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Old 01-14-2009, 04:57 PM
 
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I moved to Syracuse in late August, 2008. I searched and searched to buy a house and settled on one in Strathmore. I looked in Westcott and the University area as well. Parts of University are nice. There are not many houses available in the nice area though. Going north into Westcott it gets worse. In any case, most of the decent area is largely overrun by college students. Strathmore just seemed to have a lot more character as a neighborhood. And there really isn't much in line of entertainment around the university for non-students. Marshall Street has a bunch of restaurants, but it's on the SU campus. And the little one block village of Westcott has a few decent places, but only a very few. Armory Square and downtown are the real center of activity, and it's on the West side of downtown, closer to Strathmore, at least psychologically, even if Googlemaps says otherwise. Yes, Strathmore is right next to the "less desireable element." However, the bad element is dispersed all about and throughout Westcott. It's really spotty. You will find great unity as a neighborhood in Strathmore. There's a lot of community feeling in the community. I'm very happy with my decision to buy there. I couldn't ask for nicer, more generous, all around better neighbors. That's my experience anyway. Drive up Summit Ave from Bellevue to Onondaga Park, and then around the Park, if you get the chance. It's gorgeous.
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Old 01-14-2009, 05:59 PM
 
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Originally Posted by gmoney1 View Post
I moved to Syracuse in late August, 2008. I searched and searched to buy a house and settled on one in Strathmore. I looked in Westcott and the University area as well. Parts of University are nice. There are not many houses available in the nice area though. Going north into Westcott it gets worse. In any case, most of the decent area is largely overrun by college students. Strathmore just seemed to have a lot more character as a neighborhood. And there really isn't much in line of entertainment around the university for non-students. Marshall Street has a bunch of restaurants, but it's on the SU campus. And the little one block village of Westcott has a few decent places, but only a very few. Armory Square and downtown are the real center of activity, and it's on the West side of downtown, closer to Strathmore, at least psychologically, even if Googlemaps says otherwise. Yes, Strathmore is right next to the "less desireable element." However, the bad element is dispersed all about and throughout Westcott. It's really spotty. You will find great unity as a neighborhood in Strathmore. There's a lot of community feeling in the community. I'm very happy with my decision to buy there. I couldn't ask for nicer, more generous, all around better neighbors. That's my experience anyway. Drive up Summit Ave from Bellevue to Onondaga Park, and then around the Park, if you get the chance. It's gorgeous.
Yeah, Strathmore is nice and it isn't as bad as people make it out to be because the bad element is generally on the other side of Bellevue and down the hill to South Ave.

As for Westcott, it you go East of Westcott, there are quite a few nice houses and neighborhoods there in that part of the area. Also, south of Euclid is more residential and has some houses that rival any of the houses in the county anywhere in Berkeley Park. SU's Department of Public Safety also patrols around there with their Orange Watch unit. So, there is a presence around there at all times.

There some other nice neighborhoods in the city of Syracuse and the surrounding area too.
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Old 01-14-2009, 08:23 PM
 
Location: Cicero, NY
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I agree there are parts of the city that are really nice, and if not for the schools I might consider living there--cant beat some of the house prices.But on the flip side there are areas that remind me of the Bronx
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Old 01-14-2009, 08:43 PM
 
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Originally Posted by jrice View Post
I agree there are parts of the city that are really nice, and if not for the schools I might consider living there--cant beat some of the house prices.But on the flip side there are areas that remind me of the Bronx
Yeah, I'll admit we have some rough looking neighborhoods like the Near West Side, which is unfortunately one of the poorest neighborhoods in the country. It's probably one of the city's most diverse neighborhoods too.

Then you have neighborhoods like Meadowbrook, which is also diverse and rivals most of the suburbs in the area.

