Altoona/Johnstown (Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, State College: travel, incomes, work)

[jsn2007]

Judging from your name, Elkman, I think Northcentral Pennsylvania would suit you. If you like Elk, as your name suggests, Pennsylvania has them! A place called Benezette, but that is probably way too small of a place for you. I suggest St. Marys, Dubois or if a bigger city is necessary, State College then Altoona. I wouldn't mind living in Altoona in the least bit, especially since it has a great variety of stores and restaurants.

[vetegnc]

We were going b/w going west (especially CO) and "somewhere else" as well...looking for good schools, good "attitude" of people, lots of outdoor activities..and we moved to State College.

I am still in awe about how ideal of an area this is for us. Love it!! Awesome!!

My husband will still comment on how it's not the CO mountains, but we realize that what we have here, we could never have there.

Best thing we ever did!

[backlash]

Johnstown is far more pleasant than Altoona, but that's not saying alot. I've been trapped in Altoona due to relationship issues for two years, and it is not a nice place. Yes, if you run off into the mountains and escape into some small towns they are relatively harmless, but this is a bleak place. State College is the only point of sanity, but there is no future in it if you are not involved with education. The only success people have in altoona is if they are coming trained from somewhere else to be doctors, lawyers, or morticians. (almost every other billboard is related to at least 2 of the 3). If you have those sort of skills, you'd be in business, but still wasting a hell of a lifetime most people only imagine.

Looking out the window in downtown Altoona is like a weekly episode of Cops meets the Jerry Springer Show.. Just a month ago there was a smashed up cop car up the street with similar, toned down scenes at least a couple times a month. It is a VERY hostile place for what it is...and whoever said it's "hardly the east coast".. it is close enough.. it is exactly how one would imagine it. Most people deal with it with escapism, and filtering out the noise with whitenoise fans or whatever works for them.

It is run down and urban, but isolated at the same time. While that can be charming in some places, there is nothing romantic about the atmosphere here. There is just so much general aggression hanging in the air, if you're a peace lover and are affected by your surroundings, you have to take extreme care to not become like the rest. The only relief are the nearby mountains, if you can get by on life by having to run out to the woods every time you need to keep you mind and soul in check. You could have that, MINUS the hostility out west.

Portland Oregon, for instance is one of the most laid back big cities you could ever imagine.. jobs are hard to come by there like altoona, minus the ever looming hostile environment.

In Altoona, if you live in a hilly part of town (i.e most any part) the loudmouths fighting at the bars at 2am echo off every building and the ambience enjoys chronic barking dogs that you can BARELY distinguish from the people, and people peeling out and revving engines 24/7. You'd think you've died and gone to oklahoma city, but in a more condensed fashion.

On the other side of town..they have a few nice restaurants, a nice mall, and 1 newish shopping complex. There is Penn-State-Altoona-- a nice little sub-campus that you can go to, pretty much because there are no decent/safe parks. There is no future in that..

State College is okay...but it's still a depressed enough area.. they do get some cultural events..the newly renovated State Theatre is beautiful, and maybe 1-2 times a year they'll have something that may be your cup of tea.. not really worth it at all-- unless you're working for Accuweather, which is based up there...who knows how long they'll last.

Picture all the things I described, and try to visualize parts of the town at the beginning of "The Deer Hunter" and that's sorta my impression (filmed in a smilar area). If you're even slightly a free spirit who needs to be able to soar at least a little, and find inspiration and comforting surroundings, this place will darken you fairly quickly. Look west.. northwest, southwest... feel it out. Never ever ever move without having spent at least a couple weeks in an area... at the very least. I feel strongly about this, to the point I registered just to reply to at least this one post. Take care, and good luck..

[vetegnc]

State College is okay...but it's still a depressed enough area.. they do get some cultural events..the newly renovated State Theatre is beautiful, and maybe 1-2 times a year they'll have something that may be your cup of tea.. not really worth it at all-- unless you're working for Accuweather, which is based up there...who knows how long they'll last.

