Help us decide where in NY is the safest, nicest, least expensive, best place to live from this list or any other place (Liberty: day care, theater)

[ny2ncMama]

They are all pretty horrible! I am a 28 and my husband is 38 and we have two kids. Last year, we sold our house (perfect timing huh?) and moved to NC with the rest of our fellow NY'ers! lol You are young, don't waste your life up there.
-ST.WALDEN _Trash
-HIGHLAND-not sure
-GRAHAMSVILLE-hill billy ville
-MONTICELLO-ghetto (went to hs there)
-LIBERTY-even worse than monticello

recordonline.com...they cover all the crime in those areas...good luck!

[Genevanative]

I agree with the Finger Lakes Region. Affordable....Beautiful.....

How about a small city like Geneva? At the north end of Seneca Lake, you are just about halfway between 2 bigger cities (Rochester and Syracuse). It is also home to Hobart and William Smith Colleges, so you have an academic feel, along with a Division I lacrosse team, and several cultural offerings.
There's also the NYS Agricultural Experimental Station (affiliated with Cornell U), and Geneva General Hospital, just to name a few local employers.
The population (and income level) is diverse, with a significant hispanic and african american segment. Depends on what you are looking for. Many people don't like that diverse element, but hey, I feel its a good representation of the world. Many of the college professors are foreign, and their children also attend the local schools....
Geneva also has a Wegmans, and they're just finishing construction of a Lowes right outside of town. There's also a multiplex cinema, as well as the historic Smith Opera House, which shows movies, as well as concerts (Within the last year, Gym Class Heroes have played there, and last month the Drifters and the Marcels played), and theater productions (The Nutcracker)...
Eastview Mall is about 30 miles away (and just off the NYS Thruway), so great shopping is nearby.
And the wineries!!!! Holy cow!!! Check out a map, and you'll see that Seneca Lake has more wineries than any of the other finger Lakes, but all of them are right nearby.

You are also only an hours drive from Ithaca, home of Cornell University and Ithaca colleges...

Home prices in Geneva are reasonable too.....you would be able to get a respectable home in a decent neighborhood for a little over $100k...

[zack23]

Have you checked out the Kingston area? It's a buyers market around here and I'm sure you can find a house in the 160k-180k range. Its half way between NYC and Albany. My main complaint with this area are the property taxes and the Kingston High School but thats a long way off for you. Search the Real Estate listings and remember its a buyers market so you can count on 10% or more off the listing price. Remember also your looking at at least 350.00 a month for School / County/City taxes. Good luck

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by Genevanative

I agree with the Finger Lakes Region. Affordable....Beautiful.....

How about a small city like Geneva? At the north end of Seneca Lake, you are just about halfway between 2 bigger cities (Rochester and Syracuse). It is also home to Hobart and William Smith Colleges, so you have an academic feel, along with a Division I lacrosse team, and several cultural offerings.
There's also the NYS Agricultural Experimental Station (affiliated with Cornell U), and Geneva General Hospital, just to name a few local employers.
The population (and income level) is diverse, with a significant hispanic and african american segment. Depends on what you are looking for. Many people don't like that diverse element, but hey, I feel its a good representation of the world. Many of the college professors are foreign, and their children also attend the local schools....
Geneva also has a Wegmans, and they're just finishing construction of a Lowes right outside of town. There's also a multiplex cinema, as well as the historic Smith Opera House, which shows movies, as well as concerts (Within the last year, Gym Class Heroes have played there, and last month the Drifters and the Marcels played), and theater productions (The Nutcracker)...
Eastview Mall is about 30 miles away (and just off the NYS Thruway), so great shopping is nearby.
And the wineries!!!! Holy cow!!! Check out a map, and you'll see that Seneca Lake has more wineries than any of the other finger Lakes, but all of them are right nearby.

You are also only an hours drive from Ithaca, home of Cornell University and Ithaca colleges...

Home prices in Geneva are reasonable too.....you would be able to get a respectable home in a decent neighborhood for a little over $100k...

Geneva is a nice little city in the Finger Lakes.

[scjo52]

Read my post in the "Seneca Falls - Geneva pros and cons" forum before you consider moving to the Finger Lakes/Rochester region. If lake sports are your thing, great place. If you're old and ill, the area has a lot of good medical/ elderly services. Otherwise, beware. In the earlier post I forgot to mention corruption: banks, lawyers, utilities, local government, police. On the surface these services are fine (and there are good people), but do not put your full trust in them regarding any serious issue like your money or your welfare. Many, many people in these services here seem to be beholden to someone or something besides their customers, especially if you aren't from this area. Also, if you have a complex issue, like a legal maze, you'll find so-called "professionals" too afraid to handle them, no matter what they say they can do and how much they charge you. Yes, I'm talking about banks, local govt., and lawyers. Some of the most honest people I've found are the local contractors, plumbers, etc...but don't take my word for it. NOTE: there are a lot of registered sex-offenders in this area - more than some areas I've lived in. Look it up on the web.]

[geos]

Unless you like long brutal winters do not move to Oneonta or areas north and west. The cultural opportunities are very limited too. There's lots of nature and summers are nice but there's more precipitation here than in the Pacific Northwest. Cobleskill is closer to Albany and out of the lake effect snow belt.

You might consider PA along the NJ & NY border. Places like Milford, along the Delaware Water Gap or areas north of Easton. Less taxes, reasonable proximity to the "big show" if you want to get to NYC for entertainment.

[piperspal]

I agree with zack23; although I would pick Highland as the place to live based on your OP input. I think Kingston is on the rise among the 20 to 40 crowd,
both singles & marrieds. But Highland IMO is more "suburban" than Kingston (although that term is a stretch anywhere in the Hudson Valley). Highland
is close enough to Kingston and the other side of the river; ie malls, shopping, dining, attractions, etc.

Are you sold on the Hudson Valley, or are you open to going further upstate or further into western NY? The prices tend to drop a bit with more
available properties in your price range.

Best of luck wherever you land!

[iamemilina]

If you were planning to start a family, may I suggest narrowing (or adding to) the list by how good the school district is? Or perhaps think about a more urban area for the nightlife and nearby attractions and possibly moving to a more child-raising-friendly area in the future.

I really have no idea of whether that's actually sound advice, but it could be a nice way to help you choose. It seems that the previous repliers are much more helpful than I could be in terms of area info.

Good luck!

[cardboy2454]

you have places in the middle of nowhere going nowhere. try virginia. better weather, better night life, ny is in a bad place right now and although i would like to encourage people to come here i have been watching hopes get dashed for 20 years now because of the worst politicians and state political system in the country and our highest taxes in the country prove that. save yourself years of heartache and struggle and make a better decision then to come to upstate ny.

[kbrkr]

I think you may also like Marlboro and Northern Newburgh area. Very reasonable housing, some good schools, great approximation to major shopping, entertainment, and the beautiful Hudson River. There is lot's to do along the waterfront which is in sort of a revival mode.

I read about LOTS of crime in Monticello around drugs, I would try to stay in Orange county there are some great safe family communities here and more and more shopping moving into the area.