My Strathmore Neighborhood Photos (New York, Syracuse: established neighborhood, school districts, living in)

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by bellafinzi

Oops, sorry! I-90 in New York State is called the Thruway.

ohhhhhhh, I get it, thanks!! Learning new things every day...

[bellafinzi]

Originally Posted by boomvang

While I understand your reluctance to embrace the gritty environs of Syracuse proper, your reasoning in dismissing all areas south of the "Slab" escapes me . So, according to you, Dewitt, Fayetteville, Manlius, and Pompey all "cloud" your mind? You're right, it does sound strange to me.

OK, I'll try to clarify.

Might be the hilly terrain or lack of urbanization once exiting "Syracuse's (the city) sphere of influence" east of DeWitt.

What I mean by the city's sphere of influence is the gritty vibe surrounding the city...the blight, the lack of landscaping, the overgrown brush, lack of new construction etc.

I disliked two things about attending college in the Southern Tier: 1) feeling isolated by all the hills. 2) the town was just too small.

This is probably why I'm not attracted to Manlius or Camillus etc. as much as the northern suburbs. If the Manlius area tripled in population I'd probably feel much more at home there. I guess I feel most comfortable when I'm in the middle of it all.

Don't get me wrong, the eastern and western are nice places to live, but to me they are on the small side and many areas feel too close to the "gritty" city and rural areas.

Did that help?

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by bellafinzi

OK, I'll try to clarify.

Might be the hilly terrain or lack of urbanization once exiting "Syracuse's (the city) sphere of influence" east of DeWitt.

What I mean by the city's sphere of influence is the gritty vibe surrounding the city...the blight, the lack of landscaping, the overgrown brush, lack of new construction etc.

I disliked two things about attending college in the Southern Tier: 1) feeling isolated by all the hills. 2) the town was just too small.

This is probably why I'm not attracted to Manlius or Camillus etc. as much as the northern suburbs. If the Manlius area tripled in population I'd probably feel much more at home there. I guess I feel most comfortable when I'm in the middle of it all.

Don't get me wrong, the eastern and western are nice places to live, but to me they are on the small side and many areas feel too close to the "gritty" city and rural areas.

Did that help?

Yeah, I get what you are saying Still think the area may appeal to me, though of course I have to see it to really know!

I actually love rural areas, and hills and mountains are especially appealing to me. I don't, however, like gritty or dangerous. So, I guess I'm still trying to figure out, how scared would I feel living so close to less desirable areas like those near Strathmore?

[proulxfamily]

Originally Posted by lovesMountains

Yeah, I get what you are saying Still think the area may appeal to me, though of course I have to see it to really know!

I actually love rural areas, and hills and mountains are especially appealing to me. I don't, however, like gritty or dangerous. So, I guess I'm still trying to figure out, how scared would I feel living so close to less desirable areas like those near Strathmore?

I think, given this post, you'd like it best in: the University area, Westcott, Meadowbrook and Orvilton/Dewittshire neighborhoods of Syracuse (zip codes 13210 and 13224.) And the suburbs and surrounding rural areas with villages are: Dewitt (13214), Jamesville (13078), Fayetteville (13066), Manlius (13104), Chittenango (13037), Cazenovia (13035), Oran-Delphi (13051)/Fabius (13063)/Pompey (13138), Tully (13159), LaFayette (13084)... all areas are in order, extending eastward down East Genesee Street through Dewitt to Chittenango, then fanning southwest, back up to Syracuse. It's in the southeastern quadrant of the Syracuse area.

[ckhthankgod]

You might like where I grew up and that is Onondaga Hill. It's actually above Strathmore in the Town of Onondaga. It's close to the city, but definitely safe. It's just SW of the city and you can go to places like Fairmount/Camillus for shopping. Down the hill on Seneca Turnpike is the valley section of the city, which isn't too bad, but south of Seneca Turnpike is better than north of the Turnpike.

Onondaga Hill has sort of a rural vibe, but is suburban in nature and like I said closer to the city of Syracuse. High Acres Apartments might be a good place to look for an apartment and the area is safe. Apartments in Syracuse, New York | High Acres Apartments | Syracuse, NY-

[SteveMax58]

Originally Posted by bellafinzi

This will probably sound strange to some, but for some reason when I'm north of the Thruway in the Syracuse area my mind is more at peace and the possibilities of life seem endless. When I'm south of the Thruway my guard is up and my mind feels more cloudy/less clear. The village of Liverpool area is the only major exception.

Oddly enough...this is similar for me. As you might recall, I had a thread asking about the different areas and such. This is ultimately what my wife and I ended up agreeing with. We just "felt" better when we were driving through, looking at houses, stopping by restaraunts, etc. in the North suburbs. We saw plenty of nice houses, and probably nice neighborhoods in other surrounding suburbs, but the North areas made an impression that we just didn't get from the other areas. Hard to explain really...we just liked the amount of kids we saw out and about, the easy commutes to shopping and the like, and the schools were clean and scored very comparable to the other school districts. We also aren't very big on the hilly terrain aspects of other areas...so maybe that factored in.

