New job in Plattsburgh (New York, Buffalo: fit in, transplants, sales)

[ref301]

I have gone through 2 telephone interviews and will be making a trip soon to interview at Champlain Valley Physician's Hospital. Believe it or not, the Northern Adirondacks, Vermont and New Hampshire are all areas that my wife and I have discussed as where we would like to end up. We will have 3 children in college beginning next Fall. The only downside to a move is that we still have a 15 year old at home. Obviously, schools are a big issue for us as well as the lifestyle. We live a very laidback, rustic existence in Western New York now (7 acres, log home). The weather's not an issue as I love to ski and we get lots of snow. We'd like a small piece of property close to the water and mountains.

I'll sit back and see what the feedback is from the locals. Appreciate any input.

[plattsburgher]

I am a health care professional and my children went to the Plattsburgh City Schools..........One is graduating from Albany College of Pharmacy next year with her doctorate and the other is in high school and as a 'field trip' part of their global class, on Friday they head to Ottawa at 5:45 am on a coach bus to experience the capital city of Canada. Neither daughter ever had a problem making friends here since the Air Force presence years ago made everyone "instant" neighbors (and also brought in money as well).

I really think you would like it here IF you don't mind winter.........real winter, not sissy winter which this year included a lot of snow and some cold, but not bitter cold. The ski areas were very busy and you can cross the lake and ski in Vermont at Stowe on the weekend very easily or go farther for Sugarbush or closer for Whiteface. There are cross-country places to go and always winter activities at Lake Placid and Saranac Lake. Houses are really affordable here and if you don't want to live in the "city" of Pburgh, Peru would give you more rustic space and farmlike atmosphere with excellent schools and lovely people.........People are extremely friendly and because of the Canadian dollar influence, we aren't experiencing the downturn that most other places are. The new Target Superstore opens this fall, our new stadium seated movie house opens then also and a new Canadian company that makes shuttle buses is building a brand new place to employ 300 people. More things are planned and you will be welcomed with open arms if you are a health care provider. It is a long way to Albany and Burlington, Vt is cool and wonderful, but my health insurance doesn't cover it. Great place to go visit though.............45 minutes away........Does this help at all???????????

[ref301]

Originally Posted by plattsburgher

I am a health care professional and my children went to the Plattsburgh City Schools..........One is graduating from Albany College of Pharmacy next year with her doctorate and the other is in high school and as a 'field trip' part of their global class, on Friday they head to Ottawa at 5:45 am on a coach bus to experience the capital city of Canada. Neither daughter ever had a problem making friends here since the Air Force presence years ago made everyone "instant" neighbors (and also brought in money as well).

I really think you would like it here IF you don't mind winter.........real winter, not sissy winter which this year included a lot of snow and some cold, but not bitter cold. The ski areas were very busy and you can cross the lake and ski in Vermont at Stowe on the weekend very easily or go farther for Sugarbush or closer for Whiteface. There are cross-country places to go and always winter activities at Lake Placid and Saranac Lake. Houses are really affordable here and if you don't want to live in the "city" of Pburgh, Peru would give you more rustic space and farmlike atmosphere with excellent schools and lovely people.........People are extremely friendly and because of the Canadian dollar influence, we aren't experiencing the downturn that most other places are. The new Target Superstore opens this fall, our new stadium seated movie house opens then also and a new Canadian company that makes shuttle buses is building a brand new place to employ 300 people. More things are planned and you will be welcomed with open arms if you are a health care provider. It is a long way to Albany and Burlington, Vt is cool and wonderful, but my health insurance doesn't cover it. Great place to go visit though.............45 minutes away........Does this help at all???????????

Thanks for the feedback. It's about a 45 minute drive to either Buffalo or Rochester from my home now, so a bit of a commute to the "big cities" is no issue. My children attended (and attend) a "C" size school now. My daughter will graduate in a class size of about 90 in June, which is pretty typical for this district. She is going on the major in Architecture at Norwich. I also have a daughter at Colgate (she takes her MCAT's on May 30th) and a son at Hamilton. My wife is all for this move if the job opportunity works out (I'll be up for a visit next week). The sales job is going to be with my 15 year old daughter. Good student, good athlete (soccer and track) lots of friends and I will be "ruining her life" by making her move. What are some of things I can sell her on in the area? Can I get some opinions on the local school districts (I have been on-line with the Plattsburgh City district)? Are there strong (non-school) soccer programs? Thanks again.

[plattsburgher]

Sorry for the delay..........busy time of year here. There is an amazing amount of interest in girls' soccer, basketball, sports, softball, etc...........

My older daughter's friend played on the local high school team and also played on a women's league during the summer. You can access more info possibly on the Plattsburgh City School District website. What grade will your daughter be going into next year? I happen to know some girls (5!) in one family who have twins that are starting high school next year and the other girl in high school is heading into 11th. They just moved here last year from Green Bay and love it. The dad is a chiropractor and the mom works for a fairly large company here and they are glad they made the move.

