mangoflute

Sidgefield Lane is one of the many small streets which branch off from Mill Grove Road, the main road of the Mill Grove subdivision in Upper St. Clair. This street features many large, beautiful houses with nice front and back yards, and it is not a high-traffic street, as it is bisected by Mill Grove Road and contains less than 10 houses on each of its branches. Many families with children and pets live on this street in harmony with one another and with nature. It is a lovely place to live.

Ewing Circle is one of two similar streets that stem from Mill Grove Road, the major road in the Mill Grove subdivision of Upper St. Clair. It features large houses with large, nicely-manicured front lawns and a nice cul de sac; however, I have always found it odd that the back yards on this street are practically shared with a house living on a neighboring street. However, this is a nice, private street without a lot of traffic or noise, and I would love to be able to afford to live on a street like this someday.

Morrow Road is a very unique road which runs between Morton Road and McLaughlin Run Road in Upper St. Clair. Although many of the houses on Morrow Road are very beautiful indeed, personally, I would not want to live there, because it is a high-traffic road on which people tend to travel quickly, and backing out of one's driveway would be somewhat of a daily challenge. One interesting aspect of Morrow Road is the house with the large front lawn which one encounters on the right-hand side when coming from the direction of McLaughlin Run Road: a family of at least 3 groundhogs lives here, and one is almost guaranteed to see at least one of them every time he drives by the property. Deer, wild turkeys, squirrels, small birds, and rabbits also frequent this spot.

Swanson Lane is part of the Mill Grove subdivision in which I grew up. Two of my best friends lived on Swanson, so I have spent many hours playing and walking in its vicinity. I would prefer living on Swanson to living Mill Grove or Hathaway, because it is a short street with a cul de sac, which allows for very little traffic and the chance to really get to know your neighbors. One great feature of Swanson is that there is a huge empty lot at the cul de sac, and because of the lack of house at this location, you can see all throughout Upper St. Clair from this point, and the view is truly breath-taking.

Although it could be argued that there are no small houses in Upper St. Clair, the smallest ones I've seen in the community have been on this street. This street is also home to some of the tackiest Christmas decorations in USC. The nice thing is that you have good walking access to Fort Couch Middle School, which all district-enrolled children attend for 7th and 8th grade (although this could be a bad thing; I'm not sure what the crime rate for this street/area is), and good driving access to the mall and surrounding shopping centers including Home Depot, Kohl's, Best Buy, Walgreen's, CVS, and Market District.

Clair Drive is part of a subdivision commonly referred to as "The Long Drive Area," as the other main road of the subdivision is called Long Drive (and believe me, it is very much that). The houses on Clair are nicer and larger than the ones on Long, however, and it is set farther away from the main road than is Long, making it the preferable street on which to live in that neighborhood. However, you still get many of the great benefits of the area; houses on the street are within walking distance to Fort Couch Middle School, which is a school which all publicly-enrolled students must attend for 7th and 8th grade, as well as a small park with swings, a playground, and a nice grassy area.

Craig Street is home to restaurants of all shapes in sizes. Lulu's is a pan-asian restaurant which is very popular with the lunch crowd of professionals, hospital employees, and college and graduate students. Right on the corner of Craig Street and Forbes Avenue is Kiva Han, which is a local coffee shop. If you're just looking for a quick bite to eat, there is a Subway restaurant with a large seating area on Craig Street approximately halfway between Fifth and Forbes Avenues. The street also features a number of small shops, including a rare books store.

Although I find the name "Fifth Avenue" glamorous, there is really nothing glamorous about Fifth Avenue in Oakland. It is home to many University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Buildings (in addition to many buildings belonging to the University of Pittsburgh), as well as Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Across the street from the hospitals, there are many places to get fast food, such as Wendy's and an array of independent vendors selling things that mainly resemble pizza as far as level of convenience. Further down, there is the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial, in which classical music concerts are often heard. There are also some buildings here which belong to Carnegie Mellon University, including a very impressive-looking one with exceptionally wide pillars out in front. The street also is home to the headquarters of WQED, Pittsburgh's Classical Music Station. And if that is not enough, Fifth is also the street one needs to take in order to get to the lovely Shadyside area of Pittsburgh.

In addition to being one of the two main streets in Oakland (Fifth Ave being the other one), Forbes Avenue is the vehicle by which I navigate the Oakland/Squirrel Hill area. If someone can give me directions to a place in Oakland, Squirrel Hill, or Shadyside starting at Forbes Avenue, then I can usually figure it out. Forbes is home to two major universities: the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. CMU currently has an art display which features figures seemingly walking upwards to the sky, and it is highly visible from Forbes. Forbes is also home to the Carnegie Museum of Art and History, as well as Carnegie Music Hall (not to be confused with the one in NYC). Far from its cultural landmarks, it also is home to "The O," The Original Hot Dog Stand (or is it Place?), and a number of trendy restaurants frequented by college students including Mad Mex. There is also an area of the street where many cart vendors appear regularly selling everything from burritos to egg rolls to bubble tea.

My parents have owned a house on Mill Grove Road for 21 years now; I lived there with them from the time I was 4 until I graduated from high school in 2001. In addition to being a street with beautiful houses, almost every yard is professionally maintained. It is rather hilly, as is the neighborhood which bears its name, so it is not good for children learning to ride bikes or for people with health limitations to use for outdoor exercise, but in my opinion, the hills add to its charm (it is in the South Hills of Pittsbugh, after all).

There are tons of families with small children, so everyone drives pretty slowly. There is also a large number of pets in the neighborhood as well; people walking dogs can be seen at almost any hour of the day when there is light. Everyone is friendly and says and/or waves "Hi" to one another when passing in the street. It is truly a great place to live.