We settled on Cicero for nearly the very reason you stated.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by SteveMax58

Oddly enough...this is similar for me. As you might recall, I had a thread asking about the different areas and such. This is ultimately what my wife and I ended up agreeing with. We just "felt" better when we were driving through, looking at houses, stopping by restaraunts, etc. in the North suburbs. We saw plenty of nice houses, and probably nice neighborhoods in other surrounding suburbs, but the North areas made an impression that we just didn't get from the other areas. Hard to explain really...we just liked the amount of kids we saw out and about, the easy commutes to shopping and the like, and the schools were clean and scored very comparable to the other school districts. We also aren't very big on the hilly terrain aspects of other areas...so maybe that factored in.

We settled on Cicero for nearly the very reason you stated.

I actually live in the Northern suburbs too. I understand about the kids being out and about. It doesn't hurt that the 2nd, 3rd and 4th biggest school districts in the county are in the Northern suburbs and they are relatively diverse in comparison to the other suburban areas in the area.

[RollsRoyce]

Originally Posted by boomvang

While I understand your reluctance to embrace the gritty environs of Syracuse proper, your reasoning in dismissing all areas south of the "Slab" escapes me . So, according to you, Dewitt, Fayetteville, Manlius, and Pompey all "cloud" your mind? You're right, it does sound strange to me.

Personally, many places north of the thruway like Brewerton and Cicero with their miles of bland subdivisions, tacky lawn displays that the mafia would endorse, pickup trucks and plastic Ryan homes depress me. In fairness, the Pastures in Cicero is a nice development that reminds me of the Raleigh area and perhaps parts of the midwest. I am happiest when I'm east of I-481 in Fayetteville, Manlius, Pompey, Fabius, and Cazenovia. The communities north of the thruway that I've always liked are Baldwinsville/Radisson and the section of Clay by Wetzel Road that encompasses the Wildcreek and Plum Hollow subdivisions. The subdivisions off West Taft Road in Liverpool beginning near Tactair's Headquarters and ending just before North Medical Center are nice as well.

[RollsRoyce]

Originally Posted by SteveMax58

Oddly enough...this is similar for me. As you might recall, I had a thread asking about the different areas and such. This is ultimately what my wife and I ended up agreeing with. We just "felt" better when we were driving through, looking at houses, stopping by restaraunts, etc. in the North suburbs. We saw plenty of nice houses, and probably nice neighborhoods in other surrounding suburbs, but the North areas made an impression that we just didn't get from the other areas. Hard to explain really...we just liked the amount of kids we saw out and about, the easy commutes to shopping and the like, and the schools were clean and scored very comparable to the other school districts. We also aren't very big on the hilly terrain aspects of other areas...so maybe that factored in.

We settled on Cicero for nearly the very reason you stated.

You make good points. Many people like areas that remind them of places where they used to live. I grew up in Westchester County, NY and like rolling hills and am accustomed to more sparsley populated, affluent communities with larger homes on big lots. The Eastern Suburbs remind me of a more affordable and laid back version of some New York and Philadelphia area suburbs. While more upscale and perhaps impersonal, I'm used to this atmosphere. Conversely, the nothern suburbs minus the palm trees and architecture remind me of Florida and points south due to the more sprawling developments, shopping centers, and larger school districts. I can see why this environment can be attractive to many people. I guess to each their own.

[SteveMax58]

Originally Posted by RollsRoyce

You make good points. Many people like areas that remind them of places where they used to live. I grew up in Westchester County, NY and like rolling hills and am accustomed to more sparsley populated, affluent communities with larger homes on big lots. The Eastern Suburbs remind me of a more affordable and laid back version of some New York and Philadelphia area suburbs. While more upscale and perhaps impersonal, I'm used to this atmosphere. Conversely, the nothern suburbs minus the palm trees and architecture remind me of Florida and points south due to the more sprawling developments, shopping centers, and larger school districts. I can see why this environment can be attractive to many people. I guess to each their own.

I think that is likely the case for me(even though I really don't have any affinity to palm trees). Growing up in Florida, the largest hill or mountain is Space Mountain at Disney World (actually not a joke), so the thought of driving around some of the winding side roads during the winter would be a concern for us (not to mention my ears pop every time I go through an area...feels like being on an airplane...and is uncomfortable after the first 10 ten times). Plus we have little kids and the Northern burbs appeared to be full of kids, so figured our kids would have an easier time adjusting in a larger pool of kids...so the larger school district wasnt necessarily negative(and slightly positive) from our point of view.

But I'm a big proponent of "it takes all kinds"...so I see the appeal of other areas for some. I'm actually a bigger fan of the older Craftsman or Victorian style homes that we've seen in the more established neighborhoods personally, but my wife doesnt share that enthusiasm.