Syracuse for someone who hates driving? (New York, Manlius: sale, apartment complexes, rentals)

[NeedToStartOver]

I'm considering moving back to New York state. I am a work from home mom so I don't have to worry about driving too much. I would like to move to a town where I could possibly walk to the library for a story time program, to the store for a quick grocery trip, and to a local park for the playground. Is there a town like this in the Syracuse area? I do have two pets right now a dog (about 50 pounds) and a cat. It looks like pet friendly rentals are really limited in this area.

I've been reading the threads and it looks like there is a lot of walkability in the towns themselves but really limited rentals. My husband would probably be working in retail, hospitality, or a janitorial type position.

[ckhthankgod]

Try the village of Liverpool. You could walk to the library, then go to Nichol's Supermarket. After that, take a nice walk at Onondaga Lake Park. Here's information on the village:Village of Liverpool Home Page

picture of the village from above, with street views too:liverpool, ny - Google Maps

Nichols Supermarket of Liverpool, NY

Liverpool Public Library - Library Home

Onondaga County Parks, Onondaga Lake Park (http://onondagacountyparks.com/parks/olp/ - broken link)

could take a walk to this establishment too:Heid's Of Liverpool (http://www.heidsofliverpool.com/index2.htm - broken link)

and many more places in this nice and quaint village of 2600 people.

Another is possibly Skaneateles:The Village of Skaneateles - Home

Try Manlius:Village of Manlius, Manlius Library

East Syracuse:Home, East Syracuse Free Library Information and Hours (http://www.ocpl.lib.ny.us/website/members/eastsyracuse.htm - broken link)

North Syracuse:Village of North Syracuse, Northern Onondaga Public Library Home Page

Baldwinsville:WELCOME TO THE VILLAGE OF BALDWINSVILLE, Baldwinsville Public Library

[ckhthankgod]

Also, the Valley section of the city of Syracuse south of Seneca Turnpike might be another option. You can walk to the Betts library and to Green Hills Market at the city/Nedrow(Town of Onondaga) boundary and Kelley Park in that same area too. Betts Branch Library Information and Hours (http://www.ocpl.lib.ny.us/website/Branches/Betts.htm - broken link), Welcome to Green Hills, Parks & Rec.

Fayetteville is another option too:Village Of Fayetteville - Home, :: Fayetteville Free Library :: Fayetteville, NY 13066 ::

Marcellus:Welcome to the Official Web Site of Marcellus, New York!, Marcellus Park, Marcellus Free Library

Elbridge:Village of Elbridge, Elbridge Free Library

Jordan:Welcome to Jordan, New York, USA, Jordan Bramley Library Information and Hours (http://www.ocpl.lib.ny.us/website/members/jordan.htm - broken link)

Tully:Village Of Tully: Homepage: [Digital Towpath], Index

Eastwood section of the city of Syracuse might be a good choice too.

[proulxfamily]

Originally Posted by NeedToStartOver

I'm considering moving back to New York state. I am a work from home mom so I don't have to worry about driving too much. I would like to move to a town where I could possibly walk to the library for a story time program, to the store for a quick grocery trip, and to a local park for the playground. Is there a town like this in the Syracuse area? I do have two pets right now a dog (about 50 pounds) and a cat. It looks like pet friendly rentals are really limited in this area.

I've been reading the threads and it looks like there is a lot of walkability in the towns themselves but really limited rentals. My husband would probably be working in retail, hospitality, or a janitorial type position.

I hope you seriously consider the village of Manlius.

Before we bought our home here in the village, we lived in a 2bd. townhouse... $637/mo. Townhouse East. There's also Suburban Park apts., Carriage House East, and a few others near Townhouse East. For money and quality of the apts. - and ALL of them are more than just safe... I can't think of anywhere that you'd be remotely unsafe at any time of day in Manlius - I'd choose where we were. Townhouse East, run by Morris Management.

That would put you within a few minutes walk, at most, of: P&C grocery store, the library, duck pond, swan pond, sports fields, parks and trails, eateries and shops, the post office... essentially everything. And it's on the bus route, if you need it. For your dogs, it's the best place too... or any apartment complexes directly around it... since you'd be directly across the street from the Swan/duck ponds, fields, and park trails. On the other side of that is the library. It was an ideal location for us.

