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ckh--We do love our high school football! lol... Thanks to all of you for your help. I have a friend who attended Ithaca for college, and spoke w/ her to confirm what everyone on here has been saying. She also thinks that Liverpool is a good fit for our family. I'm excited to plan a trip as soon as our schedules will allow it. I love the pics I've seen and can't wait to see it in person to further determine which area is the one for us! Any further info is greatly appreciated.
Thanks again!
The northern suburbs of Syracuse would closest match the feel, demographics, and topography of northeast Ohio. Clay is very similiar to the Cleveland suburb of Mentor. Places like Independence and Macedonia (Summit County) also remind me of Baldwinsville and Clay. The eastern suburbs of Syracuse (ie. DeWitt, Manlius, Fayetteville, Pompey) are somewhat consistent with demographics and wealth found in communities like Gates Mills, Chagrin Falls, Pepper Pike and Hunting Valley, although on a much smaller scale.
I second the recommendation of Liverpool.
Last edited by RollsRoyce; 11-07-2010 at 10:46 AM..
While in Ohio, we lived in New Philadelphia/Dover and North Canton/Massillon. if that helps?
Would you say that Cicero and Clay are too rural in regards to what we're looking for?
I'm checking in with you for a short comment. I'll be busy this afternoon but promise to send you some good solid info in a few days.
Okay. New Philadelphia/Dover and North Canton/Massillon. I got the idea.
If you want to tell me what home price range your family is looking to spend here in Syracuse then I can help "steer" you to the right areas=it's entirely up to you whether or not you want to give your home price range. Are you aware that Metro Syracuse has been named the most affordable major metro area of all the U.S.A. 100 largest metro areas? You get more for your home buying dollar here.>>> Oh. Okay. I just noticed that you said $155,000 home price range. Will comment in a few days.
No, Cicero and Clay are not too rural for what you are looking for. Cicero is the fastest growing Suburb at this time. The "TOWNSHIP" OF CLAY was fastest growing in the past because of new home developments and new business/shopping plazas (huge shopping area-lots of stores) along Rt. 31 @ Soule Road at the northern end of Liverpool and new home developments (Twnshp of Clay) on west edge of Cicero at the intersections of Caughdenoy Rd. & Lawton Rd. & Rt. 31. There really is no "village" of Clay; no such thing as a "downtown" Clay. #1) There is a built-up area with a postal address of Clay on the west edge (Caughdenoy Rd.) of Cicero. #2) Another built-up area of Clay has a postal address of Liverpool (Buckley Rd. & Oswego Rd. area). #3) Another built-up area of Clay has a postal address of North Syracuse (half of N.S.). #4) And a "sliver" size/small home development built-up area of Clay (near the intersection of Morgan Rd. @ Rt. 31). actually has a postal address of Clay.
Cicero does not have a real "downtown" area like Liverpool, Baldwinsville, Brewerton (small), Fayetteville, Manlius, Cazenovia, Chittenango DO have. The original "center point" or "downtown" of Cicero would be at the intersection of Brewerton Rd./Route 11 @ Route 31. Today business development/shopping plazas are located along Brewerton Rd./Rt. 11 and eastward along Rt. 31. Major home developments are on both sides of/along: Lakeshore Rd., South Bay Rd., Circle Dr., Thompson Rd., Route 31, Brewerton Rd./Route 11, Weaver Rd., McKinley Rd., & Whiting Rd.
The Cicero business area located along Brewerton Rd./Rt.11 & Rt. 31 includes: Wegman's Groceries (24 hrs.), Price Chopper Groceries (24 hrs.), Walmart Super Center (24 hrs.), Lowe's Bldg. Supply, Home Depot, Office Max, Target Dept. Store, Auto dealerships, restaurants, approx. 14 banks/credit unions, gas stations, motels, fast food, sports bar, auto supply stores, and many other smaller & kinds of stores/shops. Cicero is located at the intersection of Interstate 81 & Interstate 481 making travel to any part of Metro Syracuse or to other parts of NY State very easy.
