can anyone tell me about hollidaysburg?...what is the area like?....good schools? (crime)

[deeds]

looking in this area maybe to relocate. any ideas about this town or the surrounding area?........thanks

[dht113]

i lived in hburg for a couple years, moved there during high school but left for college. its a decent area to live in, predominantly white... as most of central pa seems to be. hburg is one of those towns that can be described as "You have to be born into it" the people are generally nice but it is the type of town where people are born there, live there their whole lives and never leave so the mentality can be quite narrow. of course im asian, so that made somewhat of a difference. never experienced outright racism but some of my friends parents didnt entirely approve of me either... the town itself can be a little cliqueish, this was admitted by my friends who grew up in the town.

hollidaysburg is the "ritzy" area, altoona is the "ghetto", so to say. hollidaysburg school district, i believe, is one of the better/weathlier of the area. i can only account for high school cause i was there for 2 years but it wasnt bad. the cirriculum offered several tracks: vo-tech and college bound with several options for AP and honor courses. i did attend altoona high school for a couple months and hated it. it was HUGE and just entirely to crowded for the facilities.

another thing about the high school, i have never seen a bigger class divide before, you can definately tell who the rich kids are and the poor kids. the students themselves segregate into the priviledge and the non and its very hard for new students to integrate themselves at that level, as for younger kids it would probably be easier. again, no experience on that front.

theres relatively little crime in the area, i feel safe being out at night... altoona is vastly different tho. certain areas of altoona i stay out of, even during the day. the kids are decent, tho it seems theres a constant undercurrent of illegal substance usage, i say its mainly because theres absolutely NOTHING to do there and the kids have nothing better to do. everything closes at 10pm except for some restaurants and the super walmart in altoona. that seems to be where alot of kids hang out, during the summer months you get kids racing up and down the blvd and hangin out in parkin lots with their buddies. again, its the whole theres nothing better to do. pretty much zero night life, a couple bars but they're local-divish kind.

hollidaysburg area is nice, but it depends on where you live. the cost of living is low but there doesnt seem to be much job growth. i couldnt live there even if i wanted to becuase theres no job for me (im in the scientific field). most of the nicer areas are up on frankstown mountain, tho the mountain can be a pain in the winter time. old town village (where i lived) is a nice area, its down at the base of the mountain so there arent the treacherous roads but its still back in the woods. its not so completely developed (yet). to give you an idea, i live in a rather newish development (within the past 10 years) and there arent any street lights around so i can see the milky way in my backyard.

if you have any more questions, feel free to ask... im sure i left alot of things out...

[Rishayan]

I hobo'd through Hollidaysburg about 8 or 9 years ago and all I have to say is that this place stood out to me because the people were very generous to me and in most every way and in most every contact I had with the natives they were kind, respectful and friendly. It was one of the very,very few places in the US where I actually got invited to someones home to eat and do some some odd jobs!! Great people, may God love them!!