I do feel for your daughter though.............It is so hard to leave your friends. There are about 130? in each grade level, so not huge but not small either.........

You mentioned wanting a rural lifestyle, so you may be more into the Peru district and they probably have a website also. The North Country Chamber of Commerce (we merged with another county last year?) will be happy to give you any sort of information...............Actually there are some just gorgeous homes on the market right now in Peru that are practically being given away because of the market downturn (and prices here are really reasonable to begin with)................I do know that about 25 Pratt and Whitney engineers are being merged into another location, so that may be part of the nice housing glut right now.........

This is a very family friendly, interesting historical and just drop dead gorgeous area with lots of farms, Lake Placid and Burlington, Montreal and Lake Champlain if you are into boating, fly fishing, camping, canoeing, hiking the Adirondacks at all. If you want, you can find something to do almost every single season of the year, ESPECIALLY since you like winter. Winters are not my favorite because I grew up in the south. All of the high schools have spring plays and that is a great ice breaker and PHS and Peru have outstanding sports and music and theatre programs. Chazy does have this also, but is a much, much smaller district and seems to be more "cliquish"......word?????????

Other questions, let me know..........It does seem like high school here is fun. There is always something going on every single day............and it's the best school you could have without going/paying private. Lots of clubs and activities and tons of "hands-on" teachers who LOVE their profession and are proud of their district......... Good luck!

[ref301]

I really appreciate your follow-up. Great information!

My daughter will be a sophomore this coming Fall. After I make my visit (and assuming that the new job opportunity works out), I'll bring my wife and daughter up for a visit. I'm thinking it will have to be very well organized with an eye to trying to impress her. I've been on-line with the Chamber (thanks for the tip) and will get as much info from them as I can.

I was surprised to see that the Peru district is actually larger than the Plattsburgh City disctrict. It must encompass a large geographical area. We have been very involved, as a family, with the school district here and anticipate that involvement to continue wherever we end up. My wife coaches varsity soccer and I coach varsity baseball. Won't know what to do with ourselves if we weren't doing something similar if we move.

As part of my initial visit I am going to spend some time with a realtor to get a look at some properties around the region. With only one child at home beginning this Fall we can downsize our house, but still want a log structure. I'm going to check on what is on the market but may end up building new. This may also give me an excuse to buy a boat. I had one when we were in Erie, PA but gave it up when we moved to WNY. Love to fish!

[nunoco]

If your daughter is serious about soccer, this is a good place. Soccer United Girls Premier is an outstanding club that started out as an all-girl alternative to an older area group, Plattsburgh Football Club. Now PFC has girls' teams, too, though in the older age groups, SU seems to produce more players who go on to college. SU plays tournaments in Vermont and Albany, and is highly competitive. I've heard of at least three SU players who play in small D-I programs, several others who play D-II and D-III, and another is at a prep school downstate and in the national developmental program. Some of the younger girls play tournaments with a big club in Albany to get more exposure, because the Albany club has a great deal of respect for SU and the talent up here.
Bottom line is, for its size, the North Country has a good talent pool, loves soccer, and takes girls soccer seriously. Plattsburgh HS won the conference last year, but I believe Ausable Valley is also quite good. And Chazy, north of the city, is a Class D soccer powerhouse--though fewer of its players are members of the traveling club teams, for reasons that aren't clear to me. So you have quite a lot of choices.
PHS also has a good track team, as does Seton Catholic.

[ref301]

Originally Posted by nunoco

If your daughter is serious about soccer, this is a good place. Soccer United Girls Premier is an outstanding club that started out as an all-girl alternative to an older area group, Plattsburgh Football Club. Now PFC has girls' teams, too, though in the older age groups, SU seems to produce more players who go on to college. SU plays tournaments in Vermont and Albany, and is highly competitive. I've heard of at least three SU players who play in small D-I programs, several others who play D-II and D-III, and another is at a prep school downstate and in the national developmental program. Some of the younger girls play tournaments with a big club in Albany to get more exposure, because the Albany club has a great deal of respect for SU and the talent up here.
Bottom line is, for its size, the North Country has a good talent pool, loves soccer, and takes girls soccer seriously. Plattsburgh HS won the conference last year, but I believe Ausable Valley is also quite good. And Chazy, north of the city, is a Class D soccer powerhouse--though fewer of its players are members of the traveling club teams, for reasons that aren't clear to me. So you have quite a lot of choices.
PHS also has a good track team, as does Seton Catholic.

