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Thanks for the pics, Bella! It was especially nice to see an Eckerd Drug Store in the mix since they've now been taken over by Rite-Aid. My mother actually used to work for the old Fay's Drug Store chain here before Eckerd took them over. We now have two Rite-Aids in our town since the new takeover. I'm actually very shocked to see so many older vehicles in your photos though for what appears to be an upper-middle-class suburban area. Here in Scranton, a supposedly "poor" area, I'm pretty much the only person I know who drives a vehicle older than 2000. I don't know if people here are just in debt up to their eyeballs in order to afford to tool around in such nice vehicles on shoestring budgets or if people in Syracuse just don't care about driving newer vehicles because they give more to charity or what, but that was just a shocking difference I have found between our two cities in our respective photo tours. I mean, there are a LOT of 1990s-era vehicles in your photos wheras even the tours of the city proper down here are replete with not only brand new vehicles, but many luxury SUVs as well. I'm only 21, and I drive a 1999 sedan, which is the oldest and most modest of all of my friends' vehicles (even though I'm apparently the highest-earning at nearly $20,000 per year). What's your insight into this? Why do folks in Syracuse drive such beat up cars? The snow/salt? Prefer to spend their money on less materialistic things? This is probably being too nosy on my part, but it's just odd because everyone here in Scranton whines "I'm poor," yet they all drive $25,000 vehicles. What am I doing wrong financially? LOL!
The Syracuse area is very different from most medium size metros. For some reason most people around here do not have a "Keeping up with the Joneses" mentality. Maybe the local economy has never been strong enough for people to care about appearances. You should see the landscaping in the front of some homes. Probably 1 in 4 homes in Onondaga County could be an episode on the "Garden Police" yard makeover show!
lilbear, I snapped a few photos of the North Syracuse area on my way to Cicero today. All are taken from the main roads. I did not go down any side streets or neighborhoods. Not the best, but I tried to capture the older parts.
Speaking of a home in need of a front yard makeover ....
This OCWA Water Tower says North Syracuse on it
Keep in mind that the North Syracuse area has roughly 50,000 people, which is almost as much as the entire eastern suburbs of Syracuse or more people than the City of Binghamton, NY. So there is no way to capture even a large chunk of it in photos. So just know that these photos are only a small percentage of the North Syracuse area.
I grew up in the North Syracuse area (in one of the pictures you see a old mobil station--corner of Bear and 11, that my father used to own). It is a very nice area with great people. A true neighborhood feeling neighborhood--if that makes sense. The only area I would shy away from, as far as buying a house, is the area off of Bear near Rt11--where the apartments are (Windsor Place-formerly Captains Quarters), etc
Thanks Bellafinzi. Those pictures were great.
And jrice, I know what you mean about "feeling neighborhood."
We're already taking steps for moving. I know it'll all come down to jobs. That'll also probably determine the timing factor for us. The next importance is my aging parents. They're not febal and in need of constant care, but they're in MI right now.
I appreciate the information given to me so far and any that may yet come. Thanks everybody.
Sorry, but I've been through Scranton, and I don't think there is a significant difference in the average car driving around. If you said you were from orange county, ca, and the cars are nicer, I'd readily agree with you. But both Syracuse and Scranton are about equally depressed rust-belt economies. That's not to say that many people live within their means. Americans as a whole are drunk on credit, and are living well beyond their means. But I don't think the problem is worse in Scranton than in Syracuse. One thing that may be skewing your view - young people tend to be living beyond their means more than old people. The fastest growing rate of bankruptcy is 19-23 year olds. Credit card companies are actively marketing to college students. Don't fall into the trap. Live within your means - only borrow money for investment (house, education) and not for consumption (car).
The reason I asked about why you were focusing on North Syracuse, is that there are other nice areas (university area, Sedgwick, strathmore (near some rougher areas), etc) that are also nice, and there are lovely suburbs in the east (dewitt, jamestown, manlius, fayetteville, etc). The eastern suburbs tend to be a bit more affluent and expensive than the northern suburbs, but there is a good mix of housing stock in both.
Another affordable area in some cases, is the Westvale area in the town of Geddes. It is in the Westhill school district, which is very good and you can get some houses in your range, if you look.
By the way lilbear, my mom is from Mullens, SC and I went to MSU for a few years too.
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Here in Scranton, a supposedly "poor" area, I'm pretty much the only person I know who drives a vehicle older than 2000. I don't know if people here are just in debt up to their eyeballs in order to afford to tool around in such nice vehicles on shoestring budgets or if people in Syracuse just don't care about driving newer vehicles because they give more to charity or what, but that was just a shocking difference I have found between our two cities in our respective photo tours. I mean, there are a LOT of 1990s-era vehicles in your photos wheras even the tours of the city proper down here are replete with not only brand new vehicles, but many luxury SUVs as well. I'm only 21, and I drive a 1999 sedan, which is the oldest and most modest of all of my friends' vehicles (even though I'm apparently the highest-earning at nearly $20,000 per year). What's your insight into this? Why do folks in Syracuse drive such beat up cars? The snow/salt? Prefer to spend their money on less materialistic things? This is probably being too nosy on my part, but it's just odd because everyone here in Scranton whines "I'm poor," yet they all drive $25,000 vehicles. What am I doing wrong financially? LOL! 
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