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Does the old town truly exist anymore? Small time stores, shops.......and a cute/charming downtown where you can just sit and people watch. Nice parks, greenways, and the tree lined neighborhoods. Privately owned coffeeshops, bookstores? Maybe even a nice library! And of a course where I can pick up a fixer upper for under $100,000. Hey it only has to be a one bedroom? lol.
Nope, try 2008. There are lots of towns that fit this description around the Country. Sorry that yours must not, but that doesn't mean they are not still out there.
Oswego, New York. A city of 17,500 people on the shore of Lake Ontario. 40 miles to Syracuse.
It has a very highly rated SUNY with nearly 8,000 students, a nice independently owned bookstore downtown, at least one independently owned coffee shop, several good restaurants including Italian and Chinese and plenty of independently owned shops and markets. Recently the independently owned grocery stored expanded to accommodate its growing customer base. Oswego also has a small bus system and you can catch a bus to and from Syracuse seven days a week. It has tree lined streets filled with lots of older homes and you can easily find a house that needs little or no work for under 100 grand. It has an excellent park just to the northeast of the downtown area that is combined with an old revolutionary war fort and museum.
The only truly negative aspects that I can find with Oswego are the local job market (unless you are in health care) and you may have to commute to the Syracuse area and property taxes are a bit high, but lower than most NY communities.
Does the old town truly exist anymore? Small time stores, shops.......and a cute/charming downtown where you can just sit and people watch. Nice parks, greenways, and the tree lined neighborhoods. Privately owned coffeeshops, bookstores? Maybe even a nice library! And of a course where I can pick up a fixer upper for under $100,000. Hey it only has to be a one bedroom? lol.
I know lots of these places but they are extremely expensive, I guess everyone else wants the same dream. I don't especially want to be stuck out in the rural areas, just need a few amenities. An area that I can take a leisurely stroll at night, or get on my bike and ride the streets, w/o being run off the road.
Nostalgic/Utopia? It this all in my mind, a fantasy, something I will never find A thing of the past that doesn't exist anymore!
You should take a look at Madison, CT. It's exactly all of the above--except the "fixer-upper" price...that will probably cost around $250-300k...but otherwise, it's such a quaint, small "mom and pop" with a tad bit of quaint/tourist thrown it...It's a beach town and the downtown is adorable.
when i read this message, Ligonier, PA came immediately to mind. It is exactly what you are describing, and within 20 minutes, you can be in greensburg which has all the shopping/restaurants you could ever need.
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