Can anyone tell me about BINGHAMTON? (New York, Rochester: fit in, schools, university)

[I'minformed2]

Thank you very much. You're welcome for the info and I'm happy to have helped.

[flyscotsman]

This post is coming in a little late, but I found it while doing research for a paper I'm writing on the area. If you're still checking this thread, i've been living in Endicott and working in Binghamton for about six months, moved out here from Southern Illinois, so I'm sympathetic to coming from Texas.

Binghamton is "where weather goes to die". Binghamton gets something absurd like only 60 sunny days a year. I never leave the house without my umbrella, because anyone who says they know the forecast four hours out is lying to you. (Don't listen to "Dr. Bill" on FOX 40, his doctorate is in philosophy, not meteorology.) Winters in Binghamton, compared to the rest of upstate New York, are gentle, far, far less snowfall than you're going to get in Buffalo, Syracuse, or Albany. However, "gentle" is only relative to upstate NY: Compared to anywhere south, winter is a punisher. This was a mild year, and I still learned what "-8 degrees" really means. You will see people walking around in full-face ski masks during the worst week or two. Summers are also very humid, but the temps themselves rarely seem to top the mid 80's. You may see low-level flooding when the snow melts.

The scenery is fantastic: You're lodged neatly in the mountains, with several rivers criss-crossing the Triple Cities, something like 800 bridges in the region that loop you between the villages. The mountain vistas are amazing, even better in places like Apalachin (a very quaint little residential village in neighboring Tioga County, if you're looking to buy a home, the Tioga Terrace in Apalachin just past Endicott is great). Vestal's got the big retail action, lots of strip malls, with a traditional shopping mall in Johnson City. There's also a big hot air balloon festival every year with concerts and such.

For fun out of town, there's Turning Stone (a very large Native American resort and casino) to the north, and you're only an hour-ish away from the Adirondacks, Catskills, and Poconos if you want even more natural beauty. The Finger Lakes just north of here have wineries you can tour. A lot of people like to go down and weekend in Atlantic City, plus you're just a few hours from NYC.

You're probably going to miss Midwestern and Southern cooking. The good news is that in Broome County, we have the "spiedie", which is hard to explain, but it's a marinated, grilled sandwich (usually chicken, but can be lamb or pork too, even venison) made in an Italian seasoning sauce. The marinated chicken is also popular as a pizza topping. It almost makes up for the general lack of barbecue (although Theo's Southern Cuisine, a hole-in-the-wall on the Johnson City/Binghamton boundary, makes award-winning ribs). There's also Friendly's, the archtype for all ice-cream-and-burger chains. There is no shortage of good Italian restaurants. In fact, I haven't yet found a bad one.

You asked about the Catholic community I believe, there is a thriving Italian and Polish Catholic community, and you'll find that almost anywhere in NY state. (My first Christmas dinner here was pierogis and fried haddock with a Polish family. Yum!)

Regarding the crime rate, it's really very neighborhood-contingent, and most of the crime hinges on drugs sold by amateur criminals who couldn't cut it in NYC in the "bad" neighborhoods, but you'll not likely feel the need to ever go there. (I say "bad" because crime here is usually of the bumbling, amateur variety. There was a string of more serious incidents involving a personal dispute between some goons from Brooklyn when I got here, but the cops put a stop to that.)

I would suggest looking at Apalachin, Johnson City or Vestal if you're looking to settle a family or at least buy. *In* Binghamton there are some nice residential neighborhoods on the west side of the Chenango River, near the Susquehanna riverfront, I'm not really familiar with the other side of the city. Endicott is a nice little town, but property values are iffy (as is water quality) due to an accident at the IBM plant in 1979 that contaminated some of the area around Washington Avenue with a chemical solvent. I drink bottled water, and I wouldn't really recommend *buying* in Endicott, but if you're renting, you might be interested in West Corners and the Union District of Endicott (on Main around Liberty or Nanticoke intersections). There are some nice apartment complexes this way, including a few that border on qualifying as "luxury" for extremely reasonable rates.

It may be hard to find alternative work in any given field if something falls through: The economy is improving here but it just isn't that diverse right now. That said, if you're still interested, a good friend of mine is a real estate broker here, and I'd be happy to point you in the right directions regarding neighborhoods, restaurants, shopping and the like.

[pioneer8]

My Goodness! that was so nice of you to give me so much info. My husband and I were laughing about "where the weather goes to die". I just don't know how that woud feel. I don't remember EVER feeling anything below 20 something degrees! I've lived in Florida then Texas... so, well, you know. Anyway, what about living off the beaten path? My husband's job is with a popular restaurant that positions itself along the inerstates (for the most part)- This is great for our lifestyle, as we love the wide open country! Our bottom line for house is about 220,000- Is that possible? I've looked at realtor.com, but it's difficult to grasp the area surrounding. Anyway, thank you for your time! Have a great day! (Hope it's sunny!) Oh when you say mountains... I know there there... I must have blocked it out. I think thy're gorgeous... I've been through the Blue Ridge Mountains and even the Smokies... I white knuckle the car door! Do you HAVE to actually live in the mountains? If you live in valleys, do you flood? I'm just curious. Thanks again!