With all due respect, I whole heartedly disagree. The town of State college is booming (this is recent...past 5 years from what I'm told?). House prices have skyrocketed b/c of the demand. The town of state college is doing great, but I would agree if you go 5 miles any direction, you fall off into the abyss again (my husband's favorite quote).

There also are lots of things to do. It may be my perspective, which is a young family. I am told it is boring for young singles (not in college).

[backlash]

I guess I'm biased, because I was used to seeing miles and miles of farmland devoured each year in the midwest's overly excessive suburban sprawl (not my top choice, but it's something you can advance from without being cut off), so I still wouldn't exactly call State College's moderate ammount of strip malls, lots of bar 'n grills popping up, and overpriced housing with a couple newer subdivisions booming, but it still beats the heck out of Altoona/Johnstown hands down, and I'd be there instead if I had to choose. Boredom and shopping are the least of my concerns..

I'm glad you guys are doin' well there in State. If your field of work and interests aren't crippled, I could very well see it as a nice place for young families who are there by choice and not circumstance. I guess they are building it up a bit over by the new movie theatre(s). When new people in Altoona ask me what there is to do around here, s.c. is pretty much all I can tell 'em.

Do you have any idea if nearby Black Moshannon State Park is worth the drive up for the day? For anyone interested, Prince Gallitzin State Park is only about 25 minutes from Altoona, and it's quite nice and fairly diverse, if you like that sort of thing.

[vetegnc]

I think that is part of our attraction to State College - lots of outdoor activities nearby. Black Moshannon is about 30 minutes away..we rented a cabin and had a blast (2 toddlers, mind you). Had a nice beach for swimming for the kids, couple decent trails. I think I'd rank some of the others parks nearby higher, though. We love the fact we have tons of hiking trails 10-20 min away in Rothrock State Forest.

Agreed - overpriced housing, I guess because they can get away with it. When we want to go shopping, the best place is ...Altoona. I'm not a shopper, so I don't watch the shopping/strip malls much.

The biggest reason we adore State College is the people...we just moved from eastern NC, which IS economically depressed. The attitude of people down there was "gimme, gimme, gimme"....just a horrid place to raise children. We're constantly stunned in SC because I'm not sure I've met anyone yet (IN sc) with that attitude.

[becca1769]

Johnstown PA is NOT a terrible place to live. There are beautiful parts, like Westmont and Richland. Yes, if you move to KERNVILLE it would be a terrible place to live, but Johnstown is very nice.

[Lion11]

Originally Posted by backlash

State College is okay...but it's still a depressed enough area.. they do get some cultural events..the newly renovated State Theatre is beautiful, and maybe 1-2 times a year they'll have something that may be your cup of tea.. not really worth it at all-- unless you're working for Accuweather, which is based up there...who knows how long they'll last.

Maybe you haven't been to State College in a while. State College is the only place that I think the economy is doing fairly well. So many new companies here, and so much to do for everyone from college students to young families to retirees. The Bryce Jordan center is the biggest arena between Pittsburg and Philidelphia. It brings everything from the circus to the blue man group to it. SC also has a new minor league baseball team. Plenty of sports with PSU there! Recreactional activities are also a must, with plenty of hiking, fishing, and mountain biking around. State College is a great little city.

[Nbrakern]

Hello from California! My father moved from Johnstown (NAntyGLO) to be exact to southern CA when he was 18 years old and never looked back. He said it was a very depressed coal mining town, and he came out west with nothing. He worked to save up for school, went to Community College and ended up making a 6 figure income. I would be careful of moving somewhere where there may not be much opportunity. As for me... if my home in L.A. ever sells, we are moving to Warwick, New York. Good luck!

[zip95]

I firmly believe that Pennsylvania consists of Pittsburgh and Philly........everything else is Pennsyltucky as far as I'm concerned.

......Except for State College.

Because of the University and the high tech industry, State College literally has tens of thousands of Ph.D's averaging 6 figures. I will go so far as to say there is no area in this state where as many people make as much money.....Outside of the student ghettos, is there even a poor section??? Everyone is educated. Everyone is a professional.

It's delusional to call State College depressed.