The Cicero area has a good school system. The Cicero-North Syracuse High School is located in Cicero on Rt. 31 and across the street is one of several elementary schools and there's a middle school in Cicero on South Bay Rd. The two largest school systems in our county are Cicero-North Syracuse C. S. and Liverpool C. S. ~ Fayetteville-Manlius C. S. is rated best in our county.
For an internet street map of any of these streets click on the following line. http://www.mapblast.com/
Click on "GET MAP".
hondagirl96, I saw your post about South Carolina.
One of my main complaints about the Syracuse area, especially the city, is the lack of pride people take in owning their homes and property. So just a pre-visit warning, there are many neighborhoods with overgrown yards, chain link fences covered with weeds, trees not trimmed, mulch beds full of weeds and homes not painted in years. From your description of where you live in the south, it's not that bad here. But you will find some neighborhoods look much nicer than others.
When you visit, you might want to take a short trip to the suburbs of Rochester. The southeastern suburbs of Fairport, Penfield, and Pittsford are very nice IMO. Out of all the four major metros in Upstate NY (Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany) the Rochester burbs are the best looking. That might have to do with the fact that since 1970 the Syracuse suburbs have only grown about 40,000 in population. Rochester's suburbs grew over 150,000 and has had at least three or four times as much new construction as Syracuse's burbs.
Another place that comes to mind is Saratoga Springs. Very well kept and I imagine more walkable than most other suburban areas in Upstate NY. But it comes with a price. Saratoga Springs (and the Albany area in general) is more expensive than suburban Rochester or Syracuse.
The Syracuse suburbs do provide all your other requirements though..... "good schools, low crime, adequate shopping and restaurants, reasonable traffic and 3br/2ba $155,000 range". Also, you may be disappointed by the lack of sidewalks outside the villages. I have relatives who live in the Midwest and noticed that many newer suburbs there are built with sidewalks. That is very rare here in the Syracuse area.
I agree, the Village of Liverpool is probably your best bet.
Wow! You are all awesome! Thanks so much for all the helpful info. My husband read your post, Bellafinzi, and immediately started researching Rochester as well. My friend who went to Ithaca lived in Rochester for awhile and also had great things to say about it. We will keep researching and hopefully we will be able to make a visit sooner than later. Keep the info coming as you think of other things that will be helpful to our search. We really appreciate all the input!!!!
Bella- I don't know why you do this. (Speaking to your sporadic, degrading-to-Syracuse posts; not your moderating.) Not everyone has that Clay/Cicero preference of materialism and perfection... hundred of acres of new construction homes, perfectly landscaped yards, big box stores in the backyard, shopping plaza choking shopping plaza on flat ground as far as the eye can see... what was it you've said in the past? Ahhh yes- Syracuse needs more beautiful, well-dressed people. And more shiny skyscrapers. Because making everything LOOK nice is what's important, rather than changing the city within... from true growth. :/
The city of Rochester is widely viewed as an "urban" dump (yes- being dramatic here but I hear this FROM suburban Rochestarians), with the exception of a very few number of streets. Its residents abandoned their city and now, the only places that people ever suggest moving to are the suburbs. ONLY the suburbs... you get sideways glances if suggesting the city.
Syracuse's suburbs are beautiful. Maybe not as hardcore consumerist as Rochester's but WE like how they are. We don't value building wasteful new home after new home, when there are already plenty of beautiful existing stock - WITH CHARACTER - as a kind of goal. Heck- some of us even LIKE to buy the worn-out homes just to restore them to their former glory.
We suburbanites even like our city and take pride in it... take out of town guests there, meet up with friends there, go to hockey/baseball/basketball/football/lacrosse games, festivals, parades, markets, ballets, operas, plays, ... and feel safe enough to do so frequently. The evidence of that GROWTH is everywhere. In people's attitudes (obviously not all), in private investors' spending, in job growth and... much to your chagrin, it will likely show an increase in the census as well.