[Weloveantiques]

Hi Pioneer,

Binghamton is my home town, I can tell ya all about it. Over $150,000-200,000 will buy a very nice home in Binghamton. In fact a good home in a decent neighborhood can be found for under 100K. The things I would be concerned with are heating bills and taxes.

Winters are looong. Dull and grey from November to May. I'm surprised that snow hasn't been mentioned much...the year we left-1994 we had 130 inches or so of snowfall for the winter, that was alot, seemed like every week was a new snowstorm. You may have a white Christmas. I remember trick-or-treating in a snowstorm! It is not unusual to have 10 below zero in Jan. and Feb. at night and daytime high of 0 or 10 degrees. The rest of the months are great. In Feb. and March alot of folks get cabin fever and are ready for spring. It may get hot in the summer but not like Texas or Florida. It may be hot for 3 or 4 days, then cool off again. Alot of homes and cars do not have air conditioning, so that will give you a good idea of how cool it is. Fall and spring are wonderful. Summer is nice but short.

Gorgeous scenery, mountains-are more like hills. Lots of rivers and streams. There are some areas that flood but not many. It is easy to find a home with an acre or 2 and maybe a small barn. Lots of deer, turkeys and bears. My sister had a bear in her yard in Vestal, and my In-laws had one in their yard about 15 miles away. Not what most people expect in New York.

Tons of Italian food, Italian bakeries and pizza places. Endicott has an Italian neighborhood. Binghamton has a few Irish pubs. If someone does not know what a speidie (pronounced spee-dee) is then they are not from Binghamton. A few good Italian places are Little Venice, Cortese's, and Grande Pizza.

I would recommend the West side of Binghamton, near Riverside drive. Or the Southwest part of Binghamton off Vestal avenue. Vestal and Johnson City both have some nice areas. Apalachin, Chenango Bridge and alot of other little areas are nice. It's not a huge area, You can drive anywhere in a few minutes.

Overall if you have decent jobs and can put up with the snow and gloom, it's a nice area. There is really not any rush hour traffic. Maybe a few extra cars on the road, nothing much. You may want to consider getting a 4 wheel drive vehicle for the winter, I would recommend that for sure.

Not sure if you have kids, there are very few private schools. Seton Catholic is about your only option for a private high school. Alot of the smaller school districts are good. Do your research on those.

Good Luck!

[pioneer8]

Hi there! You are also a wealth of information. Can you shed some light on taxes and heating bills for me; even based on your own experiences. So much about your home sounds appealing to me. I have to admit, I tend to romanticize and may be doing that with regards to the snow. Does anyone "enjoy" it there? Do people sled on their yards or build snowmen and stuff or are most people "over it"? I know this is a lot to ask and thank you so much!

[Weloveantiques]

Hi, Sure we build snowmen and go sleding and go ice skating outdoors.etc. Skiers love it there. snowmobilers love it. Little kids love it. Most people just want it to go away. Taxes depend on the value of your house and heating depends on the size of your house, hard for me to give you exact dollar amounts. You may want to check with NYSEG for heating costs. Outside the city alot of folks have woodstoves to help with the heating bills.

[pioneer8]

Thanks for everything!

[grandmato 25]

HI, Just reading all the posts and I am wondering why you don't move way up north to Watertown, NY. Watertown is growing in leaps and bounds. Yes we do have snow, but not as much as in other NY places. We have many restaurants (new) going up every day. We are the home of the 10th Mountain Division. As I said Watertown and surrounding area is growing. It is very friendly with many Catholic churches in Watertown and surrounding area. We have an Italian community as well. Just a thought, I don't know what restaurant your husband is connected with but they just may be coming way up north, to Watertown, if so you should look into this area, it is great. We have boating, fishing, sking, good schools, shopping in abundance, many new stores, restaurants, Home of the Thousand Islands, and near the Adirondack Mountains, did I say friendly people? Check us out, we are three hours up Interstate 81 that is north, of Binghamton. I have been to Binghamton, my daughter lived in the area, and did not like it much. She is back living in Watertown.

[pioneer8]

Thanks. I will definitely look into the area further. Would you say that people travel in all kinds of weather there? My husband works for the Cracker Barrel and his bonuses depend largely on what kind of business the restaraunt does... partcularly people traveling as most of these are located on the interstate. I don't know whether Watertown will need his position, but we are always trying to keep informed in case a certain place is offered to him. Do you know if that CB is located in town, on the outskirts, or far off the beaten path? It helps us to know what kind of business it will get, year round. Also, if you don't mind; what is your feeling about the snow. How do you think people respond to it. Does anyone still love it? Thank you for opening up more areas for us to get excited about!!

[I'minformed2]

they have Crackel Barrels in NY? Since when? lol