Dunkirk or Fredonia NY (Westfield, Chautauqua: sale, real estate, crime rates)

[ironmom]

Hello,
We live in Seattle and my husband has been online researching info on Dunkirk and Fredonia NY. Any good or bad things to say about these towns?
Looking for small town feeling but not "dead" after hours. Need a good gym also.

[itSmellsBAD]

Fredonia is a college town right next to Dunkirk which is a ghetto. Spanish is the language you will need to learn in Dunkirk. Coal Fired power plant right on the lake that is one of the dirtiest in the entire USA. They were sued by the State of NY over pollution. Very old 1940's power plant that dominates the waterfront. It looks horrible. NRG owns it so do a google on NRG DUNKIRK POLLUTION.

Taxes in NY and Fredonia are like nothing you've ever seen in your life. The house sale prices are misleading as you will get killed in taxes. Fredonia is a college town with lots of bars and nice homes. Party town with all the problems that go with it. Dunkirk is right next to it and has trash all over the streets, Spanish gangs, drug dealers etc. Why you'd want to move here is beyond me. Everyone else is moving away except the illegals.

[chrisruns2far]

Originally Posted by itSmellsBAD

Fredonia is a college town right next to Dunkirk which is a ghetto. Spanish is the language you will need to learn in Dunkirk. Coal Fired power plant right on the lake that is one of the dirtiest in the entire USA. NRG owns it so do a google on NRG DUNKIRK POLLUTION.

Taxes in NY and Fredonia are like nothing you've ever seen in your life. The house sale prices are misleading as you will get killed in taxes.

This poster never has anything positive to say about Western NY, so I would read her comments in that context.

I agree that Dunkirk in somewhat of a dump, but Fredonia is a very beautiful small town and Chautauqua County is a very scenic and nice place, IMO one of the most scenic areas in NY. Real estate is very affordable and property taxes are high in NY, but not much more that other states that I have lived in. I strongly feel that the very nice homes you can purchase at a fantastic and reasonable price more than offsets taxes.

[amylynn83]

Fredonia is nice - great old homes, pleasant village atmosphere, life centers around the college, which is one of the top public universities u are also getting in the northeast. Dunkirk is economically depressed, but there is no real violent crime to speak of, except for teenagers occasionally beating each other up. Housing proces in Dunkirk (DK as it is known to locals) are wicked cheap, but many are 80+ yrs old and will require much work.

If you don't mind a bit of a drive, consider Westfield, which is about 25 miles south of Dun kirk and Fredonia. It is an absolutely perfect little Americana village, is located on the shore of Lake Erie, has a Thruway exit for an easy commute, and seriously feels like a town from 1953. Look at Westfield.

[itSmellsBAD]

Originally Posted by chrisruns2far

This poster never has anything positive to say about Western NY, so I would read her comments in that context.

I agree that Dunkirk in somewhat of a dump, but Fredonia is a very beautiful small town and Chautauqua County is a very scenic and nice place, IMO one of the most scenic areas in NY. Real estate is very affordable and property taxes are high in NY, but not much more that other states that I have lived in. I strongly feel that the very nice homes you can purchase at a fantastic and reasonable price more than offsets taxes.

Fredonia is almost part of Dunkirk....they touch each other and both have negative population growth. Don't listen to the Real Estate Agent hacks who lie to you. do your own research and come out for a visit to see the dirtiest coal fired plant in the entire USA for yourself. You can see the 400 foot tall stacks that are on the shore of Lake Erie for miles. The dust is so bad that they have been sued by NY State to clean up but have delayed this for years. English is not the primary language in dunkirk. Fredonia is a college party town. Fredonia also has a military style boot camp prison that can be seen from the NYS Thruway (most expesive toll road in the USA). Lots of party type potheads all over the place and large number of bars in town that cater to them. The cops look the other way. Urinating teens and 20 somethings are the norm all over town on the weekends. Your front yard will be a toilet. Just so you know. Oh and yes, taxes are about as high as they get in the entire nation. Again, why you'd want to move here when this area has negative population growth is beyond me.

[giffman]

I grew up in Fredonia but now live in North Carolina. If there were the slightest bit of opportunity I might have stuck around to make a go of it. Always thought it would be a nice place to retire once income was no longer an issue. Fredonia is a quaint little town with a lot of flavor. Overall it's a nice place. There are also a lot of bars which is a direct reflection of the number of college students. I guess you could say there is a nightlife if you don't mind hanging out with all the kids in their early 20's. Of course there are some bars that cater to the "older" crowd but they are not the norm. Everything "itSmellsBAD" said about Dunkirk is true. Stay away from there at all costs. I'm kind of curious as to why you want to relocate to this area. I lived there 18 years and all of the people I knew were born there. I take that back. At the start of my senior year in high school, one family moved to Fredonia from out of state. If you do plan to relocate from Seattle, be prepared to explain yourself over and over.

