There are some small high-tech and defense related industries in the area, but those looking for career employment might not find much here. In another name giveaway, the greater area is known informally as Happy Valley, indicating the area’s notably low crime rates and low stress. The surrounding mountains provide some recreational opportunities, the setting is attractive, and the downtown is classic college town. Although the area is centrally located, the orientation of mountains and highway thoroughfares makes it relatively isolated from larger cities. Cost of living and housing are quite reasonable.

The valley location, with its woods and rolling meadows, is green in summer and beautiful in fall. The Allegheny Plateau rises to the west. The climate is humid continental modified by the Great Lakes and the Allegheny ridges. Summers are typically sunny and warm but less humid than other areas of the state; readings over 90 are rare. Winters are fairly cold with most daytime lows below freezing and an occasional subzero reading. There is plenty of precipitation but less than in areas west of the Alleghenies, closer to Lake Erie. The mountains block the heaviest snows and coldest arctic air but the area receives significant snow and cloud cover. First freeze is early October, last is mid-May.