Looking for some info on Western NY :) (New York, Buffalo: ski resorts, for sale)

[Minathebrat]

Hello everyone
My family and I want to move to western NY. I've read many posts, and they usually revolve around the larger cities, but my family and I are looking to move to a more rural area- we're considering the Finger Lakes or Chautauqua-Allegheny region.
We want to be able to farm on a small-scale basis, and so I'm looking at acreage, not in-town real estate.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a great location for a more rural move?
I do have children, so schools are a consideration. I realize my query covers a large geographical region, but I'm just trying to get some ideas and opinions from people who know the region better than I do.
We're not concerned with immediate access to all sorts of culture-y city perks. Need museum will travel, so to speak. My main requirement is to be able to go outside, breathe deep the good air, look at the beauty all around and have my heart sing! I know of no other place better for that than upstate! Thank you in advance for taking the time to answer my question!

[Krisps]

I think Chaut. county is ideal. It's more affordable than the finger lakes and just as beautiful, and you have the small cities of Erie and Jamestown, and also Buffalo, nearby. Quality of life is very good here I think. This area gets lots of snow in the winter, some love it and some hate it. Cattaraugus and Allegany counties are more remote, rural, and forested, very hilly, almost mountainous, and more affordable. Chaut. county lists all real estate on a single site and it includes even some properties in Catt. and Allegany counties too. Search the net for Chautauqua county and MLS.

[ckhthankgod]

You can check this out:Real Estate Listings and Homes for Sale - Realtor.com

Good Luck.......

[Minathebrat]

Thank you for your opinion krisps! I wanted to do a quick look into Chaut. before I responded, and it's been a crazy day! Looking at topography, it does appear flatter then the neighboring counties and have warmer gardening zones-which is great imo! . When you say crazy snow, it gets lake effect snow then? I'll have to look into the figures at how much that means, but right now, having snowy winters where the snow stays put and doesn't immediately start slushing appeals. Would you consider Chaut. hilly? Is there good skiing in the winter? Do you live there now? Are the people friendly? It's so exciting that you say it's just as beautiful as the finger lakes area- I've been to the finger lakes area, and I find it stunning, so that's fantastic! Do you know anything about schools from the grapevine? What is your favorite town?
Sorry so many questions, but thanks for your imput!

[Minathebrat]

Hey ckhthankgod Thank you for the link! What a ton of properties! Holy cow. But I appreciate the info to start wading through.

[Krisps]

Hi Mina. I live in Catt. county just a few miles east of Chaut. county but I know drive Chaut. a lot. Lake effect snow is big, yep. There is a ridge line that parallels Lake Erie from PA up to south of Buffalo and that area really gets smacked with snow, sometimes as much as 200" (for example, the towns of Mayville and Sherman), but lake effect snow can sometimes be unpredictable. Depending on the time of year and the wind, it can dump on very localized areas while other areas are spared. But I think 100-150" generally is common for most of the county. Snowmobiling and skiing are big. The most popular ski resorts are Peak n Peek near Findley Lake (not a big hill but a beautiful resort and family oriented) and Holiday Valley in Ellicottville, Catt. county (usually rated one of the top resorts in the east, very popular ski town).

Chaut. is hilly, rolling gently agricultural type hills, very scenic, very pleasant. Probably the nicest areas are the Chaut. lake area (the feature area, I think it resembles a finger lake, but not as deep), the Findley Lake area (cute little lake and town), the area along Lake Erie (miles of vineyards, this time of year the sweet aroma of juicy concords is powerful), and the general country south of Chaut. lake to PA (lots of farms and Amish). The towns I like most are Mayville, Westfield, Fredonia, Bemus Point. I don't have kids but as far as I know, the schools are good (they must be with all that tax money they get!).

If you visit, you really should see the Chaut. Institute, it is really something to see. It is how I imagine the ideal (and wealthy!) small town America of 100 years ago. If you like concerts, plays, opera, lectures, you will love the place. The people that live there are a bit snobby, but generally the people in the county are friendly and down to earth.

