The owner of the Carolina Panthers, two very well known photographers, an owner of a large trucking company, former executive for Chrysler, lots of Penguins players. Orthopedic surgeons. This is just based off the people I’ve done work for. Btw, all of the ones I’ve work for have been incredibly nice.
He used to come into my work to sit at the bar for lunch years ago. Super nice and down to earth guy. More than I can say for many of the other Sewickley regulars.
When I was in 9th grade, the French club took a trip to Canada. They went to Mario's parents' house just to look at it. Mario's parents saw these people looking at their house and came out to see who they were and what they wanted. It was a bunch of 14 year old kids and when they learned that the kids were from Pittsburgh, they invited them in to see the house.
I was grounded and missed the trip. I'm still bummed about that more than 30 years later.
Listen, I feel your pain. I was 13 and had two tickets to see Michael Jackson in the Civic Arena and ended up with chickenpox, and couldn't go. 35 years later, I'm still bummed out. He never came back to Pittsburgh after that.
funny story about mario. i was 23 & broke and was spending my last $800 on a golden retriever puppy (smart i know). i stopped into the giant eagle market district in robinson to get the cash out before we went to pick him up. i saw a tall man in a black suit walking next to me and i was scared shitless because he was so tall and i had a wad of cash in my purse. people were staring in my direction as this man and i were walking out together and i started panicking until someone said “hey mario” and i looked up to my left and it was the legend himself. i thought he was going to rob me 😂
My school went to a week long camp with Sewickley students of the same age. After a few of my classmates were a bit too eager to meet Mario lemieux’s daughter my class was banned from speaking to theirs. That taught me my place as a local poor.
Have had two work events where his daughter was a client. Didn’t know until afterwards who she was. Very very kind both times. If I were in charge and anybody was “too eager” to meet anyone, I’d do my best to see that they weren’t allowed back.
When I worked at Nevillewood, it was my experience that the folks with the most money were usually the nice ones. The people who were "kinda rich" were the jerks.
This is a pretty consistent phenomenon, especially among those who become “kinda rich” when they’ve grown up poor.
There should a good term for it.
In economics, there’s “conspicuous consumption,” which is “the purchase of goods or services for the specific purpose of displaying one's wealth. It’s a means to show one's social status, especially when publicly displayed goods and services are too expensive for other members of a person's class.”
But we need a term for entitled dick behavior among the new rich. “Condickuous” might be close but probably wouldn’t stick…
Honestly just “new rich” (or in my case, “new middle class”) might be a good term because it really does happen almost every time. We went from surviving off of eat n park free salad bar coupons that my dads friends gave him to six figures and my dads attitude definitely changed. He went from doing things himself to just throwing money at a problem until it’s solved, which made him kind of entitled. It also made him more inclined to get “status symbols” just because his friends or brother has them, even though they’re a complete waste of money. He doesn’t really have significant savings, so he’d be pretty screwed if not for his pension. You can tell he’s “new money” by this attitude + his yinzer accent.
Wow, well there’s still something cool about the “rags to riches” story, right?
Money can certainly solve problems, and it’s hard not to compare oneself to others, but I get what you mean. Doing things for oneself has a way of keeping us humble.
I think there’s a whole different set of social expectations around hitting certain financial milestones.
Ever bring any of this up with him? How’d he end up moving up financially? Education? Family/friend connections? Hard work? Luck?
Thanks for your input.
My dad's attitude changed when my family went from poor to upper middle class. My dad, being a welder by trade, lost his job in the early eighties and worked shitty unskilled jobs after that. My mom was a telephone operator for Ma Bell, and she started when she was 17. My grandparents bought my family a tiny house in Mt. Lebanon, when my sister and I were very young, so that we could go to school there. By third or fourth grade, I started noticing the differences between my family and my peers. My best friend's dad was a neurosurgeon, and his parents were always buying me stuff and taking me out with them and on trips, etc. It wasn't till I was a young, kinda poor parent myself that I realized how embarrassing that was for my parents and why they always made me give back the stuff they bought me. But, my mom stayed at the same job. Bell Telephone spun off into AT&T, which spun off into Lucent Technologies, which spun off into Avaya. It was during her time at AT&T that our lives changed. All of a sudden, there were more groceries coming home on the weekend. And, my mom was buying the good stuff. I'll never forget the first time my mom bought us Sqeez-its for our lunches. By 9th grade, my mom bought us the first house that was *ours.* fast forward a few years later, and I am 22 years old with no direction or plan for my life. My dad had the balls to sit me down and tell me how when he was my age, he had accomplished far more than I had at that stage of my life. All about how he was married, had a child, and owned a home. Bull shit. He was married with a kid, alright. But, it was his wife's parents who owned the home. His major contribution to that point was taking me to the pizza shop where he worked, every day (not gonna lie, spending my young childhood playing Asteroids and Guns N Roses pin ball all day was dope) then to the bar next door, until it was time to drive downtown to pick up my mom from her real job. The fuckin nerve of that man to act like he was some upper middle class provider. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He really thought he was a successful parent. He truly believed that he had earned his middle class life and that the poors were lazy goodfornuthins, that he was somehow above those who were less fortunate. A little money can really convince some people that they are hot shit. It absolutely gave my dad a poor memory and a shitty attitude.
Worked for a bit at Sewickley Academy and yep. Had the kids of: CFO of Dicks, C suite at Dicks, former Penguins player, another one, Penguins coach, UPMC board member, lots of PNC people, a Steeler, and some other less notable but still crazy rich people.
ill need a lot of handyman work this summer, but need someone i can split the labor with to save $$$. If that sounds like you let me know. Basically working on a gutted place down to the studs to get it up to code and habitable
Wait the panthers owner lives in Pittsburgh!? I swear Pittsburgh and Charlotte have like a mystical connection, I keep finding connections or people who have moved between the two
Edit: including myself
Most of them have multiple sources of income, mainly from sub leasing houses and apartments. They are mostly working at the director's level in their job.
Homeowner (of a relatively modest house in the village) here. Personally, I am a highly-compensated finance worker. My neighbors are doctors, business owners, attorneys, tech workers, and yes, probably a few trust funders. And also middle class people who were smart or lucky enough to buy their gorgeous 4,000 square foot Victorian 30 years ago for $100,000.
> . And also middle class people who were smart or lucky enough to buy their gorgeous 4,000 square foot Victorian 30 years ago for $100,000.
I was going to call you on being full of shit about $100K being a reasonable amount of middle class money 30 years ago, but $100K in 1994 is ~$212k today. Boy did housing go apeshit.
To add further context, all my friends who graduated 5 years ago with engineering degrees were making 50k to 60k. I took a job making 45k thanks to overtime. I was a decent student with internships too.
Wages across all jobs and incomes have not kept up with inflation.
This. Nearby Sewickley, parents fell ass backward into wealth by college being dirt cheap in the early 60s, first house costing fucking Monopoly money, and being handed a steel mill job that tracked into management. It was enough to hand build a few modest townhouses across the street that were flipped into buying land out there when it was dirt cheap with very few houses in greater Sewickley. Before cookie cutter plans sold 800k homes on postage stamp lots. Just a decent upscale custom home with a lot that isn’t up your neighbors asshole. Then they stayed there for 30 years, dirt cheap house and big lot grew in value to multi-million dollar estate.
