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Good Afternoon Syracuse Residents - I was looking for some general information.
For the past year my family and I have been planning a relocation to Rochester. We have visited numerous times, evaluated school districts and statistics, and measured tax burdens. It has been a labor intensive exercise.
If anyone has any insight or advice, it would be most appreciated. If the courts decide that 300 miles is the limit, then Rochester will be out of the running, and Syracuse will rapidly become our target destination. So, we are trying to prepare ourselves accordingly.
Given our previous correspondence on the Rochester forum, I'd say to consider school districts like Westhill or West Genesee due to being very good districts and their proximity to Solvay, which has a strong Italian American population and one of the highest percentage of Italians in a municipality in the US. Solvay is known for having specifically a strong Tyrolean population and even has a Tyrol Club: Solvay Tyrol Club
I would consider Liverpool or North Syracuse, but they are similar to Greece and Gates-Chili, with Solvay being similar to East Rochester(more working class, blue collar). Liverpool and North Syracuse aren't to the same extent as those two though. Nearby Baldwinsville may be a possibility in terms of a district/area to consider as well.
Lyncourt also has one of the highest percentages of Italians for a community in the US and has an Italian American Athletic Club. It has it own K-8 school district/school, in which kids go to Solvay High for HS or good the private route to Bishop Grimes Jr./Sr. High.
Syracuse's North Side, while not as Italian as it once was, still has an Italian presence with a somewhat infused Little Italy with restaurants, Our Lady of Pompeii Catholic Church, the John Venditti American Legion, a few bakeries, a cafe and a store in Lombardi's Imports, among some other things. You can find some these things in the Liverpool and North Syracuse areas too.
Canastota is another metro area community with a high Italian percentage, but it is more small town/rural and while not awful, schools are OK. Auburn and Oswego also pretty high Italian percentages, especially Auburn. Cortland also has its share of Italians.
Also, Utica, Rome and that metro area in general has a strong Italian American community as well. Districts like New Hartford, Whitesboro, Clinton and perhaps Frankfort-Schuyler may be worth a look if interested. Frankfort(village) has the second highest percentage of Italian Americans for a municipality in the US at around 45%. This I believe is due to its proximity to Utica's East Side, which was and still is to perhaps a lesser degree, where the Italian community is highly concentrated.
I'll try to add more information if I think of anything else.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 05-31-2013 at 05:54 PM..
Given our previous correspondence on the Rochester forum, I'd say to consider school districts like Westhill or West Genesee due to being very good districts and their proximity to Solvay, which has a strong Italian American population and one of the highest percentage of Italians in a municipality in the US. Solvay is known for having specifically a strong Tyrolean population and even has a Tyrol Club: Solvay Tyrol Club
I would consider Liverpool or North Syracuse, but they are similar to Greece and Gates-Chili, with Solvay being similar to East Rochester(more working class, blue collar). Liverpool and North Syracuse aren't to the same extent as those two though. Nearby Baldwinsville may be a possibility in terms of a district/area to consider as well.
Lyncourt also has one of the highest percentages of Italians for a community in the US and has an Italian American Athletic Club. It has it own K-8 school district/school, in which kids go to Solvay High for HS or good the private route to Bishop Grimes Jr./Sr. High.
Syracuse's North Side, while not as Italian as it once was, still has an Italian presence with a somewhat infused Little Italy with restaurants, Our Lady of Pompeii Catholic Church, the John Venditti American Legion, a few bakeries, a cafe and a store in Lombardi's Imports, among some other things. You can find some these things in the Liverpool and North Syracuse areas too.
Canastota is another metro area community with a high Italian percentage, but it is more small town/rural and while not awful, schools are OK. Auburn and Oswego also pretty high Italian percentages, especially Auburn.
I'll try to add more information if I think of anything else.
Thank you again. You appear to be my "go to" source for all information about Western New York. Your vast knowledge is extremely helpful.
Thank you again. You appear to be my "go to" source for all information about Western New York. Your vast knowledge is extremely helpful.
I added some more information in that post and another thing is that if want to go the Catholic School route, at least from 7th grade on, Bishop Grimes tends to get more students of Italian descent. This the case historically as many of the kids came from Syracuse's North Side and Eastwood neighborhoods, as well as Lyncourt, the North Syracuse and Liverpool areas. I'm not sure about elementary schools, but I assume that schools like Blessed Sacrament in Eastwood, St. Rose in North Syracuse and perhaps St. Margaret's in Mattydale are the schools to look into in that regard. Our Lady of Pompeii still has a school and while there may still be some students of Italian descent, with the changing demographics of the neighborhood and with the closing of Cathedral School in Downtown Syracuse, the school fell in line.
