We don’t want to raise our children in SC, so my husband and I are seriously considering a move to State College, Pa, where he was born and has family.
It would be my husband and I, my mom and my two boys. This move won’t be happening until after I am done with school sometime in Dec '10. I am going to be a cosmetologist, and my husband and mother can work more or less anywhere.
What’s it like?
Well, I went to a small college relatively close (30 miles, but 1 hour of driving) to State College. I went there a few times, mostly because Penn State and its facilities was where various acts would go, the closest commuter airport is there, and my choices for any real shopping were to drive to either State College or Altoona. State College is a college town (natch) and it shows. I always found it more difficult to get around State College and tended to go to Altoona except for certain stores that at the time weren’t present in Altoona. US-22 seemed to be a more pleasant drive than PA-26 too.
From what I’ve seen of both cities (and I freely admit I’m more ignorant of the State College area) and with the completion of I-99, I’d be more likely to choose to live in the Altoona area. It’s about an hour to get to either city on I-99, though it puts you in the commercial area in Altoona but near the Bryce Jordan Center and the football stadium (and fairly close to the airport) in State College.
It’s not an awful part of the country by any means but it’s not one that’s high on my list of places to move to. Blair County (Altoona) is pretty cheap to live in, at least in terms of property values and the like. I don’t know about Centre County (State College), though it wouldn’t surprise me if it was more expensive due to Penn State.
Went to college there in the 90s, but haven’t been back to town in 8 years.
Personally, I loved it there. You had outdoorsy stuff, you had a highly walkable downtown, you had major national chains for shopping just outside of town, you had farms, you had the culture and resources of one of the largest college campuses in the country.
And I could give a rat’s ass about football.
It’s really a delightful oasis in the midst of sleepy central Pa.
If you’re from South Carolina, though, get ready for serious winter weather, and lots of cloud cover all year, though.
Oh, and Altoona I found to be an endlessly depressing place. But maybe that’s me.
I’m gonna be there this fall, so I’ma add my bump. Is the college close to downtown? How’s the bus system? Are there grocery stores in walking distance of the college?
I lived a few towns over from and worked in State College for 3 years, about 10 years ago.
I moved there from Central NJ, so it was a bit of an adjustment for me, but I look back on it fondly, and I really liked State College. If I hadn’t moved out to CA, I would have moved there to be closer to work and in an environment I was more accustomed to. It is more expensive than the surrounding towns and there are some really gorgeous homes.
It is a fun college town, nice shops, nice restaurants, fun bars, etc. Football is serious business.
It was a strange mix of people. Townies and students. But they blended well and complimented each other.
Two of my fondest memories are the ice sculptures on display downtown after New Year’s Eve, and getting ice cream at the Penn State Creamery during the summer.
Oh, and grilled stickies from The Diner. My son lives out there now and loves to call me to torture me whenever he gets a dozen.
That’s about all I got. It’s a very pretty area, lots of outdoor stuff to do nearby (Raystown Lake in the summer was a fave, as was tubing down Tussey Mountain in the winter.)
It is the Happy Valley. 
It’s not just you. I also thought Altoona was a terribly depressing place every time I visited. I went to the minor league stadium once and that was nice, but everything else just looked…sad.
State College is a town built around the university of Penn State. It is a college town through and through. This has its pluses and minuses. It leans heavily towards learning and the arts, but also all things that would appeal to college students, like bars and Penn State Football. You cannot do anything during a football weekend, because it is completely packed with fans.
I used to go to their Arts Fest each year, but have missed a few this decade. (Mostly due to health issues.)
Ah, Happy Valley. I spent 4.5 of the best years of my life there.
Keep in mind, it is a college town through and through. College Ave. is sort of the dividing line betwteen State College and University Park. It’s a beautiful area, very rural with a walkaround downtown area right next to a large university. Fall weekends are all about football games, so be prepared for the U-Park population to quadruple. The dry, cool fall weather and changing leaves make this a really picturesque time of year.
The rest of the year, weather is all over the place. One day my freshman year it rained in the morning, then turned to snow, then in the early afternoon it dried up and the sun came out and it was in the mid 60’s, and in the late afternoon it became a blustery fall day with leaves blowing about. I felt like I experienced all 4 seasons in one day. At another time, it rained for, I think, three weeks straight. Not to say it’s always all about rain, but the point is the weather is pretty unpredictable, in light of its positioning in a valley.