[Minathebrat]

Hi Krisps
Thanks for your detailed response. That is alot of snow! Out of curiosity, how long does it take to melt in spring? Are there mounds into May? lol Are the vineyards along the lake used for wine or juice? From what I could find, it seemed like they were juice grapes, but how cool is that?!
You mentioned taxes, and I have to ask, cuz you really never know with NY state- their version of reasonable and my version of insane usually seem to fall in together. Are the taxes in Chaut. higher than the rest of the region? Is there a ball park figure?
I had never heard of the Chaut. Institute before! Problem with upstate/downstate relations, there seems to be total disconnect. I feel like I know more about other places than my own state. That's one of the reasons I want to stay in NY- I feel like New Yorkers should be the first to line up to support their own state by buying local and staying local. Anyway, off my soapbox hehe. Do people live at the institute full time? Is it a town then? It seemed to me to be like a summer learning center..but please correct me if I'm wrong.
It will be fun checking out the skiing in the winter, I don't mind that the hills aren't huge, I'm more of a cross country skiier anyway, and gentle hills are just peachy with me.
What sort of rep does SUNY Fedonia have? I'm in the process of continuing education, and I went to the website, and it looks like it has course study I'd be interested in, but I don't know anything else about it.
Is Chaut. still considered Southern Tier? Can you think of anything else about the area? I'm itching to take a drive and start poking around...
Krisps you're my hero!

[Krisps]

Mina, the last piles just melted a couple weeks ago, ha. Seriously, late winter/early spring is probably the most difficult time here. Starting in late March, you get teases of spring then get hit again with winter several times, and this goes on through April. Usually though, snow is gone by middle to end of April, except for some of the north facing slopes.

The vineyards are mostly concords for juice. This is the concord capital, where Welch's was started. There are also a bunch of wineries, down to PA and OH too, mostly sweet wines or funky grape juice as I call it, but they're not bad.

The tax state, that should be the state's nickname instead of the empire state. Are you from the NYC area? If yes, you probably see worse. For a $100K house with an acre that's not near a lake, I'd guess you'd pay maybe $3K or more in taxes depending on location.

There are people that are sentenced (or live) in the institute full time, but I think most live there just for the summer. There is a lot of wealth there and most of them are from way outside the area. It is a gated lakeside community, very pedestrian too. You must pay to get in there (except Sundays) or unless you have a ticket for an event like a concert. It is a learning center, kind of like a college campus for intellectuals, the only place where I've seen people reading books at a rock concert.

Fredonia is a pretty good school I think, but I don't know it real well. There are also a lot of schools in Erie, PA.

Chaut. is southern tier, which is pretty much the counties which border PA. If you visit, also check Allegany (Wellsville, Cuba, Angelica) and Catt. counties (Ellicottville, Olean), and stop at Letchworth state park, the most spectacular place in wny after the falls.

[Minathebrat]

Yes that last hang-on of winter can be hard- it's like hurry up and go already! lol But I think I'd rather deal with the snow than the maruading dampness you get here close to the water. It's not as cold temperature wise, but so damp the cold seeps into your bones. It stinks. Snow turns into gray muck fast.
Yes, I'm familiar with the insanity of the taxes unfortunately. I live in Westchester right now..grew up here. After I got married I've lived just about everywhere, from Alabama to Alaska. I've been out in the desert the last few years and moved back to NY last year. It's been bittersweet...it's changed alot since I've been away, and not so much for the better imo. Then again, maybe it's me that has changed. Anyway, NY is home, but there's no way I'm staying around here. There's a million reasons, but I don't want to rant lol. Suffice to say I want a smaller urban setting.
Ouf of curiosity, if you were to buy a house in-town in Chaut. county, which one would it be and why?
It's been my experience that gated communities are ones that I have no desire to live in. They're very popular out west, don't know why. The concert bit sounds interesting though.
I've read alot of people talking about the economic depression of the Southern Tier. What's your take on it?
Cheers!

[Krisps]

Mina, the economy is struggling here yeah, just like most of the rust belt. It's been like this for decades here. The major city of the county is Jamestown, which is probably where the economy is worst, though I still think it's a nice little city (with extremely low priced real estate). It once had a lot of industry, mainly with furniture mfg. It's hard to believe that furniture was once manufactured in the US eh? But the county as a whole has weathered the times pretty well I think with the help of agriculture and tourism.

I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for in a house, but Westfield is pretty hard to beat, beautiful village in grape country, easy drive to Erie and Buffalo, and right between Lake Erie and Chaut. lake. I've been looking at homes myself over the past year, I'll send you a link in a private message.