Personally, if I lived in the city, I would probably live in neighborhoods like Meadowbrook/Scottholm, most of Westcott/University, most of Outer Comstock, Sedgwick, most of Eastwood, the Valley south of Seneca Turnpike, Strathmore(especially close to Corcoran High) and the Northside neighborhood(north of Grant Boulevard). There are some other decent to good neighborhoods like Tipp Hill/Far West Side, Lincoln Hill, Salt Springs(east of Seeley and south of Salt Springs), Elmwood(up the hill), Park Ave. in the Westside neighborhood behind Auto Row, Washington Square(close to the Northside neighborhood and on the other end of the neighborhood from North Salina Street) and parts of the North Valley West of Midland Ave.
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Old 01-15-2009, 08:07 AM
 
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The Syracuse area is a great place to raise a family. I live in Baldwinsville and just love it, the school system is one of the best in the area and is still relatively small;I can't say enough. There has been a huge retail explosion in the area, so it's about a 5-10 minute drive for groceries, resturants and shops (Lowes, Kohls, Target, Home Depot...etc.). Very quick to major highways to get to Syracuse. In the summer, there are concerts and fireworks in the village. Home costs are reasonable and home values are steady.
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Old 01-15-2009, 04:08 PM
 
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Originally Posted by bville2 View Post
The Syracuse area is a great place to raise a family. I live in Baldwinsville and just love it, the school system is one of the best in the area and is still relatively small;I can't say enough. There has been a huge retail explosion in the area, so it's about a 5-10 minute drive for groceries, resturants and shops (Lowes, Kohls, Target, Home Depot...etc.). Very quick to major highways to get to Syracuse. In the summer, there are concerts and fireworks in the village. Home costs are reasonable and home values are steady.
Baldwinsville is nice and it's a community that has just about everything a person needs in close proximity, but is close to Syracuse as well.
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Old 03-10-2009, 07:37 PM
 
Location: CNY
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I cut and pasted this from one of my past posts:

I grew up in Syracuse but I now live in Europe, so my view of the city might be skewed. My parents and all my old friends do still live there, and I go back at least twice a year to visit. Its dear to my heart and I'm glad other people are seeing its value.

I think that the Western suburbs deserve a mention too, not just the Eastern ones. Camillus, Skaneateles, Marcellus, and Baldwinsville are all great areas with their own village centers, and are much less crowded than the east. I grew up in Onondaga hill, which is fairly rural but is a 10 minute drive to Armory Square, and I did enjoy it very much. I worked in Manlius after college, and I hated that area of town. Its all one big sprawl, the traffic sucks, and except for the village of Manlius its just a bunch of shopping centers and subdivisions.

If I were to move back (and I'm considering it), I'd move to one of the inner suburbs that are undergoing a bit of a cleanup. Eastwood, Tipp Hill, Sedgwick, everything east of SU, are all very safe and have a good community to them, as well as being very affordable. Lots of parks and a great old-school suburbia feel. They also have good access to bus routes and are close enough to bike downtown or to the university. Downtown is also coming back, its much nicer than when I remember it as a kid, and I'd love to live in one of those old highrises on Salina. Of course, I've lived in a big city long enough to love not being car dependent, and in the inner neighborhoods you can mix driving with walking and public transit. If you want to head out to the big box stores, they're still only 10 minutes away, just 10 minutes out of town instead of towards it.
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Old 03-19-2010, 09:41 AM
 
104 posts, read 213,914 times
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Originally Posted by Sue Boyle CBPP View Post
Hi!
I am the president of the Greater Strathmore Neighborhood Association Strathmore Neighborhood > The Neighborhood Association ( DNN 4.0.2 ) .
I would like to let everyone know about a GREAT neighborhood in Syracuse, NY..Strathmore.
We live in a very fun, social and beautiful historic neighborhood in the city of Syracuse. So Fun...so much to do...There are several groups and organizations of neighbors in Strathmore..The Greater Strathmore Neighborhood Association, The Onondaga Park Association, for the guys; The Strathmore Mens Athletic Club (or SMAC), For the young moms; The Margarita Moms, for the more mature women; Strathmore Ladies Night out. There are 2 Strathmore womens indoor soccer teams. There is a huge church community at Most Holy Rosary Church, We boast a beautiful park surrounding Hiawatha Lake in the center of the neighborhood, Onondaga Park which was designed by the same landscape architect that designed Central Park (NYC). We hold several events in the park including Christmas in Strathmore, The Parks Run 5k race, an annual Fishing Derby, Professional bike races and on Tuesday nights in July, Syracuse Symphony performances in the park. Our kids all learn to swim in the enormous, beautiful park pool (for free) and it is the park of choice for wedding photographers. We also boast two great annual events; Art on the Porches Art on the Porches Home Page and the Strathmore By the Park Tour of Homes.
I can be in the hip downtown area of Armory square for shopping, socializing or dining in less than 5 minutes.
We are in the city of Syracuse school district. JT Roberts school is k-8. It is a beautiful modern building with a great staff and a new, very driven principal Mrs.Kimatian. Our high school is Corcoran High, one of the only schools in the state that offers the prestigious International Baccalauriate Program. Roberts is investigating an elementary IB program in the next 2 years.

