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| Having lived in State College since 2001, we have seen the area go through many rapid changes on its way to becoming a substantial city. In the midst of the current economic turmoil in the world, it remains to be seen how State College will fare. Historically, the area has to a large degree been much less affected by recession than countless urban areas.
The anchor, Penn State, is what drives and buffers the local economy, but there are stable growing businesses here such as MiniTab, Raytheon and the Applied Research Lab (which is part of the University but is not funded by the University) that supply a good deal of professional local jobs, not to mention countless other small (25-50 employee) companies throughout the area.
Recent developments such as the connecting of I-99 to Altoona, PA and outlying regions as well as the reconstructed 322 to Harrisburg have opened up State College to commuters and commerce not realizable before at least not in a reasonable capacity.
As for culture, the area is home to the Bryce Jordan Center, Eisenhower Auditorium, The State Theatre and many other places where names such as Bill Cosby, Janet Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, KillSwitch, Third Day, Chris Tomlin....the list goes on and on...have visited recently or in the recent past. There is always something going on that is worth mentioning. For the size of State College, it really is quite impressive to see the big names that come through locally on a regular basis. If that's not enough for you, there are a few major cities: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington DC and NYC all within reach for a day or weekend trip with almost all of them being roughly within a 4 hour drive.
Most of the activities here are sport-centric. Without saying, Penn State offers Football, Baseball (the newly built Spikes stadium comes to mind), Gymnastics, Volleyball, Soccer, etc, for those interested in following College sports. An abundance of local State run parks are within 30 minutes where mountain biking, hiking, fishing, camping, hunting, etc are accessible to all.
Seasons are fairly mild, rainfall and cloud cover tend to be very frequent occurrences but the trade off is a less aggressive winter than much of PA. Growing season is roughly frost free from 5/10 to 10/5 as per the local Extension. Summers can become hot and dry in July and August particularly and the humidity can be high although precipitation may be minimal during those times. Fall and Spring are very mild and quite enjoyable, Spring is usually the rainy season (if you don't count Winter which can become rainy).
Low crime. State College has a very low rate of violent crime, most crimes are alcohol related due to the college town atmosphere. Automobile theft, burglary, murder and other such atrocities are minimal at best and will hopefully remain so in the future.
Housing is one of the sticking points here. Current Median home price is fairly steep but there is a trade off. Even with the current economic situation home foreclosure in the State College school district (which by the way is reportedly a very good district) is pretty much on par with what it has been since we have been here in 2001. So yes prices are high, but the trade off is that the homes hold value even through recession...but we'll see with this one, so far so good at the authoring of this review.
If you can secure a job in State College, it is a great place to raise a family. As with any relocation, having a good job is key and State College is no exception.
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