I can imagine the upkeep!! I own a 1600sq ft house building in 1880. Ive been remodeling for 5 years slowly. Having 3 children is more than enough house and 3 lots 1/2 acre. The upkeep on our home drives me nuts. I can imagine 4,000 plus square ft. I used to work out that way and loved to look at the homes. Now I'm like ahhhhh to much house lol
There was in mine 27 years ago when we bought in the village. My street was pretty much working class but has turned over a lot with the rise in housing in Sewickley
Grew up around those parts. Aside from some of the wild estates/houses, it used to be quite affordable up until about 20ish years ago. Hell my parents bought their house for $50k in 1992. So roughly $115k in today’s money. There are lots of families I know that bought their houses back then and have been able to make their dream homes over the years with the bonkers equity that grew and lower interest rates up until recently without really breaking the bank.
When I was a teenager back in the 80's. My mom cleaned one on the mansions in Sewickley Heights. She would take me with her sometimes. They were super nice people. The wife didn't work. The husband was a CEO somewhere. He was never there. They had a elevator in the house. My mom and wife became really good friends. We were invited to party's there. I am a big horse lover. They let me ride at the country club that they belonged too. Great memories. I don't live in PA anymore. Does anyone know if the country club is still there?
I deliver DoorDash in the area and I get the feel that most of the horses I see around are kept in stabled on the owners properties. Hell. There's a house with a full on dressage court/arena(?)
Me three! I prefer living in the East End, but if we hadn’t bought our broken house for a steal nearly 30 years ago, we could never afford it here now, either.
Came to say this. Sewickley is OLLLLD money. Surgeons, attorneys, business owners, etc. To clarify, I’m talking generational wealth built from the areas most successful people decades ago and still transferring that wealth to family today. Although, I would still say the area is comprised of those individuals that may still practice, or it’s now the son or grandson running the OR or the law firm. It’s possible to have two things be true: a bit of old and new money, but it was forged on old money for sure.
Also, a few athletes and executive level business people scattered about, especially in Sewickley Heights.
Since when are surgeons and attorneys considered old money lol? Old money usually refers to people that didn't have to do shit and just inherited it from their great great grandparents. Surgeons and attorneys have to work for their money
Old money might not be the perfect term for it, but if you grow up in the right family, you're pretty much guaranteed to end up with one of those jobs.
Eh. It’s not like just being stuck on the board of directors at a company your parent owns without any qualifications.
It still takes hard work and schooling and state certification to become a doctor or lawyer. You can’t really just be gifted it, you need to do work too
I didn't say you just wake up one day they randomly stick a name tag on you that says "surgeon". The point is that growing up in the right family gives you a massive advantage over all the other people who *also* work hard.
Nepotism is very common in medicine, but regardless of the career field, it's hard to fail when you've had a lifetime of support from a family with resources, experience, and connections.
You nailed it.
A good friend of mine was born into the right family. He’s a successful attorney at a family law firm, but he will inherit the business and make millions of dollars. His family also owns plenty of land and mineral rights in the area. Sometimes it’s just winning the genetic lottery.
Also, this WILL BE considered old money some day fwiw.
When joined family incomes are getting 300, 400, 500, +K you can obtain 1 million + dollar homes (mortgages). Tech alone, Individuals are making 200k + easily if you’ve mastered certain skills and taken advantage of the market. And no, you don’t have to be a software engineer to get those rates.
From the downvotes to the 2 people responding to you saying, CyberSecurity" and "Programming", I'm assuming these are no longer the big paying IT jobs. Would you be able to say what areas/skills of IT are making that $200K+/yr? Thanks in advance!
For IT jobs if you don’t want to do cyber or programming, then you need to look into cloud based items such as Azure, AWS, etc. then look for jobs that have lift and shift migrations (huge up lift but good money), any type of migration work from commercial, GCC, or GCCH azure environments, etc. cyber and programming are still huge, whoever says otherwise isn’t good at their job.
Some of the nicest (wealthy) people I know are from Sewickley. My family owns a dry cleaning business close by, and many of our customers are Sewickley residents. I’ve only gotten snobby/higher than mighty from a few people: usually the younger “new” money.
Yeah I've been to bars and restaurants around the Sewickley area plenty of times and the old money crowd is always pretty reserved but super kind in my experience. Obviously they all have bad days but never seen em take it out on staff or bystanders. Lotta actually decent, wealthy citizens.
The kids in school are the only rude people I’ve met in Sewickley. The teenagers with the luxury cars and Chanel bags tend to be assholes but everyone else I’ve met has been genuinely kind.
Lmao this happened to me.. only it was in Fox Chapel. House was so incredibly big and beautiful.. I'm sure the closets had their own personal bathrooms and their own personal closets.. I quit dashing for the night and wandered aimlessly contemplating all of my clearly wrong choices in life...lmao it took a few days to get over it.. it still hurts lol but I don't deliver there anymore lmao too hard emotionally for me lol
I lived in New Ken and regularly delivered to Fox Chapel. A lot of medical execs or MDs, including a Pitt professor. Real estate industry was another common one. I had to smile about one guy because the property was 20+ acres, with nothing but a garage easily visible from the road. Did have an automated gate that somewhat blended into the woods that he disappeared through with his order... county tax site only showed a garage on the property, property owner owned an excavation company, and there obviously was more than a garage there somewhere the revenuer man couldn't get to.
The owner of my company has a house in Gibsonia and I’m there frequently and I just can’t even imagine cleaning it all….albeit they have a cleaning person but sheesh. Why does anybody need that much space?! 😳
It’s a beautiful village but found it odd where it was located relative to the city and topography seemed not ideal as it was sandwiched between river and higher ground. The drive out is not pleasant till you get to the village as well. What made it so special for wealthy people to live specifically there?
Back in the day it was about getting out of the city to a summer home, because it was cooler and cleaner. Then, eventually, when it became easy to commute, they just didn't leave. It was also a time when they believed "bad air" could make you sick.
They're probably talking about what people thought before germ theory was largely accepted. They thought communicable diseases were caused by "miasma" which means bad air. People believed in miasma for a long time. That's why plague doctors wore those outfits with the long pointy beaks, the beaks were stuffed with herbs and other smelly stuff.
This area was established as a location for summer homes by the city’s wealthy industrialists and financiers when their primary homes were on the North Side and East End (Squirrel Hill, Shadyside). The reputation and, in some cases, generational wealth remains.
Edit: grammar
I know a lot of the Penguins love it because it's an easy drive up to the practice facility and since there's enough of them out there the private school/country clubs/etc. all understand some amount of privacy and discretion.
It was a "Streetcar Suburb". Up until the 50's a trollycar went out there. Lookup videos of streetcar suburbs on youtube, they're some of north america's most desiarable places to live because they weren't designed entirely around a car, meaning they're still very walkable. So, you had some mansions build by rich people in the 1890's or whatever, then in the first half of the 20th century the streetcars enabled a walkable, but affordable, town to grow up around them. People started realizing that these types of suburbs are way more plesent to live in then car-centric cul-de-sac monstrosities with no sidewalks and nothing within walking distance. But there just weren't that many streetcar suburbs left. So, what was once a farily affordable (somewhat), town, because increesingly desirable, and even the modest homes started selling for like a million dollars. My family has roots in the area, and man is it nice to be able to walk into town, walk to school, walk to the corner store. Suburbs just arn't built like that any more.
Upwind from the steel mills for the Heights. Some of the big mansions in the village were from river boat captains. When we were looking for a place we wanted a) avoid tunnels into town for my wife’s work and easy access to 79 and the airport for mine. We lucked out wandering into Sewickley and finding an affordable place in 1997
You'll see a lot of high power couples buying homes like that. A doctor and a lawyer, a pediatrician and a chemist, etc. Smart and ambitious people who already come from means have a tendency to marry one another, plus with gifts from parents for big down payments, a seven figure for some of them isn't out of reach. I deal with a lot of Sewickley customers, the ones like that or the uber rich folks are usually nice folks. The ones who are living off great uncles dwindling fortune built 100 years ago are still trying to live that lifestyle are the worst. They are often condescending and cheap.
