Syracuse New York (Rochester, Clay, Manlius: middle-class, sales, crime)

[Timmy]

Hi,

I am moving to Syracuse from Texas and just wondering what is the sales tax there for purchasing a vehicle. Oh, anyone heard about Tim Hortons? I heard that they are moving into Syracuse.

Where would the best place to live in Syracuse? We have a 11 years old boy and looking for an area that provide good schools.

Is there any good Chinese restaurant there?

Your feedback is much appreciated.

Thanks,

Timmy

[bellafinzi]

Hi Timmy,

Sales Tax in Onondaga County (Syracuse's county) is 8 percent.

Tim Hortons isn't in the Syracuse area yet. I believe Dunkin' Donuts is currently trying to saturate the market...as they are at every corner in the suburbs...to keep out Tim Hortons. Rochester has Tim Hortons and I assume when they finished building out that market, they will arrive in Syracuse.

China Road in Mattydale...a northern suburb of Syracuse- is a good Chinese restaurant. They have a website, just type "China Road Mattydale" into a Google search and it should come up. There are many others Chinese restaurants in the area too... I've heard good things about New Ling Ling Chinese Buffet in North Syracuse.

There are many nice suburbs with good school districts in the Syracuse area. Some factors that you might want to consider.....Do you want hills or flat terrain? Do you want an big upscale home or a moderately priced house? Near jobs? Near shopping? Near a highway?

Brief outline of Syracuse suburbs

Manlius -upscale, hills, top rated school district in the area (Fayetteville-Manlius), limited shopping but there are more stores in nearby DeWitt, nice village centers, no highways, eastern suburb, population 33,000

Cicero - mostly middle-class, flat, school district is OK not the best not the worst very big school district(North Syracuse), near Oneida Lake, highways close by, growing shopping district with most chain stores, fastest growing suburb of Syracuse- 7th fastest Upstate, northern suburb, population 30,000

Camillus -mostly middle class, hills, good school district with a great Lacrosse program(West Genesee) some shopping, highway nearby, almost the whole town is off one road, western suburb, population 23,000

Clay - Mostly middle class, flat, half the town is in Liverpool- a good school district, half is in North Syracuse school district, Syracuse's largest suburb, highways are nearby, Commercial and Shopping hub of the northern suburbs with 3 Wegmans and soon to be two Starbucks along with almost every chain store and restaurant in the region, northern suburb, population 60,000

Lysander - Upper Middle class- fast becoming an upscale suburb, Baldwinsville school district is good, gently rolling hills with farmland and some flat land, plan under review in the town includes a 560 home development featuring a 18-hole Jack Nicklaus designed golf course, town has a plan to save farmland, shopping is in nearby Clay, Bladwinville is a village on the Erie Canal with locks and a nice downtown, Radisson is a planned community with walking trails, tennis courts etc. northwest suburb, population 20,000

Onondaga - Middle class to upscale, hills, good school districts (Westhill and West Genesee) no highways nearby, no shopping but need to go to Camillus, very narrow country roads, home to Onondaga Community College, still has a rural feel, but just down the hill are the "ghetto" neighborhoods on the southside of the city, western suburb, population 21,000

DeWitt - Mostly Upscale, mostly hills, good school district (Jamesville-DeWitt), very close to Syracuse University and the Hospitals, crime from the city tends to spill over into DeWitt neighborhoods, shopping on Erie Blvd has all the chains in the region- Erie Blvd isn't the nicest area though, Highways nearby, has the largest Wegmans in the country, eastern suburb, population 25,000

There are other nice towns too, but these are the most popular towns where people are moving to.

[Timmy]

thanks for the input, very much appreciated.

we have choices of Syracuse, NY, Toledo, Columbus and Dayton, Ohio, which of these cities are best to move to. Comparing the wages, weather, schools, universities, people, crime.

anyone has some input on the above

thanks guys

[bellafinzi]

IMO, Greater Syracuse is better than the Toledo MSA or the Dayton MSA. Columbus is probably better than Syracuse.

Dayton has a crime problem I heard. Plus a local broadcaster went to Dayton for a NCAA event a few years ago and when he came back he was asked about Dayton. He gave a facial expression and said something like Dayton isn't that nice. The way he said it gave me the impression that Syracuse has much more to offer than Dayton. I've been through Toledo . Not that bad of an area but its as flat a pancake. And my only experience with the people was walking into a fast food restaurant. As soon as I walked in the door everyone seemed to stop what they were doing and look at me as though they usually don't see people like me in their neighborhood. Maybe I was in a bad part of Toledo but most people there looked "bubba" like. It was the only place I've ever been where I felt so out of place.

Columbus has been booming for years. Indy and Columbus are the two "sunbelt" like cities in the north. Never been to Columbus but since I like the way booming cities "feel" I assume its much more lively and looks better than Syracuse. Greater Syracuse hasn't had a boom since the 1960s. I hope that changes soon though.

Wages are probably higher in Columbus. Not that much snow in Columbus. I actually didn't like winter in Pittsburgh because it doesn't get that much snow. It was rainy, muddy, and damp without snow. Just my opinion.

[Timmy]

What can you tell me about Destiny USA project. Is it going to happen? If that really takes off, that maybe something that can boost the city's economies.

Is Destiny USA in the north end of Syracuse?

Timmy

[bellafinzi]

Yes, Carousel Mall is located on the city's northside near Onondaga Lake. The plan was to expand Carousel Mall into Destiny USA. It was proposed in 2001. Just today they got through the last hurdle of lawsuits. The developers say that they will start the bonding process for the first phase of 800,000 sq ft in the next couple weeks. The steel for the project has been on site for months. If goes as planned the city of Syracuse will get about $60 million from the issuing the bonds in a month or so. I hope everything works out and the region does get an economic boost from the project. IMO just building it will create a mini-boom in the area. Since this is just the first phase, it really isn't going to become "Destiny USA" just yet. I really don't know what will happen after the first phase of the expansion. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[Lax]

I thought that the destiny USA plan was pretty much scrapped. From what I read on it, the developers for the tech park backed out and the only thing that might go through is an expansion on the carousel mall, but most plans for the "Destiny usa" part were squashed. Any new info on this?

[bellafinzi]

Lax, I'm unsure what will happen after the first expansion. The local press in Syracuse continues to call the project Destiny USA. I don't know who to believe or what to think. The Renewable Energy Tech Park idea was a great plan. It was to be located where I-81 and I-90 intersect. Even a couple well-known companies were interested in locating there. Too bad the businesses located at the site fought the plan. All the politicians lost interest after these businesses started a campaign against the project.

[magreek18]

Hi i am wondering if anybody know how is valley area, syracuse.
Any information would be helpful.

[bellafinzi]

Originally Posted by magreek18

Hi i am wondering if anybody know how is valley area, syracuse.
Any information would be helpful.

The Valley.....I've only been down there once so don't base your decision on me. It looked like a nice old neighborhood with sidewalks and tree lined streets. The only problem is that the southside is not far away and I heard that the northern part of the Valley (closest to the Southside) is going down hill. Meaning "the hood" is spreading. To me the Valley seems very isolated without much shopping or other amenities. You would need to go near some rough neighborhoods everyday just to get to work or shopping. Again, this is just from an outside perspective. It might be better there than my description.