My dream of moving from the South to CNY or WNY (New York: sale, house)

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by NorthStarDelight

Good list of towns you have there. Binghamton and Ithaca I visited in 2004, when I was considering the move to upstate NY the first time around. While Binghamton was hilly, pretty and full of eye-poppingly cheap real estate, I did find the attitude by some of its residents to be a bit depressing. For example, I stopped in a jobs center just to see what the employment situation was like, and they thought I was a crazy loon for even thinking about applying for a job in Binghamton. Ithaca, on the other hand, seemed bright and cheerful with real economic prospects. Too bad houses cost 2.5x what they do in poor, depressed Binghamton...that's the harshness of economics, unfortunately. But there's no doubt that beautiful Ithaca will always hold a place in my heart - perhaps it'll end up being a secondary relocation prospect once I'm a bit more financially secure.

Utica (and Syracuse for that matter ) I have not not visited yet, so I will tour those areas next June along with my Jamestown recon. While I understand that Syracuse has those newer, "sprawly" northern suburbs, that simply does not compare with what we have down here. Does Clay, for instance, have those horrible, traffic-choked 8-lane arterials with "forever" stoplights at frequent, major intersections? Does it take forever just to get to the local mall on Saturday afternoons? Do you have vast, soulless subdivisions filled with 100s and 100s of ugly cookie-cutter McMansions, with only one way in and out of those places? That's what I consider sprawl...LOL.

If I were to pick Syracuse as a place to live, I'd probably hone in on one of the traditional neighborhoods like Strathmore and Tip Hill - lots of low-cost fixer-upper houses to be had in those places. My concern is the crime, as I've been a victim of multiple burglaries while in south Florida - is it going to be a problem should I move into the actual city of Syracuse? That's something I'll have to consider with care, which would weigh against the potentially better business prospects of Syracuse as compared to the smaller metros of the Upstate.

Ckhthankgod, what you mentioned about Jamestown is exactly why that town is the current "flavor of the month" for me. It's got a great history of furniture-making and woodworking, which I find very intriguing for the business I wish to get in. I can't wait to visit there in person and get the true feel for that town - I just hope the people there don't have the same attitude as the ones I encountered in Binghamton. I'm aware that it's had some rough times as of late, but I have to think that it'll be poised for a turnaround one of these days. The prospect of being able to buy a house AND a shop in cash (from the proceeds of my current house) certainly is a huge, huge plus in my book. But we'll see what it's like in person anyhow.

Thanks for the replies I've received thus far, very informative.

I think a thing you will find with some people in some of the areas is that they think is so bad here, but they don't realize that it isn't that bad if they are able to go somewhere else and see what is out there. Binghamton also has some nice affordable suburbs like Endicott and Johnson City, that are more urban in terms of infrastructure, but are generally safe. I believe that the Binghamton area is one of the safest metro areas in the country.

As for the question about Clay, while roads like Route 57(Oswego Road) and Route 31 can get busy, it's not like you will be stuck in some serious traffic, for the most part. I think the only time you might get stuck in traffic there is parts of a Saturday afternoon or during the holidays around Great Northern Mall, but even that isn't going to keep you stuck for more than 15 minutes. Utica has Commercial Drive in New Hartford that is similar, but again, the traffic isn't that bad at all.

As for the Syracuse question, those two neighborhoods are nice and are generally safe. I think you might like something like Outer Comstock, which has some affordable homes, but is again generally safe and is close to Syracuse University. Neighborhoods like Eastwood, most of Salt Springs, the Northside around and mainly north of Grant Boulevard and east of Schiller Park, South Valley, Elmwood south of Glenwood Ave./Valley Drive, Westcott and Lincoln Park/Hill could work for you.

There are also some affordable suburbs, that are generally safe and fine like: Nedrow, Mattydale, East Syracuse(parts of the village, Parkwood, Park Hill and Franklin Park), Galeville(Liverpool area), Lyncourt, Solvay(parts of the village and Lakeland), parts of Fairmount, North Syracuse(the village, some of eastern Clay close to vill. of NS and Pitcher Hill area) and Baldwinsville(parts of the village and Seneca Knolls) that could work as well. Here's a good place to look for homes in the area: #1 Syracuse Real Estate Website | CNYREALTOR.COM (look in Onondaga County)

[bellafinzi]

Originally Posted by NorthStarDelight

Good list of towns you have there. Binghamton and Ithaca I visited in 2004, when I was considering the move to upstate NY the first time around. While Binghamton was hilly, pretty and full of eye-poppingly cheap real estate, I did find the attitude by some of its residents to be a bit depressing. For example, I stopped in a jobs center just to see what the employment situation was like, and they thought I was a crazy loon for even thinking about applying for a job in Binghamton. Ithaca, on the other hand, seemed bright and cheerful with real economic prospects. Too bad houses cost 2.5x what they do in poor, depressed Binghamton...that's the harshness of economics, unfortunately. But there's no doubt that beautiful Ithaca will always hold a place in my heart - perhaps it'll end up being a secondary relocation prospect once I'm a bit more financially secure.