In addition to being on the board of the neighborhood Association, I am also a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Prime Properties. The real estate in Strathmore is great and improving. The houses are large and elegant.

So, I thought I'd try to Summarize Strathmore, but believe it or not, I could go on and on. Come visit some time and take a walk in the park or a drive up Robineau Road...we'd love to have you!

Sue Boyle
Strathmore neighborhood sounds great! However, when I went to check out the school (via internet) they rated extremely low. We are moving to the area from CT due to a job transfer. The houses we usually live in are new construction, beautiful neighborhood with amazing schools. Although CT is beautiful, I am a bit tired of all the driving to my kids activities. Everything is so far away. I put over 500 miles/wk on my car. I looked at some houses (again, online) and the ones in Strathmore sure look beautiful with lots of character. You cannot even compare them to the newer developments in Manlius (even the high end ones). Moreover, there is a beautiful park in the area and you say the neighborhood has a real sense of community. My dilemma remains with the school system. If I look at the ratings, how can you compare let's say, F-M schools with the Strathmore area schools? On paper there is no comparison. Therein lies my dilemma.
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Old 03-19-2010, 11:03 AM
 
2,440 posts, read 5,737,252 times
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Originally Posted by CTwoman View Post
Strathmore neighborhood sounds great! However, when I went to check out the school (via internet) they rated extremely low. We are moving to the area from CT due to a job transfer. The houses we usually live in are new construction, beautiful neighborhood with amazing schools. Although CT is beautiful, I am a bit tired of all the driving to my kids activities. Everything is so far away. I put over 500 miles/wk on my car. I looked at some houses (again, online) and the ones in Strathmore sure look beautiful with lots of character. You cannot even compare them to the newer developments in Manlius (even the high end ones). Moreover, there is a beautiful park in the area and you say the neighborhood has a real sense of community. My dilemma remains with the school system. If I look at the ratings, how can you compare let's say, F-M schools with the Strathmore area schools? On paper there is no comparison. Therein lies my dilemma.
There are many homes in Manlius, with that style and character... people just don't put them up for sale too often. lol

Strathmore is BEAUTIFUL but a tiny niche in the City of Syracuse. My husband and I were married in the stone gazebo in the pond/small lake in Upper Onondaga Park... stunningly beautiful setting, that was. BUT- it's wedged between the two worsts parts of the city - the south and west sides, with a lot of gang violence and crime - which you need to drive through to get home. My grandmother lives in Strathmore, in one of those beautiful homes, and the realization that we would probably sell it (she's nearing the end of her life and made it known to us that the house will be going to our family) is a hard one. My father and aunts and uncles grew up there and we've had a lot of great memories in that house... but the only way we would move there is if we could afford to send the kids to Catholic/private schools nearby. At roughly $5-7K/year/child... and higher taxes than even Manlius... I just can't see that happening. Then there's the problem of feeling safe... it LOOKS safe, if you stay within the immediate streets, but you still have to be on guard. There are a lot of break-ins and have been incidents of "carolers" robbing homeowners during the holidays. The schools are bad, definitely. One of my closest friends lived there, went to Shea Middle, and was constantly in fights at school, for being white and "uppity." Her grades suffered horribly, after always being an A student, and she was in counseling for several years, even after moving to rural Hamilton, NY. She developed serious rage issues, while there. :/

Not that that will be the experience of everyone but... not somewhere I would send my children to public school. Not worth the very high property taxes. Not affordable, for us, to send three children to private school - for the next 15 years, at state university tuition rates. I lived on the west side for a few years (after E. Syracuse) and was sent to Catholic school and even then, there were major issues with me walking to the library, bus stop, corner store, playing outside... If my distant cousin (step-father's, half-brother's, step-daughter lol) hadn't told her thug boyfriend to tell "his people" to not bother me (they did anyway but never physically touched me), I think it would have been a far more unsafe situation, for me. As it was, I was harrassed almost constantly, we had our tires slashed twice, kids were always stealing my bike, rollerblades and vandalizing/stealing from our veggie garden (fenced yard that they climbed or cut through) and backyard, a man was stabbed against our car on a Thursday afternoon and the number for the TIPS drug hotline was on our speed dial. Strathmore is all of 2-4 blocks from that, in any direction... except for backing up to Onondaga Hill.

