Finger Lake town info/impressions (Rochester, Niagara Falls: rental, new house, neighborhood)

[I'minformed2]

Well, I think you said it would be nice to be within close distance to a city.... Canandaigua is within half an hour of Rochester, there are some suburban areas on the fringes of the town, but most of it is homes where built before WWII, and quite a few even before the Civil War . I'm not as familiar with Auburn but I know it's a bit larger than you seem to want, with about 30,000 people. Candaigua has about 11,000. It may also be a concern to you that Auburn is home to Auburn Prison, a "hard crime prison" where they send a lot of the gang members from the NYC area. If you hadn't already guessed, my suggestion would still be Canandaigua, it just sounds like it's more the kind of town you are looking for. It's also RIGHT on one of the finger lakes. Ontario County was just rated the best rural county in America in which to live as well (Canandaigua is the county seat of Ontario County). Here's a nice little article from the organization that ranked it the highest explainign why and giving a good description of life in the area. http://www.progressivefarmer.com/far...01ontario.html

[homeward bound]

Thanks, i'minformed! You certainly are. Everything you've posted about places I know about has been spot-on, so what you say here sure seems to make sense. And yes, the Aurburn prison presence would be worrisome. There are several other prisons in the Finger Lakes area too, aren't there? Do they make for a tense atmosphere in the towns where they're located?

[I'minformed2]

The only other major prison I can think up off the top of my head is the infamous Attica, but that's further west by Buffalo, not really in the fingerlakes region.

[Phish Head]

I've never lived upstate, but I lived a few miles outside the area. If you are open to the eastern part of the state, I'm looking pretty hard at the Glens Falls area. Home prices are still low (but appreciating). I've been there a few times and it seems like a nice hometown, plus it does have all the necessities like shopping, movie theatres, entertainment, etc. I think it was voted #1 hometown some time ago by Reader's Digest. I also like it because its within 3 hours (give or take) of NYC, Boston, and Montreal, while also being smack in the middle of large wooded, mountainous areas with lots of lakes. Adirondacks right nearby, as well as VT.

I checked into Rochester and I liked it, but its a bit too far from my family in NJ (about 6 hours)....Glens Falls is only 3.5. If you decide to go there, I'll see you up there within a year!!!

[Thom22]

Livingston County is a great place to look for a small town. Avon, Livonia, Geneseo (even though it is a small college town), Honeoye Falls (technically that is in Monroe County, but it borders Livingston and is very quaint). All of these are great towns 30 minutes or less from Rochester. They are all small communities with all of the appeal that small towns offer.

If you want to be a little further than 30 minutes put Naples is your search as well. That is a beautiful place to live.

I live in Livonia and it is a wonderful place to raise kids. The others are equally as good. I am currently relocating to NY Metro and will miss this area, but I highly reccommend it for anyone who wants to live in a great small community (kinda like Mayberry).

Good luck

Dave

[Muggy]

Ok, thanks for painting the picture. I have a few thoughts:

I am going to 2nd Canandaigua for hitting all of the reasons you listed. I honestly can't think of anything negative (maybe high taxes). There is even a public swimming park right at the end of Main Street on the lake.

Make sure you have connections or are already licensed to teach in NYS. The region produces a TON of teachers and competition is fierce. At one point my wife was running a daycare in Roch and we both couldn't believe that one year she hired 2 fully certified (with masters) teachers at $6/hr.
It is really, really tight.

Best of luck! If I could wave a magic wand I would be a teacher in the Finger Lakes region. The NYS certification process is just absolutely insane now.
Let us know how it turns out.

I still think you should check out Skaneateles (even though it may be more expensive). I would take 1/2 the sq. ft. in Skan over Auburn anyday.

[Muggy]

Homeward, I just realized that you are the person from the N.C. thread. I can be incredibly absent-minded sometimes...

Reading the other posts made me realize that you probably wouldn't like Auburn. Some of the Finger Lakes towns never totally regained their downtowns. I would say this is true of Auburn. It's not entirely pedestrian friendly and when I read your post about letting your kids be kids, it isn't exactly the kind of place I would let kids run around (just a sort of related sidenote: The prison is not in downtown, it is located to the East between Auburn and Skan. It really isn't a big deal beyond being a big ugly building).

There are two school districts in greater Rochester that I always thought served every kid (the artist, the athlete, the bookworm etc.). One is Fairport, and the other is Canandaigua (not technically Roch, but a ton of people commute).

