San Diego to State College - Small towns ? (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh: apartment, to rent)

[pucker]

Hey everyone,

Looks like the wife will be getting into graduate school at Penn State in the Fall of 2010. So exciting... We are a young couple (24 and 28) and no kids (yet).

We are looking for a small friendly town close to the university. When I mention small town, I mean like "Gilmore Girls"-style. Lol, if that makes any sense.

Anyone have suggestions of the areas that we could look into ?

Thanks !!

[LibraGirl123]

I never watched The Gilmore Girls, so I'm not sure if my suggestion fills the bill or not. But I would check out Bellefonte:

Victorian Bellefonte: Old-world charm in a modern world

[cowboyxjon]

Bellefonte might be good, but really, you might want to look into something like Toftrees (it's part of State College, I think) -- it's still close enough to the University, but not an area that has a ton of students. Or maybe even some of the neighborhoods along Atherton, like behind where the old Kmart was (which I think is now something else).

It's been awhile, but I was last there in 2004. I did my undergrad work at PSU.
(and I lived in Redondo Beach for awhile too, so if you need comparisons to CA, I might be able to help).

[pucker]

Thanks for the quick replies guys !!! I will definitely check those places out. We are a quiet couple so any town without a lot of students is always a plus. Not into the college party scene

[gt66vcd]

I live in State College. Consider SC the hub town in the area. The smaller towns around SC are mostly bedroom communities. Bellefonte is okay but it may be a bit of a culture shock for you. Some nice communities to consider are: Lemont, Pleasant Gap, Pine Grove Mills and Boalsburg. All of those are only a couple miles away and all have bus service to SC. However, for the most part, the noise from the students is confined to downtown SC and the Frat areas. You'll quickly find out which days to avoid town if you don't want to be stuck in event traffic or big crowds. Single dwelling neighborhoods are usually quiet. SC is fairly small but there's a fair amount to do and all in all it's a nice little town. If you aren't the type to miss the big city hussle and bussle, I think you'll like it here. Also, if you need the occasional big city fix, you're within 4 hours of NYC, Philly, Pittsburg and DC. Train service via Amtrak is available to those areas from Tyrone and Lewistown which are each about 25 mi. away. Hope this helps and welcome to Penn State!

[Davros]

Originally Posted by pucker

Thanks for the quick replies guys !!! I will definitely check those places out. We are a quiet couple so any town without a lot of students is always a plus. Not into the college party scene

Are you looking to rent or buy ? House or apartment ?

Also, I don't understand what you mean by "Gilmore Girls style" because I don't watch that. So it would be nice to know what you mean. Any town around here, including State College, is a small town compared to San Diego. But Bellefonte is a much smaller town than State College, without much in the way of Super Markets, shops, etc. You'd have to drive to State College for much of that. It really is quite different from State College, and when I moved out here I decided I didn't want to live in Bellefonte or any other small Centre County town. I live in State College off North Atherton Street. I can't take any smaller of a town than that.

Toftrees is back in the woods to the northeast of Rte 322. There's no Super Market there, so you'd have to drive into town to get your food, which is probably about a 10 minute drive. Where I am, I can walk to Wal Mart and the Super Market in about 15 minutes or drive there in 5.

The fact of the matter is that State College is dominated by the students. And that's good --- because you are going to be one of them. So you will be in the dominant group here. The town was built around the University. But I've lived here for a few years and never gone to a party. The worst the students have done is shouted out of their cars at me when I was walking on Atherton. In Centre County, if you aren't near any students, you're going to be in a quite rural setting. Which may be what you want. I can't tell.

[Davros]

Originally Posted by gt66vcd

I live in State College. Consider SC the hub town in the area. The smaller towns around SC are mostly bedroom communities. Bellefonte is okay but it may be a bit of a culture shock for you. Some nice communities to consider are: Lemont, Pleasant Gap, Pine Grove Mills and Boalsburg. All of those are only a couple miles away and all have bus service to SC. However, for the most part, the noise from the students is confined to downtown SC and the Frat areas. You'll quickly find out which days to avoid town if you don't want to be stuck in event traffic or big crowds. Single dwelling neighborhoods are usually quiet. SC is fairly small but there's a fair amount to do and all in all it's a nice little town. If you aren't the type to miss the big city hussle and bussle, I think you'll like it here. Also, if you need the occasional big city fix, you're within 4 hours of NYC, Philly, Pittsburg and DC. Train service via Amtrak is available to those areas from Tyrone and Lewistown which are each about 25 mi. away. Hope this helps and welcome to Penn State!

Good post. I bumped up your reputation. The main frat areas are between Beaver Ave and Easterly Parkway and on Beaver/College southwest of Atherton. Downtown State College is Beaver/College northeast of Atherton.

In addition to the Amtrak stations nearby, there is a Greyhound Station right in State College. The Greyhound Bus to Harrisburg (with connections to Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, New York) is very nice. There are also buses westbound to Pittsburgh each day. There are also direct Friday buses to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, DC/Baltimore that I've never taken (return trips on Sunday). Lots of students have been riding on it every time I've taken the bus, and it goes to a nice part of downtown Harrisburg.

[Davros]

Originally Posted by Davros

Toftrees is back in the woods to the northeast of Rte 322. There's no Super Market there, so you'd have to drive into town to get your food, which is probably about a 10 minute drive. Where I am, I can walk to Wal Mart and the Super Market in about 15 minutes or drive there in 5.

Oh, the Humanity !!!!

Toftrees is northwest of route 322, not northeast. Cardinal directions are so confusing here !!!! None of the roads are north-south or due east-west. I never know what way north is !!!

[bethany12]

Bellefonte sounds like your place, but I have heard the housing prices are up in the towns surrounding PSU. Good luck.

[pucker]

Sorry for the late response guys. I greatly appreciate everyone's insight and advice about the area. The wife and I will be making a week-long trip there in March.

We will definitely be looking into all the areas, especially Bellefonte. Wife loves Victorians

Originally Posted by Davros

Are you looking to rent or buy ? House or apartment ?

At this point we will looking to rent. We hope by next year or two we will be able to buy. Particulary a house. We have been apartment living for the past 5 years, need a bit of room to stretch out out.

Also, I don't understand what you mean by "Gilmore Girls style" because I don't watch that.

Lol...consider yourself lucky. Its the wife's favorite show. The town they live in has a population of probably less than 400. Its like being in Cheers, where everybody knows your name.

......you'd have to drive into town to get your food, which is probably about a 10 minute drive.

That is exactly the kind of town we would like to settle in. I was born and raised city, but I have country blood in me.


Again, thanks for everyone's replies. I appreciate it