Where would be best? (New York, Syracuse: low crime, house, transfer)

[Taboo]

hello Plattsburgher... glad to see you back on... haven't seen you for a bit... hope all is well !!!

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by plattsburgher

On the other hand there are lots of areas and neighborhoods (with some available rentals) that have great schools, recreation, community life, etc........I have named them before and will gladly do so again.

Yes, please, if you don’t mind. I’ve tried doing a search for “Plattsburgh” on the forums, and I get like 50 pages. If you could name them real quick, I would appreciate it.

Originally Posted by plattsburgher

I think the worst thing about up here is the weather, but that is me.

Heh. That doesn’t bother me at all. I don’t want a 9-month winter or anything, but winter should have snow in my mind.

Originally Posted by plattsburgher

If you are concerned about crime at all, there must be a way to look that up online, right?

Yep. Even City Data has the crime stats up. If you’re interested, they’re at:

http://www.city-data.com/city/Plattsburgh-New-York.html

According to those, Plattsburgh’s crime stats are WAY below the national average. But stats don’t always tell the whole story, which is why I wanted to ask a local. Your views are VERY much appreciated.

Originally Posted by plattsburgher

I talked to one Mom who just moved back here from AZ and the main reason was because of the gangs and home invasions and drug use. She wanted her kids to have a good childhood. She said no matter how much she got paid out there, it wasn't worth it to have to worry all the time and deal with traffic, stress and crime.

I completely understand. We’re in Washington State right now, and all of that is certainly true here. And the bad thing about here is that all of the gangs, burglaries, and drugs aren’t just “in the ’hood” up here. They’re everywhere. Unless you’re making top-dollar Microsoft or Boeing money, you really can’t afford a neighborhood to get away from it.

Originally Posted by plattsburgher

Those are my honest answers............any other questions, just ask away.

Crime and safety are our biggest concerns. Weather I can deal with. Entertainment…well, I’m pretty good at entertaining myself. Schools up there certainly look good from what I’m seeing.

Any more thoughts you have would be greatly appreciated.

[plattsburgher]

Where are you Taboo? Did you find a house yet? There are quite a few on the market now, although the good ones still seem to get snapped up pretty quickly.
For school district choices, my personal and real estate favored choices seem to be............1. Plattsburgh City School district -- hands down, my favorite due to so many options available for any child.....even disabled 2. Chazy Central School district (just north of town, but a quaint little district with a really intimate student/teacher ratio......almost like a private school. They have a wonderful active community theatre 3. Peru Central School District was the favorite district going back to when the Air Force Base generated millions of dollars of federal school aid so buildings and equipment there are immense and they are very welcoming for newbies, lots of new and established housing, farms, diversity, and it is a huge district....also very active community theatre and church and holiday festivities and recreational opportunities for kids 4. (DARK HORSE district would be the up and comer Beekmantown district.......due to lots and lots of development on Cumberland Head (lots of lakefront homes being built) I would imagine in the next few years, this district is going to have a lot more money than it does now and it isn't considered a bad district now.....
Plattsburgh Press Republican is the newspaper you can access online.........And yes, the crime rates are that low. In our newspaper, there is no listing of crimes, etc........The news report page is usually all about car accidents. We have the occasional murder, but it seems to be about 1 to 2 each year and it is almost always someone that the victim knew. I think during the 25 years that I have lived here, there is only 1 unsolved murder out of maybe 15 or 20 murders for the entire 25 years........! In one place I lived, you could have that many in a bad month and they were random.... carjacking, robbery, banks, convenience store murders, etc.......just cold. None of that here. My other concern is just that you have your job set for you before you get here. It isn't a huge place here (25,000?), so there isn't an enormous job market. Other than that, people are great, houses are modestly priced, winters are cold, schools, community life is great, healthcare is great, low, low stress, no traffic, lots of natural beauty everywhere, friendly neighbors, great place to have a real childhood..........Anything else, ask away?

[Manhattan-ite]

CampingMom... you live in Dutchess County and say you'd like to move to a "less crowded" area of New York.



I've got to ask. What is "crowded" for you? Dutchess looks pretty rural and quiet to me...

The 40,000+ people in Poughkeepsie is as massive as it gets. Which is not much at all...

Maybe there are ovecrowded areas in Dutchess I don't know about?

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by plattsburgher

Anything else, ask away?

