Oneonta , NY what is it like? Are they hillbillies??? (Ithaca: fit in, apartments)

[stevemorse]

Have a good friend moving there, his family actually lives in Davenport, but he is thinking of going to Oneonta. How is it??? He has a job lined up already. He is coming from Bergen COunty, NJ will this be different?? People educated or nascar hillbillies???? Thanks

[Pismo Clam]

Originally Posted by stevemorse

Have a good friend moving there, his family actually lives in Davenport, but he is thinking of going to Oneonta. How is it??? He has a job lined up already. He is coming from Bergen COunty, NJ will this be different?? People educated or nascar hillbillies???? Thanks

There is a mix. The current group of guys I'm managing are from the area. A bit rough around the edges but good folks as most natives are. The imports on the other hand.....

I suggest you advise him NOT to buy any housing until we get on the other side of the housing collapse. Rents are falling as typically they do when there is such a gross excess of housing.

[stevemorse]

Originally Posted by Pismo Clam

There is a mix. The current group of guys I'm managing are from the area. A bit rough around the edges but good folks as most natives are. The imports on the other hand.....

I suggest you advise him NOT to buy any housing until we get on the other side of the housing collapse. Rents are falling as typically they do when there is such a gross excess of housing.

thank you, he got actually a nice job in a good auto mechanic shop and wants to start over. He can fit in fine with the rough around the edges type. Thank you so much for answering, he is renting. He is looking as we speak to rent a house.

[NJ Bear]

Hillbillies??? Ha, no. Rednecks maybe, in some cases, by some folks 'criteria".

Unless your friend is familiar with the concept of life outside of urban NJ sprawl, it will be a shock... cultural and othwerise. Oneonta itself is a good sized town, but overall the area is pretty rural. Outside of Oneonta itself, there are unpaved town roads, lots of farms and woods, "hills" that anyone from Nj would call mountains. To anyone familiar with life outside of a major metra area, it's basically just "normal"; but many from urban NJ would probably consider it "boring", "desolate", "boonies", "isolated", etc. The biggest mall in Oneonta doesn't have much beyond Walmart, grocery store, theatre, restuarnts, and a coupel smaller shops. For more than that, you'd be driving at least an hour if not more.

As for people... it's rural NY. There are smart people, there are not so smart people, there's lots in between. There are Nascar-lovin ATV riders, there are nature-lovin' hippies, and everything in between... and lots of people are 'a little from column A, a little from Column B". There are "educated" dim bulbs, and highly intelligent "uneducated" people, and every other combination too.

Much less materialism, less fuss over "status" real or perceived, nobody over 18 cares about "trends". Fewer jobs and lower pay, but your dollars go a lot farther in many regards. "Traffic" means you had to wait for the light to turn downtown. There is a LOT more snow, but main roads are taken MUCH better care of. Town roads are well maintained for what they are, but the more off the beatn path you get, maintenance can deterioriate a bit correspondingly.

I've been through Davenport, personally kind of like it, but it's very small... Oneonta would be your place for just about everything beyond gas and a country store.

Short version, what your friend gets out of it will be related to what his priorities are, and what he puts into it.

[stevemorse]

Originally Posted by NJ Bear

Hillbillies??? Ha, no. Rednecks maybe, in some cases, by some folks 'criteria".

Unless your friend is familiar with the concept of life outside of urban NJ sprawl, it will be a shock... cultural and othwerise. Oneonta itself is a good sized town, but overall the area is pretty rural. Outside of Oneonta itself, there are unpaved town roads, lots of farms and woods, "hills" that anyone from Nj would call mountains. To anyone familiar with life outside of a major metra area, it's basically just "normal"; but many from urban NJ would probably consider it "boring", "desolate", "boonies", "isolated", etc. The biggest mall in Oneonta doesn't have much beyond Walmart, grocery store, theatre, restuarnts, and a coupel smaller shops. For more than that, you'd be driving at least an hour if not more.

As for people... it's rural NY. There are smart people, there are not so smart people, there's lots in between. There are Nascar-lovin ATV riders, there are nature-lovin' hippies, and everything in between... and lots of people are 'a little from column A, a little from Column B". There are "educated" dim bulbs, and highly intelligent "uneducated" people, and every other combination too.

Much less materialism, less fuss over "status" real or perceived, nobody over 18 cares about "trends". Fewer jobs and lower pay, but your dollars go a lot farther in many regards. "Traffic" means you had to wait for the light to turn downtown. There is a LOT more snow, but main roads are taken MUCH better care of. Town roads are well maintained for what they are, but the more off the beatn path you get, maintenance can deterioriate a bit correspondingly.

I've been through Davenport, personally kind of like it, but it's very small... Oneonta would be your place for just about everything beyond gas and a country store.

Short version, what your friend gets out of it will be related to what his priorities are, and what he puts into it.

thank you big bear hug for the bear, thanks again Marilyn

[honeychrome]

Hopefully whomever is showing your friend apartments will be upfront about the student concentrations and steer him clear of those. Nothing against students, I happened to have been one once long ago, but their sleeping patterns don't usually sync with those of people who have to work!

Oneonta is a decent mix of progressive and... less progressive, and all seem to get along pretty well. You'll find the Volvo/Subaru/Prius driving, greying-hippie, semi-academics at the Autumn Cafe and the 4WD/ATV driving, cammo wearing (seasonally, of course), tradesman-types at Brooks BBQ, with a bit of cross-pollination between the two. Main Street downtown has potential, though whether it ever realizes it remains to be seen.

Certainly it will be different than suburban NJ, but I doubt a major 'Oh my god'- culture-shock! kind of difference.

[stevemorse]

his priorities are his job/auto mechanic and budwiser so I think he is perfect for rural NY! Right now he lives in fancy Bergen County and does not fit in. So it sounds perfect.

[Ex-Ithacan]

I drove through Oneonta last fall and took some pics. Here's a photo thread of my visit:

Uh-oh, I forgot Oneonta - SkyscraperPage Forum

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by Ex-Ithacan

I drove through Oneonta last fall and took some pics. Here's a photo thread of my visit:

Uh-oh, I forgot Oneonta - SkyscraperPage Forum

Nice pictures. It definitely looks like a small city that has even more potential.

[Mercator Projection]

Downtown Oneonta - Ruffino's Pizza. Ask for "a slice with cold cheese." BEST. PIZZA. IN THE. WHOLE. WORLD.

Oneonta is a great town.