[NeedToStartOver]

I had actually looked at the Morrisapartments.com webpage. The Townhouse East only takes dogs 25 lbs. and under Our dog is right at the 50 pound mark. It's really frustrating to try to find places that take pets. Each time I see an apartment that looks nice they say no pets or cats only.

I just emailed a bunch of places in Manlius for their pet policy. I really like the information about Skaneateles but it looks like there's not a lot of rentals.

[proulxfamily]

Originally Posted by NeedToStartOver

I had actually looked at the Morrisapartments.com webpage. The Townhouse East only takes dogs 25 lbs. and under Our dog is right at the 50 pound mark. It's really frustrating to try to find places that take pets. Each time I see an apartment that looks nice they say no pets or cats only.

I just emailed a bunch of places in Manlius for their pet policy. I really like the information about Skaneateles but it looks like there's not a lot of rentals.

Funny thing about the pet "policy" is that no one seems to listen to it. As long as your animal is well behaved, people look the other way. The maintenance crew is there all day on weekdays and they see all the large dogs too so it isn't as if no one knows... We lived there for nearly three years before moving in June and there were 2 very friendly mastiffs next door, whom everyone loved.

I'm not sure how you'd bring up the subject with the girl who shows you the apts. and does the lease paperwork since we've never had pets. I have wondered how so many people with large dogs bring it up - lol - it's SO obvious that they're nowhere near as small as 25lbs.

edited to add: Check out this thread for pictures of the village: Village of Manlius pictures

The apartments you see on the left side of the photo are Townhouse East. The entire complex is nearly finished with the remodel - new siding, shutters, and doors. You can see, in that thread, that it's directly across from the sports' fields, park/trails/ponds, library, playground, and community center. Good luck on your search!
http://photos-f.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v361/89/55/543140696/n543140696_4482077_8964.jpg (broken link)

[NeedToStartOver]

I'm always such a chicken when it comes to things like that. It does look like that's a really good sized apartment. What is a Lead Based Paint form? I just saw that and it's a bit worrying. My son is 18 months old and I don't want to expose him to anything hazardous like lead.

Is there anything bad about Manlius? It sounds like there is a lot of good but is there ANYTHING bad?

[proulxfamily]

You know, I really don't think there is... really! LOL

I know what you mean about having children. We have an 18month old, 2.5 year old, and almost 4 year old... they get into everything. Lead Based Paint form is going to be standard in just about any rental or sale contract for housing built before 1978. There's lead paint in nearly all of those homes, under probably several dozen layers of paint... far more in a rental since they're repainted so much more often. Unless your son is able to gnaw on all the high-set windowsills, through a quarter inch+ of paints, I wouldn't worry. If he is able to, you'll have that concern in every building built before 1978.

[ckhthankgod]

Try looking for house rentals here:syracuse apts/housing for rent classifieds - craigslist

or other rentals here:Syracuse Apartments for rent in NEW YORK | ApartmentFinder.com

Longley Jones Management Corp. - Apartments - - -

Onondaga County Syracuse Area, Syracuse East Central NY Home Rentals Listings - syracuse.com

Onondaga County Central NY Home Apartment Community Listings - syracuse.com

http://www.communitysite.com/Maplewood/index.htm (In nice area in DeWitt and close to a nice area of Syracuse's East side. Has a lot close by too.)

Hope this helps.....

[beckyhuggs]

The University area of the City of Syracuse is probably considered by most to be the best area for people who walk or ride bicycles to get around.

Meadowbrook Road and Euclid Ave is a good crossroads to have a start point from and check out the neighborhoods around. It is a very safe area to live in with many families and children.

The following list are all the things that I could walk to while living in that area:

1. I always walked to the Library for story times with my little boy (Petit Branch).

2. Petit Branch is located off Wescott Street which is a great little gem of an area to walk to for cultural foods, movies, and shops.

3. I always walked to our local playground (off Meadowbrook) and duck pond. This park also has basketball courts and soccer fields in which children can join Eastside soccer. The duck pond has a nature trail that goes around it.

4. There is also another area park that you can walk to with a rose garden and Swimming pool that is open for free during the summer.

5. A good portion of the children walk to schools. Ed Smith in that area is considered by many to be a top notch Elementary school. Also there are several very good preschools in that area that you can walk to.

6. I also walked to the drug store

Also, many people in this area are joggers and find it to be a very safe area to jog, bicycle or Walk The side neighborhood streets have barely any traffic.

Lastly, because everything is so local that if you do need to drive somewhere it will take barely anytime at all to get there

Good Luck