r/statecollege

Like my title says I’m looking to buy a house there in the next couple months. My reasons are many. What are some of the readers picks for towns or areas that would be the nicest. My criteria are friendliness of the people, decent restaurants, proximity to shopping, walkabilty, affordability of housing, and if there is a community college or state college there, and also possibly a martial arts school. I know I am posting in the State College forum. Thanks

Visiting my girlfriend who’s a grad student at PSU.

I would really appreciate some recommendations for lake picnic places around State College for today ( 4th of July ) . Can drive upto 1 hr one way. Ideally would love to swim as well

And possibly some recommendations of watching the fireworks at night. We were thinking of DelGrosso to spend the evening and see the fireworks.

Thank you so much!!

I plan on taking my niece to go see the fireworks tonight. Is there anything preventing us from going to Innovation Park rather than the tailgating lots to watch them?

Does anyone have any information about the group Freedom Rising that is running the parade tomorrow? I hate to have to question groups these days but I get skeptical about MAGA ties to groups with those types of names.

I spotted something at the bottom of Bald Eagle Creek, went down and grabbed it, and it was a phone inside a waterproof case. I took it home, gave it a little charge, and it powered up. Based on the amount of mossy growth on the waterproof case, it's been there for a while, and I'm sure the owner has replaced it and given up hope of finding it by now. However, if I can find the owner, I'll gladly return it.

Details: Samsung phone in otter box inside a waterproof case with lanyard. Phone is locked with PIN and no emergency contacts are saved. Phone wallpaper shows a family of 5 at the beach. Phone was found near the Dowdy Hole(between Milesburg and Howard), but could have been dropped anywhere upstream and carried here when the current was strong.

Do you know anyone who lost a phone in the creek?

I'm also going to stop at Tussey Mountain Outfitters and ask if they recognize anyone in the family photo.

Hi all, looking forward to checking this out next week, as I’ve never been. The annual arts fest in State College is fine but pretty overwhelming, so I’d like to try the alternative. I found their site, but I don’t see any info on parking. Does anyone know anything about that? And any suggestions for a first time visitor?

Posting this partly as a warning and partly to ask if anyone else has dealt with this location, because the experience was bad enough that I'm still kind of in disbelief.

Quick background on how I ended up there: my car broke down on the way through the area, I waited six hours for a tow, and by the time I got picked up I was exhausted and just chose the State College Pep Boys out of desperation rather than research. I've since moved out of the area, so I'm now three hours away in Pittsburgh, which made everything that followed worse.

I dropped the car off on June 3rd for a water pump replacement — a job that's normally 4–5 hours of labor. I didn't get it back until June 27th. Almost four weeks for a half-day repair.

The communication was nonexistent. In that entire month they called me exactly once. Every other update, I had to chase down myself, and every time the answer was a vague "next week" or "Saturday" that never panned out. I was never given a written estimate the whole time. I only found out the mechanic working on my car had quit — during the second week — because I called and asked. They didn't tell me that, didn't tell me what it meant for my timeline, and when the car was finally done, they didn't even call to say it was ready. I had to call, again, to find that out.

Then I picked it up. When I got the car back, there were hoses left disconnected and clamps that weren't properly secured — I had to reconnect their own work myself. About two hours into the drive home, a check engine light came on that wasn't there when I dropped it off. So now, on top of everything, I'm dealing with a new fault that didn't exist before they touched the car.

If you need real work done and you need your car back in a reasonable timeframe (WITH BASIC COMMUNICATION), look somewhere else. You will genuinely regret leaving your cat here.

Update:

Got it scanned. It pulled multiple codes — mass air flow (P0101), boost pressure not reaching range (P0299), and EVAP (P0441) — and there's now a whooshing sound under acceleration. For anyone who knows these cars, that combo points to a boost/intake leak: the intake has to come partway apart to reach the water pump, and it clearly wasn't put back together right. On closer look there were also missing screws.

