Possibly moving to Belle Vernon, Pa. (Pittsburgh, Greensburg: real estate, house, neighborhoods)

[ShabbyChick]

We have never been to Belle Vernon so any info would be helpful. Is it a nice area? Do you like living there? Good/bad neighborhoods? Things to do? Cost of living in Pa? What would you recommend as must see/do in the surrounding areas?

[Bazzwell]

Originally Posted by ShabbyChick

We have never been to Belle Vernon so any info would be helpful. Is it a nice area? Do you like living there? Good/bad neighborhoods? Things to do? Cost of living in Pa? What would you recommend as must see/do in the surrounding areas?

While I don't live in Belle Vernon proper, I'm just a few towns over and spend a good bit of time over that way.

First....you have "Belle Vernon" and "North Belle Vernon", although we don't really seem to use that here. The former is along the river and really has nothing to offer, older, a bit shopworn, industrial. The latter is on the hill and offers a quite nice place to live. Older community, still a reasonable shopping area along main street. Housing is older as well but mostly well kept. The better choices would be out towards Lynwood (Broad Ave out Fayette Ave). The lesser choices would be anything close to I-70 or towards Pricedale (Broad Ave over to the highway out to the Walmart).

Shopping is adequate with your typical lineup...Walmart, K-Mart, fast food. Better shopping is within a 45 minute drive any direction.

Cost of living? Impossible to answer without a point of reference from you really. It might be higher in your eyes, might be lower.

Things to do? What do you like to do? There's just about everything within an hour any direction from pro sports to mountains to golfing to parks. Pretty much a well rounded area but just nothing central to the town itself.

[Love2Golf09]

Originally Posted by ShabbyChick

We have never been to Belle Vernon so any info would be helpful. Is it a nice area? Do you like living there? Good/bad neighborhoods? Things to do? Cost of living in Pa? What would you recommend as must see/do in the surrounding areas?

Belle Vernon is a very small town kind of in the middle of nowhere. It's a nice place, safe and BVA is an above avg school district. Most of the homes I've seen are nice ranch-style or split-level homes...kind of a mix of suburban and rural looking place. There is a Wal-Mart nearby in Pricedale. I believe they have a K-Mart, a Giant Eagle, and a few fast food places. Not much there really. It's a very quiet town. You have several options for better shopping though: You can take 70 West to Washington. That is probably the closest place for decent shopping and restaurants. You can take 70 East to Greensburg. They also have a lot of shopping and restaurants, along with a decent mall. You can take Rt. 51 or 43 south to Uniontown. They have a lot more stuff than Belle Vernon, but not as much as Greensburg and maybe a little less than Washington, I dunno. You can also take 43 north to the Century 3 area, which has a lot of stuff, although I think that mall is dying. You can take 51 to the Waterfront, which is my fav place to shop. You can also take 43 north to rt. 19 and go to south hills village, which is a nice place. So, you have a lot of options, but they are all 30-45 mins away. Uniontown or Washington is probably closest, maybe 20 mins or so away from Belle Vernon. But, there is a Super Walmart and a Giant Eagle in Belle Vernon along with some fast food places so you will have a few things around to live off of. Other than that, Belle Vernon is a very quiet and boring place. I don't think there are good or bar neighborhoods since the town is so small to begin with. And, it's pretty cheap to get a decent home there.

As far as what to see, there isn't much in Belle Vernon to see or do. However, you are close to a lot of things, like 7 Springs Resort, if you like to ski. There is Ohiopyle, which is awesome for outdoors stuff, like canoing and whitewater rafting. Pittsburgh has a lot of museums and stuff. Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water house is not that far away. There is also Kennywood too.

[ShabbyChick]

There is an opportunity for my husband to Pastor a church there. We would be moving from Michigan. The town sounds nice and quiet. I would like to be able to shop for groceries locally, maybe eat out sometimes, and have a mall not too far away for clothes shopping. I like the idea of DC being a couple of hours away and NYC just 5 hours or so. How far to Gettysburg? We have 5 kids and I homeschool, so schools aren't an issue. We would live at the parsonage attached to the church, so aren't concerned about housing prices. Question for someone who may be familiar: is it true that PA is not a homeschool-friendly state and there are a lot of hoops you have to go through?

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by ShabbyChick

I would like to be able to shop for groceries locally, maybe eat out sometimes, and have a mall not too far away for clothes shopping.

You'll be within 30 to 40 minutes from mall shopping, depending on which area you go.

Grocery stores and places to eat will be throughout the area within reasonable distances.

You'll have a selection of farms you can buy from in that area too.

Originally Posted by ShabbyChick

How far to Gettysburg?

3 hours.

Originally Posted by ShabbyChick

Question for someone who may be familiar: is it true that PA is not a homeschool-friendly state and there are a lot of hoops you have to go through?

I provided a detailed explanation in your other thread.

[Pgher4life]

I have heard its not homeschool friendly at all....I know this comes late, but thought i mention it anyhow...hope it worked out for you shabbychick....

[TelecasterBlues]

It's not a bad place, it's just your typical sleepy town that's seen better days. Rural living within the area could be done very cheap...money goes far in SWPA, ridiculously far in terms of real estate. Think Michigan in terms of utilities, but cheaper for everything else. Belle Vernon has enough for your basic needs and is by no means a "bad" place, however you'll most often find yourself taking the interstate to Pittsburgh for a lot of things. It's strictly for families and very small town America, not exactly a fun place for anybody who's on the younger side. Also, Charleroi is located literally right accross the interstate...nothing special, but its downtown has gone through something of a revitalization in that a lot of it has been visually "fixed up". There's a lot of shops and places to go that seem kind of odd for such a small town, I was kind of surprised the last time that I was down there. Again, nothing bad about the area, however you need to know that this is considered a "Dying" area...population decline for decades, no real industry since the steel bust of the 70s, older residents, just not much in the way of modernism or youth. It's still an alright little town and a good area to raise kids and kick back if that's what you're looking for, just don't expect too much from it and you'd be fine. PA as a whole is similar to Michigan from a social/cultural expectations standpoint, but obviously Pittsburgh and Philly are doing a lot better than Detroit...which would be the main difference.