New York novice (Syracuse, Utica, Manlius: school districts, university, salary)

[Texas Gremlin]

Hello All,

I've been reading many posts regarding this area over the last couple of months, and they've been great and useful. Lots of information about weather, taxes, employment, etc. from these posts. It's been great to read the whole spectrum of input.

My husband & I have been looking to relocate ourselves, but though we've read a bit about CNY, there's this nervousness because we come from far away-- the Texas Gulf Coast. We're ok with cloudy, cold, four seasons. We're looking for more of a variety as far as that goes. Here we've pretty much only got two seasons. For us, this is very undesirable. We have a child as well, and we'd like to get out & enjoy the outdoors...it's too hot much of the year to do that.

There are many places in this country that could foot the bill. We've looked into moving up to cities in North Texas like Amarillo or Lubbock.

The clincher is that we're Jewish. We'd like to live somewhere that has a healthy Jewish community as well.

Our country is struggling economically in many places, so naturally we've got no illusions, but by estimation, New York is a fascinating state, albeit it's got its fair share (like any other place) of bureacracy and misspending. It's just a fact of life. More important question--can the people manage? Could we manage & get by with my husband being a secondary (8-12) English teacher and myself getting a part time job (retail, general office)?

We're not fond of huge cities, where the most vibrant Jewish communities tend to be, so the Syracuse MSA may be the perfect fit.

Looking forward to your input

[Becca8377]

While I don't know the specifics of the Jewish community here, I know that we definitely have one. They put on a Jewish Cultural Festival every year in September.

Jewish Community Center - JCC of Syracuse
Jewish Cultural Fest - Jewish Musical & Cultural Festival

There are plenty of options for your husband's career as a teacher. And yes I believe you can get by just fine on that salary and a PT job. I have a friend that's a single mom, 2 kids, secondary school teacher, and she gets by just fine! As you've probably read, the cost of living in Syracuse is affordable. If you bought a house, taxes can get higher if you're in a Village, etc.

Syracuse is not a huge city, so that definitely works in your favor There are a TON of family-friendly activities that run year round. Summer is festival season, although there is still Winter Fest and plenty of things to do in the winter time.

[acknight]

Originally Posted by Texas Gremlin

The clincher is that we're Jewish. We'd like to live somewhere that has a healthy Jewish community as well.

...

We're not fond of huge cities, where the most vibrant Jewish communities tend to be, so the Syracuse MSA may be the perfect fit.

The area's larger Jewish communities are typically found in the near eastern suburbs (predominantly DeWitt) and the city's east side - there are several synagogues as well as the Jewish Community Center.

There are smaller Jewish communities in the northern suburbs as well, much smaller.

[RollsRoyce]

In addition to DeWitt (which also includes the hamlet of Jamesville) and Syracuse's East Side, there is also a healthy sized Jewish community in Fayetteville and Manlius. Fayetteville-Manlius and Jamesville-DeWitt are the only two school districts in Greater Syracuse and of the few in upstate New York that close for the High Holidays.


Below is a link to synagogues in the Syracuse area:
Synagogues : Jewish Federation of CNY

DeWitt has three synagogues (two conservative and one orthodox) and one havurah. There is a rather large reform congregation in the city near Syracuse University.

Syracuse also has a Jewish Day School
Syracuse Hebrew - Home


More information on the area's jewish community can be found on the Jewish Federation of CNY website:
Jewish Federation of CNY

[Texas Gremlin]

This is all great info. Facts that would take us a bit of time to discover on our own. Thanks.

I think I have read somewhere in these threads that snow is pretty much cleared from the roads by the city or the county (?), but removing snow from the sidewalk is the homeowner's responsibilty. What are some efficient and labor-saving strategies ?

[Becca8377]

Originally Posted by Texas Gremlin

This is all great info. Facts that would take us a bit of time to discover on our own. Thanks.

I think I have read somewhere in these threads that snow is pretty much cleared from the roads by the city or the county (?), but removing snow from the sidewalk is the homeowner's responsibilty. What are some efficient and labor-saving strategies ?

Snow removal is dependant on where you live. The Village I live in - sidewalk removal is taken care of by the Village, even if it took a month for them to get to it. But since the Village is supposedly taken care of it, I never have to worry about it - if the sidewalks aren't cleared, that's the Village's problem not mine!

[Sean®]

What are some efficient and labor-saving strategies ?

Hire it done!!!

Money saving would be a snowblower. My city does clear the sidewalks but depending on the storm it can take several days. My sidewalks are cleared by 6 AM. I figger if some kid gets hit walking in the road its not gonna be because I couldn't get my tail out of bed. I'm on a cornor lot so I have a diaperload of sidewalk to clear but I enjoy it so what the heck??

If you don't enjoy snowblowing you better enjoy writing checks.

How often you do it varies wildly. Only thing for sure is we do alot of it here.

http://www.city-data.com/top2/c464.html

[Sean®]

Originally Posted by Becca8377

Snow removal is dependant on where you live. The Village I live in - sidewalk removal is taken care of by the Village, even if it took a month for them to get to it. But since the Village is supposedly taken care of it, I never have to worry about it - if the sidewalks aren't cleared, that's the Village's problem not mine!

Not sure if different villages have different laws but in Oneida the homeowner is in charge of sidewalks. The city does clear them as a service but its our responsibility. If something were to happen because we didn't clear them it would be on us.

[Becca8377]

Originally Posted by Sean®

Not sure if different villages have different laws but in Oneida the homeowner is in charge of sidewalks. The city does clear them as a service but its our responsibility. If something were to happen because we didn't clear them it would be on us.

Yes, it is completely dependent on where you live. In the Village of Liverpool, sidewalks are taken care of by the Village. It may take them days, weeks, months to get to them - but you're not responsible. Wherever the OP wants to live, they should check with their local municipality to find out

[Sean®]

Well either way its not a big deal and the OP can be very happy here.

Utica and Herkimer also both have Jewish communities. Sorry I don't know more then that.