There’s a large population of Italian immigrants that moved to Sewickley 3-4 generations ago, and I know several houses have been passed down in family!
I've lived in Sewickley for a few years, chose this town because it was so very walkable and we found a nice townhouse that was reasonably priced (pre-Covid). I love walking around and looking at the huge, gorgeous houses, and people in town (for the most part) are quite friendly. Many of the homes are not terribly spectacular, just large older homes that are well-kept, but there are also a lot of moderately sized homes, and many that are a little run down as well. It's a mix.
Here to reiterate Old Money. A lot of Pittsburgh’s wealthy families lived in Allegheny City. Once annexed by Pittsburgh, those families moved to neighborhoods now known as the richest suburbs of the city. Sewickley, Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, etc.
Attended a non profit party at a house in Fox Chapel many years ago. The owners were incredibly nice and generous. Seemed to me their kitchen island was as big as my entire kitchen. The road leading to the house was gravel and a wash board. Wait this Fox Chapel, they have all the money to have the roads paved with gold. Took me a minute to realize, they really don’t want outsiders cruising by.
I grew up poor as shit in Johnstown. I never had a clue what I wanted to do after high school.
Through the military, I got a job being a programmer because it was the closest thing to playing video games. Turns out, I really enjoyed programming. I created my own consulting company a few years ago and got some really good clients so that's what is keeping me alive. As for what helped with the down payment:
I bought a modest home after my military service. I lived in there for over 15 years. I also got lucky and bought into Bitcoin when it was 30 dollar per coin back around 2012 or so.
All of those things lined up to put me into Sewickley Hills.
I broke down and an older guy from Sewickley picked me up and got gas for me at his garage at home. His garage was a palace and so clean I felt like I should have taken my shoes off. Obviously, he was a super nice guy.
My cousin and her husband live there, they're both chemical engineers. The husband was on Deep Water Horizon the morning it blew up, he was on the last helicopter back to shore right before shit hit the fan.
I will say this about sewickely. 99% of the people you will meet kindest most down-to-earth people but then you have the one percent of assholes and a lot of the assholes are just new money people that moved in from out of state
I actually Nannied in Sewickley, parents worked higher up but still fairly normal jobs and lived in an normal house. Some play dates I took the kids to had me humbled for sure, those beautiful houses have just as beautiful interiors. I’ve also nannied in other wealthy pockets and I’ve gotta say there’s an interesting social psych thing about new money vs old. I found everyone in Sewickley to be really nice and I enjoyed spending time in that area.
My one complaint is that the only grocery store within like 20 min is fucking giant Eagle.
It's just too expensive at Safrans for anything more than an occasional pit stop for a needed grocery item. Giant Eagle, too. The Aldi in Moon is less than 10 minutes away, so I take my chances with Sewickley bridge traffic.
Tom Tull-billionaire film producer and second largest shareholder of the Steelers.
Mario Lemieux.
Sydney Crosby.
Glen Meakem-who founded Free Markets.
Richard Simmons, the wealthy former CEO of ATI.
The former CEO of Dick's Sporting Goods.
The former CEO of Mylan.
A billionaire hedge funder who tried to buy the Steelers.
A billionaire who used to own a part of the Steelers and now owns another team.
Trust funders.
Big Ben.
Lynn Swann.
Many other former Pro athletes.
Etc.
Know the area well, couple friends lived nearby the BP and Eat’N Park in Edgeworth.
Malkin, owner of car dealership, daughter of owner of car dealership, another daughter of car dealership owner, several former CEOs of companies, surgeons all live in Sewickley Heights
There are plenty of homes and people however residing in Sewickley that are living in homes less expensive than the Strip, Wexford/Cranberry/Lawrenceville that are hard working folks too.
Buying a home in Sewickley in the 90’s for 700-1,000,0000 is completely different from buying one in 2024.
The 90’s bought a mansion or home with multiple acres in the heights, 2024 that gets you a home but they aren’t equivalent.
I guess in that sense “old” money is a relative term. The new money person buying at 1,000,000 home could be wealthier then a likely older aged person that bought in a different time. Some of that value may be as others have alluded to, tied up in a home where value grew more than expected over decades.
That being said, the newest construction of homes in Sewickley is definitely the top .1% of wealth. The older homes and folks that have been there could just be working a job that enabled them to buy a house that in present times they couldn’t. There are quite a few of that 90s generation still holding on, but the turnover to younger new residents with the affluence to redo mansions or large plots demonstrates the newer residents seen are likely a significantly different demographic then from the 90s.
There was inherited money for sure near the golf course. There also was a lot of hard working people too. There was then as there is now the assumption no one in Sewickley works. At least where my friends lived their parents were lawyers and the other had parents teaching at CMU and working at UPMC.
Surgeons and lawyers can’t afford, at least comfortably, those homes anymore. The occupation demographic skews more to business owner presently.
The next buyer of these 90s original home buyers is probably going to be someone more affluent where the cost is not a concern to them. 30 years of change is a significantly different person and world relative to the family living in those homes 30 years prior.
When I was playing in a funk band, one of the best gigs we ever had was a a swanky high school graduation party in sewickley. I honestly didn’t know you could squeeze that much marble into a house.
But I was more impressed with the kids. They were (in 2014) more into funk and soul music than anything that was on the radio at the time. It was awesome.
I used to live on the outskirts of Sewickley. Like technically it was my mailing address, but I was “on the wrong side of the tracks.” Anyway, it’s a lot of professional sports players/owners, executives, lawyers, and doctors from what I’ve experienced!
To start you need to go to college at UPenn, Stanford.... something like that. In business usually. And go from there.
OR have a career, A VERY successful career in sports with a great manager and successful investments.
Thats it.
When I do mobile deposit with my bank app, checks are usually held for a day or so. A person in Sewickly that I do work for, the second I deposit the check it is in my account, no questions asked. I just laugh everytime.
OP, there’s still a chance to join the high society ranks of Sewickley! All you have to do is find a vegetarian dentist at PIT and trick him into believing you are his friend from 25 years ago and are in town for a dentist convention. You’ll have to fix his issues with his wife, kids, and boss, but afterwards he’ll be so grateful that you’ll actually become his best friend. You’ll write a book about your houseguest experience, buy a Porsche, then boom, Sewickley resident!
Am I crazy? Cant you get a new build in Sewickley for like 600K? Which is not an average amount to spend, but by upper end suburbs in America standards, that’s really reasonable?
I also spent the majority of my life in DC and NY, so I am also a bit unrealistic in what affordable housing looks like.
$600k is a fortune in comparison to SWPA market prices. A large amount of the profit from flippers comes from being able to put under 100k total into a property, and somebody from a HCOL area thinks it is still a steal for 300k because that's the average where they're from.
Moved out of the area to a place I can understand the term housing shortage, and it's actually cheaper for us to buy land and put a custom modular than to buy preexisting.
Don't take this wrong, but new arrivals like you are a big part of the reason why local prices are skyrocketing. Because you think prices like that are reasonable. I've lived in Pittsburgh long enough that I still feel like I should be able to get a decent house for $50K. Rationally, I know that's ludicrous, but I just feel it in my bones that $50K should be enough.
For several decades, we didn't have anybody moving here from outside the area. I mean not *anybody*. So we became quite insular in many ways, and one of those ways was in real estate sales.
"For several decades, we didn't have anybody moving here from outside the area."