Your issue with not driving very far isn't an issue unless you live in a rural area. Every suburban area, with exception of the south of Syracuse (Pompey, LaFayette, Tully - more rural), is pretty much self-contained, with its own set of stores. Each has a mall, almost exactly the same stores/restaurants and numbers of them, athletic facilities, range of schools, varieties of neighborhoods... they just have different landscapes and general feels.

I'm passionate about this, yes. I try to avoid the South and West sides, whenever possible. Of course, it's just my luck that this grandmother is my favorite and goes to the zoo with us frequently. And my closest friend lives on Onondaga Hill... they're moving to Manlius this August though!

Last edited by proulxfamily; 03-19-2010 at 11:55 AM..
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Old 03-19-2010, 11:38 AM
 
92,061 posts, read 122,262,393 times
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Originally Posted by CTwoman View Post
Strathmore neighborhood sounds great! However, when I went to check out the school (via internet) they rated extremely low. We are moving to the area from CT due to a job transfer. The houses we usually live in are new construction, beautiful neighborhood with amazing schools. Although CT is beautiful, I am a bit tired of all the driving to my kids activities. Everything is so far away. I put over 500 miles/wk on my car. I looked at some houses (again, online) and the ones in Strathmore sure look beautiful with lots of character. You cannot even compare them to the newer developments in Manlius (even the high end ones). Moreover, there is a beautiful park in the area and you say the neighborhood has a real sense of community. My dilemma remains with the school system. If I look at the ratings, how can you compare let's say, F-M schools with the Strathmore area schools? On paper there is no comparison. Therein lies my dilemma.
What a lot of people do is send their children to private schools or they have kids in the nationally acclaimed IB program at Corcoran High. In terms of environment, Roberts School K-8 school is fine and at Corcoran, it seems like some are sending their kids there if they are in the IB program: IB (http://www.scsd.us/~corcoran/IB/IB.htm - broken link)

With that said, you would also have kids that go to Junior and Senior High at Bishop Ludden, Christian Brothers Academy, Bishop Grimes or some other private school. Some might also send their children to charter schools like Southside Academy or Syracuse Academy of Science, but in terms of sports, they are very limited.

There are other similar neighborhoods like Strathmore in the city of Syracuse like: Sedgwick, Scottholm and Berkeley Park. Sedgwick is a Northside neighborhood and the latter two are Eastside neighborhoods that are pretty close to Syracuse University.

If you mind sending your child to private school or can get them into programs or schools in the SCSD that are decent, these neighborhoods might appeal to you too.

I think you might be fine with the Eastern suburbs and the Western suburbs, as they have everything you want. With the Northern suburbs, they also have everything you want, but they all have very big high schools.

Just to give you an idea of some of these neighborhoods and places, here's a streetview of them:
sedgwick drive, syracuse, ny - Google Maps

berkeley drive, syracuse, ny - Google Maps

scottholm blvd, syracuse, ny - Google Maps

broad road, syracuse, ny - Google Maps Is a road near where I grew up in Onondaga Hill, which is in the Westhill SD.

fayetteville, ny - Google Maps

manlius, ny - Google Maps

terry road, syracuse, ny - Google Maps These neighborhoods are in Westvale, another part of the Westhill SD

fairmount, ny - Google Maps Is in the West Genesee SD

manlius center road east syracuse, ny - Google Maps Is the Fremont part of the East Syracuse-Minoa SD and if you take North Burdick, it would take you to the shopping at the Fayetteville Towne Centre.

schuyler road east syracuse, ny - Google Maps This area is the Collamer part of the ES-M sD and if you take Bridgeport RD, it take you to I-481 and Sportscenter 481. There are developments in the other side of Schuyler Rd, but they don't have streetview access.

marcellus, ny - Google Maps

skaneateles, ny - Google Maps

orvilton & east genesee st. de witt, ny - Google Maps In the Jamesville-DeWitt SD

I'll send some more later......
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