Living in State College (Harrisburg, Carlisle: rental market, houses, neighborhood)

[Sue1801]

My husband and I are thinking of moving to State College from England, as he has been offered work for a production company, and we need to find out about the quality of education for a 13 and 8 year old, and nearest airports, and basically any other information that may be useful, that is more a real perspective rather than the 'gloss' of the web. My background is in marketing, and would love to do some freelance work. What is the property market prices like, I suppose with the exchange rate being so good, we could get a good property (price of a 4/5 bedroom?) Any info would be gratefully recieved on this area.http://pics3.city-data.com/forum/ima...lies/smile.gif

[vetegnc]

Sue -
We moved here four months ago, and LOVE it....
**Excellent schools, some say one of the best systems in PA...their schools are one of the reasons we moved here. Unbelievable opportunities for children (especially considering this is NOT a big town)
**Tons of outdoor activities (Many hiking trails within 1/2 hours; tons of paved bike/walk paths in town too)
**Houses are decently priced, compared to the east coast. A 4/5 bed house? Depends really on sq.ft and where you want to be. (and how fancy) You could be as low as 250K, to well over 500K. I've been searching a lot for homes (go to www.happyvalleyhomes.com), and we're keeping ourselves to under 250K for 3-4 beds and around 2500 sqft...and there's plenty to choose from, but not really fancy.
**State college has its own airport(code: SCE), with relatively decent airfares out.
**If you want extraordinary shopping, you'd better move on. If you're looking for a moderate sized town with lots of resources, this is perfect.

To me, this is the place that I've been looking for....I couldn't be happier!

ask more questions if you'd like!!

[LarsG]

Hi...

My husband is seriously considering going to PSU Law school, and I've been to state college before (I have a childhood friend that I've visited a handful of times)...but now I'm 28 and I'm trying to find out if it's the place for us.

Professionally, I am a Yoga teacher...I would like to be able to do that there. Are there yoga studios? Are there any natural food stores? Something similar to Whole Foods/Trader Joes? A food co-op?

What about any vegetarian or veg friendly restaurants?

We would like to live somewhere that allows us to walk to some restaurants, coffee shops, etc. Is there a certain neighborhood that we should look at that would give us that option?

Also, what about the music scene? Does state college get a lot of bands coming through? Any music festivals?

Any info would be sooooo appreciated! Thanks!

Lauren

[ki0eh]

I'm sure you're aware the PSU law school has two campuses; the other, in Carlisle, has a long and storied history, vs. the University Park law school which is brand new. Downtown State College is immediately adjacent to the campus so walkable areas are staked out largely by many thousands of undergraduates. By contrast, in Carlisle the entirely separate Dickinson College is very small and does not overwhelm the rental market. Carlisle has a much more diversified economic base and proximity to larger Harrisburg, Baltimore, and Washington DC. My guess would be the yoga market would be more saturated in State College vs. Carlisle. Both State College and Carlisle (in nearby Silver Spring Twp) have Wegmans , and locally owned fine restaurants in addition to chains. More of the natural beauty of Penn's Woods is accessible from State College than from Carlisle. Both have sprawl issues but more so in Carlisle. Both, but especially Carlisle, are more politically conservative than other college/university towns, but not so much the redneck conservative. Interesting choice if you want to view it that way.

[LarsG]

Thanks for the response, Ki0eh.

[BackToTheCityMouse]

Was State College always conservative?

I have some old Circle Guides (new age stuff) from the late 1970s, and it appears that State College had Wiccan groups, cool weird bookstores, and even hardcore HP Lovecraft fandom, 30-40 years ago. In other words, it was a very typical university town. When we first started looking for houses in PA in 1988, we started with the State College area...but all that stuff was gone. What happened?

[Pureblood]

I think the people living in State College was always conservative and still are, but the students are much more liberal.

[vetegnc]

Originally Posted by Pureblood

I think the people living in State College was always conservative and still are, but the students are much more liberal.

I have found the entire university (well, the professors and students) are pretty liberal, and then the surrounding areas/staff are more conservative.

[PA2UK]

It should be noted that State College's airport is not international though, as far as I know. So if you plan to make trips back to England, the flight will always have a connecting flight in another US city.

I grew up in State College, my parents always said it was a great place to raise kids. Plus, if your kids decide to apply to Penn State when the time comes, they will definitely get in main campus which is desirable.