Your comments about space on the N.C. thread really struck me and ring true as far as my thoughts and observations. I really do think you're ahead of the curve. All of my friends (approching their 30's) have settled into careers but did so outside of WNY. All of us have some issue with where we are. And I mean an issue that makes brushing snow off your car seem like a great trade. When I first arrived in St. Pete I couldn't get over some of the violence. Every night on the news: home invasion, hit and run, sex offense... And no, these crimes don't happen everywhere. I can't remember a single time in WNY when police issued a report to look for a car with specific damage. About 6 times in as many months the NEWS channels announced, "if you see a white blah blah pickup with damage to it's left fender, call the Sheriff's..." It's just a given here: if you get hit they don't stop.

The most serious infraction to me, however, is the lack of respect for the civic sphere. This is mostly because there is no civic sphere. This is what I think the core of your desire to move is: to live in a place where people respect everything, or at least consider the consequences of ther actions. Every week I pick trash and beer cans out of my yard and the street. I find myself pulling into parking lots to avoid road ragers... you get the idea. I think the lack of civility, due to the lack of a civic sphere, is what propels the aforementioned crimes.

I still love Florida - and I am here on a specific mission - but I am slowly planning my return to the Finger Lakes (especially when we have rugrats!).

I happen to love the South Keuka Lake area...

[I'minformed2]

There are two school districts in greater Rochester that I always thought served every kid (the artist, the athlete, the bookworm etc.). One is Fairport, and the other is Canandaigua (not technically Roch, but a ton of people commute).

Fairport and Pittsford school districts were just ranked in the top 50, with Brighton not far behind (all of these are fairly affluent suburbs of Rochester, yet still very affordable on national terms; Pittsford has the highest median home price in monroe county, and it's only $220,000).... but I still say Canandaigua fits you perfectly, it's not quite suburbia, so it still holds it's own small town identity, but it's definitely close enough to Rochester to commute for a job, or get some city culture/amenities.

[homeward bound]

Muggy, thanks very much for your thoughtful feedback. What you say makes a lot of sense. I know what you about what violence does to your sense of home. As I've written elsewhere, we've been battered by the behavior of way too many college students per square foot here. It's been almost as violent as what you experienced in St. Pete, FL: people (always college students!) breaking in drunk out of their minds or tripping on mushrooms, our cars broken into & vandalized & one totaled just because I parked it (legally and tight against the curb) on the street, chronic threats and scenes of people fighting, attempted rapes I've had to intercede in with a bat, pedestrians getting run over by drunk drivers who then zoom off, etc., etc. I lived in the slums of Buffalo for several of the years I lived in western NY, and *never* had to deal with what we have to deal with in this supposedly idyllic college town. At least half of our 24,000 (no accident w/ the zereos!) college students turn into barbarians when they drink. In terms of the civic space issue, it's telling that our current town's only real civic space is its two blocks of bars, and the huge football stadium on the this-town-is-a-puncing-bag game days. I'm no teatotaler, but that's this town's whole culture: drink till you puke, fight, howl, break things, then drink some more. Thursday through Saturday, between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m., the town is crawling with THOUSANDS of drunk, looking-for-violence college students--and they'll hit you with a brick--no kidding--if God forbid you try to keep them from smashing up your house. The cops turn a blind eye 'cause it's part of the Virginia Tech "tradition." It's part of why I want to teach elementary school rather than the college level where I've been for 20 years: I'm sick of the cynicism and violence of spirit. I know that evil happens everywhere, but the scope and volume of it here just gets too much. Canandaigua, then, sounds great--and I appreciate your cautions about Auburn. We're defintely seeking family live-ability most of all. I am somewhat worried about the job situation--my wife's a really accomplished highschool teacher, and I'm a college teaching veteran, so that might help us. But I'm going to start scouting out what we'll need to do to get NY certified before we move up there. As I scan over town stats and the currently available houses up there, it's incredibly hard not to want to move tomorrow. I've already gone back to the store for a few more lottery tickets! Thanks again--and to the others who've been so helpful.

[Muggy]

Informed, thanks for adding those. I am a product of the Pittsford school system and the other half of my circle is a product of Brighton's. I specifically left them out because I wouldn't consider them "Finger Lakes Region."

To clarify, I suggested Canandaigua as far as schools go because Homeward has a wide range of children. My wife and I will be starting a family soon and we already know we want a school district that has something for every child. I am not bashing Pittsford (I had a great experience), but there are a few things that might make it difficult for teens to have what I would consider a 'normal' experience (affluenza, in particular). My children don't need to be crashing Ferrari's. O.k., what I am trying to say, basically, and I have nothing but anecdotal evidence, is that Canandaigua may be the most diverse and accomodating district in the Finger Lakes. If I lived in the Rochester area, I would want Fairport. Disclaimer: these are based on my preferences for educational environments that include everybody (poor, rich, middle, all races & religions).

Homeward, there are several community colleges in that area, so they may be an option.

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