Relocating to Ft Drum...Housing? Schools? (New York, Syracuse: apartments, lease, homes)

[skorpio77]

Hi everyone! My family is moving to Ft Drum in January. My husband graduates AIT in December, and this will be our first PCS. We currently live in RI so this will only be 6 hours away, I love the east coast so Im happy about it! We have 2 kids, one will be 8yrs old the other is 24mos. So schools are important to us and we like to live in a suburban area. Ive heard there is a wait list for housing on post, anyone know how long? And anyone have any opinions about on post housing vs off post at Ft Drum?
If we chose off post, which areas are the best to live in with kids...safest, good schools, etc. Thanks so much!

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by skorpio77

Hi everyone! My family is moving to Ft Drum in January. My husband graduates AIT in December, and this will be our first PCS. We currently live in RI so this will only be 6 hours away, I love the east coast so Im happy about it! We have 2 kids, one will be 8yrs old the other is 24mos. So schools are important to us and we like to live in a suburban area. Ive heard there is a wait list for housing on post, anyone know how long? And anyone have any opinions about on post housing vs off post at Ft Drum?
If we chose off post, which areas are the best to live in with kids...safest, good schools, etc. Thanks so much!

There are plenty of posts on Fort Drum that will help you out. I was stationed there from 2000-2003 and the districts that kids go to if they live on post are Indian River(2/3rds of the post) and Carthage(1/3rd of the post). There are some off post government owned housing developments in Clayton(1000 Islands SD), Gouverneur(Gouverneur SD), Copenhagen(Cop. SD), Lowville(Low. SD), Watertown(closest city and Watertown SD), Philadelphia, Calcium, Evans Mills, Antwerp(Indian River SD), Carthage and West Carthage(Carthage SD). There have been some changes since I was stationed there and the area has been built up quite a bit. It's a pretty safe area and there are some nice communities close by. Most shopping will be done in Watertown, but there are some things close to Drum too.

As for the best schools, I'd say General Brown SD probably has the best reputation, but there are good school districts throughout the area. Communities like Dexter, Glen Park and Brownville are in the General Brown SD. 1000 Islands is pretty good too. Cape Vincent and Clayton are in that district. Copenhagen in Lewis County is good as well. There are some Catholic and Christian schools in the area too.

Here's some good information for you to look at: New York schools - NY elementary, middle and high school information
New York schools - NY elementary, middle and high school information
Gouverneur Central School District Overview | GreatSchools
https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb/Home.do?year=2008

Jefferson County New York Home Page
Watertown, NY - Official Website
Greater Watertown North Country Chamber of Commerce, Watertown Chamber of Commerce, Watertown New York
Thousand Islands | 1000 islands | Tourism Info | Images Thousand Islands Region
VISIT THE 1000 ISLANDS
Home Page

Fort Drum, New York • Home
Fort Drum Mountain Community Homes - A project of Actus Lend Lease, LLC
Fort Drum, NY Housing Relocation Information
MapsKrieg - Apartments & Housing For Rent in Watertown, NY

As for housing, it seems like the on post housing is nice, but much of the off post housing is too.

Also, a lot of people from Drum come to Syracuse for shopping and things to do too. Many go to Canada to places like Kingston, Ottawa, Belleville and Brockville, among others.

I hope this helps......