What about he prison nearby in Dannemora? I have read that it is causing two problems: One, wives/girlfriends move into the area to be near their incarcerarted significant other. And two, in order to save money, New York has stopped sending released inmates back to NYC. They are basically being let out the door, and many are ending up on unemployment and welfare in nearby Plattsburgh. Having out-of-work ex-cons slowly filling the area is causing a sharp increase in crime and a downturn in the community in Plattsburgh.

Is there any truth to any of that?

[garmin239]

When I attended school in Plattsburgh I did not notice much crime in the city of Plattsburgh. You had some drug trafficking that sometimes went through Plattsburgh due to the proximity to the border, but I did not notice many ex cons running around causing trouble.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by garmin239

When I attended school in Plattsburgh I did not notice much crime in the city of Plattsburgh.

How long ago was that, if you don't mind my asking?

[garmin239]

I left in 02. I still talk to some of the locals I became friends with and they don't seem to have any problems up there. My state trooper friend that patroled that area didn't have too many problems either. Just your typical crime for an area that size.

[plattsburgher]

from a few months ago. I didn't think it meant anything of significance then, and my feelings have not changed a bit in recent months......I will tell you why. This just isn't a high crime area. If you do something and especially if you have some sort of record, you are going to stand out.....in a huge way! There are some sex offenders here (and everywhere, probably). I am not going to say that this area is perfect crime-wise. I doubt unless you move to a place that has zero population, that you are going to find absolutely no crime whatsoever..........

However, even if people are "let out of jail" here, they are going to find a way back home where they can hang out and be part of what they were before they got here. I don't think anyone from NYC thinks that Plattsburgh, New York feels like "home". It probably feels like you are outnumbered by thousands of Irish American, Catholic, Waspy people who are all over you with police and patrols etc........If you happen to be a minority, you definitely stand out up here. When the Air Base was here, there were more minorities, but now it is much worse for minorities. This may seem like a minor point but I have heard downstaters complain about how much colder it is "up here". It does not feel like southern New York. People who don't have a reason to hang around up here, usually don't. That's why I keep saying it is very cold up here and is a long winter. I'm not joking.....

When you looked up the crime stats online, you said you found very little action. I have children in schools, friends in various jobs, and I work in two or three locations and nothing has changed for us in the past year or so. People keep moving here, even from Vermont, where the drug picture has worsened over in Burlington enough so that families have started crossing the lake.....not just because of one factor but also because housing is about half the cost of what it is over there. However, jobs are more plentiful, the city is much bigger and the diversity and college action and entertainment is much better in Vermont. I was there both on Friday and Sunday nights to see concerts (Lindsay Buckingham from Fleetwood Mac) so it is an easy commute.......I don't think you can compare either one of the two to what most people consider moderate crime areas..........there are no drive-bys here, no home invasions here, no indiscriminate, random murders, armed robberies....... Plattsburgh is pretty boring overall.............but sometimes boring is good.

[CampingMom]

Originally Posted by Manhattan-ite

CampingMom... you live in Dutchess County and say you'd like to move to a "less crowded" area of New York.



I've got to ask. What is "crowded" for you? Dutchess looks pretty rural and quiet to me...

The 40,000+ people in Poughkeepsie is as massive as it gets. Which is not much at all...

Maybe there are ovecrowded areas in Dutchess I don't know about?

Well if your from the city, this would be rural I guess to you. For me, living in a area that has almost 300,000 it's a bit much anymore. Southern Dutchess during rush hour is a nightmare-Hopewell Junction and Fishkill especially. What used to be a 12 min ride to home from work-now takes me over 40 min-it's 12 miles. That's crazy. To go across Fishkill from Rt.9 to I-84 on 52 can take almost 15 min to go 1 1/2 miles at peak times. It's worse if there's a accident on I-84-they ALL cut through the Village to avoid the wait.

If your in Northern Dutchess, it's more rural than the Southern half. But even that's been noticed by the weekenders. Traffic is heavy in Rhinebeck on weekends-forget fair time-we avoid that.

I'd rather live in a very rural area-that's what Dutchess used to be. I don't want to live where there's cluster housing-Toll Brothers is building 896 homes and townhomes 1/2 mile from me. Living on a road that's 800ft long that gets 3000 cars a day is too much. Give me peace and quiet-not in the direct flight path to the runway at Stewart International-C5-A's fly over ALL day on Tuesday's and they are loud! Now that the Port Authority is taking it over-air space here will be very noisy. I've been to northern parts of NY that you never hear the planes-it's constant here.

It's changed a LOT in my 41 years and I long for the quiet, no traffic and birds. What I grew up with.