, but we kinda live on the Brookline/Dormont border.

There are a few diners and Chinese places in the area as well as the totally amazing Boulevard Ice Cream place (last time I was in, they had 3 different kinds of cake-ice cream. Three.)

Re: i live in beechview jumpers May 10 2009, 19:46:41 UTC

Beechview is considered city of Pittsburgh.

Thread 5

daggertrepe May 10 2009, 16:32:31 UTC

I live in castle shannon and I go to Keystone Oaks HS, which is where your kids will go if they live in dmnt or if you don't have kids that's fine. KO isn't the best school and some of the dmnt girls are kinda trashy. But other than that, people are relatively friendly there! :)

dabroots May 10 2009, 17:44:34 UTC

My son will be excited at the prospect of trashy girls in Dormont. I probably shouldn't tell him.

daggertrepe May 10 2009, 17:54:07 UTC

Hey! how old is he? maybe he'll be in my grade.

dabroots May 10 2009, 17:57:22 UTC

Only 13.

Thread 5

absurdkarma May 10 2009, 22:44:46 UTC

I've lived in Dormont for the past 2 years and cannot recommend it enough. It is very quiet, friendly, clean and safe ( ... )

dabroots May 11 2009, 00:12:02 UTC

Because my son and his mom will definitely not be living in Dormont because it's outside the Pittsburgh city limits (which they have to remain within for various reasons), I'll probably gravitate toward Brookline, unless I can find a place in Dormont that's within easy walking distance from wherever they happen to end up in Brookline--assuming that's the part of PGH they eventually settle in. Right now, I'm in Swissvale and they're in Greenfield, an easy drive, but not an easy walk.

Dormont does sound quite charming, though, and thank you for all the detail. I'm very big on detail, btw, so it's much appreciated.