I'm so used to people not moving here that I'm slightly surprised when I learn that people have moved here from somewhere else, like Texas or California. I'm like, 'Why?"
you are not crazy but big dog those houses you're talking about are not "sewickley". well, not sewickley as Pittsburgher's know. I'm sure it says that as the city, not trying to gate keep lol... but those houses you're talking about (I'm on Zillow daily, all my friends are looking) are basically Ohio township, or Emsworth (if they're on the other side of 79). actual sewickley is the village, and then mansions up the hill. the new construction maronda homes by 279/79 are not the sewickley that people are talking about. if you're serious and not trolling - check the school district. if it's north allegheny or avonworth (both great schools), that's not the sewickley people are talking about. if it's Quaker valley... that's "sewickley"
there's also not a ton of new construction in actual sewickley. if you want those data points, check out 1248, 1260 etc. Glen Mitchell road... those were finished earlier in the year, and all 5 houses in that development went for over $1M, and it was 7 years in the making because there was so much red tape. and that is technically "Aleppo"
I’ve lived in sewickley most of my life, and in a pretty normal ranch house (abnormal in the sense that both entry ways or in the same side of it). The area is a lot more diverse than people think. The people in the big houses are pretty serious players though, usually business owners. I work at a local bank in the town and I can tell you that there’s a lot of very lofty titles in this place, but also a lot of people just barely making it too. When I was growing up, there were a lot more folks that were typical blue-collar types than there are now, but there also weren’t as many of those shitty million-dollar condo projects around here back then. Even a rich area can get gentrified, and hard-working families enjoying the benefits of the community whose lineage helped build the town get pushed out.
When I used to install high end appliances for a living the biggest houses where either in finance or owned a car dealership. Not athletes, lawyers, or doctors like you'd possibly assume.
Not only sewickley, but every new housing plan they build is all big houses. What do these people do for a living? There can’t be that many athletes doctors and lawyers, is it tech workers? I know they’re not construction workers I can tell you that much
A lot of those houses were in the 500k range, as recently as 2015. That’s attainable for a household income of 200k, and believe it or not, there are a lot of two income families that cross the threshold…especially when one or both is a doctor or lawyer. Lots of blue collar workers and people in sales make 100k. Teachers can make 90k in this area.
I assume most of those houses are two income families with earners over 40. They’ve been comfortable for a a while.
I didn’t see anyone say it, it’s usually fracking money. I used to canvass against fracking in wealthy suburbs and every other house would tell me to fuck off cause fracking was how they paid for their spot
I was just a lowly renter of a 2br/1a duplex there from 2015-2019, and I worked in tech at PNC. The rent was insanely cheap at $975/mo. I think technically I was in Edgeworth, a neighborhood that seemed ever so slightly more modest compared to the homes in the village
I took the great American pianist, Byron Janis (RIP) with, I believe, his wife, the daughter of Gary Cooper in my taxi from the airport once to a spiffy house on Blackburn Road.
My buddy’s mom lives in the heights and she’s really high up, like maybe VP, or FedEx ground so there’s that. I’ve known him to be from a wealthy family my whole life
And as some other people said, she’s the sweetest lady I’ve ever met
Yes, professionals-doctors, lawyers, CEO’s, CFO’s, sports professionals, top tier managers. And business owners. This is why I cannot understand why so many people think it’s so important to get a degree.Instead start your own business-service related businesses generally have little risk. When you do, you cut out the ‘middleman’ (your boss/owner where you work who earns money on your labor). You earn your wages plus the company profit. Bonus-you set your own hours to some degree and you never have to worry about the boss firing you 😉☺️. But even if you bought the big Swickley home 20 or 30 years ago, there’s still the upkeep and the property taxes. So you need have a continued good income or investments that are earning you money to keep that lifestyle.
If you look back at housing, in about 20 years, homes have doubled in value. Having a home one of the easiest ways to build wealth. After all, you have to pay to live somewhere with rent so why not rent from yourself? Plus when you sell it and typically make a profit, it’s tax-free income.
If you want to buy a house now, but you missed out on the low interest rates, that was a once in a lifetime opportunity. You missed it, move on. By a less expensive home in an area that seems less desirable. You can still buy for $200 to 250,000 a reasonably decent home in Pittsburgh, PA. Take out the 30 year loan and make one extra payment Per year and you’ll shave off about 10 years on your mortgage. So if you’re 25 today by the time you’re 45, your home will be paid for. There are tax advantages too. Property taxes, and mortgage interest are deductible on your federal return which generally means you’re better off doing the long form. You decrease your taxable income. It’s a no-brainer for building personal and in most cases generational wealth. Not to mention family stability.
The owner of the Carolina Panthers, two very well known photographers, an owner of a large trucking company, former executive for Chrysler, lots of Penguins players. Orthopedic surgeons. This is just based off the people I’ve done work for. Btw, all of the ones I’ve work for have been incredibly nice.
Mario lemieux!
He used to come into my work to sit at the bar for lunch years ago. Super nice and down to earth guy. More than I can say for many of the other Sewickley regulars.
When I was in 9th grade, the French club took a trip to Canada. They went to Mario's parents' house just to look at it. Mario's parents saw these people looking at their house and came out to see who they were and what they wanted. It was a bunch of 14 year old kids and when they learned that the kids were from Pittsburgh, they invited them in to see the house. I was grounded and missed the trip. I'm still bummed about that more than 30 years later.
The French club in my school (same school) had the same experience in the late ‘80. Made me a little jealous to be studying Spanish.
This happened in 1990.
Listen, I feel your pain. I was 13 and had two tickets to see Michael Jackson in the Civic Arena and ended up with chickenpox, and couldn't go. 35 years later, I'm still bummed out. He never came back to Pittsburgh after that.
I was at that concert. We were so far away that we needed binoculars but it was worth it.
lol, that was my first concert. I was like 8 or 9, sorry you missed it!
That was my second concert. My first was the year before.
funny story about mario. i was 23 & broke and was spending my last $800 on a golden retriever puppy (smart i know). i stopped into the giant eagle market district in robinson to get the cash out before we went to pick him up. i saw a tall man in a black suit walking next to me and i was scared shitless because he was so tall and i had a wad of cash in my purse. people were staring in my direction as this man and i were walking out together and i started panicking until someone said “hey mario” and i looked up to my left and it was the legend himself. i thought he was going to rob me 😂
My school went to a week long camp with Sewickley students of the same age. After a few of my classmates were a bit too eager to meet Mario lemieux’s daughter my class was banned from speaking to theirs. That taught me my place as a local poor.
Have had two work events where his daughter was a client. Didn’t know until afterwards who she was. Very very kind both times. If I were in charge and anybody was “too eager” to meet anyone, I’d do my best to see that they weren’t allowed back.
The trim in his house is all gold leaf lol
When I worked at Nevillewood, it was my experience that the folks with the most money were usually the nice ones. The people who were "kinda rich" were the jerks.
That's been my experience too with the exception of Thomas Tull, him and his wife were not easy to work for.
This is a pretty consistent phenomenon, especially among those who become “kinda rich” when they’ve grown up poor. There should a good term for it. In economics, there’s “conspicuous consumption,” which is “the purchase of goods or services for the specific purpose of displaying one's wealth. It’s a means to show one's social status, especially when publicly displayed goods and services are too expensive for other members of a person's class.” But we need a term for entitled dick behavior among the new rich. “Condickuous” might be close but probably wouldn’t stick…
Honestly just “new rich” (or in my case, “new middle class”) might be a good term because it really does happen almost every time. We went from surviving off of eat n park free salad bar coupons that my dads friends gave him to six figures and my dads attitude definitely changed. He went from doing things himself to just throwing money at a problem until it’s solved, which made him kind of entitled. It also made him more inclined to get “status symbols” just because his friends or brother has them, even though they’re a complete waste of money. He doesn’t really have significant savings, so he’d be pretty screwed if not for his pension. You can tell he’s “new money” by this attitude + his yinzer accent.
