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Vol VI Issue 71
September 27, 2011
Previous Issues
Full of Victorian Character
and Simple Elegance, Pretty Bellefonte, Pennsylvania Boasts a
Rich Architectural Heritage, Great Fly Fishing, a Very Low Crime
Rate and Friendly Residents
Cost of Living: Below the National Average
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Situated in the very center of
Pennsylvania and tucked in the Nittany Valley's wooded,
rolling hills, the appealing hamlet of Bellefonte
(population 6,500) is primarily known for its striking
Victorian architecture. An old iron-producing
town, it was founded in 1795 and is just ten miles
northeast of State College (population 40,000), the home
of Pennsylvania State University (44,000 students).
Yet in many ways, Bellefonte is a million miles away.
Life here is quiet and steady and springs from solid
working-class values. The streets are safe; the
townsfolk are friendly and the city's handsome
cityscapes have attracted numerous artists,
particularly painters and photographers. In contrast to nearby
State College, the locals are a mature bunch, with
nearly 40% of the population age 45 or better.
Another nice perk of retirement here is the low cost of
living, 5% below the national average.
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While many
U.S. towns and cities were leveling their historic buildings during the middle of the 20th-century to
make way for new structures, Bellefonte was preserving its
architectural heritage. Downtown streets lined with
exquisitely-restored Victorian homes and limestone commercial
buildings are what first impress when arriving here, and it is
easy to imagine for just a bit that the 21st-century has been left
behind. Queen Anne, Renaissance Revival and Eastlake
architectural styles are common and hark to an earlier era.
Curtin and Linn streets are perhaps the most desirable areas,
boasting large, colorful 19th-century homes with wrap around
porches, dormer windows, mansard
roofs and turrets. Just a block away, on Lamb
Street, 1890s working-class rowhouses in the Folk Victorian style
are found.
Not all residences, however, are more than 110
years old. In many neighborhoods, including Parkview
Heights, newer homes are prevalent, and on the edges of town,
there are brand new residences. There are also some
condos and town homes. The median home price is $155,000,
nearly meeting the national median price, but expect to pay in the
mid-$100,000s to low-$200,000s for a nice home. There
really are no "bad" neighborhoods, but generally
residences on the north side of town are in a little better shape.
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Pennsylvania is considered tax-friendly when it comes to retirement.
Retirement income (Social Security, pension plans, 401Ks, etc.) after age 59
1/2 is not taxed if the resident is actually retired. The regular income
rate is a low 3.07%. In Bellefonte, real estate taxes average
roughly 1.5% of a property's fair market value ($2,275 annual taxes on a
$155,000 home). Rebates of paid property tax or rent, up to a maximum of
$975 per year, are available. To qualify, annual household income must
not exceed $35,000, excluding one half of Social Security income.
The sales tax is 6%.
Bellefonte's downtown has cute, locally
owned shops, and good restaurants are easy to find. The gorgeous Gamble
Mill Tavern, an imposing 1892 iron mill, made of red brick and three stories
tall, has been lovingly restored and is probably the town's finest dining
establishment and a delight (the owners like to note that it was the first
Bellefonte building to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places).
Jim's Italian Cuisine, a cozy eatery hidden off an alley, also receives rave
reviews.
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The Bellefonte
Historical and Cultural Association (BHCA) is responsible for
maintaining the town's architectural integrity, and its walking
tour is a fun way to soak up Bellefonte's history (the BHCA is
also a rewarding place to volunteer). Many of the
town's structures were erected in a post-Civil War building boom,
and the impressive Bush House Hotel was one of the first hotels in
the country to have electric lights (the hotel, unfortunately,
burned to the ground in 2006). The 1890 Garman House
is today a movie house, with some theatrical performances, but was
once host to Houdini, George Burns and Gracie Allen.
The Centre County
Library - Bellefonte, partly housed in a beautiful 1815
Georgian-style building, hosts
concerts, including jazz quartets and chamber music, on selected
Sundays and has classes, an interlibrary loan program,
internet services, book discussion groups and a bookmobile.
