Why Does Everyone Dislike Elmira,ny? (New York, Buffalo: big home, neighborhood, to buy)

[VTP]

It was only for a day, but one of the happiest memories I have is from Elmira. We were registering my stepdaughter at Cornell, and of course, found no hotel space there, and ended up at Elmira. While my husband went up to Ithaca for a day, I stayed in Elmira with our younger daughter, and on the advice of hotel employees, went to a place called Harris Hill. It was really magical! It was a charming amusement park unlike anything that we have on LI, and it made for a very special day that I will never forget. Is it still there, does anybody know?

[tviz25]

Yes, Harris Hill is still there. It has a driving range, batting cage, go-cart track, 3 hole golf course, arcade, and of course the glider rides.

[tim2k214]

Harris hill is a great little place. There are some great little picnic areas, and then you can take a little drive up to the glider hanger. My 3 year old loves it. Rides and Airplanes, it's every kdis dream.

[Bandit246]

How bad is Elmira ? Elmira has some good points but not many. Most jobs in the area are in retail. Taxes are high. Crime is high. Drugs are rampant. Property values have declined severly, not all but many. In the past 3 -4 months there have been at least 5 shootings, 2 resulting in injuries, 1 in death, one where the shots actually went into somones living room, and the other just some random driveby shootings that resulted in damages to a house and car.

The last one just occurred in the past week. Their is no rosey picture to paint for Elmira, contrary to what some might believe. Can it be taken back? I think so but it will require a lot of work in doing so. I live here and this is what Elmira has turned into. Many people are looking to get out, some cant. Sorry folks but this is what Elmira is like. Yes Harris Hill is a beautiful place, it sits on top of a hill between Big Flats and Elmira, thankfully its not within the city limits.

[tviz25]

All of this is true and believe Elmira can come back too, but it will be hard. Also, there have been 16 total shootings this year in Elmira but they are all contained to bad parts of town. A lot of people say they are scared to walk the streets at night because of the violence but they don't understand that the people committing these crimes aren't going up to random people on the streets and shooting them for no reason. They have certain people that they are targeting because of some problem they have with them whether it be a gang, drugs, etc.

[Derrick8]

i agree with tviz25 people dont just get shot for no reason

[rabit152]

I was born and raised in Elmira, but left for good when enlisting in the Air Force in '76. I still have family in the area and have been back for visits many times over the years. There is no way I would ever move back, however.

As has been said, perception is reality for some. Elmira does have a bad rep. Is it deserved? Who knows? IMO, you can trace the majority of what's wrong with Elmira to two major things.

1) The flood of '72, when all of the downtown area was completely submerged. Some say Elmira has never recovered from that.

2) The incredible loss of businesses and jobs back in the 60s & 70s. Ward LaFrance, American LaFrance, A&P Foods, Remington Rand, the list goes on and on and on... These jobs are long gone and cannot be replaced.

I was back in Elmira for a visit last year. I saw some improvements, but my overall impression was that not much had changed since my previous visit.

I talked to my father every couple of days and he says there are no jobs in Chemung county. The few good paying jobs, mostly factory work, are union, and that can be a tough nut to crack, unless you know someone. Employment flucuates, but in general is not good.

The prisons have been repeatedly mentioned as a problem for Elmira, but they do contribute jobs. So there is a trade off there.

The bottom line is that the population of Elmira is almost half what it was fifty years ago, and it has been in a slow downward death spiral ever since.

All of upstate NY seems to be suffering from a similar fate. I have no idea what can be done about it.

[rabit152]

Happened to visit the Department of Labor website earlier, Unemployment Rates for Metropolitan Areas. It lists the unemployment rate for the top 369 metropolitan areas around the country, for the month of June, 2007...

The national average was 4.7%. Elmira came in as the highest rated in the state, at 4.8. Here are some other NY locals;

Ithaca 3.7
Utica/Rome 4.1
Rochester 4.3
Syracuse 4.3
Binghamton 4.4
Buffalo 4.6

I suspect that the overall economic climate in Chemung county may be partly to blame for why many dislike Elmira. I left in '76 for much the same reason, and in 30+ years, it doesn't appear the situation has improved. That's my take on it anyway.

[Sean34597]

I've been thinking of moving to Elmira for the golf, believe it or not. There seems to be a lot of good golf in that area and the house prices are incredibly reasonable. I have no job concerns (I work at home) so the local economy isn't an issue for me. Can anyone confirm that the Elmira golf scene is as good as it seems?

[bellafinzi]

Originally Posted by Sean34597

I've been thinking of moving to Elmira for the golf, believe it or not. There seems to be a lot of good golf in that area and the house prices are incredibly reasonable. I have no job concerns (I work at home) so the local economy isn't an issue for me. Can anyone confirm that the Elmira golf scene is as good as it seems?

When did Elmira become known for golf? I've always thought the Syracuse and Rochester area had the best golf in Upstate NY....

In the immediate Syracuse area, there are over 40 golf courses. Over 60 in the Metro area. Syracuse even has a Golf Galaxy Store since golf is so popular with the locals.

List of the 44 golf courses in Syracuse's County - Onondaga County
Syracuse.com

Other golf links:
Welcome to the Syracuse District Golf Association
Syracuse.com

The PGA Tour plays at Atunyote Golf Club at Turning Stone Resort, which about 45 minutes east of Syracuse.
Turning Stone Resort Championship - Welcome