Nicest town in NY state? (New York, Syracuse: condominiums, transfer, living in)

[TMOConstruction]

Cooperstown is nice. Oneonta is nice as well. Cazanovia is probably the prettiest little town.

[Lee50]

I would say Schoharie, Saratogs Springs, Cooperstown in this area....

[samyn on the green]

Saratoga Springs hands down is the winner.

[Barbara & Bernard Bomba]

Originally Posted by FutureCop

Port Jervis? No way. I used to live there. Horrible schools, very dirty.

Key words - "used to live there." We're here 3 years - I sub in the schools and find the kids not unlike any other kids - I think they're more "normal." They actually play outdoors! We are seeing an upswing on neighborhood pride and home upkeep. What it needs are more savvy people to come and make it what it was in its heyday - bring in more jobs. Would love to see the A & P return with its great produce...There are vacant stores (one was an A & P!).

[april5601]

How about the Marlboro/Milton area. I have been here almost 3 years now and love it. It has a very small town feeling but is only a 5-10 min drive across the poughkeepsie bridge to the train station.

[barbaraj253]

My husband, Assistant Chief of Police in a small Texas town and I, 20 years emergency room experience, my sister and her husband are looking to re-locate in central New York upon retiring in 5 to 7 years. I grew up Oneonta and husband in Connecticut and for 30 years have missed the change in seasons. Christmas was never the same living in Texas. We will be able to enjoy a moderately comfortable but not lavish lifestyle. I am so tired of car jacking, crackheads, home invasions and illegal immigrant. Everything I have read about Montana and Colorado revolves around the epidemic population of meth users. We want a place where we have access to decent medical care. Suggestions anyone?

[Alt Dach]

Originally Posted by LilyCat

If you were looking for the nicest medium/small sized town in New York state, preferably within an hour max from NY city, where would you go?

As you heard its NOT within 1 hr of Manhattan.Ithaca has beauty and culture -probaly best town of its size in USA.

Cooperstown is a gem.

Norwich is the midst of bring tears to your eyes hilly-country.

[Alt Dach]

Originally Posted by barbaraj253

My husband, Assistant Chief of Police in a small Texas town and I, 20 years emergency room experience, my sister and her husband are looking to re-locate in central New York upon retiring in 5 to 7 years. I grew up Oneonta and husband in Connecticut and for 30 years have missed the change in seasons. Christmas was never the same living in Texas. We will be able to enjoy a moderately comfortable but not lavish lifestyle. I am so tired of car jacking, crackheads, home invasions and illegal immigrant. Everything I have read about Montana and Colorado revolves around the epidemic population of meth users. We want a place where we have access to decent medical care. Suggestions anyone?

Nothing wrong with Oneonta or Cooperstown.

[Alt Dach]

Originally Posted by 12buttons

not true - the nicest towns are within an hour - why - because they have the tax base to make them nice - POUND RIDGE for one - gorgeous.. you can't touch it for quality of life, aesthetic, and demographics....

ONLY if you have yuppy sensibilities!

[homeward bound]

Hi, barbaraj253.

I can list quite a few Upstate NY towns that, while not perfectly crime-free, of course, are remarkably low in crime. Any one of them would be a very good bet to escape what you (very understandably) can't stand about Texas, etc.

In no particular order of ranking:
Cooperstown
Clinton
Hamilton
Hammondsport
Canandaigua
Cazenovia
Ballston Spa
Naples
Geneseo
Oneonta
Woodstock
East Aurora
Angelica
Westfield
Cambridge
Gilbertsville (talk about a sense of timelessness!)
Skaneateles
Trumansburg
Ithaca
(A bit more second tier, but with a lot of positives, would be Geneva and Seneca Falls)

These are particularly exceptional towns. Many, many others would be, I think, great improvements over what you're enduring now. I suggest doing searches on this Forum on the above towns, as well as on such topics as best upstate towns, safe upstate towns, quality of life towns, etc.

What's especially appealing about these and other suitable towns that others can recommend is that, in pretty much all cases, I think, you've got not only a great town, but a great area that that town is in. For example, Cooperstown, Cazenova, Hammondsport, and Canandaigua, are on their own lakes, and these quite beautiful lakes, too, with a lot of chances and venues available to boat, swim, and fish them. Westfield and East Aurora are close to the revived Lake Erie. Ballston Spa is near the (ritzy but handsome) famous horse-racing town of Saratoga Springs, and pretty near beautiful Lake George and the gorgeous Adirondack Mountains, with their many lakes and rivers. Cambridge is on a lovely river, and is very near Vermont. Etc., etc.

Also, you plain have a lot of options throughout Upstate NY. Canandaigua, for example, is fairly big, and puts you close to Rochester, while Angelica is very small (and quaint), and well out in the country, but still about only 50 minutes to Buffalo and entry into Ontario (which, outside its fairly narrow strip of overdevelopment, is a world of beauty unto itself).

I'd rather live in even a mediocre town in Upstate NY than a supposedly "desirable" place in Texas. There's just so much texture, variety, and serenity in Upstate NY. My dad and now my sister live in Houston suburbs and I wince at their idea of "quality-of-life"--and the chronic threat of or at least dread of crime that prevails there.

I hope you'll make the move, and will post about your choice and experiences once you do.

Best of luck!