Relocating to Syracuse area (Manlius, Cicero: apartment, houses, neighborhoods)

[SteveMax58]

Thank you all for your welcome and comments about the areas. I appreciate the feedback.

@stapletonb4 - Yes, they do give us a househunting trip, but my wife really didnt want to use it until we get a contract on our current home. I will probably be getting a temp living arrangement near work in the meantime and be able to see more of the areas.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by mommamia123

Hi Steve,
Welcome! We have family in Winter Springs, FL. We go to visit them not the other way around Skan. and Caz ARE a serious hike! Beautiful, but the taxes will most likely give you a heart attack. Manlius, Fayetteville, DeWitt are great school districts (small and good) Cicero is HUGE the highschool is to big likewise with Liverpool. STAY AWAY from WESTHILL, Cicero, Liverpool, or anything on the West side (Town of Onondaga/ Onondaga Hill). The Eastside is the place to be. Good people, great schools and all around nice area. I grew up here so I know.

Where did you get that about Westhill? I went there and it is a very good school district. Very good sports programs too. Hardly any safety issues as well. I'm one out of 7 kids in my family to graduate from there and 6 of us graduated from college too. I graduated from there in 1994 and our school was rated as a Blue Ribbon school, which is a Nationally recognized award.

Also, Fayetteville-Manlius, East Syracuse-Minoa and Jamesville-DeWitt are good districts, but all are bigger than Westhill. Each of those Eastern suburban districts are different with J-D being the most diverse, ES-M being mmore mixed in terms of economics and F-M being one of the most affluent districts in the area.

School districts in the Northern suburbs aren't bad either. They are North Syracuse, Liverpool and Baldwinsville. They are the biggest districts outside of the city of Syracuse and all are good as well. Here's more information on school districts in Onondaga County and you can decide for yourself: https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb/Co...ounty=Onondaga

and here is some more information you might like on school districts: https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb/Co...county=Madison

https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb/Co...&county=Oswego

I hope this helps........

[SteveMax58]

Thanks ckhthankgod! I usually checkout www.schoolmatters.com when looking quickly at school districts, but your links had a ton of great information. Appreciate the feedback on areas as well.

I'm not really sold on affluent areas for the sake of living near well off people(which always subjective anyway). I'm not rich, I'm not poor...so looking for areas that arent concerned if I am either. I like my privacy at home, but dont want to be so far that my kids need a ride to play with the neighbor's kids.

I think I'm leaning towards(oddly enough) North Syracuse and/or Liverpool at the moment. But I'll definitely check every area out first.

Thank you to all that have commented and feel free to add anything else that you think a newcomer should know.

[boomvang]

SteveMax, I'm sure you will find a great fit here. We moved here from Long Island two years ago and have been quite content. We live in what most here would consider one of the more affluent areas and have not found our neighbors to be anything other than warm and outgoing. I think you could pick any of the areas in question and be very happy with your choice. Good luck in your quest and welcome to Central New York!

[stapletonb4]

Originally Posted by SteveMax58

Thank you all for your welcome and comments about the areas. I appreciate the feedback.

@stapletonb4 - Yes, they do give us a househunting trip, but my wife really didnt want to use it until we get a contract on our current home. I will probably be getting a temp living arrangement near work in the meantime and be able to see more of the areas.

That's a good idea..when we moved back up from Georgia, we found a home and pput in an offer, it got accepted, and by the time we closed on it, our home in Georgia hadn't sold, so we were paying 2 mortgages for a few months.

North Syracuse is my hometown and I wanted to move back there,but hubby always wnated to live on the lake and when we found a house on the lake we couldn't pass up, we bought it. We're in Central Square, but closer to Brewerton.

[mommamia123]

Stay away from RYAN HOMES unless you like headaches. Fendt, Heritage, and OOT are all ok.

[SteveMax58]

Originally Posted by stapletonb4

North Syracuse is my hometown and I wanted to move back there,but hubby always wnated to live on the lake and when we found a house on the lake we couldn't pass up, we bought it. We're in Central Square, but closer to Brewerton.

Do you think there is much of a difference in the weather on or near the lake than being further south or more inland? How are the major access roads, are they kept up with pretty well after a heavy snowfall?

I was in East Syracuse a few weeks back and I was pretty impressed with how well the roads were plowed, even when it snowed for a prolonged period. But I only drove there and to downtown during my trip(I was only there for a week).

[SteveMax58]

Originally Posted by mommamia123

Stay away from RYAN HOMES unless you like headaches. Fendt, Heritage, and OOT are all ok.

Noted and thanks for the feedback. Do they just slap things up ASAP and not pay attention to things, or are they bad on service...or both?

[stapletonb4]

Originally Posted by SteveMax58

Do you think there is much of a difference in the weather on or near the lake than being further south or more inland? How are the major access roads, are they kept up with pretty well after a heavy snowfall?

I was in East Syracuse a few weeks back and I was pretty impressed with how well the roads were plowed, even when it snowed for a prolonged period. But I only drove there and to downtown during my trip(I was only there for a week).

Normally, we get more snow on tthe lake, however, the other day we got nothing and North Syracuse got abut an inch..
The roads are plowed by the county, so they pretty much do a good job all over..they even plow when there isn't any snow..gotta get in that O.T.

[davidmil]

If you're coming from a blue collar type of life and that's you... then Cazenovia is not the place for you. Besides the high taxes and home prices, if you're from outside, you'll always be considered an outsidder there. The commute from Cicero is nothing for you. Minoa to Cicero are short commutes. If you don't mind a little drive you could look at Central Square or maybe even Baldwinsville. Fayetteville has any kind of shopping you want. It's not that far from anywhere on the East or Northeas side. I think you'll find that throughout the Syracuse area... it's easy living. The people all work hard and are friendly. You won't find as much "Us and Them" as you will in the South, except in Cazenovia. LOL Honestly, the weather may be nasty, but the summers are great. The people are good. You've already done a lot of it but just look at the schools, the taxes can really vary and the rest is easy in the East to North area. I've lived from Hawaii, to Georgia, Texas, Kentucky, Maryland and New York. By far, this area is the most accepting area I've lived in. Taxes are high... but it's easy living. On taxes, they can change drastically within a short space. I looked in all the areas you're looking at but ended up further out as I'm retired. I bought a lot and built a house in the country. If my house was on the other side of the creek my taxes would be tripled. Each county, town etc has their own set of rules. Where I live I got some big cuts because I'm a wounded warrior disabled vet. Across the street I wouldn't have gotten as much.