Finger Lake town info/impressions (New York, Buffalo: renting, home, new construction)

[Genevanative]

Originally Posted by homeward bound

Jeryme, we're kind of in the same boat. My wife is a highschool English teacher, I've been teaching college for 21 years. And we're INTENT on moving to the Finger Lakes/Central NY area ASAP but anxious about teaching openings (I'm gonna move from college to elementary or middle school teaching), for many of the reasons you cite. It's a great place to live, and we're determined to raise our two youngest kids there (our oldest two are gone or heading to college).

From the feedback I've seen on this forum, it much depends on
*your area of expertise/certification, with math, science, and special ed being the "hottest" areas
*whether you've got the NY State certification in hand
*whether you've got your master's in hand
*what level you'll be teaching at (with middle school jobs easier to get than elementary level jobs)
*and, of course, where you're locating/applying.

There's been much posted on this forum about exactly the towns/cities you list, so I suggest you do searches or cruise through older pages. In short, though, all the places you mention have a lot going for them. But since several are college towns, these are probably the toughest places to land a teaching job since many NY State colleges really pump out the young teachers, and some districts like to hire INexperienced teachers to save money. Also, many college faculty members (like myself, now that I think about it!) have spouses who are public school teachers, so that by itself makes it a buyer's market in terms of landing teaching jobs.

I hope this isn't discouraging. I'm sure you'll find something you'll love. Apparently a hiring boom has to happen, even with NY State's budget/tax problems, since a lot of NY State teachers are due to retire. And increasing noise about reducing their pretty lavish (by standards elsewhere) retirement benefits may prompt a lot of near-retirement teachers to retire ASAP and lock in the benefits. So there's probably a lot of reason for hope for all of us.

And I'm sure this is a great place to move to and live in. You may bump into us while biking! (I'll be the one making excuses to stop and wheeze and nap.)

I hope you'll post your expeiences, and BEST of luck!

Hello,
I am a resident of Geneva (in fact, I grew up here, left for college several years ago, and have lived in other areas as well) who has also taught in the local school district for the past 20 years or so.
I am curious to find out where you heard that NYS is trying to reduce our nice retirement benefits.

I am thrilled that you folks are interested in the fingerlakes, because it is a beautiful area and a great place to raise children. I can give you the low down on teacher certification, as well as life in the various finger lakes towns, cities and villages.

I love it here. I have lived in other places, even in another country, and I CHOSE to return not only to NYS, but to Geneva, the city in which I was raised (and my 80 year old immigrant parents still reside) , and to teach in the same school system where I was educated.

Each of the many towns and villages (and different lakes) has their own personality and atmosphere, as well as positive and negative attibutes. Geneva differs from other towns and villages in that the population is quite diverse. There are many 2nd and 3rd generation Italian immigrant familes, as well as Hispanic, Asian, and African American families as well. Is that a positive thing? You betcha!!!!

However, if you leave Geneva and travel to the neighboring towns and villages, Geneva is much maligned as being seedy, welfare-ridden, and run down.
Its all a matter of perspective. We have the world here. I have gained so much by growing up with and teaching students of various races and nationalities, I am a better person for it. I have learned to appreciate the Puerto Rican, Chinese, African, Korean, and Japanese culture and all that it includes.
Geneva is certainly a microcosm of a large city, and of course, with that comes large city problems as well.

We do have great restaurants, fabulous shopping within a 10 minute drive, a city school district teeming with dedicated first rate teaching professionals. We are also a one hour drive from Ithaca, Rochester, and Syracuse, and all they have to offer.

I could go on and on, but if I can answer specific questions, by all means, fire away!!!

[ultratech2008]

Mini-Vacation question? Hi celecrating 9 yr anny and want to do Seneca Lake
wineries, restaurants, relax etc. Only have two days and would like to reserve most of my budget for drinking and eating. Does anyone know if its possible to
bike between 5-6 of the wineries, etc?
I know they offer bike tours of the area, but I am not interested in riding 100 miles - just casually biking from one winery to the next to avoid driving and to maybe relive some european memories. Any advice? Thanks

[sweetclimber]

Pretty much anywhere on the fingerlakes will be beautiful. My top picks would be Senaca Falls, Ithaca, Canandaigua, lakeville and Waterloo. Geneva is not bad, but it does have a few drug issues. Either way, if you want to be close to a larger metro area with tons to do, choose a town on the northwest fingerlakes, like Lakeville or Canandaigua. This way you will be close to Rochester. Also, the beautiful wine country is in this region, so you can't go too wrong wherever you choose in this area.

[homeward bound]

Ultratech2008:

There's a pretty well used and apparently much loved trail between Hammondsport and Penn Yann. There are a lot of wineries around there, so the trail may connect you to at least some of them. I suggest calling both towns' chambers of commerce. If they don't have the info, they can tell you who to call. There are biking clubs and associations up there, but I can't remember their names right now. You might try Googling around by entering "Finger Lakes Biking Trails." There are also several paperbacks out about NY State bike trails, many of which are in the Finger Lakes/wineries region. A search on Amazon.com would turn these up.