Utica (and Syracuse for that matter ) I have not not visited yet, so I will tour those areas next June along with my Jamestown recon. While I understand that Syracuse has those newer, "sprawly" northern suburbs, that simply does not compare with what we have down here. Does Clay, for instance, have those horrible, traffic-choked 8-lane arterials with "forever" stoplights at frequent, major intersections? Does it take forever just to get to the local mall on Saturday afternoons? Do you have vast, soulless subdivisions filled with 100s and 100s of ugly cookie-cutter McMansions, with only one way in and out of those places? That's what I consider sprawl...LOL.

If I were to pick Syracuse as a place to live, I'd probably hone in on one of the traditional neighborhoods like Strathmore and Tip Hill - lots of low-cost fixer-upper houses to be had in those places. My concern is the crime, as I've been a victim of multiple burglaries while in south Florida - is it going to be a problem should I move into the actual city of Syracuse? That's something I'll have to consider with care, which would weigh against the potentially better business prospects of Syracuse as compared to the smaller metros of the Upstate.

Ckhthankgod, what you mentioned about Jamestown is exactly why that town is the current "flavor of the month" for me. It's got a great history of furniture-making and woodworking, which I find very intriguing for the business I wish to get in. I can't wait to visit there in person and get the true feel for that town - I just hope the people there don't have the same attitude as the ones I encountered in Binghamton. I'm aware that it's had some rough times as of late, but I have to think that it'll be poised for a turnaround one of these days. The prospect of being able to buy a house AND a shop in cash (from the proceeds of my current house) certainly is a huge, huge plus in my book. But we'll see what it's like in person anyhow.

Thanks for the replies I've received thus far, very informative.

In my opinion, the best areas in the Syracuse area are within the suburbs. Which is one reason why I never suggest to others on this forum that moving to the Syracuse area is a good idea unless the person wants to live in a suburb. The city is very slowly improving and could be much nicer 10 years from now, but today I find the city too depressing for my tastes.

I just do not think that people who dislike sprawl will be happy in mid-sized metropolitan areas where the best areas are in the growing suburbs..... like in the case of Syracuse. There are plenty of other places in Upstate NY that have little growth and hardly any new sprawl and that is unlikely to change in the coming decades. Like those six metros I listed.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by bellafinzi

In my opinion, the best areas in the Syracuse area are within the suburbs. Which is one reason why I never suggest to others on this forum that moving to the Syracuse area is a good idea unless the person wants to live in a suburb. The city is very slowly improving and could be much nicer 10 years from now, but today I find the city too depressing for my tastes.

I just do not think that people who dislike sprawl will be happy in mid-sized metropolitan areas where the best areas are in the growing suburbs..... like in the case of Syracuse. There are plenty of other places in Upstate NY that have little growth and hardly any new sprawl and that is unlikely to change in the coming decades. Like those six metros I listed.

That is based off of preference and/or opinion though. There are first ring suburbs that are fine in the Syracuse area like DeWitt, Onondaga Hill, Westvale and some of the affordable ones I mentioned. there are some city neighborhoods that rival even the affluent suburban areas like Sedgwick, Strathmore, Meadowbrook(Scottholm/Bradford Hills), parts of the South Valley, parts of Eastwood and the Ross Park area of the Northside, among some others.

From what I gather abut the OP, is that he would live somewhere that is dense, as long as it is safe. I don't think the OP is looking for anything spectacular, given the humble, but nice areas he is considering.

For examples of those nice city neighborhoods, check this out: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&so...&cbp=12,0,,0,5

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...12,310.94,,0,5

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...,21.26,,0,0.04
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...&cbp=12,0,,0,5

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...1,9.94,,0,8.54


http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...=11,85.92,,0,5
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...,76.54,,0,7.27


http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...56.69,,0,13.08

[jrice]

Welcome to our area!! I think you'll truly love it here.

If you consider Syracuse, and do no want to live in the city proper consider areas like Brewerton, Central Square, Bridgeport, etc They are outlying suburbs where you can have a great sized yard, removed enough from the city and major population centers where you will find tranquillity but yet close enough so you wont have to drive more than 10-15 minutes for grocery stores and other types of shopping

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by jrice

Welcome to our area!! I think you'll truly love it here.