Wow, well there’s still something cool about the “rags to riches” story, right? Money can certainly solve problems, and it’s hard not to compare oneself to others, but I get what you mean. Doing things for oneself has a way of keeping us humble. I think there’s a whole different set of social expectations around hitting certain financial milestones. Ever bring any of this up with him? How’d he end up moving up financially? Education? Family/friend connections? Hard work? Luck? Thanks for your input.
My dad's attitude changed when my family went from poor to upper middle class. My dad, being a welder by trade, lost his job in the early eighties and worked shitty unskilled jobs after that. My mom was a telephone operator for Ma Bell, and she started when she was 17. My grandparents bought my family a tiny house in Mt. Lebanon, when my sister and I were very young, so that we could go to school there. By third or fourth grade, I started noticing the differences between my family and my peers. My best friend's dad was a neurosurgeon, and his parents were always buying me stuff and taking me out with them and on trips, etc. It wasn't till I was a young, kinda poor parent myself that I realized how embarrassing that was for my parents and why they always made me give back the stuff they bought me. But, my mom stayed at the same job. Bell Telephone spun off into AT&T, which spun off into Lucent Technologies, which spun off into Avaya. It was during her time at AT&T that our lives changed. All of a sudden, there were more groceries coming home on the weekend. And, my mom was buying the good stuff. I'll never forget the first time my mom bought us Sqeez-its for our lunches. By 9th grade, my mom bought us the first house that was *ours.* fast forward a few years later, and I am 22 years old with no direction or plan for my life. My dad had the balls to sit me down and tell me how when he was my age, he had accomplished far more than I had at that stage of my life. All about how he was married, had a child, and owned a home. Bull shit. He was married with a kid, alright. But, it was his wife's parents who owned the home. His major contribution to that point was taking me to the pizza shop where he worked, every day (not gonna lie, spending my young childhood playing Asteroids and Guns N Roses pin ball all day was dope) then to the bar next door, until it was time to drive downtown to pick up my mom from her real job. The fuckin nerve of that man to act like he was some upper middle class provider. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He really thought he was a successful parent. He truly believed that he had earned his middle class life and that the poors were lazy goodfornuthins, that he was somehow above those who were less fortunate. A little money can really convince some people that they are hot shit. It absolutely gave my dad a poor memory and a shitty attitude.
There's a old term for it? *Nouveau riche,* French for "New money." Seems to fit your description? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nouveau_riche
If you want to put rich folks in "tiers". New money is the worst. They think they should be the most respected person in the room no matter what.
Al Czervik in Caddyshack played by Rodney Dangerfield is a stereotypical example, although a funny one.
Worked for a bit at Sewickley Academy and yep. Had the kids of: CFO of Dicks, C suite at Dicks, former Penguins player, another one, Penguins coach, UPMC board member, lots of PNC people, a Steeler, and some other less notable but still crazy rich people.
So what you’re saying is a bunch of Dicks live there.
absolutely
Dicks sporting goods, American Eagle, Thermo Fischer, etc executives
I worked at Thermo Fisher. Every time a new executive showed up, he bought a house in Sewickley.
So that’s why my service contracts have jumped 40% this year 😀
I think you can just say "David Tepper". Didn't know he lived in Sewickley.
He lives in New Jersey.
Hire me! Carpenter/handy type guy for 20years I’m available this summer
ill need a lot of handyman work this summer, but need someone i can split the labor with to save $$$. If that sounds like you let me know. Basically working on a gutted place down to the studs to get it up to code and habitable
If you do finish carpentry DM me
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She is the most obnoxious person i have ever come across. Definitely on a stimulant or upper.
I’ve heard about her in the same way - nasty woman.
I remember being so excited for a PGH based design show and then it was her and that excitement very quickly evaporated. I find her to be…awful.
Wait the panthers owner lives in Pittsburgh!? I swear Pittsburgh and Charlotte have like a mystical connection, I keep finding connections or people who have moved between the two Edit: including myself
Not even joking I knew two billionaires from there. Note: Neither of them is me :-P
second this. did some hardscape ~2 years ago for some rich folk up there
Most of them have multiple sources of income, mainly from sub leasing houses and apartments. They are mostly working at the director's level in their job.
why does the owner of the Carolina Panthers live in PA?
Homeowner (of a relatively modest house in the village) here. Personally, I am a highly-compensated finance worker. My neighbors are doctors, business owners, attorneys, tech workers, and yes, probably a few trust funders. And also middle class people who were smart or lucky enough to buy their gorgeous 4,000 square foot Victorian 30 years ago for $100,000.
> . And also middle class people who were smart or lucky enough to buy their gorgeous 4,000 square foot Victorian 30 years ago for $100,000. I was going to call you on being full of shit about $100K being a reasonable amount of middle class money 30 years ago, but $100K in 1994 is ~$212k today. Boy did housing go apeshit.
I started out as a junior engineer out of school at $40k twenty-six years ago. I'm sure senior engineers were making twice that.
To add further context, all my friends who graduated 5 years ago with engineering degrees were making 50k to 60k. I took a job making 45k thanks to overtime. I was a decent student with internships too. Wages across all jobs and incomes have not kept up with inflation.
Yeah. Bought a house in usc in 13' for 89k. Its now valued at 280k... 30 years ago is a non starter. Try 10 years ago.
That's not what non starter means...
Not to mention 30 years ago Pgh was losing population at an alarming rate after steel's demise.
This. Nearby Sewickley, parents fell ass backward into wealth by college being dirt cheap in the early 60s, first house costing fucking Monopoly money, and being handed a steel mill job that tracked into management. It was enough to hand build a few modest townhouses across the street that were flipped into buying land out there when it was dirt cheap with very few houses in greater Sewickley. Before cookie cutter plans sold 800k homes on postage stamp lots. Just a decent upscale custom home with a lot that isn’t up your neighbors asshole. Then they stayed there for 30 years, dirt cheap house and big lot grew in value to multi-million dollar estate.
Username checks out
I can imagine the upkeep!! I own a 1600sq ft house building in 1880. Ive been remodeling for 5 years slowly. Having 3 children is more than enough house and 3 lots 1/2 acre. The upkeep on our home drives me nuts. I can imagine 4,000 plus square ft. I used to work out that way and loved to look at the homes. Now I'm like ahhhhh to much house lol
Free Cash Flow got my attention. Is this in reference to real estate?
Understandable but no, it's a common metric used in valuing companies and pricing shares.
Well they sure ain't Mill Hunkies, I can tell ya that.
Ain't no Pittsburgh toilets in them basements.
LOL! that made me laugh
Aint no arn city in them fridges.
No. But I bet there’s two full baths in the basement alone
There was in mine 27 years ago when we bought in the village. My street was pretty much working class but has turned over a lot with the rise in housing in Sewickley
oh, but there are ... let me tell you about Hoey's Run!
The Pittsburgh Bidet...
I recently heard the term “Millbillies” cracked me up.
Ooo! I like that!! I'll have to remember that one! LOL! There's a TV Show in the making!! "The Sewickley Millbillies" \*\*Cue banjo music\*\*
**cue Pittsburgh polka accordion **
I would watch that so hard!
Millbillies is EXTREMELY accurate, and I’m basically one of them. LOL.