We have won title after title, especially recently, for being a great city to raise a family in, for being the most affordable place to live in the country, best place to buy a home, best city to ride out the national recession. We have very low unemployment, MANY jobs available, a beautiful downtown whose promise is growing with every passing day, people wanting to LIVE downtown, businesses moving back there, homes with character, the pride of the Orange, exceptional snow removal so we can all ENJOY what winter has to offer instead of rotting at home and whining about being snowed in, great restaurants, a GREAT amount of culture... in ethnic diversity and celebration of that, music, art, drama... on amateur AND world-class levels. Right HERE.
And you're comparing the run-down areas of the CITY of Syracuse to the upscale SUBURBS of Rochester. ???
Some people don't like to maintain their homes to perfection, to the point of missing out on living. Maybe it's time for some people to put down the trimming shears and hit Armory Square or one of downtown's many festivals. The old buildings won't crumble on your head. All those black people won't mug you. The people [probably won't be as attractive and well-dressed as you like but they'll have a smile on their faces. I tend to think all of that matters, rather than having suburb after suburb of perfect people in perfect homes next to perfect malls, who abandoned their city to live with other perfect people who cared about all of that as much as they did.
I hate the Rochester vs. Syracuse argument. It's a shallow one, at best, and delves into what is fundamentally different, at worst. Rochester is consumerist suburbia. Syracuse is a mix that cares enough about BEING MIXED (culturally, financially, ethnically, etc.) to do it on purpose. There's a place for almost everyone. If the areas were coffee, Rochester would be some kind of over-sweetened Starbucks and Syracuse would be Grandma's strong coffee, straight from the percolator in the now-cracked mug you made in 3rd grade.
Bella- I don't know why you do this. (Speaking to your sporadic, degrading-to-Syracuse posts; not your moderating.) Not everyone has that Clay/Cicero preference of materialism and perfection... hundred of acres of new construction homes, perfectly landscaped yards, big box stores in the backyard, shopping plaza choking shopping plaza on flat ground as far as the eye can see... what was it you've said in the past? Ahhh yes- Syracuse needs more beautiful, well-dressed people. And more shiny skyscrapers. Because making everything LOOK nice is what's important, rather than changing the city within... from true growth. :/
The city of Rochester is widely viewed as an "urban" dump (yes- being dramatic here but I hear this FROM suburban Rochestarians), with the exception of a very few number of streets. Its residents abandoned their city and now, the only places that people ever suggest moving to are the suburbs. ONLY the suburbs... you get sideways glances if suggesting the city.
Syracuse's suburbs are beautiful. Maybe not as hardcore consumerist as Rochester's but WE like how they are. We don't value building wasteful new home after new home, when there are already plenty of beautiful existing stock - WITH CHARACTER - as a kind of goal. Heck- some of us even LIKE to buy the worn-out homes just to restore them to their former glory.
We suburbanites even like our city and take pride in it... take out of town guests there, meet up with friends there, go to hockey/baseball/basketball/football/lacrosse games, festivals, parades, markets, ballets, operas, plays, ... and feel safe enough to do so frequently. The evidence of that GROWTH is everywhere. In people's attitudes (obviously not all), in private investors' spending, in job growth and... much to your chagrin, it will likely show an increase in the census as well.
We have won title after title, especially recently, for being a great city to raise a family in, for being the most affordable place to live in the country, best place to buy a home, best city to ride out the national recession. We have very low unemployment, MANY jobs available, a beautiful downtown whose promise is growing with every passing day, people wanting to LIVE downtown, businesses moving back there, homes with character, the pride of the Orange, exceptional snow removal so we can all ENJOY what winter has to offer instead of rotting at home and whining about being snowed in, great restaurants, a GREAT amount of culture... in ethnic diversity and celebration of that, music, art, drama... on amateur AND world-class levels. Right HERE.
And you're comparing the run-down areas of the CITY of Syracuse to the upscale SUBURBS of Rochester. ???