The library's historical museum section boasts excellent genealogical
resources, particularly when it comes to researching central
Pennsylvania families. As
more artists move to town, more galleries are popping up, and
numerous shops display local artists' works. Theater
groups are also emerging, including Tempest Studios, a group that
offers acting seminars to people of all ages and experience
levels.
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This is an interactive map.
Click on the arrows in the upper left hand
corner to move the map to the East, West, North or South, and
click on the +/- signs (more than once if necessary) to zoom
in and out.
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Nine free concerts, everything from pop rock to
folk music, are held at Talleyrand Park's pretty gazebo every summer.
The Park also has wireless internet service so residents can surf the web
while listening to music or feeding the ducks. Farmers hold a
market in front of the old, white-pillared courthouse in the summer, and the
town's magical Victorian Christmas is almost enough to make one believe in
Kris Kringle again (or perhaps for the first time).
Bellefonte's architecture (and its people) give it its character, but the
city has another claim to fame, and that is its fly fishing waters. In
fact, Bellefonte was recently named the best fly fishing spot in Pennsylvania.
Spring Creek meanders through town, and its cold, clean, limestone water,
constantly at 52 degrees, draws anglers from around the state
year-round. Five more excellent fishing streams are within a 30 minute
drive.
This is a walkable town (although it is hilly), which is good
because there is no public transportation system. There is, however, a
bus to State College. Crime in Bellefonte is practically non-existent so
walking, even at night, can be done with a sense of security.
Bellefonte does not have a hospital of its own, but respected
Mount Nittany Medical Center, a 203-bed acute-care
hospital offering medical, surgical, diagnostic and community services, is
located in State College. It accepts both Medicare and Medicaid
and has won some awards, meeting or exceeding expectations in most specialty
areas. For military retirees, Altoona, 45 miles away, has a VA medical center.
Centre County is not a bad place to age, as it offers an array
of services to anyone age 60 or better. Programs include legal
services, medication information services, RSVP (in which retired individuals
are recruited to put their expertise to use), education services, group meals
and transportation. It also operates the Telephone Touch Reassurance
Program, a daily safety check in which emergency procedures go into effect if
a person does not answer a call. The Bellefonte Senior Center is
managed by the county and offers health checks, Internet access, board games,
billiards, shopping trips, religious studies, exercise classes, craft classes,
bingo, water exercises at the nearby YMCA and trips to farmers markets,
museums and Penn State. Volunteer opportunities are available,
too.
With lively State College and Penn State, one of the nation's
largest universities, just a hop away, retirees in Bellefonte can enjoy the
best of two worlds, the quiet charm of a small town and the more extensive
amenities of a small city (shopping, bookstores, music venues, art festivals,
Nittany Mall) and a university (lecture series, classes and plenty of
athletics). Penn State also sponsors OLLI (the Osher
Lifelong Learning Institute), a nonprofit, membership organization that offers
noncredit courses, trips and social activities to all adults with a love of
learning. Recent courses have included winemaking, a history of the
Civil War and the short stories of James Joyce. Golfers will feel
at home, too. Nittany Country Club, just
outside of town, is the 5th oldest golf club in Pennsylvania, and State
College has several public golf courses.
Summers in central Pennsylvania bring
temperatures in the 70s, 80s and low 90s, and the area receives 3 to 4 inches
of rain per month. Humidity starts out at around 80% in the mornings and
drops to 60% by afternoon. Winters
are overcast (some might say gloomy) and cold; the average high January
temperature is 30 degrees, and teens and 20s are fairly common.
Snow can be heavy, up to 10 inches per month from November through March.
Autumns are beautiful, crisp and invigorating. The air quality is
slightly better than the national average, and the drinking water rates as
some of the best in the country, thanks to the underground spring that is
Bellefonte's main water supply.
Retirement in Bellefonte does not have a lot of drawbacks, although the
winter weather may be too dreary for some people. The town is losing
population, roughly 5% in the last decade, and Pennsylvania as a whole is
losing population. Town leaders are working hard, though, to promote
Bellefonte's heritage and artist-friendly environment. It has survived
for 217 years and will most likely continue to do so. With
its stately architecture, steady ways and rural locale, this quiet hamlet
enchants, and retirees here are happy to call it home.
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