My husband and I have lived here a year and like it. We compiled info that would have helped us moving up here from Texas. Best of luck. It is by no means comprehensive. It is just what we've learned so far and our own opinion.
Good to Know
Orientation – Watertown is about an hour North of Syracuse and ½ hour south of the Canadian border on Interstate 81. In town Arsenal and Coffeen St both run off of I-81 and are connected through Massey St on the edge of downtown. Most of the shopping centers and the mall are off Outer Arsenal (closer to I-81 than to downtown). Downtown Watertown is the old town square that includes Washington St running out of the square and eventually connecting back to I-81 South of town.
Watertown has several Route 3s,11s, and 12s, so make sure you have the right letter as well as number before getting lost. Also, there are several one way streets and confusing lanes and turns downtown. Summer is the time for construction across town and the town has been working to expand over the past few years. Keep an eye out for traffic patterns (and no right turn on red signs).
Local Eats
Cavalario’s Cucina - decent Italian food and moderate prices – go for pizza or design your own pasta plate
Colman’s corner – pub grub and beer and near the school
Karen and Jasper’s Bistro (off Washington St). - fabulous meat balls and garlic cheese bread
The Crystal Restaurant cheap home-cooking (try the holiday Tom and Jerry drink)
Jean’s Beans – great picnic fare - fried food and sides by the pound
Panera Bread Company (good sandwiches, soup, bagels, and free wi fi)
Other local eateries – Fairgrounds Pizza, Art’s Jug, Sboro’s (steakhouse), Apollo Restaurant (Greek food, located by Price Chopper), Super Wok Chinese
Chain restaurants – Texas Roadhouse, TGIFridays, Red Lobster, Cracker Barrel, Ruby Tuesdays, Friendly’s, Applebees, Ponderosa Buffet, Pizza Hut, Buffalo Wild Wings, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Long John Silver’s, Jreck Subs, KFC, Subway, Quiznos, Arby’s,
Stores
Grocery:
Price Chopper (has a store card that gives a gas break)
Hannaford – offers a larger diversity in vegetables and hard to find but a little pricier
P&C and Big M (Smallest of the grocery stores)
Banks: Watertown Savings Bank
Watertown Savings Bank (make sure you are not on watertownsavings.com which is actually out of town)
(HSBC, Community Bank, Key Bank, AmeriCU credit union, not many of the Big Boys!)
Retail: Walmart, Walmart Supercenter (by Ft. Drum), Target, Big Kmart, Kohl’s, Bed Bath and Beyond, Old Navy, Staples, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Petsmart, Ace Hardware/ Hackets (like a big country store), Michaels, Fashion Bug, T.J. Max, Herb Philipsons Sporting goods, Rite aid, Rite aid discount liquors, Walgreens, Kinney’s Drug store,
Salmon Run Mall: Sears, Borders, JC Penney’s Bath and Body Store, Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Gander Mountain (sporting goods & outdoors)
Bars – Paddock Club (off the square)
The “B: at Burrville (Check out North Country Idol in the early Spring)
Joe’s Tavern (coffeen st.) cheap dive bar (wed night=1$ draft)
Kicker’s Lounge (great for sports fans)
Karen & Japers Bistro (nice little bar inside the restaurant/good apps)
Uniquely Watertown and North Country
Red and Black Semi Pro Football
Ice Skating at the Town Rink
Farmer’s Markets on Wednesday mornings on Washington St (Moves into the Paddock Arcade in Winter)
Sackets Harbor-site of a war of 1812 battle, nice park on Lake Ontario, Summer Sundays-concert in the park, a little touristy but very nice, brewery, bars, cafes, restaurants.
Thousand Islands Area: also known as TI, boating, island tours, Bolt castle tour, scenic views, about 30 minutes north of Watertown on the Canadian border. Cities in the region include, Alexandria Bay (A-bay), Clayton.
Adirondacks: beautiful drives in the fall or hikes in the summer
Syracuse : New York State Fair in September
Canada: Kingston (about 45 minute drive for a change in food and atmosphere) or Ottawa (2 ½ hours for a big walkable city)
Need to Know
Doctors in Watertown
There are few Dr’s in Watertown and the ones here are busy and booked. Expect to get on a waiting list for a couple of months for a primary care physician so sign up when you get here. If you need help sooner, try North Country Urgent Care for a cheaper alternative to the ER. The Samaritan Medical Center in town is a hospital and has specialists, etc
Note: Childcare in Watertown is also hard to come by. Many times there are waiting lists that stretch for months so plan accordingly.
Where to Go
Housing:
Local Apartments:
Ontario Village (315) 788-7397
Coffeen Heights (315) 788-0639
Thompson Park (315) 445-8990
Expect rents up to $1000 for a 3 bedroom apartment since military rents dictate the price
Search Craigslist and Watertown Daily Times Classifieds
You may also try Sackets Harbor, Brownsville, Pamelia, Calcium, Evans Mills, Black
River, or other close areas for housing
Also try local Realtors such as Lori Gervera for any listings that they might have
Also for info: city data forum/new york: watertown
Movers: Good Luck!
Utilities:
National Grid: 1-866-298-1514
National Grid (Niagara Mohawk) - Order National Grid (Niagara Mohawk) Electricity, National Grid (Niagara Mohawk) Gas with ConnectUtilities.com
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable (315) 782-5240
What the heck? For the non-New Yorkers:
Lake Effect Snow
When weather fronts come across Lake Ontario they can build up excessive water which then dumps snow and sleet in this area. (Particularly between Watertown and Syracuse (I-81 South)
Trash pickup
If you live in Watertown proper, you will need to find out what day your trash pickup and recyclable day is from http://www.citywatertown.org/dpw/streets.html (broken link). You will need to buy stickers (per trash bag) from local pharmacies, grocery stores, or other locales on the website for $2.50 each, or for a quarterly fee (plus deposit) you can rent a city trash container of different sizes, all depending on how much trash you accumulate.
Snow tires
You’ll probably need to purchase snow tires in December or January for winter/early spring to make it through ice and snow. If you have very new tires, you may make it through one season, but you’ll likely need them and they cost about the same or a little more as regular tires.
Mexican Food
There are two Mexican restaurants in Watertown-and none in the surrounding area. Do not go to either of them with high expectations! – Cook your own at home and invite us over! Same goes for BBQ.