Some people don't like to maintain their homes to perfection, to the point of missing out on living. Maybe it's time for some people to put down the trimming shears and hit Armory Square or one of downtown's many festivals. The old buildings won't crumble on your head. All those black people won't mug you. The people [probably won't be as attractive and well-dressed as you like but they'll have a smile on their faces. I tend to think all of that matters, rather than having suburb after suburb of perfect people in perfect homes next to perfect malls, who abandoned their city to live with other perfect people who cared about all of that as much as they did.
I hate the Rochester vs. Syracuse argument. It's a shallow one, at best, and delves into what is fundamentally different, at worst. Rochester is consumerist suburbia. Syracuse is a mix that cares enough about BEING MIXED (culturally, financially, ethnically, etc.) to do it on purpose. There's a place for almost everyone. If the areas were coffee, Rochester would be some kind of over-sweetened Starbucks and Syracuse would be Grandma's strong coffee, straight from the percolator in the now-cracked mug you made in 3rd grade.
Awesome post! Thankfully I was able to give you a rep point as well, as I've been spreading them around in other threads...lol.
You really hit the nail on the head of why I love Syracuse so much. One of the things that struck me about visiting upstate New York, (both western and central) is how much it resembled my home state of North Carolina - in 1975. That was before all the developers came in and paved over the beautiful landscape with strip shopping centers, mile after mile of McMansions and those dreary, soulless office parks. Florida is even worse - I can't fathom how I was able to last that long in Broward County, the poster child of sprawl. For that matter, I don't know how I've been able to make it to almost 6 years here in the ATL - yet another poster child of the dreaded sprawl.
Granted, I do live in a beautiful neighborhood with low-profile homes in heavily wooded lots, with many yards in a not-so-pristine condition, mine included. I, for one, despise having to maintain "outdoor carpet" - all that weeding, fertilizing, watering and mowing just to have a patch of grass that "looks good" from the street. That's just not "me," and that's the saving grace of the Atlanta metro area, in that there's a neighborhood for every type of personality and taste.
Not too long ago, I was out riding around in the eastern suburbs of the metro area (Gwinnett County), I was on this road called the Ronald Reagan Parkway (only in the south, huh...lol), and it started off as very pleasent, leading away from a horrid stretch of commercialized sprawl. The road wound its way through hills and forest, some really pretty countryside. But wouldn't you know it, I came over a crest of a big hill and was rewarded with a majestic view of McMansions, spreading out to the far horizon, as far as the eye could see. I was like, "wtf is this?!?" LOL. And this is a long, longggg ways out from Atlanta. Ridiculous? You bet it is.
Now, I didn't get to visit Clay or Cicero, or many of the other suburban towns around Syracuse, but I do get the impression that sprawl is a four-letter word in CNY, as I sure as heck didn't see much of it.
By "sprawl", I mean traffic-choked streets with stoplights every 100 yards, that stay red for half of forever, and then some. God forbid you're in a hurry to get somewhere, as it'll never happen, regardless of how much of a lead foot you might be - those infernal lights will trap you every time. And you know what steams me up, is to be waiting a half century in a HUGE line of cars, and when the light finally changes, it only lets half the cars in line (or even just a third) through before it changes again! Dang, that just burns me up when that happens. At least in Florida, the folks kept on going even on red, me included....LOL. Here, they stop on the yellow, and you have to sit there and wait, and wait, and wait. That's why I relish living within spitting distance of 2 major interstates, at least I can fly on those...lol. I live and die by those massive freeways, as there's simply no other reasonable way to get around this vast metropolis otherwise. (We do have the train, but that's mainly just good for downtown and the airport, however, I do use it whenever I get the chance, anything to stay out of that car...lol).
As a future resident of the Syracuse area, I'm very, very excited to hear about all the new projects going on there, especially in the downtown area. This is especially heartening to view in the light of our economic depression around here, as all you ever hear about is projects being canceled left and right - every day, it seems, another dream goes unfulfilled. Things used to be exciting around here, with new skyscrapers going up right and left, and snazzy urban developments going in - but now, it's all about how those same skyscrapers stand empty for lack of tenants, month after month, going on years now. And that's in-town - you don't even wanna hear what it's like in the outer suburbs, where you hear stories of a single family having a whole subdivision to themselves, due to the housing bust. Gas has gotten far too expensive to drive 35 miles to and from work everyday, and it really shows in those far-flung "exurbs" that were growing so rapidly just a few years ago.
