Job Opportunity in Liverpool (New York, Rochester: homes, neighborhoods, school districts)

[sayehkid]

I have an opportunity to take a position HQ'd in the Syracuse area. My family and I have lived in Northern Jersey, about 17 miles from NYC, for 7 years now and are in the process of trying to decide. The offer is with my current company (a major wireless carrier) however our decision needs to consider my wife and our 14 year old son. Another twist is the fact that we are originally from Canada and our older children and all extended family live in the Toronto area. Liverpool is much closer however I want to understand better how the area is for families. We do go into Manhattan from time to time to enjoy the amenities however we are not as compelled as before.

Please provide any feedback that might help.

Thanks.

[bellafinzi]

If you haven't already, you may want to see a few photos I took of the Liverpool area in two older threads:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/syrac...-pictures.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/syrac...burb-clay.html

First let me explain the geography of Liverpool. Several of our zip codes cross village/town lines. It can be quite confusing to people not familiar with the village, town, zip code system found in Upstate NY.

-Liverpool is both a small village in the Town of Salina (population 33,000) and a zip code in two large towns...Salina and Clay.

-The western part of the Town of Salina is the Liverpool area, which is along the shore of Onondaga Lake.

-Most of the highly populated parts of the Town of Clay (population 60,000) is either called “Liverpool, NY” or “North Syracuse, NY”. The Liverpool part is the western half of Clay, North Syracuse is the southeastern part of Clay. Most likely, if you live in an address for Liverpool, your school district will be Liverpool, the same can be said for North Syracuse. The Liverpool school district is good and is better than North Syracuse. Both are large districts, Liverpool has over 8,000 students. North Syracuse has over 10,000. Of the suburban school districts in Upstate New York, only Greece (outside Rochester) is larger than North Syracuse.

In my opinion, the Liverpool area is very family friendly. Some parts aren't as well-maintained as some of the newer suburbs, but I think that's quite normal in many communities across the country. Probably much the same as older suburbs found in New Jersey built in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. There are newer developments in the Liverpool area but most of the growth is taking place north, west in Lysander or east in Cicero.

The Village of Liverpool is a nice little place. Onondaga Lake Park is the main attraction in the area. It is a very nice park...sort of Syracuse's own "Central Park". In the summer, it very popular with locals who use it to bike, skate or walk/jog, lay out in the sun, ride the trolley or even picnic. The Salt Museum is located there. The museum shows how the salt industry brought growth to Syracuse during the Erie Canal days. During the wintertime around Christmas, the Parkway is turned into a holiday lights display called "Lights on the Lake".

In my opinion, the most attractive residential neighborhoods in the North Syracuse/Liverpool area are just west of the Village of North Syracuse. This is where some of the higher end homes are located. I believe half this area (southeastern Clay) is in the North Syracuse school district, half is in the Liverpool district. These neighborhoods are off Buckely Road, and Bear Road. The North Medical Center is close by and the Taft Road Wegmans is close too. Near by there is a new housing development in the planning stages across from the Taft Road Wegmans.

If you don't mind the snowy winters, I think you'll like this area!

[johnny99]

I would look in the Strathmore Neighborhood of Syracuse or the east side. Be sure to keep an eye on property taxes. Coming from NJ you won't flinch as much as most. School systems up here are all very good. If your interested in private school then MPH ,CBA and Bishop Grimes are options.

[Sgoldie]

You'll have to come take a look see to find out which area seems most comfortable to you. Liverpool itself has some variety as to its makeup, village, suburbs. The school district is good and they have a great music program.

You'll love the Syracuse area if you have family in Ontario. It's just a hop, skip, and jump over to Kingston. Good for a day trip, and they have a wonerfully clean small train station there for easy access for relatives who might want to visit.