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My only real concern about winter is how would we get through a prolonged power outage in really cold weather? Is a generator pretty much the main way one would prepare for such an event? We do have a 1500w inverter that hooks up to a car battery and we've used that to run the refrigerator during power outages. I guess it might be possible to run a small space heater with it but honestly it would be more efficient to just run the car heater and sit in the car. Maybe owning a home with a wood burning fireplace is one solution?
Are there certain towns that are known for having particularly high property taxes / low property taxes?
Have you had any issues with ticks? There has been some hype about tick population increasing throughout central and western NY.
Speaking of central and western NY - do you consider Rochester to be part of both? The borderline between the two? Or decidedly one more than the other?
My only real concern about winter is how would we get through a prolonged power outage in really cold weather? Is a generator pretty much the main way one would prepare for such an event? We do have a 1500w inverter that hooks up to a car battery and we've used that to run the refrigerator during power outages. I guess it might be possible to run a small space heater with it but honestly it would be more efficient to just run the car heater and sit in the car. Maybe owning a home with a wood burning fireplace is one solution?
Are there certain towns that are known for having particularly high property taxes / low property taxes?
Have you had any issues with ticks? There has been some hype about tick population increasing throughout central and western NY.
Speaking of central and western NY - do you consider Rochester to be part of both? The borderline between the two? Or decidedly one more than the other?
Rochester is viewed as being in Western NY or Finger Lakes, in which both can vary in terms of what counties/places are in those regions.
My only real concern about winter is how would we get through a prolonged power outage in really cold weather? Is a generator pretty much the main way one would prepare for such an event? We do have a 1500w inverter that hooks up to a car battery and we've used that to run the refrigerator during power outages. I guess it might be possible to run a small space heater with it but honestly it would be more efficient to just run the car heater and sit in the car. Maybe owning a home with a wood burning fireplace is one solution?
Are there certain towns that are known for having particularly high property taxes / low property taxes?
Have you had any issues with ticks? There has been some hype about tick population increasing throughout central and western NY.
Speaking of central and western NY - do you consider Rochester to be part of both? The borderline between the two? Or decidedly one more than the other?
I believe you said you were in Perinton, so I assume you have Fairport Electric, and an all electric house? I don't ever recall a power outage in the winter. We have had 2 "ice storms" where the perfect weather change caused large ice build up on trees and power lines. I was out for a week in 1992, and I think 3 days the second one.
Something to keep in mind as the new governor is outlawing all gas appliances, and wood stoves starting in 2030, or sooner. Gas fireplaces are popular around here, and put out a good amount of heat, and aren't as messy as messing with wood.
I believe you said you were in Perinton, so I assume you have Fairport Electric, and an all electric house? I don't ever recall a power outage in the winter. We have had 2 "ice storms" where the perfect weather change caused large ice build up on trees and power lines. I was out for a week in 1992, and I think 3 days the second one.
Something to keep in mind as the new governor is outlawing all gas appliances, and wood stoves starting in 2030, or sooner. Gas fireplaces are popular around here, and put out a good amount of heat, and aren't as messy as messing with wood.
The house we're renting falls just barely outside the coverage area for Fairport Electric. We have a gas fireplace here and a gas cooktop (which I absolutely love.)
Pretty much everyone I've talked to about winter power outages in NY has said it's really not something to worry about. I'm just so used to outages being a regular part of life. Never bothered me at all, in fact I find an extended outage kind of fun, like camping. But I have some relatives in TX that went through that recent winter power outage and I felt awful for them and their pets because of the freezing temperatures. We were also told about an October storm in Buffalo, I guess it happened back in 2006, and some people were without power for a week. But I don't know what the temperatures were like during that outage. Anyway, it's reassuring to know that apparently a prolonged winter power outage would be a very rare occurrence here.
^Something to add is that the villages of Spencerport and Churchville in the outer western suburbs also have their own electric companies. So, if you are looking for communities with lower electric rates, those are couple of other places in the area to look.
If you don’t mind more rural communities, the villages of Holley in Orleans County and Bergen in Genesee County also have their own electric companies with lower rates.
These communities are a part of the New York Power Authority(NYPA) municipal customer network. Here’s a map of such municipalities across the state: https://coreenv.com/asbestos-and-lead/nypa/
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 06-24-2022 at 09:17 AM..
^Something to add is that the villages of Spencerport and Churchville in the outer western suburbs also have their own electric companies. So, if you are looking for communities with lower electric rates, those are couple of other places in the area to look.
If you don’t mind more rural communities, the villages of Holley in Orleans County and Bergen in Genesee County also have their own electric companies with lower rates.
These communities are a part of the New York Power Authority(NYPA) municipal customer network. Here’s a map of such municipalities across the state: https://coreenv.com/asbestos-and-lead/nypa/
Regarding electric power - what I'd actually appreciate even more than low rates would be underground lines. Just a personal preference aesthetically, I like the look when a neighborhood has no above ground power lines cluttering the scenery. I am finding some neighborhoods with underground as we're driving and walking around. When the lines are above ground, I at least would want the mess in the back of the homes, not from the street to the front of the houses.
^I’m wondering if it is possible to have both given that most newer developments don’t offer the walkability of the older neighborhoods in the city or villages. There may be some neighborhoods that are newer, but are connected to the walkability of an older neighborhood. So, that be something to look for.
I have found Rochester's suburbs to be very walkable. I believe most towns require sidewalks in their subdivisions. People walk, jog, ride bikes, walk their dogs, rollerblade like crazy in my neighborhood, and we don't have sidewalks. I think we are rated healthier than many other cities.
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