<p>How is the area? I haven't actually visited but I heard the area was a little...uh....rugged.</p>
<p>You must be kidding...Rugged?? Its located in Allentown, in a beautiful section surrounded by all large, well kept single homes, all tree lined.</p>
<p>Ok because I read and heard that the city was a little 'downtrodden' but I'll have to visit before I can judge adequately. Thanks</p>
<p>downtown Allentown is definitely downtrodden as you say, but the immediate area around the school is lovely. Also, it's less than an hour to Philly.</p>
<p>Wandering in a little after the fact. I typically stay confined to the Parents Forum, but my S is thinking about 'Berg so I've started lurking. We lived in Allentown for 5+ years, 3-4 blocks from campus. Here's some general comments. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>The West End of Allentown is very pretty. Beautiful old trees that form a canopy over the streets in the area. </p></li>
<li><p>Having said that, it's NOT a completely ideal area, particularly if you're not used to making sure your car is locked, and you're not used to using common sense when walking around at night. There is crime in the area -- the lovely West End pretty much peters out 4-5 blocks from the campus in any direction. Use common sense. We had our cars ransacked on the few occasions we forgot to lock them (no real damage, lost a cell phone one time). But the fact that it seemed to happen almost every time we failed to lock the car doors led us to believe that somebody might have at least been trying the door almost every night. And just use common sense when walking around. </p></li>
<li><p>The campus and the West End homeowners can have a strained relationship at times. Again, nothing huge, but the city is constantly trying to limit the number of houses in the area that are used as student rentals. No big deal but you may not be welcomed with open arms all the time. </p></li>
<li><p>All in all, we really liked the area while living there. Breakfast at Syb's is a treat, and as Andi says it's less than an hour to Philly. Also less than 2 hours to NYC -- there's pretty good bus service to the Port Authority if you want to go in for a weekend.</p></li>
</ol>