So the check engine light wasn't nothing. They handed the car back with an actual intake leak I now have to pay someone else to fix. Trying to find a shop in Pittsburgh to sort it out, and looking into recovering the cost from them.

If anyone here has gotten this location's corporate office to actually do something, I'd like to hear how it went.

Update 2:

Pep Boys responded to my Google review, so I emailed their corporate team with the details and got a case number opened. Shortly after, I got a call from the State College store directly (The manager).

It did not go how you'd hope. The call was mostly excuses — including for the lack of communication — rather than any real acknowledgment of what happened. I was told that the only way to get the problem fixed was to bring the car back to this store or to another Pep Boys, which is a tough ask considering I moved three hours away largely because of how long they kept it in the first place.

She did mention they'd taken $400 off the original bill because the repair dragged on so long. I'll give credit where it's due there — but a discount for being slow doesn't address the actual problem. I got the car back with disconnected hoses, untightened clamps, and missing screws, then a check engine light and a boost/intake leak that wasn't there before.

Knocking money off for the delay isn't the same as owning the fact that they handed the car back in worse shape than I dropped it off in — which nobody on the call acknowledged at all. I was also told the car had been "run for 30 minutes," as if that settled it.

So that's where things stand: a damaged car, and the proposed fix is to drive it back to the people who damaged it. I've got everything documented with corporate now and I'm looking into getting it diagnosed and repaired by an independent shop here in Pittsburgh.

PLEASE DO NOT BRING YOUR VEHICLE HERE, These guys cant even take basic accountability.

I want to sell 1/10 flight share in state college, PA 16803
Anyone know what’s the best place to publish the info?

FOR SALE - 1/10th Share in TMFC:

1982 Cessna 172P.
7014 Hours Airframe
300 Hours Airframe and Prop SMOH (2023)
Dynon Skyview Glass Cockpit (2023)
Dynon EFIS-D10A Redundant Panel
Twin Screens
2 Axis Autopilot
Avidyne IFD 440 GPS
Engine Monitoring System
Fuel Flow Monitoring System
Bluetooth Link to iPad for Foreflight / other FMS systems
Fully IFR Capable
VREF Estimated Value (without Glass Cockpit) - $146k
Bank Balance - $18,700 (engine and upgrade fund)
Avionics Install - $50k
Hull Value ~ $214,700.

Long story short, in September my wife and daughter are going to a concert in state college. We figured my son and I could tag along too and just do our own thing .

Looking for any recommendations on good food spots and just activities to do in the area.

We will be in the area in a couple of weeks and curious if there are any rails to trails in the area? Not sure if we should leave the bikes at home or not.

I’m new to the area and I’m looking for recommendations for a professional painter that can paint interior walls, trim, and kitchen cabinets.

Can anyone recommend a good bankruptcy lawyer in the area? Thank you. Please no judgment.

I'm literally living on another continent so I don't know if there's a specific app or something please help

My partner and I will be moving to state college for their new job at the end of the summer and I’m an avid bass fisher. I have heard the juniata and little juniata rivers run near there, but haven’t been yet. I’m also into lake fishing as I have a little inflatable kayak. Where are the local hot spots? Also would be interested in making a fishing buddy or two!
Thank you for sharing your local knowledge!

Wondering who is the best golf instructor in Happy Valley to go to? I've swung clubs before, but have never played any golf beyond mini golf and want to learn!

Any guidance would be beyond helpful

Ive been thinking about picking up a side gig for some extra cash. Has anyone delivered for eother or both of these places? Obviously its not as busy without the students but thats okay

Looking for things I can do with the kids this weekend. They are 5,9 and 13. They don't want to go hiking with old dad so any other children's activities would be great. Thanks in advance

Hello! I’ll be up in the area around July. Just wondering if anyone has 20-30 mile gravel/road bike routes they would like to share, or even invite me in on. Thanks!