What is the Butler area like? (Pittsburgh, State College: house, neighborhood, school districts)

[RoughCollie]

Originally Posted by Hopes

She won't have a problem. Her children are homeschooled through cyber school.

Well, not yet -- right now we are homeschooling the old-fashioned way. In fact, one of the things I have to pack is our collection of waiting to be dissected cow eyes and brains, sheep pluck, and so forth. Packing and moving a business, an office, and a home will probably prevent the planned dissections from taking place this month.

[LiveinPA]

Originally Posted by RoughCollie

I appreciate your responses to me. You did not enjoy living there, and certainly your reasons are sound. I have a similar litany of reasons I don't like living where I live, although it is in a bedroom community west of Boston, not in a rural area.

We live in what to me is the most boring place on earth. The houses are all alike, the people are alike, and if you take a walk, you can't actually go anywhere. It's just houses and more houses. The downtown has drug stores, a library, post office, town hall ... you can't buy a book or a baseball here, so I'm used to that aspect of more rural living, even though this isn't rural at all.

When we moved here from Boston, people there said it was in the country and had great shopping. I've yet to find the country around here, and the great shopping is miles and miles of strip malls, restaurants and stores. It is a 20-30 minute, 4-5 mile, drive away -- no typos are in the numbers. Except for groceries and drug store purchases, I buy everything online anyway.

I love tromping around in the woods with my dog. I love taking long walks in Boston, too. What I don't love are suburbs. The upshot is that I like rural, hilly, forested areas and I like real big cities, but I don't much like the in-between. If I were wealthy, I'd solve the problem by having 2 houses.

I also have to take into account the preferences of my husband. If he were a city/town, he'd be Brookline (Boston) or Atlanta or Mt. Lebanon. So would I, with one half of me. The other half yearns for the great outdoors, to know farmers, to be able to hunt for meat and go birdwatching, and so forth.

BUT -- here's the key I keep thinking about -- my husband is always at work, no kidding. I'm the one at home, and I'd like to be happily at home. He may be more of an urban type guy, but heck, he's always in the office, so it won't be such a big deal for him to live in the country. We can go to Pittsburgh for culture and baseball games, just like we go to Boston now. He loves to read, and we already buy most of our books from Amazon, and he can read in Fenelton just as easily as in Mt. Lebo.

For me, it would be very interesting to live where people actually fish, hunt, and farm. I don't know anything about all that, but I'd love to learn.

Basically, I feel stifled where I am, trapped in a box, and I want out. The house that fell through in Mt. Lebo would have been great, too, but the other houses we've looked at were not -- they were in suburban similar to ours or were in unsuitable areas of Pittsburgh.

I know about the homeschooling laws in PA, believe me. We are moving there, without a doubt, so I'll just have to work within the restrictions. Here, homeschoolers are left to the oversight of the local town's schools. In my town, there is absolutely no oversight. It will be a big change, but one we can do nothing about.

RC

Well, I have no idea why you posted then...your first posts asked questions and now you are practically defending it in the period of a day. Strange.

Good luck.

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by RoughCollie

The house is in a rather rural location, on 2.5 acres of land. I can't find any information on Fenelton, so I wonder if there is a town there.

Fenelton is a mailing address, not a twp/boro. That happens a lot in PA. You'll also be close to Kittanning, if you think Butler lacks intellectual stimulation, just join the Eagles, they still won't allow women to sit at the bar. I have some family and friends there, so, I'm only half-kidding. I have a good buddy who was part owner in a Racquetclub that is no longer in business. But I always loved the sign they put in the Sauna Room: Please, No Spitting Tobacco Juice on the Rocks.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by LiveinPA

Well, I have no idea why you posted then...your first posts asked questions and now you are practically defending it in the period of a day. Strange.

Good luck.

I don't think it's strange. She wanted to know what it's like. There wasn't one negative undertone in her initial post. Her saying she knew Butler was conservative isn't an indication that she's a liberal. She merely said she has never lived in a rural area and wonders what it's like. She ended the post by saying that likes that it's not a subdivision.

When we confirmed that it would be intellectually isolating, it seems to me that she has made the determination that the other things we shared can fill that void. It's entirely possible to be an intellectual AND be interested in learning how to milk a cow, fish, etc. At least she's going into this with her eyes wide open since not one person posted anything positive about Butler in this thread.

What I think is strange is how you were born in Pittsburgh and didn't know what Butler was like. Your rude reaction to her excitement is also a little off the mark.

[LiveinPA]

I was rude because I pointed out it was strange to go from asking an open-ended question to then defending the place in a day?

It is strange.

People too often associate their personal worth with their decisions. I don't like Butler, she may.

It seems she wanted a validation of her foregone decision and not simply information.

I'm leaving this thread now...enjoy life in Butler. (seriously) I hope you find what you're looking for.

[RoughCollie]

I agree, I'm strange.

I called my mom and asked how to explain this. In a nutshell, I am a soccer mom. I have all the attributes from the outside looking in (husband, kids, dog, SUV, house in a suburb, etc), but I do not fit in at all. I do not like living in a suburb because it is boring and homogeneous. That leaves rural or urban, unless someone knows of a tropical island in the Pittsburgh area.

So the question is rural or urban, and I am torn between the two. I like the idea of living in the country, and I like living in cities like Boston. Pittsburgh reminds me of Louisville, not Boston. I think I have found the perfect house for us in a rural area in Butler Co.

We came to Pittsburgh to look for a house and the most suitable house for our family, taking every one of us into complete consideration, was one in Mt. Lebanon. The deal fell through when the owners decided not to move out. I could have lived there for four years, and I probably would have liked it more than I like living here.

I know I sound weird to some people. I want out of soccer mom suburbia. I am taking my husband, kids, the SUV, the dog, the microscope, the telescope, several thousand books and the soccer ball with me.

RC

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by RoughCollie

In fact, one of the things I have to pack is our collection of waiting to be dissected cow eyes and brains, sheep pluck, and so forth.

Now I know why you want to live near those cows!

[RoughCollie]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Now I know why you want to live near those cows!

Now Hopes, they are dairy cows -- not the kind that are killed for meat and other uses.

What happens to dairy cows when they die, do you know? They seem awfully big to bury out on the back 40.

[Hopes]

They probably become dog food.

[commo]

If you were considering moving to Mt Lebanon, I really doubt that you would be happy living in rural Butler county. You should think very, very carefully before moving to such a desolate place.