I, for one, highly support all efforts to revitalize the downtown / inner city areas of Syracuse, as that's the way of the future of much higher energy costs. (google the term "peak oil" for a nice worry-fest, if you have the stomach for it...lol). But even if gas went back to $1.50 a gallon and stayed there, I still want to live in a place where I can walk to the shops and not have to drive many a weary mile just to do everyday errands, not to mention doing work for my future clients. After all, I ain't gonna be making money sitting in my truck waiting for the 3rd light change...LOL.
So yeah, it's not just the snow and awesome summers that's drawing me to Syracuse, although that's a huge plus. It's the "quality of life" thing I'm going after, and the Syracuse area really is at the top of the list in that regard.
I so can't wait to be up there for good.
Last edited by NorthStarDelight; 11-08-2010 at 06:48 AM..
I really hate to compare cities like that... with their own negative sterotypes that probably only have a shred of truth to them. I'm sure Rochester isn't as bad as they say... just like Syracuse isn't. They're both nice but for different reasons. Very different reasons and for very different lifestyles. But I will NOT stand by and read someone spreading misconceptions about MY city/area, simply because they're sore that not everywhere/everyone is shiny and new.
Comparing the poor areas of the CITY of Syracuse to the rich SUBURBS of Rochester, as if there's anything in common? Ridiculous! I would never compare the urban-decay in certain Rochester neighborhoods to the eastern suburbs of Syracuse or Skaneateles... comparing apples to oak trees. Good grief!
I think a lot of people in Syracuse don't take care of their property and improve the exterior because it will only make their taxes even higher than they already are.
I think a lot of people in Syracuse don't take care of their property and improve the exterior because it will only make their taxes even higher than they already are.
The run-down neighborhoods in the inner city aren't taken care of for a number of reasons, some of which I personally know are...
1) Elderly people, who have lived there for decades, don't have the funds to maintain their homes. Their families, if they have any family, don't help them.
2) People in high crime areas who care about their homes but investing in maintaining/improving it isn't worthwhile, as the property value can only go so high.
3) BIG ONE- absentee landlords who take advantage of those low property values and rent to anyone while also not maintaining said property.
4) Lack of pride overall in a culture of likely criminal activity. It's hard to break out of that mindset if you've grown up with it. Not respecting one's self, other people's persons, property or values.
...as is common in ALL poor, inner city areas EVERYWHERE. It is not specific to Syracuse. Improving the last reason would clear up all of it. People need to have pride in themselves, what they're fully capable of doing, their properties and their families. Tipp Hill is a good example of a low-brow area but that still maintains their properties, for the most part. Why? There's a great number of extended families living there for generations... Slavic and Irish together. They have a cultural and familial pride in keeping each other honest and their homes maintained. Where the family pride stops is where you see the falling apart homes, as you get closer to Solvay.
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I'm excited to plan a trip as soon as our schedules will allow it. I love the pics I've seen and can't wait to see it in person to further determine which area is the one for us! Any further info is greatly appreciated.
Short reply until later
I, for one, despise having to maintain "outdoor carpet" - all that weeding, fertilizing, watering and mowing just to have a patch of grass that "looks good" from the street. That's just not "me," and that's the saving grace of the Atlanta metro area, in that there's a neighborhood for every type of personality and taste. 
Dang, that just burns me up when that happens. At least in Florida, the folks kept on going even on red, me included....LOL. Here, they stop on the yellow, and you have to sit there and wait, and wait, and wait.
That's why I relish living within spitting distance of 2 major interstates, at least I can fly on those...lol. I live and die by those massive freeways, as there's simply no other reasonable way to get around this vast metropolis otherwise. (We do have the train, but that's mainly just good for downtown and the airport, however, I do use it whenever I get the chance, anything to stay out of that car...lol).
