Moving from Astoria Queens (NYC) to State College, PA - worth it? (Philadelphia: school)

[Trailrunner79]

Hi,

I'm originally a resident of Pennsylvania (PGH) and lived there most of my life and also went to school at PSU, University Park in State College. Since graduation, I've lived for several months after commencement in State College followed by two years in Arlington, VA (near Washington, DC) and then three months in Brooklyn (Williamsburg/Greenpoint) and currently have been in Astoria Queens, NYC for about two years.

I'm a marketing/sports business professional and pro athlete who also wishes to go back to school, but has had enough of NYC. I love NYC for what it has to offer, especially the variety, nightlife, food and being able to meet so many awesome and interesting people from around the world. However, I love the outdoors, having space, quietness at times and being around people who are more laid back and not so into the rat race. There's nowhere to train (run/bike) here in NYC like there is in PA with all of the mountains and I strongly think that NYC is now pushing me back in regards to quality training. However, NYC has helped me land numerous sponsorship deals (low level). Also, I am starting to miss things that I used to really enjoy - fishing, biking, hiking, hunting, the outdoors in general and of course, being right there in the middle of PSU football! No one seems to care about sports here in nYC like they do in PA. Additionally, I've started my own consulting business and do projects where I can do marketing consulting just about anywhere and travel for it. I also love to travel and have been to most of the USA - 44 states. I like to drive a lot, and SC isn't that far from NYC or other cities, or even the far NE mountains where i compete often. So that's not a huge issue (on Fridays, it takes 2+ hours to get through the Holland Tunnel at times!)

On another side note, I'm in my upper 20s and am a white male. My main source of income was lost back in the fall after being laid off from a Wall Street position. Now I have been doing project work, and stuff in the sports/fitness industry, which has been working for me. Though if I went to SC, I'd likely start a Masters program on a P/T basis.

With all of this being said, is this a wise decision and in my best interest? Will it be a huge shock to me, or will I be happy? I mean, I can always go to NYC easily from SC on the weekends, or PGH, DC, etc...

Thanks!

[BackToTheCityMouse]

I can't imagine living in SC for any reason, but I wasn't born in Pennsylvania and I didn't go to school at PSU. OMG, the smell of the fry grease

There are so many choices that are less of a rat race than NYC.

I wish someone could explain to me why people born in PA want to stay or move back here if they leave, more so than any other state?

[Duderino]

I'd pick moving back to SC as soon as possible, at least temporarily for the cost-of-living and see if you can see yourself living here long-term again -- if only because NYC would not be that far away.

[drshang]

I am not sure what kind of advice you want. I grew up in SC and left in my early 20s a couple years after college. I actually had a professional type job in SC. It was pretty miserable being a young professional there - all the amenities of the city are directed at college students and families. PSU doesn't offer a ton of part time master's programs since SC doesn't have much of a base of people interested in those types of programs. Although that depends what you want to study. I know their Exec MBA is out of Philadelphia.

I mean you've lived there before, but understand it's a lot different being a 29 year old single male in State College versus being a 20 year old college student. If you are married and planning to start a family, then I think you'll like it. Honestly I think it's not a great idea to move from NYC to SC unless you understand you are a "tweener" - you are too young for the family stuff and too old for the college stuff. A lot of the people you will encounter in your age bracket will be more like those in Appalachia than Philly or NYC. If you are okay with that then that's fine. But I'd spend a weekend in Bellefonte or some surrounding community not quite as close to PSU - that will give you a much more realistic idea about what you'll be getting yourself into as a young professional in SC.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by BackToTheCityMouse

I wish someone could explain to me why people born in PA want to stay or move back here if they leave, more so than any other state?

Granted, I can see a strong "nativist" sentiment in many parts of PA, but I don't think that makes our states' natives the most likely to be tied down -- and that certainly doesn't jive with the "brain drain" trend I keep constantly hearing about.

In fact, in this Pew Research Study, Pennsylvania ranked 15th in a poll of each state measuring the percentage of residents that were born in their current state of residence. For PA, that percentage happened to be 63.8%, while those born out-of-state (admittedly low) account for 20.9% of Pennsylvanians. If anything, it's just those Pennsylvanians who do to stay here/come back happen to account for a greater proportion of the state population, if that makes any sense.

Maps: Migration Flows in the United States, Sticky States - Pew Social & Demographic Trends (http://pewsocialtrends.org/maps/migration/stickystate.php - broken link)

Not to get the thread too off topic, but I just thought I'd answer your question.