Cecil-Bishop named one of 10 best places to raise children (Pittsburgh: real estate, lease)

[WestLibertyAve]

The 10 best places to raise your kids - MSN Real Estate

Add the small, rural community of Cecil to the list of "most livable" accolades our region has received recently. While I can't vouch for the reputation of Bloomberg Business week, I grew up in the Cecil area and in the past 15-20 years its population has increased significantly due to new housing plans being constructed throughout the township, but it's retained its rural charm; there are no chain stores, one gas station, a ton of farmland, family-owned restaurants, and no stop lights outside of the Southpointe business park.

There is some of the "good ol' boy" culture prevalent, mainly in some of the tiny coal towns spread through the township, but for the most part it's a range of middle class people who value the slower-paced, rural lifestyle. Many commute to and from Pittsburgh, as I once did, but many more have not traveled to the city in years, preferring Bridgeville-Heidelberg, Robinson, and Washington for their entertainment and shopping needs.

The biggest threats to the way of life in Cecil are Marcellus shale drilling (outside of the lease holders, few trust Range, MarkWest, etc), and the Southern Beltway project, which will traverse the northern portion of the township and displace several homeowners in the short term, and potentially turn the rural hamlet into a true suburb in the intermediate to long term.