[oktaren]

Originally Posted by itSmellsBAD

Fredonia is almost part of Dunkirk....they touch each other and both have negative population growth. Don't listen to the Real Estate Agent hacks who lie to you. do your own research and come out for a visit to see the dirtiest coal fired plant in the entire USA for yourself. You can see the 400 foot tall stacks that are on the shore of Lake Erie for miles. The dust is so bad that they have been sued by NY State to clean up but have delayed this for years. English is not the primary language in dunkirk. Fredonia is a college party town. Fredonia also has a military style boot camp prison that can be seen from the NYS Thruway (most expesive toll road in the USA). Lots of party type potheads all over the place and large number of bars in town that cater to them. The cops look the other way. Urinating teens and 20 somethings are the norm all over town on the weekends. Your front yard will be a toilet. Just so you know. Oh and yes, taxes are about as high as they get in the entire nation. Again, why you'd want to move here when this area has negative population growth is beyond me.

Dude, you are wrong about everything you said in this post.

Fredonia and Dunkirk are totally different areas, and they are both very nice. neither have had negative population at all. dunkirk has actually had a positive growth in the past 3 years. As for the power plant, yes there is one. but that is about the only thing bad in the area.

no crime, low property costs, great value.

When did bars start CATERING to potheads? i didn't realize pot was sold in bars.

FREDONIA IS NOT HOME TO ANY PRISONS. there is a prison in brocton ny, but it is a shock therapy prison, not a boot camp style prison.

as for the college town, college towns are all like that, so good luck finding one without it.

ridiculous. move away, we don't want you here anyways.

[oktaren]

Originally Posted by amylynn83

Fredonia is nice - great old homes, pleasant village atmosphere, life centers around the college, which is one of the top public universities u are also getting in the northeast. Dunkirk is economically depressed, but there is no real violent crime to speak of, except for teenagers occasionally beating each other up. Housing proces in Dunkirk (DK as it is known to locals) are wicked cheap, but many are 80+ yrs old and will require much work.

If you don't mind a bit of a drive, consider Westfield, which is about 25 miles south of Dun kirk and Fredonia. It is an absolutely perfect little Americana village, is located on the shore of Lake Erie, has a Thruway exit for an easy commute, and seriously feels like a town from 1953. Look at Westfield.

I am originally from Westfield, great town, but very politically and socially conservative. not a terrible thing, but just a warning for some folks out there.

as for fredonia and dunkirk, they are very nice as well. dunkirk isn't anywhere near as bad as people make it out to be. its only thought of as bad in the local area because its the only urban area. but the crime rates are way below that of any real city.

highly recommend anywhere in these areas.

[giffman]

Perhaps I was exaggerating in my previous assessment of Dunkirk. It's not the "ghetto" that some people portray it to be. However, I am taken back by some people on this forum that claim that Dunkirk is a "nice" town. Exactly what part of Dunkirk do these people consider "nice"? Perhaps a stroll down Second Street would change their minds? How about a trip to Quality Market on the 1st or 15th of any given month? The fact is that Dunkirk has a disproportionate share of poverty level residents. The only thing holding Dunkirk together are the old timers that used to work the steel mills. As these folks die off, they will be replaced by more people on public assistance.

[oktaren]

Originally Posted by giffman

Perhaps I was exaggerating in my previous assessment of Dunkirk. It's not the "ghetto" that some people portray it to be. However, I am taken back by some people on this forum that claim that Dunkirk is a "nice" town. Exactly what part of Dunkirk do these people consider "nice"? Perhaps a stroll down Second Street would change their minds? How about a trip to Quality Market on the 1st or 15th of any given month? The fact is that Dunkirk has a disproportionate share of poverty level residents. The only thing holding Dunkirk together are the old timers that used to work the steel mills. As these folks die off, they will be replaced by more people on public assistance.

Every city has a bad part of town, that doesn't make the city bad.


second street isn't exactly nice, and neither are lord or the streets in that section, but its not like it has the crime of any real city. i have no problem with walking down that 'horrid' second street at 2 in the morning, and im a white male in his 20s. In all reality I have never been to a city where the races and classes mingle so well. I don't see that as a bad thing.

Every city has a bad part of town, that doesn't make the city bad.

are you currently living in dunkirk? because alot of work has been done in the past six months!