Thank You once again ckthankgod. You information is once again proving valuable.
"proulxfamily" - thank you. I will start to pull census records and data queries from those areas as well.
Now, having never lived in Syracuse, and only having visited twice (12 and 9 years ago respectively) I do not have much to compare it to in an effort to better understand the demographics, city layout, civil services, and tax burdens. While most of that stuff I can get by procuring data records, it still makes it difficult to get a true "idea" of a place.
Now, I have lived all over - and traveled even further for work. Nearly every major city in America I have visited multiple times, and I have lived for durations of no less than 2 years in Boston, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and other eastern cities. I have also spent much time out of the country, most notably in Mexico City, Panama City - Panama, Belize, and various Caribbean locations. I doubt many of these cities are similar to Syracuse given it's location, manufacturing, population, and history.
However, I have lived in both Rutland and Burlington, Vermont - and have traveled quite a few times to Rochester, Buffalo, Windsor - Ontario, Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec City. While the Canadian cities may fail in comparison, how about the other western New York cities, or the Vermont areas? How do those compare?
Is the demographic make-up (socially, economically, ethnically) similar to Burlington or Rochester? Is the city landscape the same as Buffalo and/or Rochester? Are the arts, social events, museums, and festivals limited as they are in Burlington? Or, are they available - but dated - as they are in Rochester? Does Syracuse have a "liberal" Vermont "vibe", or is it politically more astute and perhaps even more conservative like the eastern suburbs of Rochester?
Again, I can get the "data" from public records and census records, but I am really looking for an idea from people who live there or have traveled there frequently. So, any simple and general comparison would be helpful. Thus, thank you again.
Syracuse is more like Rochester than Burlington. With that said, the East Side near Syracuse University and even into the Eastern suburbs(somewhat), you get a liberal leaning to a degree. Just like Rochester, the Eastern suburbs are generally more affluent, but I'd say that the suburbs here are more balanced in that regard. Meaning that you can find a mix economically in the Northern, Western and even the Eastern suburbs. It has a little more of a blue collar feel than Rochester, but some may say that Syracuse comes off as being more down to earth. To be honest, the differences between Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse aren't really that big, but those little things may make a difference.
There are arts based, sporting and cultural events/festivals throughout the year here. So, you have some things to do.
Also, if you want that liberal, artsy vibe, Ithaca is only an hour away. You would probably view it as a more affordable, a more diverse and maybe even a more educated version of Burlington.
Syracuse is more like Rochester than Burlington. With that said, the East Side near Syracuse University and even into the Eastern suburbs(somewhat), you get a liberal leaning to a degree. Just like Rochester, the Eastern suburbs are generally more affluent, but I'd say that the suburbs here are more balanced in that regard. Meaning that you can find a mix economically in the Northern, Western and even the Eastern suburbs. It has a little more of a blue collar feel than Rochester, but some may say that Syracuse comes off as being more down to earth. To be honest, the differences between Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse aren't really that big, but those little things may make a difference.
There are arts based, sporting and cultural events/festivals throughout the year here. So, you have some things to do.
Also, if you want that liberal, artsy vibe, Ithaca is only an hour away. You would probably view it as a more affordable, a more diverse and maybe even a more educated version of Burlington.
I grew up in Boston, traveled to Europe quite a bit, and have no issues with liberal thinkers or progressively democratic voters, but in my line of work, my experience, and my lifestyle choices, I am Republican, nearly neo-conservative fiscally, and an advocate of conservative values. So for me, Ithaca would not be my preference. I lived in Burlington only in a professional capacity, and only because that was where my contract took me. I would not enjoy returning there, which is why I was attempting to use it as a basis of comparison.
Truth be told - I am somewhat of an anomaly in that regard. Raised in Boston, a very liberal city in an absurdly liberal state, born to immigrant parents, and subject to a New England education. By all accounts I should embrace liberal values - but I went the other way there.
In that case, I'd say to focus on the town of Cicero portion of the North Syracuse school district, as it would seem like a good fit.
BTW-Not to be nitpicky, but Syracuse is in Central NY.
Central New York - dually noted. Thank you once again.
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