Relocating to Syracuse - Help with narrowing down housing options (Manlius: to rent, lofts)

[lacarobi]

Thanks to everyone on here for posting such helpful information about Syracuse and the neighboring areas. I'm moving to Syracuse to attend grad school and am struggling to narrow down areas in which to locate housing. I'm coming from southern California. I'd like more of a suburban setting, but something within reasonable winter driving proximity to SU. I'm looking for a nice community that is at least upper middle class, safe, and scenic.

Does anyone have any ideas on where I should focus my search?

In addition, I'm traveling to the area this weekend to house hunt. Does anyone have any recommendations on nice places to stay in Syracuse and the surrounding areas?

Thanks!

[Rels8diva]

Dewitt is nice..Fayetteville, Manlius... all with in less then 20 mins driving time..
if you want more country.. Tully, Fabius, (great ski towns) Caz great skiing too.
Hope that helps

[ckhthankgod]

the second post. DeWitt would proably be your best bet as it fits your criteria, has plenty of things that you need and is in a pretty scenic area in the Eastern suburbs. Fayetteville, another Eastern suburb would be very good too.

[lacarobi]

Thanks again for your recommendations. I just returned from Syracuse and enjoyed my time in the area. Your recommendations were spot on. I loved Fayetteville, Manlius, and especially Cazenovia.

I've decided though to try to find a loft space to rent in downtown Syracuse as it seems most convenient to the university. My second choice would be to live in the DeWitt/Fayetteville area. I'm going to start another thread on lofts for recommendations.

Thanks so much again.

[kmbell]

I'm heading to grad school at ESF and Syracuse in August, and I'm looking forward to being within biking distance of the University. I'll be at home in the Westcott neighborhood. Areas of Dewitt are also within biking distance.

In the winter when that isn't possible, the University has a (free) bus route that runs a loop down Meadowbrook, Westcott, E. Genessee St., and one that runs down to the Architecture building near Armory Square. Once I'm back in town I can be a bit more specific.

[justflow1983]

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 shooping 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. 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.

[acknight]

Originally Posted by justflow1983

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. 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.

Just a point of clarification: Tipp Hill, Sedgwick, Eastwood, as well as some of the area east of SU (Salt Springs, Meadowbrook, Westcott) are all within the city limits. DeWitt, Fayetteville, Manlius, and other areas east of SU are actually suburbs :-)

[justflow1983]

By east of SU, I meant Westcott and Meadowbrook. I'm not really a fan of anything farther East than that, its just shopping centers and various sprawl in my mind.

Good call on the clarification though... I was specifically listing neighborhoods within the city limits because there are nice areas that are city too with lower taxes/walkable neighborhoods.

[ckhthankgod]

Can't forget the Northside neighborhoods north of Grant Boulevard, the Valley(especially south of Seneca Turnpike), most of the Outer Comstock neighborhood by SU's South Campus, most of the Salt Springs neighborhood and Elmwood south of Glenwood. Even the Park Ave. area of the Westside isn't bad, but could look better and has a lot of potential. Left off Strathmore, which not only includes the nice older homes in that area, but the homes around Wadsworth Park and up to Velasko. There some nice homes west of Velasko into the Winkworth development that are still within the city limits too.