Binghamton/Elmira/Corning vs. Charleston/Huntington/Ashland (living, best, state)
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Ok, here's two regions that I know a great deal about. I'm from the Charleston, WV area and my wife is from the Elmira, NY area. An outsider might not realize, but these two regions are remarkably similar.
Two anchor cities each: Binghamton/Elmira vs. Charleston/Elmira Additional cities: Corning vs. Ashland, KY/Ironton, OH Suburban areas: (Binghamton) Vestal/Johnson City/Endicott vs. (Charleston) S. Charleston/St. Albans/Nitro Suburban areas: (Elmira) Horseheads/Southport vs (Huntington) Barboursville/Kenova Middle towns: Sayre/Waverly vs. Hurricane/Teays Valley Principal City Population: Binghamton (47k) vs. Charleston (48k) River Valleys: Susquehanna/Chemung vs Kanawha/Ohio One connecting interstate/highway: I-86/Route 17 vs I-64/US 60 Universities: University of Binghamton vs. Marshall U. Industries: Corning Glass vs. Union Carbide Distance apart: Binghamton to Corning (74 miles) vs. Charleston to Ashland, KY (70 miles)
Both are heavy railroad areas
Both have rich industrial histories
Both close by to mining
Both are in hilly areas
Both Appalachian
Both have similar retail/services
Both have 2 regional airports with similar connections
Both areas are losing population
Both are more than 3 hours away from a major city
I'm sure there are more similarities, but these are the ones I could think of. It was hard to crunch all of the numbers for the Binghamton to Corning corridor, but the Charleston/Huntington/Ashland CSA is over 675k (but that is a huge area).
Which of these two "mini-mega regions" do you like best? Which of the two has a more promising future?
Even though I live in New York, I do not know the Binghamton area very well, and I know Charleston, WV even less so I will not vote.
But I will say that Amtrak is coming close to reopening train service between NYC and Scranton, PA. And there is talk of extending the line from Scranton up to Binghamton. So if that happens (and when) then Binghamton would be connected to NYC by rail.
Very good thread. Thank you. I am not going to vote because while I have been to Binghamton, Elmira, Corning, and Sayre extensively over the years (native of suburban Scranton, PA) I have never been to the Charleston/Teays Valley/Huntington/Kenova area.
I do agree that both have a lot of similarities as you mentioned.
For me as an LGBTQ+ person I would initially be inclined to vote for the Southern Tier of Upstate NY because I would feel like that region would be more inclusive and would be in a state with more legal protections for those within my community. I also like snow, and there's no denying that Binghamton alone gets a ton more snow annually than anywhere in that WV/KY corridor. From my extensive Google Street view cyber-tourism Downtown Huntington seems to be slightly nicer than Downtown Charleston, which seems to be slightly nicer than Downtown Binghamton, which is much nicer than Downtown Elmira (total dump). Downtown Corning, by far, is the premier business district; however, it is a much smaller principal city overall.
I could see myself happily living in either Binghamton or Huntington, especially if the presence of Marshall University makes Huntington more LGBTQ+ tolerant than much of the rest of WV, so this is something I am not going to vote on.
I have family in the Charleston, WV area and lived in Ithaca, NY (50 miles from Binghamton) where a considerable amount of time was spent. There's a lot to love about these under appreciated regions. My perspective is that Charleston is surprisingly more vibrant than might be expected, and as a principal city of its region, it is stronger than Binghamton. On the other hand, I find the cities that dot the region around Binghamton overall more attractive and comfortable. Natural beauty is a strength of both WV and that part of NY state.
Ok, here's two regions that I know a great deal about. I'm from the Charleston, WV area and my wife is from the Elmira, NY area. An outsider might not realize, but these two regions are remarkably similar.
Two anchor cities each: Binghamton/Elmira vs. Charleston/Elmira Additional cities: Corning vs. Ashland, KY/Ironton, OH Suburban areas: (Binghamton) Vestal/Johnson City/Endicott vs. (Charleston) S. Charleston/St. Albans/Nitro Suburban areas: (Elmira) Horseheads/Southport vs (Huntington) Barboursville/Kenova Middle towns: Sayre/Waverly vs. Hurricane/Teays Valley Principal City Population: Binghamton (47k) vs. Charleston (48k) River Valleys: Susquehanna/Chemung vs Kanawha/Ohio One connecting interstate/highway: I-86/Route 17 vs I-64/US 60 Universities: University of Binghamton vs. Marshall U. Industries: Corning Glass vs. Union Carbide Distance apart: Binghamton to Corning (74 miles) vs. Charleston to Ashland, KY (70 miles)
Both are heavy railroad areas
Both have rich industrial histories
Both close by to mining
Both are in hilly areas
Both Appalachian
Both have similar retail/services
Both have 2 regional airports with similar connections
Both areas are losing population
Both are more than 3 hours away from a major city
I'm sure there are more similarities, but these are the ones I could think of. It was hard to crunch all of the numbers for the Binghamton to Corning corridor, but the Charleston/Huntington/Ashland CSA is over 675k (but that is a huge area).