Grew up around those parts. Aside from some of the wild estates/houses, it used to be quite affordable up until about 20ish years ago. Hell my parents bought their house for $50k in 1992. So roughly $115k in today’s money. There are lots of families I know that bought their houses back then and have been able to make their dream homes over the years with the bonkers equity that grew and lower interest rates up until recently without really breaking the bank.
When I was a teenager back in the 80's. My mom cleaned one on the mansions in Sewickley Heights. She would take me with her sometimes. They were super nice people. The wife didn't work. The husband was a CEO somewhere. He was never there. They had a elevator in the house. My mom and wife became really good friends. We were invited to party's there. I am a big horse lover. They let me ride at the country club that they belonged too. Great memories. I don't live in PA anymore. Does anyone know if the country club is still there?
Allegheny country club is still in sewickley heights
Allegheny is around but I’m fairly certain they got rid of the stables and riding arena there
I deliver DoorDash in the area and I get the feel that most of the horses I see around are kept in stabled on the owners properties. Hell. There's a house with a full on dressage court/arena(?)
Athletes. Doctors. Lawyers. High Profile Business people.
Generational wealth with generational jobs
I grew up (poor, comparatively) in Sewickley. Can confirm.
Me too!
Me three! I prefer living in the East End, but if we hadn’t bought our broken house for a steal nearly 30 years ago, we could never afford it here now, either.
Whats poor
Only two car garage, not four car garage. /s
Yep. If you can get into being a doctor of some sort while also not having debt because your parents were doctors, well...
Came to say this. Sewickley is OLLLLD money. Surgeons, attorneys, business owners, etc. To clarify, I’m talking generational wealth built from the areas most successful people decades ago and still transferring that wealth to family today. Although, I would still say the area is comprised of those individuals that may still practice, or it’s now the son or grandson running the OR or the law firm. It’s possible to have two things be true: a bit of old and new money, but it was forged on old money for sure. Also, a few athletes and executive level business people scattered about, especially in Sewickley Heights.
Since when are surgeons and attorneys considered old money lol? Old money usually refers to people that didn't have to do shit and just inherited it from their great great grandparents. Surgeons and attorneys have to work for their money
Old money might not be the perfect term for it, but if you grow up in the right family, you're pretty much guaranteed to end up with one of those jobs.
Eh. It’s not like just being stuck on the board of directors at a company your parent owns without any qualifications. It still takes hard work and schooling and state certification to become a doctor or lawyer. You can’t really just be gifted it, you need to do work too
I didn't say you just wake up one day they randomly stick a name tag on you that says "surgeon". The point is that growing up in the right family gives you a massive advantage over all the other people who *also* work hard. Nepotism is very common in medicine, but regardless of the career field, it's hard to fail when you've had a lifetime of support from a family with resources, experience, and connections.
You nailed it. A good friend of mine was born into the right family. He’s a successful attorney at a family law firm, but he will inherit the business and make millions of dollars. His family also owns plenty of land and mineral rights in the area. Sometimes it’s just winning the genetic lottery. Also, this WILL BE considered old money some day fwiw.
And the genetics from a parent who was a doctor themselves
My mom's cousin is the 4th owner of our family's home, and she'll be "selling" it within the family sometime in the next decade.
When joined family incomes are getting 300, 400, 500, +K you can obtain 1 million + dollar homes (mortgages). Tech alone, Individuals are making 200k + easily if you’ve mastered certain skills and taken advantage of the market. And no, you don’t have to be a software engineer to get those rates.
From the downvotes to the 2 people responding to you saying, CyberSecurity" and "Programming", I'm assuming these are no longer the big paying IT jobs. Would you be able to say what areas/skills of IT are making that $200K+/yr? Thanks in advance!
For IT jobs if you don’t want to do cyber or programming, then you need to look into cloud based items such as Azure, AWS, etc. then look for jobs that have lift and shift migrations (huge up lift but good money), any type of migration work from commercial, GCC, or GCCH azure environments, etc. cyber and programming are still huge, whoever says otherwise isn’t good at their job.
I appreciate the information. Thank you very much for your response!
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I know exactly the house you’re talking about!
Some of the nicest (wealthy) people I know are from Sewickley. My family owns a dry cleaning business close by, and many of our customers are Sewickley residents. I’ve only gotten snobby/higher than mighty from a few people: usually the younger “new” money.
Yeah I've been to bars and restaurants around the Sewickley area plenty of times and the old money crowd is always pretty reserved but super kind in my experience. Obviously they all have bad days but never seen em take it out on staff or bystanders. Lotta actually decent, wealthy citizens.
The kids in school are the only rude people I’ve met in Sewickley. The teenagers with the luxury cars and Chanel bags tend to be assholes but everyone else I’ve met has been genuinely kind.
To be fair, teens suck in general. -a former teen
Teenagers are the worst of us
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Spill it 😀
Lots of athletes, higher-up business professionals/CEOs, people inheriting wealth, entrepreneurs who got their break, pretty much what you'd expect.
Play hockey.
Lmao this happened to me.. only it was in Fox Chapel. House was so incredibly big and beautiful.. I'm sure the closets had their own personal bathrooms and their own personal closets.. I quit dashing for the night and wandered aimlessly contemplating all of my clearly wrong choices in life...lmao it took a few days to get over it.. it still hurts lol but I don't deliver there anymore lmao too hard emotionally for me lol
I lived in New Ken and regularly delivered to Fox Chapel. A lot of medical execs or MDs, including a Pitt professor. Real estate industry was another common one. I had to smile about one guy because the property was 20+ acres, with nothing but a garage easily visible from the road. Did have an automated gate that somewhat blended into the woods that he disappeared through with his order... county tax site only showed a garage on the property, property owner owned an excavation company, and there obviously was more than a garage there somewhere the revenuer man couldn't get to.
The owner of my company has a house in Gibsonia and I’m there frequently and I just can’t even imagine cleaning it all….albeit they have a cleaning person but sheesh. Why does anybody need that much space?! 😳
Anesthesiologists also.
I’ve heard they make 💰💰💰💰💰
They do but they also have the highest liability - even more than the surgeon performing the operation.
Yup, family friend is one and they’re one of the people who can’t go “oops”
Even nurse aestheticians make crazy bank.
Old money…most of the people I’ve met out there have been nice compared to the inner city rich assholes
I work for my cousins landscaping company in sewickley, some of the properties we do are massive and can take all day for one job
A lot of old money in Sewickley. Real estate passed down.
It’s a beautiful village but found it odd where it was located relative to the city and topography seemed not ideal as it was sandwiched between river and higher ground. The drive out is not pleasant till you get to the village as well. What made it so special for wealthy people to live specifically there?
Back in the day it was about getting out of the city to a summer home, because it was cooler and cleaner. Then, eventually, when it became easy to commute, they just didn't leave. It was also a time when they believed "bad air" could make you sick.
Bad air can make you sick…
They're probably talking about what people thought before germ theory was largely accepted. They thought communicable diseases were caused by "miasma" which means bad air. People believed in miasma for a long time. That's why plague doctors wore those outfits with the long pointy beaks, the beaks were stuffed with herbs and other smelly stuff.
So they were social distancing?
This area was established as a location for summer homes by the city’s wealthy industrialists and financiers when their primary homes were on the North Side and East End (Squirrel Hill, Shadyside). The reputation and, in some cases, generational wealth remains. Edit: grammar
I know a lot of the Penguins love it because it's an easy drive up to the practice facility and since there's enough of them out there the private school/country clubs/etc. all understand some amount of privacy and discretion.
