black and white couple moving to clay,ny (New York, Syracuse: crime rate, employment)

[alone]

I am a 23 year old black female and my husban is white and he's 24. we have 3 children, we want to move to clay,ny from georgia to get away from racial things . are there any racial activity in clay,ny ,do you think that we will a hard time getting a job? he is a hvac tech. and i am a dental assistant . please help we want to know all we can about clay because we plan to make a move in june of this year. any answer???

[bellafinzi]

I'm not sure what else to tell you that I haven't already said in my Town of Clay photo thread found here:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/syrac...burb-clay.html

Why did you choose the Syracuse area and why Clay? I really do like this area, yet I'm not quite sure if you'll like it too. Especially coming from the south (lots of snow) and if you don't already have a job lined up. Job growth is pretty stagnant outside a couple sectors...mostly healthcare.

I don't think you'll run into any major problems with your interracial marriage. Most people around the urban areas in Upstate NY do not care about other people's race, religion and ethnicity.

[Sgoldie]

There should be jobs in both of those fields in the Syracuse area. It's unlikely that you would get much trouble about being an interracial couple either short of a few stares. However if you want to expose your kids to both cultures you might have a problem.

The suburbs and small cities of upstate NY are nearly all 99.8% white. I had never even seen a black person until I became an adult and traveled to a larger city and it hasn't changed all that much. If this is of any importance you may want to check with the school system to see what the student population is. Under no circumstances would I recommend the city proper as a place to live though the black culture is prevelant the crime rate is appauling.

[cnylifer]

Clay is a fine area for you - especially with school age children. Clay includes either the Cicero-North Syracuse district or the Liverpool district. While both have their detractors, both districts do an outstanding job of educating. As far as the racial situation, a couple in my neighborhood in that area is mixed race and I know for a fact they are very comfortable and have few if any issues. They are a bit older than you.

Jobs should not be an issue either. The pay scale may be lower than what you are used to, but housing is very affordable so it all balances out.

[bellafinzi]

Originally Posted by Sgoldie

The suburbs and small cities of upstate NY are nearly all 99.8% white. I had never even seen a black person until I became an adult and traveled to a larger city and it hasn't changed all that much.

Town of Clay 2000 Census info:

White ~ 54,177
Black or African American ~ 2,060
Asian ~ 1,182
Two or more races ~ 869
Hispanic or Latino ~ 816
American Indian ~ 279
Some other race ~ 224

So 2,060 African Americans live in the Town of Clay. By far the most of any suburban Syracuse town. The Town of DeWitt comes in second with 1,177 African Americans living there.

[urbanplanner]

There are a number of employment and marketing links for CNY. There seems to be a number of people interested in relocating or move back to CNY on this forum. CNY is getting serious about enticing people to relocate or return to CNY. Local agencies have started a successful marketing campaign to back it up, its called "CreativeCoreNY that emphasizes the transition to a knowledge based economy (see attached).

New York's Creative Core

The other web-site is essentialnyjob.com that lists of over 12,000 unfilled positions (see attached). Open the link and navigate to the appropriate employment field.

Central New York Jobs

Best of luck on your relecation and job search.

[kmbell]

It's a big disingenuous to suggest that all of the City of Syracuse has a crime problem. It's just not true. The South Side especially has its bad neighborhoods, as does the North Side, but the East Side near the University is as accepting a neighborhood as you will find anywhere.

I thank my parents for choosing such a neighborhood to raise me in, because I grew up with people of all different cultures in school. You would be fine, as I've never noted any racism. The neighborhood is a mix of families, professors, and graduate students. The public schools are good, though not on the same level as some of the more affluent suburbs.

Here are some statistics for the neighborhood.

Maybe 75% of people in the area are within the ages of 15-35, so if you like other young people and the atmosphere that comes with that, check it out.

The employment statistics are a bit skewed because of the large student population.

[seattlenextyear]

I don't want to go against the grain here, but I've hung around a lot of small towns in upstate NY and now I'm in NC. I'm going to have to come out and say that there is a lot less racism in the South than in upstate NY. Mostly because the black population is so small, people are a little afraid of them. Atlanta is a hip, urban area with lots to do. I'd stay there, if you can stand the summers.

[kmbell]

I think the distinction you're getting at is more a country vs. city one. I've worked (landscaping) with some real hicks, and their racism comes from lack of experience with people from other backgrounds. If you're in a bigger city, especially around younger people, they tend to think differently than people from a more rural background. I imagine this would hold true in bigger cities in the South.

But then again, my little neighborhood in Syracuse is a bit of a collegiate bubble with people from all over the US (and the world), and a mix of cultures. I could see anyone fitting in fine here.

[seattlenextyear]

Which neighborhood is that? Near SU?