Aside from the university, it’s a really nice area to raise a family, but not cheap. Don’t mislead yourself that rural, central PA will save you money- it can be pricey.
Good luck and enjoy!
Former Penn Stater who just happened to pass through last week, chiming in.
This is the essence of State College:
Seriously. There is the HUGE campus* (which, technically, is University Park rather than State College), with the town surrounding basically as a support system. College students will be everywhere. The local economy is entirely wedded to student and alumni money. When there’s a football game on, the town will be crammed. In the summer, things will be much quieter. On weekends, inebriated young people will be very much in evidence. The cycle of life is a student one, and you will learn it by heart.
There is a huge amount culturally on offer on campus, from classical music and theatre to the <ahem> less cerebral pursuits. On the downside, State College is miles from anywhere worth going, so if what you like isn’t available in State College you’re not going to be very happy.
*Student enrollment for University Park according to Wikipedia: 43,252.
Gorgeous landscapes a bike ride away, IMHO. The rhododendrons and hemlocks in the hills near Shingletown Gap…paradise.
My in-laws live there a few miles from State College. It’s very pretty there, but way too effing cold and snowy in the winter for this southern guy. SC itself is fairly moderate, but the surrounding area is ARCH conservative, though not nearly as bible-thumping as in the south.
The campus abuts downtown. But the campus is huge. So the best answer would be, “PARTS of the college are close to downtown…” Some dorms are a mile from downtown. Some are on College Ave., the main drag of town. I found it an easy transition from State College to New York City: Lots of walking.
From what I recall, sort of meh. But that’s more a factor of the town’s layout: There are buses that circulate in a loop around campus and into town (one bus line is called The LOOP), but it was always a crapshoot as to whether you saved any time by waiting for the bus to arrive or just walked to your destination directly.
Buses heading out of downtown proper are better. I knew many people who commuted from apt. bldgs in outlying areas via bus, and I occasionally took the bus out to the Mall for Xmas shopping, etc. In short: if you can walk there, you probably shouldn’t bother with the bus. If it’s too far to walk, the bus works just fine.
This would be my biggest beef with life on campus/downtown. As of several years ago: No. There is McLanahan’s, which is conveniently located on College Ave., close to everything, but it’s not a serious grocery store. It’s half overpriced grocery basics and half PSU paraphernalia. To shop at a real grocery store, you need to take a car or the bus (which would be awkward, I think).
If any current/recent PSU students know that this has changed, please speak up.
Nope, it’s still as bad. I’m not a recent student but I’ve been through recently.
All in all–I liked State College even though my time at Penn State was not wonderful (circumstances outside of everyone’s control, though).
As I was repeatedly told during my first visit, it’s a great place to have kids. The school system is supposed to be great and there’s very little crime.
Hey, I won’t argue that Altoona can be depressing. But personally, I don’t like dealing with college towns (hell, I didn’t really like living in a college town when I was in grad school and thus had to be there) and right now I personally would choose to either move down I-99 to Altoona or find somewhere reasonably close to State College but far enough away to miss most of the problems caused by students.
Don’t take that as advice by any means. I have no real desire to move back to the area, no matter what part, and if I had the circumstances presented by the OP I’d probably head up that way instead.
I lived in State College for 8 years – some grad school, some work. I liked it there, though I wished it had been closer to a major city (it’s about 3 hours to Pittsburgh and almost 4 to Philadelphia IIRC). Sure, there’s no shortage of college-student madness when the school year is on – binge-drinking downtown and so forth – but even in this small town there are plenty of quiet residential areas untouched by that stuff.
Also, while the town does get overcrowded on football weekends, if you’re not a fan it’s kind of nice to be downtown or on campus during the actual game: you have the whole place to yourself.
The fall weather is marvelous.
If I couldn’t live in a city I’d want to live in a university town, and State College is worth considering, though I think other college towns have better reputations (Madison, Ann Arbor, and Ithaca come to mind).
I think the question is, do you want to live in an university town that is very football mad and is otherwise rather isolated/surrounded by rural life, or would you prefer to be closer to a real metro area?