how is batavia ny (Buffalo, Rochester: renter, low crime, felons)

[77t]

is it a good town to live or vist

[I'minformed2]

Batavia..... a small town of about 10k right smack dab between Rochester and Buffalo, is a pretty nice town. Very charming. Merry Christmas

[Atlantis]

Batavia would be a good place to live if you like to do very basic things like go to the movies. If you're looking for festivals, events, art galleries, museums, etc. then Batavia is not for you. It's not the most physically attractive place, either.

[RWilliams]

Batavia is a nice small city. We do have cultural and art societies. I have links to them in one of my previous posts. I'll do a search for it and edit the link in. I've lived here for 7 years and have enjoyed my time here. There are plenty of good places to eat and if you can't find something to do in town you're just a hop skip and a jump for either Buffalo or Rochester. We're less than 45 minutes from Letchworth State park and just an hour from Alleghany State Park and also Niagara Falls. It is a safe city, we've had only one murder since I've lived here. On the negative side, I have been told (I'm a renter so taxes don't effect me directly) that the taxes are very high here and the water rates have just gone up 30% Hope this helps! If you have any other questions I'd be happy to answer them for you.

here is my previous post, it was in a thread about finding an "artsy community":

Batavia is a nice small city, low crime (1 murder in 8 years). There is a small art community here, but we are just a hop skip and a jump from both Buffalo and Rochester. Both of which have colleges and universities with art programs and galleries. The Albright Knox art gallery in Buffalo has a world renowed and extensive modern art collection. They have gusto at the gallery on Friday nights with special events and free admission. Batavia has a coffee house and a really cute pizzeria (Main St. Pizza Company, great pizza too!) right on Main St. We also have O'Lacy Irish pub which has a great atmosphere and really good food. They have live entertainment on weekends. There is also Center St. Smokehouse which has amazing real BBQ and blues and rock bands on Friday and Saturday nights. If you live within walking distance of downtown all these places would also be walkable. The homes are not expensive here but I understand that the taxes are quite high and water rates just went up. I don't have children so I can't say if the schools are good, I haven't heard anything bad about them though. We have an art gallery and frame shop that also holds classes for adults and children, its called pieces. There is an art organziation called Go Art as well. I don't think someone in their 30's with a nose ring would be too much for people in Batavia to handle. There are definately interesting people in Batavia, but I can't really say that the city is very culturally diverse. When you visit this area I think Batavia is worth a look and if you stop by be sure to eat at either Center Street or O'Lacys! Hope that helps a little!

Here is some art info from Go Art:

http://www.goart.org/firstthursday.html

[ZMAN]

I live in Buffalo with in-laws in Batavia. Nice City. Excellent and affordable golf if you like the sport. Terry Hills is an amazing 27 hole complex with a new clubhouse. Typical wny weather but we all handle it well. Good housing prices and good schools.

[casino7807]

Just came from a week's visit to Batavia, my hometown. I thought the city looked really nice and much improved shopping. Been in Houston, Tx for many years and now ready to move back to my roots. Personally, I was impressed with the changes the town has made and I'm ready to get out of the Big City and back to a more slow-paced style of living.

Marie G

[looking4home]

Uh, you might want to check the posts about water contamination by CAFO's. Residents of Batavia recently had to ante up and pay for their own sewer improvements, so they could have clean, safe drinking water. All of this after a CAFO operation contaminated the local water supply. It's just interesting that the residents had to pay, even though it was the farms' fault. This seems to be happening with increasing frequency in upstate NY.

[718bound]

Haha... I remember being in Batavia once and heres why I remember it: I was on a Greyhound Bus that was on its way to NYC and we stopped at a greyhound "stop" (a dirt parking lot behind a gas station). No body gets on or off. A few minutes later the driver gets on the PA and says "we'll be on our way soon, just waiting for another bus to make a connection." A few minutes after that a white NYS Dept. of corrections bus pulls up. I am thinking no way... this is just a coincidence right? Nope, about 5 of NY's newest "rehabilitated" felons got on the bus, standard release blue jeans, white t-shirt, white bag and all. They ended up being prety nice guys, realized they had made mistakes in their life that they wanted put behind them and move on. It still was pretty freaky to be on that bus, see them walk past you as you are thinking omg what is this bus ride going to be like?

[oktaren]

Im not from Batavia but I have been there a few times and always liked it. Nice location, not far from lake erie or ontario, the fingerlakes, buffalo or rochester.

[Nikosia]

There are a few big attractions to batavia. First the cost of living is EXTREMELY low. You can live like a GOD on $100k. This frees up your money for things like travel!

It's often said that there's nothing to do in Batavia. But if you live in a city, spending 45 minutes in a car is normal. Batavia is 45 minutes from some great places. Professional football and hockey, college sports, the niagara excarpment. You can join a YACHT CLUB for $1,000 bucks here. Actually it's VERY nice. You can join a really nice golf club, (Stafford) for about $4,000 a year with no entrance fee. The hunting and fishing is to die for.

Property taxes are on the high side here, but property assesments are very low and the houses themselves are CHEAP! With new additions there will be almost 2 million square feet of shopping space. Not bad for a city of 14,000.

Finally, Batavia has a small town feel. People are very friendly, very supportive and welcoming. After you've been here 2 years you'll have 100 friends. In the summer people still stroll down main street.

Finally this area has a great growth future.