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I need some insight from anyone who can help me. My husband is from a small town near Utica and is familiar with upstate NY. I grew up in the Farmington Valley, in CT, in a small town as well, but am not familiar with upstate NY.
We have 2 small children and 2 large dogs and plan to relocate soon to a small town/suburb of Syracuse, as it seems you definitely can get more for your money there, as compared to CT.
I love New England and would love to raise our kids in the town I grew up in, but with one income now (I choose to stay at home now until our little ones are in school full time), upstate NY is more in our price range. I say upstate, but again, we are focusing on the Syracuse area.
Is anyone familiar with the Farmington Valley in CT, and if so, can you compare it to any suburbs around the Syracuse area? Can anyone tell me if the Syracuse suburbs are a lot different than the suburbs west of Hartford??
I am looking for excellent schools, a small town feel (sense of community) and somewhere that is a little out of the way to get to, if that makes any sense. We live in Phoenix, AZ right now, and have everything right around the corner from us, so to actually have to drive more than a mile or two to get somewhere would be refreshing.
Syracuse's Eastern suburbs remind me of communities you would see in New England. I would go with the Jamesville-DeWitt or Fayetteville-Manlius school districts. If you go with East Syracuse-Minoa, I would look at the Fremont and Franklin Park areas. All are good in terms of education too. ES-M is more blue collar and is more diverse in terms of economically. J-D is probably the most diverse racially and ethnically and somewhat economically with it being more affluent. F-M is the most affluent and the furthest away from the city of Syracuse. There is a pretty strong Jewish presence in the J-D and F-M school districts too. F-M is the biggest of the school districts and J-D is the smallest of the three. Here is more information on the school districts:ES-M:https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb/District.do?year=2007&county=ONONDAGA&district=420 401060000 (broken link)
Also, Cazenovia, which is after the F-M district if you are coming from Syracuse is in Madison County and is pretty affluent too. It is a bit more rural as another poster stated, but is smaller than the other 3 and is a good district as well. Here's info. on that district:https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb/District.do?year=2007&county=MADISON&district=2502 01060000 (broken link)
Another district in Madison County that is north of Cazenovia is Chittenango. Similar to cazenovia, but less affluent, but still very nice. More like small town America. Here's info. on that district:https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb/District.do?year=2007&county=MADISON&district=2516 01060000 (broken link)
I am not that familiar with the Syracuse area and cannot make a recommendation. Perhaps Skinny Atlas (Skaneateles) which is about 20 miles west of Syracuse may come close to something like New Hartford. It's situated on a big lake and has a downtown that is similar to New Hartford or Winsted but it is nicer than Winsted.
I was thinking of Skaneateles and even Marcellus too. They both kind of have a New England feel to them too. Marcellus is more middle class than Skaneateles, which is pretty much affluent. Both would be good choices.
Thank you all so much for the replies! I actually grew up in the town of Simsbury, as you mention (WILWRadio) in your reply. As you can imagine, moving across the country to an area I am unfamiliar with, with 2 small children (our daughter is 3 & 1/2 and our son is 20 months) is a bit scary. I am excited though, as upstate NY looks beautiful and from what I have read, seems like a great place to raise a family. We love to be outside with our children and I can't wait to start skiing again, and hopefully teach them to ski too!
I do have another question though, for anyone who can help!
As far as nursery/preschool goes, are there wait lists there? Out here in Phoenix, it seems most nursery/preschools have wait lists. I would like to have my daughter enrolled when she is 4 years old, and don't want her to miss out because we are moving.
Thanks again everyone for the replies, this is great!!
Thank you all so much for the replies! I actually grew up in the town of Simsbury, as you mention (WILWRadio) in your reply. As you can imagine, moving across the country to an area I am unfamiliar with, with 2 small children (our daughter is 3 & 1/2 and our son is 20 months) is a bit scary. I am excited though, as upstate NY looks beautiful and from what I have read, seems like a great place to raise a family. We love to be outside with our children and I can't wait to start skiing again, and hopefully teach them to ski too!
I do have another question though, for anyone who can help!
As far as nursery/preschool goes, are there wait lists there? Out here in Phoenix, it seems most nursery/preschools have wait lists. I would like to have my daughter enrolled when she is 4 years old, and don't want her to miss out because we are moving.
Thanks again everyone for the replies, this is great!!
Yes, they have waiting lists for preschool. My daughter is on one, but due to the district we are in, she gets a teacher to come to the house for instruction. She has some special needs too. So it helps that she could get the help she needs while waiting.
In that case, I can definitely see Manlius or Cazenovia being really great fits for your family. Toggenburg, Labrador, and Song Mountains are 15, 20, and 25 minutes away from Manlius... strung along off of Route 80 (long country road 55mph.) I grew up in Fabius-Pompey and could see the lift lights at Tog from my bedroom window. It's a beautiful area to grow up in- and with excellent schools.
The village of Manlius has at least 4 preschools just here in the village, that I know of, and many more within a few miles in any direction. 3 days a week, half days, are $200/mo.- as a standard. If you do a search for Pictures of the Village of Manlius in the search here, you'll see more of what the center of the village looks like in fall. It's a really great area, especially for having little ones... there are parks, playgrounds, playgroups, moms' groups, the library, community center and gym, etc..... all within a short walking distance. Shopping is easy to walk to as well and the school district is well known for being one of the best. We have an almost 4 year old, 2.5 year old, and 20 month old and I feel relieved that I know the area and schools well enough to not worry about their public school education.
If you'd like more detailed information or specific and would prefer to PM me, please do! I'm headed out the door, just now, for a cookie exchange... but I'll reply asap.
Heck, even Tully might be a good fit with a few ski areas close by. Fabius-Pompey might be another area to check out too. Fayetteville-Manlius has 4 Seasons just East of the village of Fayetteville, on the way to Chittenango.
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I'm headed out the door, just now, for a cookie exchange... but I'll reply asap. 
