I may have a possible job interview in that area.

My Dad grew up in Portage, and I visited occasionally there (not Altoona)  when I was much, much younger...but it's been more than 30 years, so I'm sure things have changed.

Have family up the road near State College.

How are houses/living expenses (rent)?
Fishing?
Ranges?

Thanks!

Been away myself for a while but ranges are sparse. Fishing is plentiful but can get crowded. Juniata river, Canoe Creek lake, Lake Raystown, Glendale Lake(Prince Gallitzin SP), various other small lakes and streams for trout.

Housing is probably much like the rest of the country right now, overpriced. If buying be aware that most of the houses over twenty years old in that area are complete money pits. Mines(ground shifting), high moisture, lack of maintenance, etc

Thanks for the info.    At the interview stage for now, but trying to look towards the future.    Smarter to live up north of there a bit (45 min to State College, wouldn't want the higher rates there, but maybe a bit south of there but north of Altoona)?

Tyrone can be iffy I hear. Check around Delgrosso Park(if it’s still called that).  Tipton and Bel-something I think. (Not Bellfonte, that’s near SC and will be expensive)

Let me look at the map.

ETA Bellwood

My wife grew up in Altoona and we have visited on occasion to see relatives.

It's a shithole. Holidaysburg, and the surrounding areas are not very nice and honestly, if real estate prices are high there, it's certainly not worth buying a home there imo.

I would look about 30 mins away in either direction, closer to state college is much nicer.  There's still not a whole lot going on.  Maybe closer to Pittsburgh at least gets you closer to a metropolitan area.

He’s visited Portage. That makes him well aware of what a dump the area is.

It turns out a guy i work with is friends with someone from Lilly.  He has visited after he got out of the Air Force and knows what a dump the place is too. Lol

It's been many years since my last visit.    Was a quiet town in Portage back then, but there were areas that weren't so nice.    I'm sure it's gotten much worse over time.



I'm guessing, if I get the job, I may crash with relatives for a while near/in St. College, and look around.

Thanks for the tips!

<- Active Duty Mil and left the area in '01.  But have visited off and on over the years.

I think Hollidaysburg/Duncansville is a great area.  The Hollidaysburg Sportsman Club offers a lot for a reasonable membership fee.

Since leaving the area, I'll say this.  Central PA is not known (not will it ever be known) for culinary wonder. I love my people, but I got to say its bland as hell.

Most of PA isn't...but as I do my own cooking, I'll be fine.  

Turns out (after the interview), it could be 'based' in Altoona, Huntingdon Co., Indiana Co., State College, or Du Bois.   Generally at or near a couple of those places.  

I'm hoping the interview turned out well (felt like it).

Thanks again!

Good luck!

I may need a job hook-up when I move back.

Bellefonte isn't bad, depending where you look.  There are towns surrounding State College that aren't as expensive as State College but are real close.  Pleasant Gap is a good one.  Centre Hall is really nice but prices have skyrocketed there.  Boalsburg is nice but it's pretty much State College anymore.  Closer to Lewistown (the opposite direction of Altoona) is a lot cheaper.

I'm a member of the Lewistown Pistol Club (actually have my club polo shirt on today) but haven't been over to the club in a while.  There's also a 1,000 yd range in Mifflin county.  Spring Mills has a sportsman's club with pistol and rifle ranges.  Liberty Township Sportsmen's Association in Howard is a nice little range that is inexpensive (I'm a member there, too, since it is closer to my house).  Outdoor Sportsmen's Club in Bellefonte is really, really nice but expensive.  My buddy's dad belongs there and was a firearms instructor for various police units.  He invited me over one time to shoot and it was setup well.

As far as the food, we definitely have some good places sprinkled in here and there.  Red Horse Tavern (which is unfortunately closing in April) is really good, Hublersburg Inn is good, Gigi's has good southern food and even have a few farm-to-table style places in the area that have popped up the last few years.  There's good food, you just have to look for it.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Having gone to PS many years ago, and hundreds of trips to the area since then for fishing, I would love to live around there.
Who cares if the cities are run down?  Why do you want to live there anyways as opposed to further out, where you can shoot in your backyard and maybe hunt there too.
Anyways, there is a large mall shopping area near Altoona along 99, where the Altoona curve ballpark is.  Not so bad for those conveniences.
State college I’d say is a bit much for a daily commute, but that town has about everything you’d want for food and shopping as well.


Indiana also isn’t too bad and not that far from all the stuff around Pittsburgh for shopping, etc.
Lots of fishing around there too, but nowhere near as good as central Pa


Good luck on your job hunt.

Little late to the party, but State College would be my first choice if you can afford a house there.  Boalsburg and Lemont are really close to state college and would be worth looking into

If you go south of Altoona, Bedford is an option but not that great.  Going west towards Pittsburg, Ebensburg is a nice little town IMO.  Bellwood has a really good school district

There is some good fishing in the area.  My buddy is a fly fishing guide on the Little Juniata and he catches tons.  Lake Raystown is the largest man made lake and PA and is great for boating and fishing.  Lake Glendale is smaller and the fishing is good as well

If it were me, I would look for a place with some acerage outside of Altoona (Blair, Cambria, Bedford, and possibly Huntingdon counties could all be within a tolerable driving distance depending on the part you would buy in).  Housing prices are not insane here, but they are up like everywhere else.  State College is going to be the highest by far