Cortland vs Oswego (New York, Syracuse, Clay: fit in, real estate, rentals)

[happeemommee]

Hi everyone!

I was hoping that someone could compare / contrast these two areas for me. My hubby works in construction and has seen ads around Syracuse . Is construction still doing well up there? How would you say the schools are in each area? We prefer a smaller school and to live in a more rural setting. Local access to grocery stores and maybe a walmart / target for most of our needs, as we can go into Syracuse for bigger stores/ malls/ chain restaurants, etc. So I guess I need to know about crime, schools, weather, and rentals, as we would want to rent for atleast a year or so before buying. We love snow and know that ya'll get a ton more than we do, but what about ice? Are the people friendly? I know it takes some time to fit in, but where do you think it's easier? Also, any opinions on colleges in either area?

Alot of questions, I know. But I do appreciate your help, and anything you can tell me. If he gets hired, he could be up there in a manner of weeks, and we would follow as soon as school gets out.

[ckhthankgod]

Well, Oswego gets a lot of snow. Cortland gets their share, but not as much usually. I went to college in Oswego and it is pretty safe. I believe Cortland is the same in terms of crime. Both are small cities of about 18,000 people. Oswego has more children in it's school district due to getting more kids from the surrounding area. Both are about 30-40 minutes tops from Syracuse and are easily accessable due to highways right there. Cortland has I-81 and Oswego has Route 481 close by.

As far a malls and things like that, people from Oswego County go to the Route 31 corridor in the town of Clay, which is a Northern suburb of Syracuse. I think people in Cortland go to the Eastern suburbs of Syracuse or to Carousel Center in the city of Syracuse. People from Cortland County also go to Ithaca for shopping, as it is only about 25 minutes or so from Cortland.

If you want something more rural in either county, in Oswego County, you can look at the Hannibal, Phoenix and Mexico areas, among others. In Cortland County, look at Homer, McGraw or rural parts in the Dryden School District, which is mainly in nearby Tompkins County, but has some parts in Cortland County.

Also, both have small, but good SUNY(State University of New York) colleges too.
Here's some information that you might be interested in:

Oswego-http://www.oswegony.org/

The Official Web Site of Oswego County, NY, USA

State University of New York at Oswego

Homepage - Oswego, NY - The Palladium-Times

Oswego County Tourism Home Page

Chetney Real Estate - Oswego, NY

Welcome to the Town of Oswego Web Site

Harborfest 2008, Oswego, New York

The Port City Portal - /Oswego

Greater Oswego - Fulton Chamber of Commerce

Oswego Hospital.com

Oswego City School District - Oswego, New York 13126

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

Cortland-https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb/County.do?year=2007&county=Cortland

Welcome to Cortland NY Official Website

SUNY Cortland - Home Page

Welcome to The Cortland Connection in Cortland NY!

Welcome to the Cortland County Chamber of Commerce in Cortland, NY

Cortland County

Cortland Regional Medical Center: NY Hospital Upstate New York: High Quality Prompt Patient Care

Cortland City School District

Cortland Standard .net

Town of Cortlandville, NY

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

[happeemommee]

WOW! Rep points to you! Thanks for all the info and the links. I will look into all of these. Did you actually like living in Oswego? They both sound like just what we are looking for, as long as hubby gets the job!

[proulxfamily]

Cortland is 26 miles, entirely on Route 81, from Syracuse. Going 65 miles an hour (which- let's be realistic - is a minimum speed), it's only a 20-25 minute drive from the city. My husband works in Dewitt and several co-workers commute from Homer and Cortland. My parents live in Fabius-Pompey and my dad is a nurse... it takes exactly the same amount of time for him to drive to Cortland Memorial hospital as Crouse in downtown Syracuse.

Oswego is definitely farther from Syracuse but it's easily self sustaining. Mapquest says that Oswego is 53 minutes from Syracuse... definitely a longer commute but I think you could pretty much stay in Oswego for most things. They're pretty well known for bars and social events and you have MANY shopping options available to you in Clay.

In my personal opinion, *I* would choose Oswego. If your husband works in construction, I think his odds of steady work are better in the Oswego area... I really don't see Cortland expanding much, if at all.

Good luck with your decision!

[bellafinzi]

Both Cortland and Oswego are just outside the immediate Syracuse area. Personally I don't consider either as great options if you work in Syracuse or its' suburbs. Just a too far away IMO. Especially with the winter weather. Then again, I know someone who lives on Onondaga Hill and commutes to Ithaca everyday.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by happeemommee

WOW! Rep points to you! Thanks for all the info and the links. I will look into all of these. Did you actually like living in Oswego? They both sound like just what we are looking for, as long as hubby gets the job!

Well, when I went to college there, I actually had a better time there than I expected. I transferred from a big university in Michigan and I thought it would be boring conisdering the size difference, but it as fine. People are down to earth for the most part and friendly. My dorm was not even a mile from Lake Ontario. Talk about a sunset!!! It is gorgeous. Personally, I would pick Oswego, eventhough Cortland is close to Ithaca too, which is a nice smaller city. I hope he gets the job and good luck. I think you would like the area.

BTW-You can get to Oswego from Syracuse in about 35-45 minutes. Some parts of Route 481 past Fulton don't have a speed limit posted and you can tell by the way some of the people drive on that stretch. It also seems faster driving to Syracuse from Oswego instead of the other way around too. Weather conditions can be a factor in how long takes to commute as well.

[happeemommee]

I, personally am leaning towards the Oswego area, and just keep an eye on the want ads, it seems like there is more going on up there. I think the Ithaca area is beautiful, but it appears like that area and Cortland are more expensive than on the north side of Syracuse. But please let me know if that's not right! I was also thinking that Oswego was pretty close to Watertown too, which was an added bonus. But again, I'm just really looking at all this on paper and could have it completely wrong. Oh yeah! What about electric companies? I've heard depending on who you have it could cost you a couple hundreds dollars more EACH MONTH?! Who is good and who should we stay away from? Thanks!

[ckhthankgod]

Actually, I think Cortland is more affordable than Ithaca, eventhough they are only a 20 minute drive from each other. I'm not sure which is more affordable between Oswego and Cortland, but I don't think there is too much of a difference. Both get their energy from National Grid:Welcome to National Grid