Need Help- where to relocate- NY or PA (Rochester, Albany: relocation, real estate)

[MEgirl]

Hello All
I am new to this site and forum, but have been very impressed with the threads that I have read...
I am looking for help/advice. My husband works for a large national company and is seeking a promotion within this company. Unfortunately, there are no positions available here in Maine, so we will be forced to relocate to either PA or upstate NY. We both love Maine, and hate to have to leave, but at this point we have no choice. We have close to 35 locations to choose from for relocation, which makes the task that much more daunting! I have been doing tons of research online and at the library and these are our top ten choices so far (in no particular order):

Scranton, PA
Allentown, PA
Harrisburg, PA
Erie, PA
Williamsport, PA
Altoona, PA
DuBois, PA
Plattsburgh, NY
Albany, NY
Corning, NY

Also in the mix:
Binghamton, NY
Watertown, NY
Rochester, NY
Greensburgh, PA

Any insight, advice, or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
A little more about us to help the process along...
we have a 9 month-old and will hopefully add to our family in the future, so safety (low crime) and good school systems are important. We are practicing Catholics so proximity to a Catholic church would be nice (within a half hour drive). Snow/ Winter is not really an issue for us... Though we prefer to live outside city limits, we would like to be close enough to all the amenities/ acivities a city (medium-size or small will do) offers. And cost of living is important to us as well. We live in southern Maine now, where the cost of living is skyrocketing out of control and the asking prices for homes are on the higher end of the scale... We figure if we have to move, we might as well try to find a place where our dollars might go a little further
thanks for any help you can give...
PS I also posted this thread in the PA forum, so I appologize for the repetition if any of you should happen to browse both forums!

[Ellwood]

If you have been living in Maine, my suggestions are:
Watertown: limited housing due to Ft. Drum personnel; still quite a depressed area.
Scranton, Williamsport PA: good choices
Albany: I would look into areas further north to live; Saratoga, Ballston Spa.

[skaneatelesmom]

I second Saratoga Springs. Beautiful area, not too far from VT and a great, hip town. My parents have lived there for 20 years and I never tire of visiting them.
Jo

[ScranBarre]

The Scranton Area of PA has everything you seek, but then again I'm sure most of the cities in NY do as well. I was browsing the Upstate NY forum and saw this thread first, so I'll comment more extensively on your thread on the PA forum. Best of luck in whatever you decide though. I have a fondness for both Upstate NY and PA, so I'll have a hard time narrowing down your choices for you as well! LOL!

[MovesAlot]

As a native Western NY'er, I have to root for the Rochester, NY area. It is a wonderful place to raise a family. Many towns/villages to choose to live in within a 20 min drive to everything basically.

I too am Catholic and I can tell you there will definitely be a church close to your home and definitely within a 30 min. drive (more like 15 at the MOST).

The house prices here are VERY reasonable. You will get a lot for your money if you are coming from a housing market that is skyrocketing. Here is a link to the local homes website for the Rochester area: MLS listings of Homes for Sale, Property, Commercial Real Estate and Townhouses in Rochester NY, the Finger Lakes region and Upstate NY

A lot of folks put the Rochester Area down......do your own research....there is everything here that a growing family could want.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

[MEgirl]

Originally Posted by MovesAlot

As a native Western NY'er, I have to root for the Rochester, NY area. It is a wonderful place to raise a family. Many towns/villages to choose to live in within a 20 min drive to everything basically.

I too am Catholic and I can tell you there will definitely be a church close to your home and definitely within a 30 min. drive (more like 15 at the MOST).

The house prices here are VERY reasonable. You will get a lot for your money if you are coming from a housing market that is skyrocketing. Here is a link to the local homes website for the Rochester area: MLS listings of Homes for Sale, Property, Commercial Real Estate and Townhouses in Rochester NY, the Finger Lakes region and Upstate NY

A lot of folks put the Rochester Area down......do your own research....there is everything here that a growing family could want.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Wow, thank you so much for the info...
I actually have heard alot of negative things about the Rochester area, but you have now seriously piqued my interest... I will certainly do more research- thanks for the link!
BTW, have you heard of West Henrietta? Any insight on that city?

[I'minformed2]

The negative things you hear about the Rochester area will almost always be from people who are just negative to begin with...they unforutnatly consist of a large chunk the of regions populaiton. There is one thing you can say about the Rochester area; for the most part, you either love it or hate it. I love it and am glad to have moved back recently; I think most people who live here love it (recently rated the #1 medium sized metro area for familes) but the ones who don't will let you KNOW for a fact that they don't like it and try to be sure you don't like it either.

[MovesAlot]

Originally Posted by MEgirl

Wow, thank you so much for the info...
I actually have heard alot of negative things about the Rochester area, but you have now seriously piqued my interest... I will certainly do more research- thanks for the link!
BTW, have you heard of West Henrietta? Any insight on that city?

You're Welcome! I do agree with the poster who said that folks who don't like Rochester will let you know they don't like it! I personally Love this area of NYS.

As far as West Henrietta....Henrietta is a great town. They are a suburb of Rochester and have every kind of Restaurant and store that you would need. There are both rural areas as well as more "tract like" developments.

Here is a link to the Rochester Newspaper Democrat & Chronicle: Home Also, a link to our ABC affiliate Home - 13WHAM.com

I am unfortunately moving myself....due to my husband's job relocating, will have to move to an area between Albany and NYC. I am dreading this due to the OUTRAGEOUS amount we are going to have to spend on a home. We currently have a great colonial house on 1/2 an acre. We paid $160,000 for it 4 years ago. The same similar house where we are looking to move is going for $375,000+ and the taxes there are unbelievable!

You will do well if you move here, especially if you are going into the health care field. If you have any question related to that area, just let me know if I can help.

[HeadedWest]

Originally Posted by I'minformed2

The negative things you hear about the Rochester area will almost always be from people who are just negative to begin with...

Or they are people who find the nearly-permanent winter cloud cover to be a problem. Western NY is one of the cloudiest parts of the US in the winter.

[MovesAlot]

Originally Posted by HeadedWest

Or they are people who find the nearly-permanent winter cloud cover to be a problem. Western NY is one of the cloudiest parts of the US in the winter.

I'd rather have clouds than, let's say...tornadoes, earthquakes, severe drought, hurricanes, out of control wild fires, flooding....shall I go on.

I think people who complain about the weather here are so way off base. Yes, it is cloudy here sometimes....so what. Maybe our skin here will appear more youthful down the road with less UV Rays penetrating it. It is cloudy and rainy in Seattle a lot too....who cares. You have to adapt to weather anyplace you live. Yes we get snow here....but at least we know how to handle it and don't close our schools down with 1/4 inch of snow. I could go on and on....but I won't.