Genevanative:

Thanks for the advice and encouragement! Can I write you via the Private Message to ask for advice about certification? My wife's would be straightforward since she has her Masters in Education. As I understand it, she'd essentially have to take a few tests. But mine would be quirky since I have a Masters in English and would need to do Alternative Certification, I'm pretty sure. And I want to teach out of my speciality for the last 21 years. I've gotten some advice about all this via this Forum on this before, but I could always use more!

By the way, I've heard about efforts to reduce NY State teachers' retirement benefits just through this Forum, in the sense that people from areas where pay and benefits are relatively high (NYC, Long Island, etc.) have spoken of grass-roots efforts to curtail both. Whether they've gotten anything organized, and whether this effort can conquer the teacher unions, I can't, of course, say, especially as someone unfamiliar with NY State politics.

And as one teacher to another, and as the father of four kids, let me say THANKS for being a teacher! I hope you hear that often....

[Genevanative]

You may PM me if you wish. I can help answer all questions about certificatios, school districts in the fingerlakes area, the population makeup, etc.

Fire away!!

[Genevanative]

Originally Posted by ultratech2008

Mini-Vacation question? Hi celecrating 9 yr anny and want to do Seneca Lake
wineries, restaurants, relax etc. Only have two days and would like to reserve most of my budget for drinking and eating. Does anyone know if its possible to
bike between 5-6 of the wineries, etc?
I know they offer bike tours of the area, but I am not interested in riding 100 miles - just casually biking from one winery to the next to avoid driving and to maybe relive some european memories. Any advice? Thanks

If you are interested in doing Seneca Lake wineries, you can certainly ride your bike between several. On the west side of Seneca Lake, you have Route 14, which is VERY busy with traffic, but there IS a wide shoulder on either side of the road. I see people riding their bikes, walking, and/or running....but, it is busy with traffic, just so you know. At the northern edge of the Seneca Lake wine trail (west side of Seneca Lake), there is the Belhurst Castle, an historic european Castle worth seeing, and there's wine tasting in there as well, along with 2 restaurants. A little farther south is this FABULOUS eclectic restaurant called Port's cafe. It overlooks Seneca lake, and also has a hot dog/ice cream stand right next door. Even further south is another restaurant worth stopping at called Madder Lake cafe. Fox Run winery is about another 3-4 miles south. Great location, beautiful view, cafe, wine tasting. Anthony Road winery is a couple miles further south, as well as Seneca Shore winery. The list goes on and on, because there are so many on that corridor, such as Herman Weimer, Prejean, Glenora, etc. These last 3 are some of the original wineries in the finger lakes. Once you hit Glenora, you're about 8-10 miles north of Watkins Glenn, the location of one of the stops on the NASCAR circuit.

On the other hand, on the EAST side of Seneca Lake beginning at the south end near Watkins Glenn on Rte 414, you'll face a little less traffic, but there's Red Newt Winery and Bistro (some of the best food this area has to offer!!), Hazlitt Winery, Standing stone winery, etc. A bit further north is Wagner Winery and Brewery. They have a restaurant, and its AWESOME to sit on the outdoor deck overlooking the lake. Friday night fish fry!!! And Lamoreau Landing, just a tad North of Wagner, has one of the BEST views of Seneca Lake you'll ever have!!

I could go on and on, but let me advise you to try Fingerlakes.org or the Website for these restaurants and/or wineries for more information. There's some great maps published, and you'll get a great feel for everything I've mentioned.

I hope my information helped!!

[stc123]

move to geneseo NY small town 25 min south of Rochester 10,000 people visit there web site Geneseo, New York
geneseo is very nice for families no drugs, it is a is safe trusting neighborhood, it has a nice college, it has a nice elementary and high school
PS: there is a lot of family farms in groveland NY right next to geneseo. hope this helps... shane

[stc123]

i have found more info about geneseo NY click this link:

Where the singles are - Geneseo, New York (10) - Money Magazine

also click this link:

MONEY Magazine: Best places to live 2007: Geneseo, NY snapshot

PS: the first web site probably makes people think that geneseo is only a good place for singles and not families but belive me geneseo is still a great place for families.

PS the second web site says the high temperature in July is 50 degrees. that is false. the hottest it usually gets in July is usually 95 degrees. that is very hot for here.

[Muggy]

Here are some recent Finger Lakes photos:

Seneca Falls



Village of Canandaigua



Sunrise on West Lake Road, Skaneateles



The Village of Skaneateles, looking north from the lake



House on West Lake Road



The Village, looking south/southwest at the lake from E. Genesee St.



Skaneateles Lake

[Muggy]

Gullywhumpin' in Carpenter Falls (south of Skaneateles)!















Please note:

1. If you are a realtor and use my photos, I will sue you.

2. If you are a Californian or Floridian thinking about making it rain in the Finger Lakes with your bubble bucks, please remember that winter lasts for 13 months a year in the Finger Lakes. It is also true that road rage is out of control and many people with out-of-town plates disappear into the long, cold, dreary, upstate night. I heard they still burn witches at the stake in Ithaca. Lastly, when the earthquakes hit, the tsunamis that whip across the Finger Lakes are usually 200-300ft. high.

You've been warned.