Best Towns Near Utica to Put Down Roots (Rome, New Hartford: homes, neighborhoods)

[bridgeTorque]

I'm not looking for negatives, by the way. ;-) As a life-long Mohawk Valley resident, I'm already aware of the foibles of the area.

However, I've only lived in a couple of towns and am looking for the best spot to raise our family. Hoping for a place that may be able to provide some of the following:

- Good school district
- Not insane taxes
- A safe, neighborly (possibly family-oriented) environment (Our current neighborhood in Herkimer isn't cutting it, safety-wise)
- Homes for less than, say, $175,000 (preferrably lower, but again, it's sometimes difficult to get everything you want, and I recognize that)

If any further clarification is needed, feel free to let me know! I'm trying to look past certain prejudices I have for particular towns that arise simply from living in an area one's whole life, so any suggestions are welcome. I'm sure there are probably neighborhoods/areas/towns that I'm not even aware of that I'd greatly appreciate hearing about.

Side note: Places within the city of Utica itself that adhere to the above list are also welcome. Considering South Utica, but it's sometimes challenging to know what areas are okay. We would look into Notre Dame or homeschooling if we went this direction.

[ckhthankgod]

If you are open to the city of Utica, South Utica would be a good option and it appears that anywhere south of Parkway/Burrstone Road would be fine. Maybe North Utica as well or even outer East Utica east of MVCC/south of the Proctor Parks. Notre Dame Elementary is in South Utica on Genesee Street and one of the better elementary public schools in the district, Hugh Jones, is in that area as well. A couple of the better public elementary schools, Jefferson and General Herkimer are in North Utica.

New Hartford would fit all or close to all of the criteria, as it is one of the "best" school districts in Upstate NY, if not the state in general. Parts of the Whitesboro, Clinton, NY Mills and Sauquoit Valley school districts may work too. Cooperstown, Holland Patent, Sherrill City/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill and Old Forge are other districts in that general Utica-Rome/Mohawk Valley area may work as well. This will all depend on other aspects though.

[bridgeTorque]

Thanks for your thoughts. Definitely a few neighborhoods we hadn't considered on your list, which is awesome. :-)

I'm from Mohawk originally, currently in Herkimer, but looking to get closer to the Utica area (for several reasons), so Old Forge/Cooperstown wouldn't work. Love VVS (my brother works there and his kids have thrived as students), but too far from our work.

Thanks, again! Any other additional particular neighborhoods that anyone else can add would be awesome!

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by bridgeTorque

Thanks for your thoughts. Definitely a few neighborhoods we hadn't considered on your list, which is awesome. :-)

I'm from Mohawk originally, currently in Herkimer, but looking to get closer to the Utica area (for several reasons), so Old Forge/Cooperstown wouldn't work. Love VVS (my brother works there and his kids have thrived as students), but too far from our work.

Thanks, again! Any other additional particular neighborhoods that anyone else can add would be awesome!

If you are open to private schools or homeschooling, perhaps parts of Rome especially some neighborhoods off of Turin Road and the hospital/shopping center on the North Side of the city. Oriskany and Westmoreland are worth a look too.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

If you are open to private schools or homeschooling, perhaps parts of Rome especially some neighborhoods off of Turin Road and the hospital/shopping center on the North Side of the city. Oriskany and Westmoreland are worth a look too.

Another thing to keep in mind with Rome is that there are some rural parts of the city, as it is the second biggest city in the state in terms of land size. So, the city has urban, suburban and rural areas within its limits.