If you consider Syracuse, and do no want to live in the city proper consider areas like Brewerton, Central Square, Bridgeport, etc They are outlying suburbs where you can have a great sized yard, removed enough from the city and major population centers where you will find tranquillity but yet close enough so you wont have to drive more than 10-15 minutes for grocery stores and other types of shopping

True and they are all affordable too. I believe all of those communities have grocery stores, pharmacies and restaurants in them as well.

You might even like villages like Marcellus, Tully, Camillus, Elbridge, Jordan and Fabius too. Most of these places are more rural, but still have some of the stores you will need to shop at. With Jordan and Elbridge, you can go to get things at either the Western suburbs of Syracuse or Auburn, with the Grant Ave. strip being the first area you approach when going to that latter city. With Tully and Fabius, you are close enough to Cortland to shop there as well.

[NorthStarDelight]

Thanks again for all these suggestions - I'll certainly be looking into these areas with Google maps and Realtor dot com.

With so much to consider, it's a good thing I have lots of time to decide on where to move...LOL.

[NorthStarDelight]

Originally Posted by bellafinzi

In my opinion, the best areas in the Syracuse area are within the suburbs. Which is one reason why I never suggest to others on this forum that moving to the Syracuse area is a good idea unless the person wants to live in a suburb. The city is very slowly improving and could be much nicer 10 years from now, but today I find the city too depressing for my tastes.

I just do not think that people who dislike sprawl will be happy in mid-sized metropolitan areas where the best areas are in the growing suburbs..... like in the case of Syracuse. There are plenty of other places in Upstate NY that have little growth and hardly any new sprawl and that is unlikely to change in the coming decades. Like those six metros I listed.

Can you expand a bit as to why you think living in Syracuse proper isn't the best idea for new residents? In what ways do you find it depressing?

Some areas of the city, at least, have some pretty nice-looking streets using Google's street view, in my opinion - and I do love old houses...hehe. Not that I don't like suburbs - I just don't care for the newest developments - homes tend to be shoddier, the neighborhoods more sterile, not enough "character" and so on and so forth. At least that's what I've encountered living in both south Florida and metro Atlanta - perhaps it's different in the Syracuse area, I just can't say for sure until I've been there in person.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by NorthStarDelight

Can you expand a bit as to why you think living in Syracuse proper isn't the best idea for new residents? In what ways do you find it depressing?

Some areas of the city, at least, have some pretty nice-looking streets using Google's street view, in my opinion - and I do love old houses...hehe. Not that I don't like suburbs - I just don't care for the newest developments - homes tend to be shoddier, the neighborhoods more sterile, not enough "character" and so on and so forth. At least that's what I've encountered living in both south Florida and metro Atlanta - perhaps it's different in the Syracuse area, I just can't say for sure until I've been there in person.

You can find similar neighborhoods in the suburbs too. Most of them are in the villages or are neighborhoods like the Orvilton area of DeWitt, which is walkable and Lyncourt, west of Teall Ave for example. Here's an example of the area of Lyncourt I'm talking about: lyncourt, ny - Google Maps

and the area of DeWitt I mentioned, just follow Jamesville Road:jamesville road and east genesee st. dewitt, ny - Google Maps on the other side of East Genesee St., you have similar neighborhoods off of Orvilton Road.

[bellafinzi]

Originally Posted by NorthStarDelight

Can you expand a bit as to why you think living in Syracuse proper isn't the best idea for new residents? In what ways do you find it depressing?

-Many homes in the city are not landscaped and weeds are allowed to grow out of control in the front yards.

-There are run-down houses and buildings all over the city.

-Many businesses, restaurants, convenience stores and industrial buildings in the city are down right ugly IMO.

-There aren't many newer buildings so most of the city still looks stuck in the architecture styles of the "groovy" 60s and 70s. And when a rare new building is constructed many are built to "fit-in" with ugly buildings surrounding them.

In the summer, the depressing areas in the city are tolerable, but in the winter with the dirty snow and bare trees it can really start affecting your mood.

That's why I say stick to the suburbs. They look much better and will not be as depressing during the winter.

[Krisps]

Northstar, I'm in the Jamestown area and love it here pretty much for the exact reasons you listed. Sprawl isn't even in the dictionary out here. The general country side in Chautauqua county is very beautiful, full of rolling hills and small farms. Summers are very mild, thanks in large part to Lake Erie, and winters deliver quite a pow (last winter, some areas received 200-300" of snow), thanks in large part again to Lake Erie. Winters can get to you though, they are long, but they sure as heck make you appreciate Spring when it comes. Outside of real estate taxes, it is very affordable here if you're fortunate enough to have a decent job. Jamestown in particular has some oddly very low priced real estate.

We could use more people like you up here.