State College a good area? (Bellefonte, Gap: apartment, crime, homes)

[joannd3]

Having just moved away from State College (and sad to leave), I can tell you that it's a great place to raise kids. There are bike paths, parks, family-centered activities galore. It is, however, kind of isolated. It drove me nuts when we first moved there, but you do get used to it. Definitely different from city life. As a parent, though, your perspective will no doubt be different than that of the college student poster.

To answer the question raised by another poster, no, there are no bad neighborhoods!

Except maybe near the fraternities, not sure I'd want to live there. Overall, though, the "bad" parts of State College are nowhere near as bad as places in other towns. They wouldn't even be considered bad by people used to city life.

[jasape]

Originally Posted by trmac

My husband is being transferred to Pennsylvania and we are currently looking for places to live. His territory goes from Lancaster to Pittsburgh. State College seems ideal location wise - but we have heard it does not have good highway access and is not a good place to live. It looks beautiful. We are in our late 20's and have our first baby on the way. We would probably be looking to rent a 3 or 4 bedroom home. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Will your husband be traveling between lancaster and pittsburg a lot? If so, State College is kind of out of the way. It is almost 2 hours from Harrisburg, and there is no major highway that goes southeast. Harrisburg is close to Lancaster, and Rt 76 goes directly from there to Pittsburg.

State College is very nice, but you have to like the atmosphere that comes with a large university. Penn State dominates the area, and I have known quite a few people who couldn't wait to get out of there. The posters above listed many positives and negatives which I find are all true.

I myself have a love/hate relationship with the place. On the one hand, I like that it has a small town feel but with enough things going on to keep a person busy like outdoor activities and entertainemnt. I like that the crime rate is very low and I feel safe walking around by myself at any time of day or night. And although I don't think too highly of the restaurants in the area, there is an upscale supermarket and several specialty grocery stores, plus a farmer's market that runs half the year. Transportation is good, there are buses and taxis if you don't want to drive, and SC is one of the highest rated places for walking/riding a bike.

One of my dislikes is the whole late-night college scene. Friday and Saturday nights students are out drinking and partying, and if you live downtown it can be pretty obnoxious. Another is the football home games - it's great if you're a psu football fan but if you're not, it just means horrible traffic and nothing else to do on game days because everyone is either at the game or watching it on their tv.

If you don't like the cold and snow, SC gets plenty of that for 6 months out of the year. Since it's in the ridge and valley area, it gets more than the southern parts of PA, although Pittsburg is the cloudiest. If you like to ski there is a ski slope. As far as jobs, there isn't much of a market outside of the university, the largest employer. Most other businesses cater to the student population.

Personally, if it were me I would rather live in Harrisburg (or a surrounding suburb like Carlisle) because it's more of a "normal" city. State College is too dominated by the 18-24 crowd, and I like to be around people from all walks of life. Anyway Penn State has a satellite campus in Harrisburg, plus there are other small colleges nearby so you still get college amenities without it taking over. And housing is much much more affordable so you could get more for less $$.

Well, at least that's my 2 cents.

[jetgraphics]

Originally Posted by trmac

My husband is being transferred to Pennsylvania and we are currently looking for places to live. His territory goes from Lancaster to Pittsburgh.

State College housing choices are dominated by students (high demand = high rents) and professionals, who can afford the high end. Folks from NYC, accustomed to guerrilla warfare when hunting apartments, will be right at home.

Outside of State College, the cost goes down, as the commute time goes up. (And when the weather is bad - the commute can be dreadful.)

If you like tranquility and rural environment, there are many small hamlets in Centre County.

Some are idyllic.

Julian has a world famous glider port. Record flights from Pennsylvania to Georgia have been made.

Check out Centre Hall and Aaronsburg for a "Green Acres" lifestyle. It's like a retirement home for farmers.

Boalsburg is another excellent choice that is close to S.C. It features the Pennsylvania Military Museum Park, and the Boal Mansion and Columbus Chapel (David Boal was a direct descendant of Christopher Columbus).

Quirky tastes? Look at Bellefonte. Excellent little town. The big spring (artesian well), is located near a petite park with a suspension bridge, ducks, geese, golden carp (big goldfish) and trout. Hometown to several state governors.

Altoona is a former Train Town, going through the prolonged agony of decline. Inexpensive housing can be found, as well as decent shopping and moderate entertainment. Nice Amusement park. Interesting Train museum.

If access to highways is important, Altoona (I 99) and Bellefonte (I 80) are good candidates.

[psulions2007]

It is almost 2 hours from Harrisburg, and there is no major highway that goes southeast.

US 322 goes southeast from SC and is a major highway. Not sure what you are talking about.

[rachaelb]

Hi there

I have a few questions about the State College area:

1) are the outer areas as safe/nice as SC? Are there specific towns to avoid?
2) how far is it to any of these lakes for windsurfing(and does anyone know how the windsurfing is in that area:

-- Lake Glendale in Prince Gallitzin State Park ("Gallitzin")

-- Sayers' Lake in Bald Eagle State Park ("Sayers'")

-- Rose Valley Lake ("Rose Valley")

-- Lake Chilisquaque

3) what are the schools like for kids? (middle/high school)
4) what does 'moderate taxes' mean?
5) what does it really cost to live there -- is it super expensive to heat your house in the winter?
6) is there any dating scene for people in their 40's?
7) does anyone have a great realtor to suggest for rentals while I decide on buying?

Thank you for all of your help - I am driving up tomorrow to check out the area for a few days and I'm excited to see it based on everything I read online.

[NJ Chutzpah]

the outer areas are woodlands devoid of sentient intelligence, well for the most part

I also spent four years at PSU

Great for students, but for kids, and adults not so much

I mean it is in the middle of nowhere, and difficult to get out to somewhere

Football season only lasts so long

And it gets really cold

Harrisburg, altoona, johnstown are probably better

[sirron]

Originally Posted by NJ Chutzpah

the outer areas are woodlands devoid of sentient intelligence, well for the most part

Why, Golly! It's a good thang I ain't too bright, or that statement might've stung just a wee bit. Dadgummit anyway.


Chutzpah, indeed.

[Awesomo.2000]

A few points one has to consider on places.

1. some people like "out in the middle of nowhere". They find it great to be able to do things in a natural setting. I have family in a small ski town out west. They hate traffic, strip malls, and city living, and enjoy mountain climbing, biking, canoeing, etc.

2. People who say State College is in the middle of nowhere, do not have a real definition of "In the middle of nowhere". Yes State College is far from big cities, however, these people must have never been to towns in Wyoming, Nevada, New Mexico, etc. There are towns where it takes 4 hours to drive to the nearest Wal-mart for your basic living needs like clothes, furniture, etc, and they do it a few times a year, or once a month. State College takes 4 hours to New York city.

[NJ Chutzpah]

Originally Posted by sirron

Why, Golly! It's a good thang I ain't too bright, or that statement might've stung just a wee bit. Dadgummit anyway.


Chutzpah, indeed.

I did not mean it that way

Most of the surrounding area is uninhabited, except for animals, plants, and insects

Yeah I know there are other towns around, but they do not take up that much space

The population density is very low

I did not mean that the few people that did live around state college are mentally challenged

[rachaelb]

State College seems to be a great place to live - low crime (apparently no real 'druggie' areas), lots of cool restaurants to check out and access to lots of outdoors activities. I walked around the downtown area by myself at night with my young daughter and felt absolutely safe. I guess it comes down to whether or not you need more 'activity' than what they offer.

Beautiful scenery! And I haven't met one real cranky person yet!