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Back to the original post, I think if you are considering the Rochester area, you should concentrate on Mendon or Victor. Both have a lot of new construction, cul-de-sac, great schools (Victor, Pittsford, or Honeoye Falls-Lima school districts and you can get a BEAUTIFUL home within your price range. I think this area would be good because of this, but also because they are both easily accessible to the NYS Thruway, and if you are going to be commuting with your job to Buffalo, Syracuse and Albany, you will want quicker access to the thruway, then say the town of Webster would provide. You should check out nothnagle.com and put in those school districts I mentioned above and see the homes available. That will give you a good idea of what's out there as well as taxes for the homes. Best wishes to your family on your search.
I agree, in Vestal next to the university there are some really nice homes and they get better as you go further into the hills. I was however under the perception that Rochester was the most desirable city in upstate NY with a vibrant and beautiful downtown and the home prices were on par with Long Island. I can't say the same for Binghamton.
Yeah, Bingo is going some tough times, but they still have their share of nice areas. It is generally known for being one of the safest metros in the US too. It's always been a gritty area even in more prosperous times due to the blue collar nature of much of the area.
Rochester is nice and many say that it has the best suburbs out of any metro. I think that is due to the set up of the suburbs there, versus other metros, which have it's share of suburban villages that the newer developments were built around. In the other Upstate metros, many of the suburban villages/cities are of a blue collar nature. So, it makes them seem not as nice, even if there aren't any serious issues with crime, schools, etc...
I agree, in Vestal next to the university there are some really nice homes and they get better as you go further into the hills. I was however under the perception that Rochester was the most desirable city in upstate NY with a vibrant and beautiful downtown and the home prices were on par with Long Island. I can't say the same for Binghamton.
Rochester is definitely much less "rust belt-esque" than most of the other Upstate, NY cities; mostly because it has always had a much more diverse economy made up of companies and not a particular industry. Kodak cutbacks definitely hit the region hard in the late 90s/early 2000s but was NOTHING like the collapse of the steel industry in Buffalo. Rochester is without a doubt much much more affordable than Long Island, despite what a (potentially banned?) former poster would have you believe. Not to cheerlead but it is probably the most progressive and DEFINITELY the most educated of the major Upstate metros; and consequently more affluent (at least on the east side). Rochester and Binghamton is a fairly apples to oranges comparison. Binghamton is a college town/factory town with about 45k in population in the city and maybe 100k in the metro. Rochester has over 200k in the city and over 1 million in the metro, so yes the vibe will surely be different between the two.
Rochester is definitely much less "rust belt-esque" than most of the other Upstate, NY cities; mostly because it has always had a much more diverse economy made up of companies and not a particular industry. Kodak cutbacks definitely hit the region hard in the late 90s/early 2000s but was NOTHING like the collapse of the steel industry in Buffalo. Rochester is without a doubt much much more affordable than Long Island, despite what a (potentially banned?) former poster would have you believe. Not to cheerlead but it is probably the most progressive and DEFINITELY the most educated of the major Upstate metros; and consequently more affluent (at least on the east side). Rochester and Binghamton is a fairly apples to oranges comparison. Binghamton is a college town/factory town with about 45k in population in the city and maybe 100k in the metro. Rochester has over 200k in the city and over 1 million in the metro, so yes the vibe will surely be different between the two.
I would agree for the most part, however Albany has supplanted the Rochester area in terms of median income, per capital income growth and percentage of residents that are college educated.
Income growth for the top 100 markets - bizjournals: (http://www.bizjournals.com/specials/pages/261.html - broken link)
The Top 100 tech centers - bizjournals: (http://www.bizjournals.com/specials/pages/251.html - broken link)
Several communities like Delmar, Loudonville, Slingerlands, Niskayuna, Vorheesville, Guilderland and perhaps Clifton Park have median incomes and other demographics (ie. rate of college graduates) that have approached or eclipsed those of Rochester's historically affluent eastern suburbs, although Pittsford remains the wealthiest town or second most affluent town in upstate New York by most metrics. Rochester certainly has more "old money" than other upstate metros and cultural institutions that reflect the area's once high flying prosperity, however Albany has benefited greatly from the state's largesse and more than $2 billion dollars of investment for high tech initiatives in emerging areas like nanotechnology. One could easily make the argument that had it not been for Sen. Joe Bruno's ability to secure millions of state funds for his district and the Pataki Administration's preference for concentrating the finite economic development resources for upstate in the Albany area (as opposed to appropriating them in Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, Binghamton, and Utica), Albany would not have experienced the sizable population and income growth that has occurred over the past decade.
Last edited by RollsRoyce; 07-01-2010 at 10:09 AM..
One could easily make the argument that had it not been for Sen. Joe Bruno's ability to secure millions of state funds for his district and the Pataki Administration's preference for concentrating the finite economic development resources for upstate in the Albany area (as opposed to appropriating them in Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, Binghamton, and Utica)
I would agree with that and add that IMO the Albany area is much less than desirable unless you like a lot of skiing nearby, the Saratoga horse track and/or an easy train ride into NYC. Unfortunately, I cannot put my finger on exactly what I can't stand about it in the significant time I spent there, it might be the downstate-like atmosphere or the stench of corrupt politics in the air...not sure. I would definitely spend some time in both areas before deciding because there is a world of difference in between the two cities IMO.
Rochester is definitely much less "rust belt-esque" than most of the other Upstate, NY cities; mostly because it has always had a much more diverse economy made up of companies and not a particular industry. Kodak cutbacks definitely hit the region hard in the late 90s/early 2000s but was NOTHING like the collapse of the steel industry in Buffalo. Rochester is without a doubt much much more affordable than Long Island, despite what a (potentially banned?) former poster would have you believe. Not to cheerlead but it is probably the most progressive and DEFINITELY the most educated of the major Upstate metros; and consequently more affluent (at least on the east side). Rochester and Binghamton is a fairly apples to oranges comparison. Binghamton is a college town/factory town with about 45k in population in the city and maybe 100k in the metro. Rochester has over 200k in the city and over 1 million in the metro, so yes the vibe will surely be different between the two.
Not to nitpick, but there's about 250k in the Binghamton metro actually and that's not counting any PA counties like it used to. It's just Broome and Tioga Counties now.
I'minformed2 you couldnt possibly be talking about my good friend Lancet? Is there any reason nobody ever brings up the Northern Greece/Parma/Hilton area? We are Hilton bound and felt much more at home on the east side of the city. Also our understanding was the Hilton schools are very good.
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