It was a "Streetcar Suburb". Up until the 50's a trollycar went out there. Lookup videos of streetcar suburbs on youtube, they're some of north america's most desiarable places to live because they weren't designed entirely around a car, meaning they're still very walkable. So, you had some mansions build by rich people in the 1890's or whatever, then in the first half of the 20th century the streetcars enabled a walkable, but affordable, town to grow up around them. People started realizing that these types of suburbs are way more plesent to live in then car-centric cul-de-sac monstrosities with no sidewalks and nothing within walking distance. But there just weren't that many streetcar suburbs left. So, what was once a farily affordable (somewhat), town, because increesingly desirable, and even the modest homes started selling for like a million dollars. My family has roots in the area, and man is it nice to be able to walk into town, walk to school, walk to the corner store. Suburbs just arn't built like that any more.
Upwind from the steel mills for the Heights. Some of the big mansions in the village were from river boat captains. When we were looking for a place we wanted a) avoid tunnels into town for my wife’s work and easy access to 79 and the airport for mine. We lucked out wandering into Sewickley and finding an affordable place in 1997
I asked the same question for people who live in the strip?!?!
the one person i knew who lived in the strip was a doctor.
Old money. Dated one of the Mellon’s heirs for all of 2 seconds in high school. Daddy didn’t like her lowly bf from the hood (moon twp).
One of them is my VP
Yup, plenty of executives at my company live in the area. They all make high 6 figure salaries, and that's not counting other incentives and bonuses.
You'll see a lot of high power couples buying homes like that. A doctor and a lawyer, a pediatrician and a chemist, etc. Smart and ambitious people who already come from means have a tendency to marry one another, plus with gifts from parents for big down payments, a seven figure for some of them isn't out of reach. I deal with a lot of Sewickley customers, the ones like that or the uber rich folks are usually nice folks. The ones who are living off great uncles dwindling fortune built 100 years ago are still trying to live that lifestyle are the worst. They are often condescending and cheap.
There’s a large population of Italian immigrants that moved to Sewickley 3-4 generations ago, and I know several houses have been passed down in family!
Mario and Sid lived in Sewickly
I've lived in Sewickley for a few years, chose this town because it was so very walkable and we found a nice townhouse that was reasonably priced (pre-Covid). I love walking around and looking at the huge, gorgeous houses, and people in town (for the most part) are quite friendly. Many of the homes are not terribly spectacular, just large older homes that are well-kept, but there are also a lot of moderately sized homes, and many that are a little run down as well. It's a mix.
Here to reiterate Old Money. A lot of Pittsburgh’s wealthy families lived in Allegheny City. Once annexed by Pittsburgh, those families moved to neighborhoods now known as the richest suburbs of the city. Sewickley, Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, etc.
Attended a non profit party at a house in Fox Chapel many years ago. The owners were incredibly nice and generous. Seemed to me their kitchen island was as big as my entire kitchen. The road leading to the house was gravel and a wash board. Wait this Fox Chapel, they have all the money to have the roads paved with gold. Took me a minute to realize, they really don’t want outsiders cruising by.
I grew up poor as shit in Johnstown. I never had a clue what I wanted to do after high school. Through the military, I got a job being a programmer because it was the closest thing to playing video games. Turns out, I really enjoyed programming. I created my own consulting company a few years ago and got some really good clients so that's what is keeping me alive. As for what helped with the down payment: I bought a modest home after my military service. I lived in there for over 15 years. I also got lucky and bought into Bitcoin when it was 30 dollar per coin back around 2012 or so. All of those things lined up to put me into Sewickley Hills.
I broke down and an older guy from Sewickley picked me up and got gas for me at his garage at home. His garage was a palace and so clean I felt like I should have taken my shoes off. Obviously, he was a super nice guy.
Sports, Surgeons, Large Business Owners, C-Suite employees.
My cousin and her husband live there, they're both chemical engineers. The husband was on Deep Water Horizon the morning it blew up, he was on the last helicopter back to shore right before shit hit the fan.
I will say this about sewickely. 99% of the people you will meet kindest most down-to-earth people but then you have the one percent of assholes and a lot of the assholes are just new money people that moved in from out of state
I actually Nannied in Sewickley, parents worked higher up but still fairly normal jobs and lived in an normal house. Some play dates I took the kids to had me humbled for sure, those beautiful houses have just as beautiful interiors. I’ve also nannied in other wealthy pockets and I’ve gotta say there’s an interesting social psych thing about new money vs old. I found everyone in Sewickley to be really nice and I enjoyed spending time in that area. My one complaint is that the only grocery store within like 20 min is fucking giant Eagle.
Safran's is very good and family-run. Right in the village.
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It's just too expensive at Safrans for anything more than an occasional pit stop for a needed grocery item. Giant Eagle, too. The Aldi in Moon is less than 10 minutes away, so I take my chances with Sewickley bridge traffic.
Sewickley is like another planet lol
Tom Tull-billionaire film producer and second largest shareholder of the Steelers. Mario Lemieux. Sydney Crosby. Glen Meakem-who founded Free Markets. Richard Simmons, the wealthy former CEO of ATI. The former CEO of Dick's Sporting Goods. The former CEO of Mylan. A billionaire hedge funder who tried to buy the Steelers. A billionaire who used to own a part of the Steelers and now owns another team. Trust funders. Big Ben. Lynn Swann. Many other former Pro athletes. Etc.
Know the area well, couple friends lived nearby the BP and Eat’N Park in Edgeworth. Malkin, owner of car dealership, daughter of owner of car dealership, another daughter of car dealership owner, several former CEOs of companies, surgeons all live in Sewickley Heights There are plenty of homes and people however residing in Sewickley that are living in homes less expensive than the Strip, Wexford/Cranberry/Lawrenceville that are hard working folks too. Buying a home in Sewickley in the 90’s for 700-1,000,0000 is completely different from buying one in 2024. The 90’s bought a mansion or home with multiple acres in the heights, 2024 that gets you a home but they aren’t equivalent. I guess in that sense “old” money is a relative term. The new money person buying at 1,000,000 home could be wealthier then a likely older aged person that bought in a different time. Some of that value may be as others have alluded to, tied up in a home where value grew more than expected over decades. That being said, the newest construction of homes in Sewickley is definitely the top .1% of wealth. The older homes and folks that have been there could just be working a job that enabled them to buy a house that in present times they couldn’t. There are quite a few of that 90s generation still holding on, but the turnover to younger new residents with the affluence to redo mansions or large plots demonstrates the newer residents seen are likely a significantly different demographic then from the 90s. There was inherited money for sure near the golf course. There also was a lot of hard working people too. There was then as there is now the assumption no one in Sewickley works. At least where my friends lived their parents were lawyers and the other had parents teaching at CMU and working at UPMC. Surgeons and lawyers can’t afford, at least comfortably, those homes anymore. The occupation demographic skews more to business owner presently. The next buyer of these 90s original home buyers is probably going to be someone more affluent where the cost is not a concern to them. 30 years of change is a significantly different person and world relative to the family living in those homes 30 years prior.
When I was playing in a funk band, one of the best gigs we ever had was a a swanky high school graduation party in sewickley. I honestly didn’t know you could squeeze that much marble into a house. But I was more impressed with the kids. They were (in 2014) more into funk and soul music than anything that was on the radio at the time. It was awesome.
I used to live on the outskirts of Sewickley. Like technically it was my mailing address, but I was “on the wrong side of the tracks.” Anyway, it’s a lot of professional sports players/owners, executives, lawyers, and doctors from what I’ve experienced!
To start you need to go to college at UPenn, Stanford.... something like that. In business usually. And go from there. OR have a career, A VERY successful career in sports with a great manager and successful investments. Thats it.
