Relocation suggestions (New York, Buffalo, Rochester: house, safe neighborhoods, buy)

[gleesbid]

I have searched a lot through all the great threads in this forum, and I'm so appreciative of all the helpful information.

We are from NC looking to move north. My husband is a very "small-town," conservative southerner. He likes to hunt with his father, fish, hike, go rock climbing, and mountain biking. He does not prefer big cities, but also doesn't want to live in a tiny town either.

The problem:
I am severely allergic to fire ants. We have them everywhere in NC and I don't like being afraid of them all the time. We're trying to get rid of them on our property, but they are in the sidewalk cracks right outside my office building, at the grocery store, etc. and I can't totally avoid them. My husband loves snow and cold weather anyway, so he's game to leave ths south.

We want to be near a big city for work. I work in software and my husband is a structural engineer. We met in grad school and love college sports more than anything. We'd like to find a nice town, probably outside a large city, with good restaurants, sports to watch, safe neighborhoods, and a conservative vibe. Being close to the mountains would be wonderful.

I think this is close-minded about my husband but I can't do much about it: he doesn't want to move to a very liberal area. We were relocated to Colorado for a little while and the liberal town of Boulder infuriated him. I was military at the time and protestors would sometimes gather and scream at all of us as we drove off base. I didn't like that either, but it really made my husband upset. I'm sorry if this offends anyone, it is certainly not intended that way.

Anyway, I would love some suggestions/advice/commentary about towns like Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, Albany, Saratoga Springs, etc. I haven't spent a whole lot of time in upstate New York, but in the few times that I have, I was blown away by how beautiful it is.

Thank you in advance for any input!

[garmin239]

You may want to look elsewhere if you want to be near a decent sized city AND be in a conservative area. Most of the cities and areas around here are pretty liberal compared to the rest of the country. If you go to the more rural areas, it will be more conservative, but you won't be too close to any city.

[ckhthankgod]

If anywhere, maybe the Watertown area might be good, but it is a snaller city of about 26,000.

[Jeromeville]

Sounds like you should check out Syracuse - if you are looking for a conservative type nearby town, try Baldwinsville. Syracuse is not a conservative town, there is a mix of views. But liberals will never be in your face. With the exception of maybe Ithaca (don't go there if you want to avoid liberals!!!), upstate NY is not a place where people parade their political views around aggressively and nobody would scream at soldiers here (that's awful!)

Syracuse might give you the job opportunities you look for. Also it is not a far drive from recreational activities, hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, camping, you name it. and is a college sports town (altho the football team really sucks right now, the basketball team is still good) and there is also a baseball and a hockey team. And appreciative of the military so no worries about that.

[Tioga]

Hmm..I seem to remember those fire ants when down south for "Uncle"...agressive is an understatement(when disturbed). One plus not mentioned so far is the overall lack of vermin up our way(southern tier). No fire ants, not much of a termite problem, no chiggers, none of the dangerous spiders, no scorpions, almost no poisionous snakes, very few ticks, and no problem w/roaches/rats if you keep a place clean. Even though NY is thought of by many in the US as a liberal state, "UPSTATE" is "generally" conservative..with many veterans and gun owners. Taxes and utilities are the 2 often mentioned negatives. But buy rural...and use alternative heating(lots of wood up here), and you can make those 2 issues less of a reason not to live here.

[alexei27]

Eh...Albany might be a good bet. I guess the only issue would be the political climate. But to be honest...I lived in the burbs of Albany...and am military...for 8 years and don't remember the least bit of a problem.

Taxes are high compared to NC as are probably utilities as other posters have said.

On your list of goodies...winters are rough, lots of college sports around, etc.

One other issue in Albany...traffic! I would recommending looking for a house south of Albany esp if you wanted to commute into the city. I-87 is the only main drag into the northern suburbs and it's a disaster!

Its been a few years....but if you have any specific questions....hit me up.

Oh yeah...the alternative heating remark is dead on. Lots of good pellet stove dealers in upstate NY.

[gleesbid]

Wow, thank you so much for the input! It is all really helpful. The comment about the lack of insects/pests is fantastic in particular.

I'm excited to take a trip north and check out various areas. As long as the people are friendly, we'll be fine wherever we end up (and all of you seem great!).

And my husband would be thrilled to not have to run the A/C most of the year.

Thank you again!

[honeychrome]

Depending on the micro-climate of the site of your house, you probably won't need a/c at all in most of upstate NY (especially if you are used to NC summers).

[piperspal]

I agree with the other posters; New York is pretty much a liberal/democratic state voting wise - but there are plenty here who keep things in balance. (There are even a few of us registered voters who don't have a party affiliation!) Maybe I'm just patriotic, but around here I have seen ONLY respect, admiration, and gratitude displayed to our men & women in uniform.

I used to live in Colorado & cracked up when you mentioned Boulder. I still walk the Mall with my mom whenever I go back to visit - she's only about 10 minutes outside of Boulder. Sometimes it's nice to get a quick glimpse of how other people live...and then get outta there just as quick!!

Good towns in the capital district that have a spacious feel to the neighborhoods AND are loved by hunters: Altamont, Averill Park, Scotia/Glenville, Greenville, Bethlehem....just to give you a sampling.

[Buffalonian4life]

Try Buffalo, NY? pop - 1.25 million, live in the suburbs, commute to city?