Bedford, PA (Pittsburgh, Altoona, Johnstown: consignment, home, dorm)

[carlasuem]

We are considering relocating to Bedford from NC. Can anyone tell me about this area? We have a teenage son and are concerned about High School.
Also, I do love the sunny days here in NC. How is the weather?

[mrswoogie]

This is a real nice town, they have a good hospital, with good doctors. They have a nice shopping center, I believe this area is expanding somewhat in the last 10 years, I see several new businesses. They have a nice Lake nearby. I like to shop at their many consignment shops and I've been to their walmart and the people actually help you, they are nice. I also do shop at their butcher shop and across the street is a produce place that is huge. The areas surrounding Bedford are beautiful, The Juniata river runs near there, nice for fishing and tubing, but when it floods look out. There also is a huge golf course. I can't help you with the schools there as I just go there to visit my parents who live in a nearby town, and of course to shop. As for the wether, they are about 5-10 degrees cooler than Baltimore, Md and their cloud coverage is about the same. There are some valleys there that have mega winds, and lots of times I've seen scary looking black clouds that just blow thru and no rain. I have seen many golden Eagles and baltimore orioles up there, we don't see them here. You are lucky to be moving there, what a nice place it is.

[carlasuem]

Thanks for the info. We are looking for a "rural" setting that has natural beauty as I love the mtns. But I hope there is enough to do near by to keep a teen happy. What is shopping like, doctors, hosp., etc.

[mrswoogie]

Well, there is alot of antique shops, there is a weis grocery in a shopping center with walmart and payless, haircuttery, pizza shops etc. There is alot of outdoors for a teenage boy, they all seem to have 4 wheelers up there. There is a nice liberary with current books. Couple of lakes, many mountains for skiing, snowboarding etc. Lots of auto shops and a race track nearby if he is into cars. I don't know much about what teenage boys like. Bedford hospital is pretty good, they were nice to me when I was dealing with them.
If you love mountians you will be very happy there. In the early evenings in summertime you can feel the cold air coming down off the mountians and it smells and feels great. There are bears so it is dangerous to go walking in the woods. There are lots of deer too. It is real country rural as nything, youll love it.

[carlasuem]

Bears--real ones?? That sounds rural indeed. I guess we will have to come up for a visit. I appreciate the informtion. Did you feel that you received good medical care in the hospital?

[openless]

it is pretty rural, they have several covered bridges in that county, however it is close to i-76 and i-70, it is also services by rt 30, a secondary route. it is very laid back, but there arent too many great employment choices.

[carlasuem]

How far would the nearest "college town" be from Bedford? Does anyone know about the quality of medical care and schools? I appreciate all the information that you can send.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by carlasuem

How far would the nearest "college town" be from Bedford? Does anyone know about the quality of medical care and schools? I appreciate all the information that you can send.

Gosh! You're talking about quite a bit of a drive to the nearest "college town." I'm assuming you're asking this in anticipation of your son going to school relatively near Bedford after your move, but, even then, he'd still have to dorm somewhere. Chambersburg is home to Wilson College, and that's about an hour east via Route 30. Johnstown is roughly 45 minutes northwest of town via Route 56 and is home to the University of Pittsburgh @ Johnstown. My friend Aarika goes to school there, and she loves it. Altoona is roughly 40 minutes north of Bedford via I-99 and is home to Penn State University @ Altoona. I've also been to Juniata College in Huntingdon, about an hour northeast of Bedford via backroads, for Science Olympiad events back in high school, and that seemed like such a nice, quiet, laid-back little town in the mountains near Raystown Lake. Cumberland, Maryland is also roughly 40 minutes south of Bedford via Route 220 and is home to the nearby Frostburg State University. As you can see, your son wouldn't be within easy commuting distance of Bedford, but if he were to dorm, he'd still be plenty close enough to come home on the weekends for visits.

[pinetar10]

indiana, pa is about an hour and 20 minutes northwest via 220N to 22 W and 422 W. its a nice college town home to indiana university of PA, which is a fairly large university with about 14,000 students

[carlasuem]

I was looking for a college for me! I was hoping to go back and get my MLS, so was looking for a college within communting distance. I guess I will have to look into an online program.