Upstate NY is AMAZING! (New York, Syracuse: new home, gated, taxes)

[artyst]

i just visited the upstate area and i was very impressed. my trip started in rochester, i stayed near the airport and visited that general area in my free time. nice people, nice homes, big yards with beautiful flowers! downtown gates was interesting and sad at the same time. it's too bad the beautiful old homes there are so run down. downtown gates definitely needs revitalization but outside of the downtown area it is a charming and friendly place. from rochester i drove hwy 90 to albany stopping at a few towns along the way. i liked utica. and little falls was nice but i wondered how people got around in the winter as the roads are pretty steep and narrow!! the albany area also seemed friendly and very green. love the trees!! then i drove up to saratoga springs, a very charming town, and fort edwards, quaint but small. i drove the scenic route hwy 4 back to albany and found another town i liked called schuylerville. from albany i drove hwy 88 to binghamton. i found binghamton to be an alright mid size town. it didn't appear to me to be as awful as some people have posted here. the first friday event was quite nice! i think it's clearly going to be an up and coming place. my next stop was elmira. i feel sorry for elmira. the homes there are beautiful! people have such pride in their homes but the downtown area is a ghost town. the buildings aren't in bad disrepair, they're just empty! i stopped at the little bakery and bought half moon cookies - yummy!! next i drove up to ithaca. this town is a little too croweded and busy for me! it's like a great small town on steroids. and again, i wondered how people navigated the steep narrow streets in the winter! i got a toasted sub here, very delicious. next, i went over to watkins glen and fell in love!! if i can afford a house there, this will be my new home town. i love the lake setting, nice people, beautiful old homes, trees, flowers, and the yarn store painted post and corning are very charming towns. very nice places. bath and hammondsport were nice too. especially hammondsport because again, i liked the lake setting. whew, i'm almost done. i had a day to kill before leaving so i went over to niagra falls. i drove hwy 104 over from rochester. what a wonderful drive! there are such beautiful farm houses along the route. again such pride of ownership! most of the old houses sport a new coat of aluminum siding in a variety of pretty color pallettes. the grass is cut and the gardens manicured. it was a real pleasure taking that drive. i loved everything about upstate ny! i knew i would kudos to the residents who make the area such a great place!

[skbs]

Originally Posted by artyst

i just visited the upstate area and i was very impressed. my trip started in rochester, i stayed near the airport and visited that general area in my free time. nice people, nice homes, big yards with beautiful flowers! downtown gates was interesting and sad at the same time. it's too bad the beautiful old homes there are so run down. downtown gates definitely needs revitalization but outside of the downtown area it is a charming and friendly place. from rochester i drove hwy 90 to albany stopping at a few towns along the way. i liked utica. and little falls was nice but i wondered how people got around in the winter as the roads are pretty steep and narrow!! the albany area also seemed friendly and very green. love the trees!! then i drove up to saratoga springs, a very charming town, and fort edwards, quaint but small. i drove the scenic route hwy 4 back to albany and found another town i liked called schuylerville. from albany i drove hwy 88 to binghamton. i found binghamton to be an alright mid size town. it didn't appear to me to be as awful as some people have posted here. the first friday event was quite nice! i think it's clearly going to be an up and coming place. my next stop was elmira. i feel sorry for elmira. the homes there are beautiful! people have such pride in their homes but the downtown area is a ghost town. the buildings aren't in bad disrepair, they're just empty! i stopped at the little bakery and bought half moon cookies - yummy!! next i drove up to ithaca. this town is a little too croweded and busy for me! it's like a great small town on steroids. and again, i wondered how people navigated the steep narrow streets in the winter! i got a toasted sub here, very delicious. next, i went over to watkins glen and fell in love!! if i can afford a house there, this will be my new home town. i love the lake setting, nice people, beautiful old homes, trees, flowers, and the yarn store painted post and corning are very charming towns. very nice places. bath and hammondsport were nice too. especially hammondsport because again, i liked the lake setting. whew, i'm almost done. i had a day to kill before leaving so i went over to niagra falls. i drove hwy 104 over from rochester. what a wonderful drive! there are such beautiful farm houses along the route. again such pride of ownership! most of the old houses sport a new coat of aluminum siding in a variety of pretty color pallettes. the grass is cut and the gardens manicured. it was a real pleasure taking that drive. i loved everything about upstate ny! i knew i would kudos to the residents who make the area such a great place!

