Questions about upstate (New York, Binghamton, Ithaca: insurance, homes, job market)

[Tioga]

You'll do fine. Upstate NY is pretty diverse. I live in an area w/dairy farms...and a couple of black families in the area too...people could care less.

[foma]

Originally Posted by CBaillo

have a 4 year old daughter. I'm filipino, my wife is very irish

Completely unrelated question but what color hair does your daughter have and is she fair skinned with freckles or more "asian-y"? Eye color?

I'm Chinese and my DH is Irish/German and we are just SOOOOO curious how our kids might turn out to look like when we start trying next year!

I know this is a totally weird question so if you ignore this post then I completely understand. And I sincerely sincerely apologize if you think I'm a complete weirdo!

[CBaillo]

not at all, my wife and I wondered the same thing when we got married. Lets just say the only thing my daughter got from me, was my eyes (the almond asian-ny eyes) and darker base hair color, and some ability to tan. Everything else is my wifes..from the freckles on her face that come out more and more as time goes on, to the lighter highlights in her hair, to her base skin color, and all other facial features. Might as well make it easier with some pics:

my wife


me (on the right)



my daughter

[christinalackey]

Hi!
I'm not sure about jobs or banks, but I can tell you that it is a family friednly, accepting area. I genuinely hope you are happy here.

[foma]

Originally Posted by CBaillo

not at all, my wife and I wondered the same thing when we got married. Lets just say the only thing my daughter got from me, was my eyes (the almond asian-ny eyes) and darker base hair color, and some ability to tan. Everything else is my wifes..from the freckles on her face that come out more and more as time goes on, to the lighter highlights in her hair, to her base skin color, and all other facial features. Might as well make it easier with some pics:

Thank You so much for the response!! Your daughter is adorable and you have a beautiful family! It was a treat to read about your family and see pictures. We joke that we hope our kid has blue eyes, red hair, and my skin tone but then again, freckles are pretty darn cute on a kid. In the end though, we just hope the baby's healthy. Thanks again for your post and sharing pictures.

Good luck to your in your move!

[stc123]

move to geneseo NY great small town 30min from rochester NY the school has hillside (hillside helps special needs children) the school is small i love the town. ps geneseo is in livingston county. visit the town/village website http://www.geneseony.com/

[Pidgett]

CBaillo:

Homeward, Honey and Ex-Ithacan have said it all! As a socioligist, I must concur whole-heartedly with their assessments; that the Ithaca area would suit you and your family quite well is quite certain......

Ithaca--as well as most of the immediate surrounding area, i.e., the Finger Lakes Region and the Syracuse area--have that all-too-rare quality of being progressive-minded while mixing it with a hefty dose of "common sense" practicality to balance things out. "Live-and-let-live" is the mantra one finds in most of upstate NY, particularly in the Ithaca area. People generally--there are exceptions of course--but, really, generally tolerate anything that does not cause harm to themselves and others. While they may not always agree with whatever it is that "floats your boat," they do not stop you from living the way in which you choose. Now, you'd think this would or should be the norm in rural America; surprise, surprise it is definitely not the case. Case in point: I live in rural southwest West Virginia, the heart of Appalachia (I am from Maine originally) and this area, in general, has a vastly different social caste, if you wil. People here are more judgemental, religiously biased and socially conservative than are the folks in upstate NY. As a couple of my fellow posters have told you, upstate NY can be somewhat conservative, but it is more of a libertarian form of it vs. a conservatism based on religious and old-fashioned social dogma. Upstate conservatism would be considered slightly left-of-center down here and in other "red" states. The folks of upstate NY are economically conservative, especially when it comes to the issues of tax reform and gun control; the former for reduction and the latter against government restrictions on the time-honored pursuits hunting and sport shooting.

I wish you the best in your ultimate decision. A big hearty welcome, too!

Pidgett

[plattsburgher]

I don't have anything to add pertaining to topic, but just wanted to say that I enjoyed all of the pictures. Your daughter is so precious...............and gorgeous!

[momix5]

beautiful family, good luck upstate is beautiful!

[honeychrome]

I'll second most of what Homeward' said about Trumansburg, Oneonta and other more easterly towns, but as you no doubt know, the upstate wine industry is further west (though Cooperstown does have fantastic beer with Ommegang!). Make Ithaca your first stop- not only does it seem like you'd fit in easily there, from your additional posts I think you'll really like it. Not to go overboard with Ithaca boosterism- I don't even live there, I live and hour east- but it really is one of the coolese small cities in America.