Thanks for that information! My senior daughter, who is going on the play soccer at Norwich, was NYS Class C, All-State this past season. My 15 year old may end up being even better. She will be entering her sophomore year with 2 years of varsity experience and has played over 200 games (indoor and outdoor) with our local program. Glad to hear she will get many of the same opportunities if we relocate.

It is confirmed that I am driving up on 5/22, interviewing at CVPH all day on the 23rd and will have some time to see some property on the 24th. Looking forward to the visit.

[plattsburgher]

I was trying to get info about all of the alternative sports/soccer teams because my girls weren't huge sports folks, but I did know that there were other soccer teams in this area. If you and your wife are refs and sports fans, you will fit in perfectly here. Yesterday's Sunday paper, had several informative fishing articles and some listings for upcoming fishing tournaments in Lake Champlain and surrounding areas, as well as a small article about soccer teams and other high school sports...........

Won't take up too much space, but I know someone personally at Cedar Knoll Homes (custom log homes) and they are great folks. He says they are still very busy up here (the exact quote was "busier than ever") when I talked to him recently, because many second homes are still being built and Canadians are building here also.....

Peru is a huge, sprawling district, but has a great feel about it. It was THE Air Force school district and still has many transplants from everywhere who were stationed here at one time, and either never left or came back here to retire. I don't think your daughter will have trouble finding friends in either PHS or Peru, but I personally think there are more non-native people in the Peru district. Know a few college people and doctors who live outside the city, but the city schools are very, very good. Just depends on the type of community you are looking for and Peru sounds like it might work well for you guys.......

You sound really perfect for this area...........There may be more good deals than usual right now for boats this summer since some people may have decided that it is time to sell that rarely used boat with gas at all-time high prices. The lake is absolutely beautiful................we had a sail and power boat. Nothing like being out there AND you can camp on the island (Valcour Island - NY state campsites) that overlooks the major battle site of the Revolutionary War. Pretty cool stuff.............Lots of neat history around here to find out about........The newspaper here is called the Press-Republican and they are online............You might get some additional ideas about fishing, sports, classifieds, schools, etc.............Lots of pristine campgrounds in the Adirondacks that rent canoes, boats, and are well planned out with nice fishing ponds, lakes and streams........not a bad place to live at all..........

Hope the weather cooperates for your visit here............Good luck.

[ref301]

Originally Posted by plattsburgher

I was trying to get info about all of the alternative sports/soccer teams because my girls weren't huge sports folks, but I did know that there were other soccer teams in this area. If you and your wife are refs and sports fans, you will fit in perfectly here. Yesterday's Sunday paper, had several informative fishing articles and some listings for upcoming fishing tournaments in Lake Champlain and surrounding areas, as well as a small article about soccer teams and other high school sports...........

Won't take up too much space, but I know someone personally at Cedar Knoll Homes (custom log homes) and they are great folks. He says they are still very busy up here (the exact quote was "busier than ever") when I talked to him recently, because many second homes are still being built and Canadians are building here also.....

Peru is a huge, sprawling district, but has a great feel about it. It was THE Air Force school district and still has many transplants from everywhere who were stationed here at one time, and either never left or came back here to retire. I don't think your daughter will have trouble finding friends in either PHS or Peru, but I personally think there are more non-native people in the Peru district. Know a few college people and doctors who live outside the city, but the city schools are very, very good. Just depends on the type of community you are looking for and Peru sounds like it might work well for you guys.......

You sound really perfect for this area...........There may be more good deals than usual right now for boats this summer since some people may have decided that it is time to sell that rarely used boat with gas at all-time high prices. The lake is absolutely beautiful................we had a sail and power boat. Nothing like being out there AND you can camp on the island (Valcour Island - NY state campsites) that overlooks the major battle site of the Revolutionary War. Pretty cool stuff.............Lots of neat history around here to find out about........The newspaper here is called the Press-Republican and they are online............You might get some additional ideas about fishing, sports, classifieds, schools, etc.............Lots of pristine campgrounds in the Adirondacks that rent canoes, boats, and are well planned out with nice fishing ponds, lakes and streams........not a bad place to live at all..........

Hope the weather cooperates for your visit here............Good luck.

Thank you once again. I'll let you know how the visit works out. I may contact your log home dealer after I've seen some properties next weekend.

[ref301]

Had a great visit in the North Country over the holiday weekend! I'm looking forward to a job offer sometime this week. Spent most of the day on Saturday looking at a number of properties in Saranac, West Chazy and Peru. All were within 20 minutes of CVPH. Wasn't thrilled by any of them, especially at the prices that are being asked. May want to look a little further out, actually further from the lake. My wife and I really like the idea of living in the mountains. The outer reaches of Peru and Ausable have potential. We have actually been directed to what looks like some great sites in Jay and the surrounding area. What's the "real life" commute from there? I'm currently driving 50 minutes to work each day and with gas prices as they are want to cut that down a bit.