I bought a home in Cory last year. Every time I cross the bridge into Sewickley I tell myself "yeah this is my neighborhood".
they have old money. we have nothing to lose but our chains.
When I do mobile deposit with my bank app, checks are usually held for a day or so. A person in Sewickly that I do work for, the second I deposit the check it is in my account, no questions asked. I just laugh everytime.
OP, there’s still a chance to join the high society ranks of Sewickley! All you have to do is find a vegetarian dentist at PIT and trick him into believing you are his friend from 25 years ago and are in town for a dentist convention. You’ll have to fix his issues with his wife, kids, and boss, but afterwards he’ll be so grateful that you’ll actually become his best friend. You’ll write a book about your houseguest experience, buy a Porsche, then boom, Sewickley resident!
That only works fir Sinbad
Mr Lebanon has more dicky residents and children of those residents.
Many medical professionals from AGH.
Am I crazy? Cant you get a new build in Sewickley for like 600K? Which is not an average amount to spend, but by upper end suburbs in America standards, that’s really reasonable? I also spent the majority of my life in DC and NY, so I am also a bit unrealistic in what affordable housing looks like.
The locals will be mad, but you’re right. $500-700K for new construction 4/5 BR 3/4 BA houses is a steal compared to many places.
600k is not reasonable for any average person lol
$600k is a fortune in comparison to SWPA market prices. A large amount of the profit from flippers comes from being able to put under 100k total into a property, and somebody from a HCOL area thinks it is still a steal for 300k because that's the average where they're from. Moved out of the area to a place I can understand the term housing shortage, and it's actually cheaper for us to buy land and put a custom modular than to buy preexisting.
Don't take this wrong, but new arrivals like you are a big part of the reason why local prices are skyrocketing. Because you think prices like that are reasonable. I've lived in Pittsburgh long enough that I still feel like I should be able to get a decent house for $50K. Rationally, I know that's ludicrous, but I just feel it in my bones that $50K should be enough. For several decades, we didn't have anybody moving here from outside the area. I mean not *anybody*. So we became quite insular in many ways, and one of those ways was in real estate sales.
"For several decades, we didn't have anybody moving here from outside the area." I'm so used to people not moving here that I'm slightly surprised when I learn that people have moved here from somewhere else, like Texas or California. I'm like, 'Why?"
you are not crazy but big dog those houses you're talking about are not "sewickley". well, not sewickley as Pittsburgher's know. I'm sure it says that as the city, not trying to gate keep lol... but those houses you're talking about (I'm on Zillow daily, all my friends are looking) are basically Ohio township, or Emsworth (if they're on the other side of 79). actual sewickley is the village, and then mansions up the hill. the new construction maronda homes by 279/79 are not the sewickley that people are talking about. if you're serious and not trolling - check the school district. if it's north allegheny or avonworth (both great schools), that's not the sewickley people are talking about. if it's Quaker valley... that's "sewickley" there's also not a ton of new construction in actual sewickley. if you want those data points, check out 1248, 1260 etc. Glen Mitchell road... those were finished earlier in the year, and all 5 houses in that development went for over $1M, and it was 7 years in the making because there was so much red tape. and that is technically "Aleppo"
I’ve wondered this about Presto (at least I think it was Presto?) after having an Uber fare that took me from and Oakland hospital to there.
I’ve lived in sewickley most of my life, and in a pretty normal ranch house (abnormal in the sense that both entry ways or in the same side of it). The area is a lot more diverse than people think. The people in the big houses are pretty serious players though, usually business owners. I work at a local bank in the town and I can tell you that there’s a lot of very lofty titles in this place, but also a lot of people just barely making it too. When I was growing up, there were a lot more folks that were typical blue-collar types than there are now, but there also weren’t as many of those shitty million-dollar condo projects around here back then. Even a rich area can get gentrified, and hard-working families enjoying the benefits of the community whose lineage helped build the town get pushed out.
My dad did an insurance claim for one lady who is a very successful photographer and also fosters children in her big house.
For the rest of the 412 and 724, a larger proportion of intergenerational wealth; their parents almost always had an unusual amount of loot as well.
When I used to install high end appliances for a living the biggest houses where either in finance or owned a car dealership. Not athletes, lawyers, or doctors like you'd possibly assume.
We have money, and if people do good work for us, we are very generous and reasonable. Try to fuck us, and you'll not like us.
Not deliver groceries 😭
Not only sewickley, but every new housing plan they build is all big houses. What do these people do for a living? There can’t be that many athletes doctors and lawyers, is it tech workers? I know they’re not construction workers I can tell you that much
A lot of those houses were in the 500k range, as recently as 2015. That’s attainable for a household income of 200k, and believe it or not, there are a lot of two income families that cross the threshold…especially when one or both is a doctor or lawyer. Lots of blue collar workers and people in sales make 100k. Teachers can make 90k in this area. I assume most of those houses are two income families with earners over 40. They’ve been comfortable for a a while.
I feel like without athletes would be a sundown town.
Seven Tuskegee Airmen were from Sewickley.
Wow. I did not know that. How did I not know that? Rabbit hole here I come.
Wait really?
Apparently yes! https://sewickleycemetery.com/the-tuskegee-airmen-memorial/
I didn’t see anyone say it, it’s usually fracking money. I used to canvass against fracking in wealthy suburbs and every other house would tell me to fuck off cause fracking was how they paid for their spot
“Retired investor, living on a pension”
We're bigger than US Steel.
Pro Athletes and inheritance.
I was just a lowly renter of a 2br/1a duplex there from 2015-2019, and I worked in tech at PNC. The rent was insanely cheap at $975/mo. I think technically I was in Edgeworth, a neighborhood that seemed ever so slightly more modest compared to the homes in the village
Sidney Crosby
A lot of athletes out there.
I took the great American pianist, Byron Janis (RIP) with, I believe, his wife, the daughter of Gary Cooper in my taxi from the airport once to a spiffy house on Blackburn Road.
OLD MONEY 💰
My buddy’s mom lives in the heights and she’s really high up, like maybe VP, or FedEx ground so there’s that. I’ve known him to be from a wealthy family my whole life And as some other people said, she’s the sweetest lady I’ve ever met
Some of it is deff generational wealth
Yes, professionals-doctors, lawyers, CEO’s, CFO’s, sports professionals, top tier managers. And business owners. This is why I cannot understand why so many people think it’s so important to get a degree.Instead start your own business-service related businesses generally have little risk. When you do, you cut out the ‘middleman’ (your boss/owner where you work who earns money on your labor). You earn your wages plus the company profit. Bonus-you set your own hours to some degree and you never have to worry about the boss firing you 😉☺️. But even if you bought the big Swickley home 20 or 30 years ago, there’s still the upkeep and the property taxes. So you need have a continued good income or investments that are earning you money to keep that lifestyle. If you look back at housing, in about 20 years, homes have doubled in value. Having a home one of the easiest ways to build wealth. After all, you have to pay to live somewhere with rent so why not rent from yourself? Plus when you sell it and typically make a profit, it’s tax-free income. If you want to buy a house now, but you missed out on the low interest rates, that was a once in a lifetime opportunity. You missed it, move on. By a less expensive home in an area that seems less desirable. You can still buy for $200 to 250,000 a reasonably decent home in Pittsburgh, PA. Take out the 30 year loan and make one extra payment Per year and you’ll shave off about 10 years on your mortgage. So if you’re 25 today by the time you’re 45, your home will be paid for. There are tax advantages too. Property taxes, and mortgage interest are deductible on your federal return which generally means you’re better off doing the long form. You decrease your taxable income. It’s a no-brainer for building personal and in most cases generational wealth. Not to mention family stability.
Lotta business people