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Apt complexes that are better would be Centerpointe (off Rt 332 just north of the city), Finger Lakes Manor is decent - near the hospital - right in the city - there is also a decent one I think called Canandaigua Garden Apts. There are also a fair amount of historical houses with apts in them within the city limits. Anything off from North Main St in Canandaigua is a pretty good bet. Don't rent near Phoenix St, Jefferson Ave, Saltonstall or that area. A little sketchy. High taxes are all relevant but roughly for every 100,000 of assessed value you are probably going to pay 2500 or so in real estate taxes - that would be if you buy something vs. rent.
Overall Canandaigua is a wonderful place but please don't think the snow is something that is quaint and charming. It is a royal pain in the neck and we get day after day after day after day of snow, gray, crappy weather. When May comes the sun shines again and we all try to forget that we even have winter! Good luck to you and let me know if you have more questions!
I don't live in Canandaiqua but that's one of the area we head to on our weekend drives. It's absolutely beautiful. It's a little more expensive than most of the Finger Lake area but well worth it if that is where you want to live. I don't have school age children so I can't help you much there. In your field I'm sure that you will be able to find work. I have no ideal what the pay would be though. The land is rough and the snow and ice will accumulate, so be warned, it's rough traveling in the middle of winter. On the other side, I don't know of any place prettier for Christmas!
Hi there - I live in the Town of Canandaigua about 15 mins from the "city" of Canandaigua. It is a beautiful, beautiful, scenic area with huge plusses going for it. The schools are excellent - including the surrounding school districts - if your kids are in Cdga Schools the options are limitless for there activities. It is a big sports school with a lot of internal competition for positions so if your child or children are not athletically superstars then one of the smaller surrounding school districts would let them be on the team, play and even start in some situations. Lots of good schooling options.
The housing situation is afforable but Canandaigua probably is one of the higher priced areas for housing due to the success of the Town and City. You could rent a 2 bdrm in a decent community for $825 or so. To buy a small 3 bedroom house you probably are going to spend at least 125000. At that would require some work and would be small. I would not recommend Camelot Square. Lots of better places for your dollars.
I agree with the previous poster in that skilled tradesworkers are pretty much always in demand - I have no idea as to wages but I am sure much less than Long Island - however generally speaking the cost of living here is much, much less than your area.
Great things about Canandaigua include - the lake!, lots of outdoor recreation opportunities, beautiful hills, scenery, hiking, skiing, watersports, a beautiful lakefront park, great weather from May till October. The bad.....high taxes, SNOW! And I don't mean a little bit. A lot. Too much. Gray weather from Nov - April. Lots of gray - many many days with no sun.
If you have any more questions let me know I will be happy to answer them!
I just read your post and we are relocating to Canandaigua very soon. My husband is from Endicott and just accepted a job in Rochester. I fell in love with your town on a recent trip in October! We have an almost 5 year old daughter who will be starting kindergarten in Canandaigua. The schools seem pretty impressive. Do you know of any issues/info we may need to know about regarding schools?
One more thing...! We are wanting to rent for about a year while we sell our present home in VA and want to build a log home....can you recommend any real estate agents??
Similarly to the OP, me and my gf are living on Long Island and we are seriously considering a move to Canandaigua. We recently went there on vacation and we absolutely loved it. We are looking to start a new life and eventually a family and Canandaigua seems like a perfect place to do so. As I'm sure some of you can appreciate, a relocation is a huge decision so I am doing my homework. There really isn't much information about Canandaigua online so hopefully we can get some guidance from you guys.
- My company has an office in Genesee county and I would be able to get a transfer and keep my current job, however my gf would need to look for a job. I know the economy is bad everywhere, but can anyone paint a realistic picture of the job situation up there? Also what are the salaries like? According to city-data's stats, the median HOUSEHOLD income in Canandaigua was only $40,381 and this is a red flag to me.
- When we were up there on vacation, we noticed that there were a lot of teenagers and a lot of older people however there seemed to be no one remotely near our age (We are both 33). This so much isn't a red flag, but is there any underlying reason as to why there is no one our age? What drove them away? (We were only there for about a week so maybe this isn't the case?). Questions, comments, etc.?
- I know the snow is a negative, however I have friends in Rochester and Buffalo who both tell me that while there is significantly more snowfall, they do a much better job of clearing the roads than they do on Long Island and things don't shut down like they do here when there is more than an inch on the ground. What is it like driving in Canandaigua the morning after a snowstorm?
- We have been looking at apartments online up there and to be honest, the prices seem too good to be true. I pay $1000 a month for rent in a small 1 bedroom apartment on the 2nd floor of someone elses house. From what I am seeing, I can rent places twice the size and twice as nice for $700-$800. Why is this so cheap? What is the catch? Do the apartment complexes have maintenance fees? Am I going to rent a place for $700 only to be greeted with a $300 electric bill and be right back to square one?
- Should we make the move, the strategy would be to rent for a few years while we saved up for a house. What are the average property taxes? From what I've been reading, the taxes are a big negative, but surely they are nowhere near as astronomical as they are on Long Island, are they?
- While on vacation, we talked with a nice old lady near the lake. When she asked where we were from and we told her Long Island, she seemed a bit horrified. People seemed so much nicer up there but would we be welcome up there?
That is all I can think of for now, thank you in advance for your help. OP, if you're still active on this site, did you end up making the move? If so, I'd be interested in your insight.
Hey Chris -
1) What industry is your gf in? The job market really depends on what you're looking for.
2) I've spent a lot of time in Canandaigua and haven't had a problem finding people in the 30-35 age bracket. I've noticed that it has more of a family friendly suburban feel, so perhaps that's why you're seeing the 50+ and <18 crowd so well represented.
3) Winter driving sucks, but Ontario county does a great job of making it suck a little less.
4) The rent is about par for the course, no catch, it's just cheaper to live upstate.
5) Taxes are very high. Nearby Monroe county has the highest taxes in the country, I believe.
6) I moved up here from northern NJ and had no problems. You should be fine.
Thanks for the info, Aaron. As far as the taxes, I think its an established fact that they are high, but what could I expect to pay in taxes for a modest 3 bedroom house? (Ballpark figure)
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