Moving to a new community after 32 years in the same place has brought about an upheaval in all our routines and the relationships we formed over the years. Not only do we have to learn our way around a city with streets that are more a maze than a grid, we need to find doctors, dentists, optometrists and hair cutters. We have had some success, but we have taken to asking strangers who make the mistake of striking up a conversation with us if they can recommend a dentist.
The area we live in, Squirrel Hill, feels like a vibrant community. Most of the restaurants and businesses are locally owned, and we have found a friendliness in them. It’s an old neighborhood and many of the commercial buildings and homes date back 80 to 100 years. Rather than writing about our adventures and misadventures, we thought we would introduce you to our new neighborhood with photographs.
A welcoming sign (above) and a squirrel-shaped bicycle rack. At least we think it’s a bicycle rack.
How nice it is to be able to walk to a bookstore! There’s also a newsstand, several tailors who do alterations, a yoga school, 4 coffee shops and 3 tea rooms, and a patisserie, with excellent éclairs. Sorry there is no photo. We ate the éclairs too quickly.
A bank that looks like a bank. We admit we have only used the ATMs and haven't actually been inside.
A gem of a shoe store. The staff know how to fit shoes properly and they have an extensive inventory in seemingly every size.
Squirrel Hill is a veritable bazaar of food choices. Here are two of our favorites so far, Everyday Noodles, with excellent soup dumplings, potstickers and other delights, and Bagel Factory, with excellent bagels and deli food. We have also had very good Turkish, Thai, and Szechwan food, and wonderful subs from a local place called Uncle Sams.
There are wonderful old houses. We go for walks at least once a day to shops or meandering on the side streets to look at the houses.
And historic town houses next door to where we live.
Across the street from us, our grandson, Sam’s, school. Our granddaughter's pre-school is just a few blocks away.
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