Which of these two "mini-mega regions" do you like best? Which of the two has a more promising future?
That region would consist of Broome, Tioga, Chemung and Steuben Counties in NY and Bradford County in PA. There are about 463,000 people between those counties, though there are some nearby counties(Tioga Co. PA, Tompkins Co. NY) that are close to I-86/Route 17, but it doesn't run through them.
This is a good comparison, as they do appear to be quite similar, including demographically.
I will say that with Marshall being a higher level D1 program with a solid/good Football program, that, may offer some appeal. WV State in Institute, while the demographics have changed, does offer an HBCU experience for those looking for that as well.
On the other hand, Binghamton is in between the Syracuse and Scranton areas, with NYC and Philadelphia only a few hours away, if that. Elmira is about an hour and a half from Rochester. Huntington is less than a few hours from Columbus and Cincinnati and Charleston is about a few hours from Pittsburgh.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 02-20-2024 at 03:42 PM..
I'm generally a cheerleader for anything New York, but the Southern Tier is by far my least favorite region of the state. It's just super depressing, economically depressed and those factors are reflected on the people living there. Believe it or not, I think WV may have the brighter future.
I would say if you're connecting Binghamton thru Corning, which I don't disagree with, you have to include Ithaca, they are all a part of the same region..
That region is funny, I've told people for years that you could make the argument that Rochester is the second most important city in New York in terms of influence, and I stand on that. All of these cities look to Rochester as the "big city", although Corning has a bump up in Buffalo influence from the other three, and Binghamton equally seems influenced by Roc, Cuse, Alb, and NY. Rochester has more reach in New York than any other city besides The City. It's really interesting to note...
I'm biased, but I'd choose the NY region in a landslide and trust me, I'm not really a fan of the Southern Tier, though I "like" Ithaca and I "really like" Binghamton. I'm not a fan of anything West Virginia, been a few times, been to Charleston, I'll pass...
Not sure which of these areas has tge brighter future. Binghamton has the dbetter location, it's fewer than 200 miles from Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, Allentown, Newark, Philadelphia, and New York. Plenty of big city getaways is a plus in my book. Charleston by the same 200-mile standard is only close to Columbus, Charleston is just way more isolated...
Something I just remembered about the Southern Tier is that it is actually seeing some economic investment in terms of battery manufacturing, the region being designated as a Tech Hub and incubators in Binghamton and Elmira.
I also agree that including Ithaca/Tompkins County would make sense, given that it gets much of its media in that corridor(also from Syracuse) and the area schools play against teams from that corridor(Section 4).
Many in the region do go to Syracuse as well, as noted to me by a co-worker that is originally from Elmira. Same goes with the portion in the Northern Tier of PA with the Scranton-Wilkes Barre area.
I've only really passed through upstate NY and never to any of those towns, but I have an affection for West Virginia and have been to Charleston, Huntington, and Ashland and enjoyed all of them. Could never actually live in that region (too small and isolated) but those towns are fairly urban with strong bones for their populations, and are in a pleasant natural setting.
Something I just remembered about the Southern Tier is that it is actually seeing some economic investment in terms of battery manufacturing, the region being designated as a Tech Hub and incubators in Binghamton and Elmira.
I also agree that including Ithaca/Tompkins County would make sense, given that it gets much of its media in that corridor(also from Syracuse) and the area schools play against teams from that corridor(Section 4).
Many in the region do go to Syracuse as well, as noted to me by a co-worker that is originally from Elmira. Same goes with the portion in the Northern Tier of PA with the Scranton-Wilkes Barre area.
"Tech hub" is a marketing gimmick, what makes the Southern Tier a tech hub as opposed to elsewhere in New York?
Bro when I lived there I knew people who went to Syracuse, but it didn't have the pull Rochester had. Knew some people who went to SU and would pull for Orange athletics, people who went to Syracuse for the mall and occasionally a nightlife outing. But I knew more people who did all of these things to Rochester. I've been to Syracuse more than I went to Rochester, I had an affinity for Cuse, but Roc just more influence...
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