Central to Albany Buffalo Pittsburgh with great restaurants (Rochester, Syracuse: transfer, college)
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Wife and I would like to move to NY. Want to find a spot that is central to 3 office locations I'll be visiting, each one 3 or 4 times a year - Albany, Buffalo, Pittsburgh.
While NY has very beautiful rural areas I think we better stick with something more urban because having lots of good restaurants around us is pretty important. My wife is actually a great cook but what we like to do is eat home-cooked 4 or 5 nights a week and the other nights restaurant/ takeout. The thing is the restaurants we like are things like sushi/ Japanese, Indian, vegan/ vegetarian/ organic - more the kind of places found in larger population areas.
We are curious how do Syracuse and Rochester compare? What are some smaller cities that have lots of good restaurants? Maybe Ithaca?
I could maybe give you a couple recommendations, Olean, NY being one, but anywhere "central" to any of those three cities is still going to be hours of driving away from them over some "interesting" roads, especially in the winter.
Wife and I would like to move to NY. Want to find a spot that
is central to 3 office locations I'll be visiting, each one 3 or 4 times a year - Albany, Buffalo, Pittsburgh.
While NY has very beautiful rural areas I think we better stick with something more urban because having lots of good restaurants around us is pretty important. My wife is actually a great cook but what we like to do is eat home-cooked 4 or 5 nights a week and the other nights restaurant/ takeout. The thing is the restaurants we like are things like sushi/ Japanese, Indian, vegan/ vegetarian/ organic - more the kind of places found in larger population areas.
We are curious how do Syracuse and Rochester compare? What are some smaller cities that have lots of good restaurants? Maybe Ithaca?
You pretty much answered your own question, as those three cities would be the places to look. I dare say that Ithaca may be a very good fit given its pretty big Asian population and vegan/vegetarian/organic food scene for its size.
Another place to consider on the smaller end is Binghamton. Maybe Corning, which has a Fortune 500 company, as well(including parts of the immediate Elmira area like say West Elmira(cdp), Horseheads or Big Flats).
The other thing could be to live in say the eastern/NE suburbs of Buffalo and drive the 4 hours on the Thruway to Albany and the 3 and a half hours to Pittsburgh on the Thruway to I-79 south.
Pick Buffalo or Rochester. Both are of comparable size. They are about 1 hour drive apart. Buffalo is better known for its food, but Rochester is no slouch. Both cities have what you are looking for in food, with large foreign student populations, and with growing Asian food options. Taste is a matter of opinion.
Syracuse is a smaller city, and won't offer as much. I can't offer an opinion, as I do not know the city well enough.
Both Rochester and Buffalo cities are close to Canada (Buffalo is directly on the border), and Toronto is a relatively short drive away with some of the greatest food options in North America. Toronto is easily a day trip from Buffalo (1-1/2 to 2 hours away), with GO Train access from Niagara Falls or Burlington Ontario.
There are also 3 Amtrak trains daily (in each direction) between Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse-Albany if you do not wish to drive.
I am a Buffalo homer, but I would also have no problem living in Rochester.
^In terms of Syracuse, there is a pretty big Asian food scene with Burmese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Indian restaurant options. Between being a refugee resettlement and major college city, those things play a part in terms of having those options.
There are also multiple vegan/vegetarian restaurants or restaurants with such options as well. So, there is a diverse dining scene in the city/area.
With that said, I would look into suburbs like Williamsville/East Amherst/Amherst all in the town of Amherst outside of Buffalo as a starting point due to what I mentioned earlier and it is a nice area with relative diversity in terms of area suburban communities.
Since two of the offices are in Buffalo and Pittsburgh, I agree Buffalo and Rochester are probably the two best options in terms of being more urban and a reasonable commute to all three offices. Syracuse to Pittsburgh is a 5.5-6 hour drive, which would be longer than any of the commutes from Rochester or Buffalo.
Pick Buffalo or Rochester. Both are of comparable size. They are about 1 hour drive apart. Buffalo is better known for its food, but Rochester is no slouch. Both cities have what you are looking for in food, with large foreign student populations, and with growing Asian food options. Taste is a matter of opinion.
Syracuse is a smaller city, and won't offer as much. I can't offer an opinion, as I do not know the city well enough.
Both Rochester and Buffalo cities are close to Canada (Buffalo is directly on the border), and Toronto is a relatively short drive away with some of the greatest food options in North America. Toronto is easily a day trip from Buffalo (1-1/2 to 2 hours away), with GO Train access from Niagara Falls or Burlington Ontario.
There are also 3 Amtrak trains daily (in each direction) between Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse-Albany if you do not wish to drive.
I am a Buffalo homer, but I would also have no problem living in Rochester.
This is another reason why Buffalo makes more sense, as proximity to Toronto/the Golden Horseshoe does open up the OP to even more options within a relatively short drive or train ride.
Since two of the offices are in Buffalo and Pittsburgh, I agree Buffalo and Rochester are probably the two best options in terms of being more urban and a reasonable commute to all three offices. Syracuse to Pittsburgh is a 5.5-6 hour drive, which would be longer than any of the commutes from Rochester or Buffalo.
What actually may "hurt" Syracuse in regards to being a more viable choice is that it doesn't have direct flights to Pittsburgh and those out there are to where you might as well drive.
It actually would only be a couple of hours or so from both Buffalo and Albany due to it being roughly equidistant to both(about 150 miles), but the Pittsburgh piece means a 5-5 and half hour drive(360 miles).
Wife and I would like to move to NY. Want to find a spot that is central to 3 office locations I'll be visiting, each one 3 or 4 times a year - Albany, Buffalo, Pittsburgh.
While NY has very beautiful rural areas I think we better stick with something more urban because having lots of good restaurants around us is pretty important. My wife is actually a great cook but what we like to do is eat home-cooked 4 or 5 nights a week and the other nights restaurant/ takeout. The thing is the restaurants we like are things like sushi/ Japanese, Indian, vegan/ vegetarian/ organic - more the kind of places found in larger population areas.
We are curious how do Syracuse and Rochester compare? What are some smaller cities that have lots of good restaurants? Maybe Ithaca?
Rochester is a pretty good foodie city, with most genres represented. Our major grocery store, Wegmans has had a sushi bar in all of it's stores for years. Wegmans are also in Buffalo, Syracuse, Ithaca and Corning, but not Albany or Pittsburg. The Rochester Public Market is known as one of the best in the country, for other food choices on the days you cook at home.
Also with the food theme, The Finger Lakes Wine Region is just SE of Rochester and SW of Syracuse, with about 120 wineries and dozens of micro breweries.
What actually may "hurt" Syracuse in regards to being a more viable choice is that it doesn't have direct flights to Pittsburgh and those out there are to where you might as well drive.
It actually would only be a couple of hours or so from both Buffalo and Albany due to it being roughly equidistant to both(about 150 miles), but the Pittsburgh piece means a 5-5 and half hour drive(360 miles).
There are no direct flights between any combination of Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, or Albany. All flights between any two cities require a transfer through another city.
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