Upstate Cities/Suburbs - Syracuse, Albany, Buffalo (Rochester, Greece: low crime, employment)

[WinterWonder]

We are considering a move to Upstate NY, and would like to choose a suburb of one of the bigger cities for purposes of finding employment and entertainment.

My husband is a computer programmer, and I am a CPA. Can anyone help us in comparing the suburbs of one city to the next? (suburbs of Syracuse, Albany, Buffalo, and maybe Rochester or Ithica?)

Is any particular city more apt to having a bigger selection of IT/Computer jobs?

How do the areas compare in terms of:

1. Job opportunites

2. Safety

3. Selection of Towns with good school systems. Any particular towns?...

4. Family-friendly towns. Towns that offer alot of activities for children

5. Snowfall. We love it. Lots of it.

Any information provided would be greatly appreciated!

[I'minformed2]

I'm bias of course, but I truly do believe that the suburbs of Rochester are some of the nicest towns in NY state. Brighton and Pittsford schoools are the two highest rated in Upstate NY, and in the top 50 nationally. The Rochester suburbs of Greece, Hamilin, Hilton, Irondequoit, and Webster are the only ones of any of the metro areas that have a significant shoreline with one of the Great lakes (the shoreline of Lake Erie near Buffalo doesn't seem to have nearly as much residential areas, which I suppose some may see as a good thing).

[Ham Sandwich]

Originally Posted by WinterWonder

How do the areas compare in terms of:

1. Job opportunites

2. Safety

3. Selection of Towns with good school systems. Any particular towns?...

4. Family-friendly towns. Towns that offer alot of activities for children

5. Snowfall. We love it. Lots of it.

Any information provided would be greatly appreciated!

As for the southern 'burbs of Syracuse (which are very close to the rural areas) I'm not sure on the job area, but I'd be wary of Syracuse in general, unless you aready have something lined up.

Saftey: on the suburbs seems pretty good- the really rural areas are very low crime, and patrolled by Sherifs and State Police (be careful on your speeds, depending on what state you're coming from, you may not be used to this--the law enforcement guys use radar! They also do "BUNY" , "Buckle Up NY" stops to check for seatbelts) Cazenovia and Manlius seem to have a very apparent police presence--although no crime...

Family Friendly: My children are older (12-18), but friends who live in Cazenovia have little ones and there seems to be a never ending Mom's taxi-service to ballet lessons, story-times at the library, and the ever popular riding lessons. The school system is quite good, and impressively, the high school displays it's awards for "good sportsmanship" in league wrestling just as proudly as they display their pennants for sectional wins in other sports. If you like a town where people will adamantly insist their kids "behave"--this is the one.

I can't tell you off the top of my head, but I'm fairly certain the HS in Caz has some fantastic graduation rate, probably a fantastic SAT score average as well.. Most of the inhabitants of the town are upper middle class, and the housing prices will reflect that....BUT...take a map of the district and then interpose it over a regular map. The district has engaged in gerrimandering in it's finest form. For some unknown reason, the district is not as it would seem and SOME residents of nearby communities qualify for education in Caz...

In terms of "family Friendly" the town of Cazenoia has a Seminary and a small college, with mostly "artsy" types...the students who wander about are pleasant and polite.

Entertainment...Um. I'm not sure what you mean by this. Nightlife? Museums? Festivals (OHHHH, do they have festivals here!)? Antiquing on the weekends? Or spending time with the kids?

Snowfall: It's here. This is to the South of Syracuse, a hilly area with lakes, rivers and waterfalls. Yes. there's plenty of snow. To the North of the city of Syracuse, the land becomes flat, and the proximity of the Great Lakes render the area INCREDIBLY snowy (It's called "Lake Effect") which may be a bit more than you're looking for..then again, maybe not.