I am so glad you enjoyed our area so much... I love it here and honestly feel it is one of the best places on Earth... I wish everyone could see it that way...

[HomerBrink]

I second SKIPBS. I'm glad you enjoyed your trip. You certainly covered a lot of ground. Update NY gets a bad rap. Sure there is work to be done but that's the appeal of living there I think. Keep in mind most the downtowns of the small cities were once thriving pre-shopping mall era. So Watkins Glen will be your new home! Can't beat a lake view. Good luck.

[homeward bound]

I won't wax (endlessly) poetic about all this, as I often have elsewhere on the Forum. But I will say--I agree!

Next time you're up there, be sure to check out Skaneateles, Cazenovia, Cooperstown, Clinton, and Hamilton. Despite its flaws, Geneva is a very compelling place, too. Tiny places like Angelica, Homer, Earlville, Edmeston, and Gilbertsville are great, too. Also the Thousand Islands area and the Adirondacks. Upstate's variety, and the purity of so many of its places, is just incredible.

For all its problems, and for all the great places elsewhere in the country, Upstate NY is still the best (big!) part of America I've seen. I wish I had 100 lifetimes so I could spent 75 of them exploring more of Upstate. (The rest would go to Ontario's "cottage country" and all around the Great Lakes generally.)

[Griffis]

I don't have much to add, I'm afraid. I have been all over the US and lived in many parts of it.

Since I was young I have always been drawn to New York and the New England area. However, it was only over this past Memorial Day weekend I saw the Empire State for the first time. Prior to this it was one of the few US states I had never set foot in.

I went to the area right between the Hudson River and the Catskill Range. Unfortunately, it was only an overnight trip so I didn't get to see as much as I wanted. I was there for a job interview.

I can say, though, that the area was gorgeous, the people friendly, the few small towns we saw were full of charm.

I have gotten the position I was interviewing for and I plan to accept tomorrow morning and relocate my family to the region.

I expect taxes and some other things will be a little higher than where I am now (SW Virginia, which I do like well enough) but not only is this a good career move for me, we really were taken with the area and I am very excited to be moving up that way in several weeks.

Also, I have been struck by the number of positive resident responders on this forum from upstate. I think the people there know they have a good thing. I am so looking forward to becoming a NY stater and part of the community in which I will be working.

[Finger Laker]

glad you enjoyed your visit - i'm down here in phoenix as well, but upstate will always be my hometown (bath in specific) and I still have a lot of love for the area - it's truely scenic and there is so much that is nice there - i love watkins glen and hopefully you got to hike through the gorge and visit some wineries on either keuka or seneca lakes - there is enough in that area that frustrates me to no end, but to each their own

best of luck in future travels

[artyst]

i did hike through the gorge in watkins glen but only about half way as it was getting dark. what a place! i can't wait to explore it more next time i'm there. i took a bazillion pictures to use as inspiration for my artwork. in all i guess i took about 350 pictures during my trip and i really need them as nothing in az inspires me i can't wait till i can come back.

[bellafinzi]

No Syracuse area visit.

[artyst]

lol!! welllll, i somehow flew by the exit!!!

[bellafinzi]

Originally Posted by artyst

lol!! welllll, i somehow flew by the exit!!!

But Syracuse has SIX exits off I-90! Oh well, we Syracusans are used to it. The rest of the State always overlooks the Syracuse area too.

My life must be really boring because I truly was looking forward to hearing your first impressions of the Syracuse area. Especially since the last week has been sunny and warm here.