Possible move to Oswego... (New York, Buffalo: low income, for sale, real estate)

[MattinFL]

I am thinking about moving my family to the Oswego area. I think the area looks beautiful, and I think it would be be just the type of place my family would love, but I have a few questions.

1. How are the schools, I was looking at the Fulton area, but anywhere near (15 miles or so) Oswego proper would be fine.

2. What is the housing situation like? Are there properties available? Rentals? Anything?

3. What is life like. I lived in Buffalo for a few years, and the winters are one reason we want to relocate. We're in Florida now, and the constant summer is getting old.

Any thoughts would be well appreciated. Thank you.

[boomvang]

If you thought Buffalo winters were tough....... Syracuse has won the Golden Snowball award for most snow in a major metro area more often than not, and Oswego gets much more snow than Syracuse. As far as the town is concerned, it is a little depressed, as is Fulton. I hear the schools are nothing to write home about, but I'm no expert. There is much real estate available, take a look around this forum for many links posted by Ckhthankgod. There is not much in the way of interesting topography, mostly flat. If you travel a little further south the scenery and general appearance improve. As far as towns north of Syracuse, Baldwinsville is very nice, I'm certain there are many more as well. Good luck in your decision.

[RollsRoyce]

Depending on your interests Oswego could be an excellent choice for relocation. The economy in the immediate Oswego - Fulton area has been depressed for many years due to the closure of numerous factories. The presence of several nuclear power plants about 5-10 miles northeast of Oswego in the town of Scriba provides solid employment opportunities while at the same time may discourage some from moving to the area.

The city is home to SUNY Oswego (www.oswego.edu) , a state university with an enrollment of roughly 8,000 students and approximately 1,000 employees. The college offers a large assortment of four year and graduate programs in fields ranging from business to education. The presence of the college attracts many highly educated professors and support staff to the community. A sizable portion of the faculty (probably 50%), reside within the Oswego City School District which includes the neighboring towns of Minetto, Oswego, Scriba, and probably portions of several others. Although the school district covers a large geographic area with a some students coming from low income backgrounds (ie. free or reduced lunch) it is overall a socio-economically diverse district due to the concentration of many children of Oswego State faculty which greatly enhances the district's standardized test results and plethora of academic programs that benefit from Oswego State's presence. The city is also home to several law firms, a publicly traded bank, many small business owners, and a hospital.

Oswego and Fulton receives an inordinate amount of lake effect snow, however road crews and DPW do an excellent job of clearing the snow. Many residents of the community count snowmobiling, cross country skiing, and ice hockey as their winter hobbies. Oswego State has one of the country’s best collegiate hockey teams. The Oswego Lakers recently moved into a state-of-the art arena inside the college’s new student center. There are several gyms in the area including a YMCA and The Captain’s Club that have indoor swimming and other activities. Summers in Central New York are excellent with much lower humidity than areas along the east coast and south. Oswego's strategic location as a port city on Lake Ontario provides one of the best sunsets I've seen anywhere. There are many boat launches on Lake Ontario and in the summer an event called Harborfest http://www.oswegoharborfest.com/ offers fireworks, live music, et al. There are several golf courses (private and public) that are very popular among local residents.

Oswego and surrounding areas have a variety of housing options. The east side of the city is home to mostly older frame houses with a sizable amount being multi-family properties and apartment complexes. The east side has the reputation of being more working class. The west side of Oswego has some older housing stock and newer developments built in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. These newer subdivisions consist mostly of 4 bedroom 2.5 bath colonial, transitional, and contemporary style homes. More recently, several townhouse, patio, and ranch-style developments have been constructed. The southwest side of Oswego and the town of Minetto (directly to the south of the city) is traditionally where the community’s more affluent and upper middle class reside. Directly to the west of the city of Oswego is the township of Oswego which includes most of the SUNY Oswego campus. This area is similar to southwest Oswego, however it has a more rural feel with the northernmost portion having frontage on Lake Ontario. Several upscale mansions and larger 3,000 SF+ homes are located here. Directly to the east of Oswego is the town of Scriba which has a mix of newer raised ranch and colonial homes as well as older farmhouses and trailers.

Fulton has several advantages and disadvantages in comparison with Oswego. The city doesn’t have a university and its full service hospital will be converted into an emergency care center. Fulton has probably lost more manufacturing jobs than Oswego in recent years. Real estate is slightly more affordable in Fulton and its closer proximity to Syracuse is a large positive particularly if better shopping, an airport and two interstates for commuting are a priority. While Fulton does not have access to Lake Ontario, it has frontage on the Oswego River which provides a nice backdrop in some portions of the city. The housing stock in some areas of Fulton is very old and not maintained (similar to Oswego’s east side). A very desirable section of Fulton is on the Route 48 corridor near Route 176 and points south. This area on the southern end of Fulton is more upscale and middle class with many colonials, split levels, and ranches built within the last 30 years. A new development called Aspen Cove Estates has riverfront lots and is located in this area as well.

The people of Oswego and Fulton are probably some of the friendliest I’ve met. They are genuine and down-to-earth. A large portion of the population is blue collar and working class, which can be culture shock if you are coming from an area that is affluent and more white collar. The college greatly enhances the region by hosting accomplished lecturers, offering events/services to local residents, and attracting new people to the community. The area's proximity to Syracuse, (45 minutes from Oswego; 30 minutes from Fulton) can provide more entertainment options such as a nationally recognized-symphony, opera, science and art museums, Big East D1 Sports at Syracuse University, a triple A minor league baseball team, and an AHL affiliate.

[RollsRoyce]

To answer question 2: There seems to be an healthy amount of inventory available.

Here are the following links:

1.) Oswego County Board of Realtors
Oswego County Board of Realtors (315) 963-8659

2.) CNYREALTOR.COM | #1 in Syracuse real estate and homes for sale. Search over 6,000 listings.

[ckhthankgod]

Here's a good place to look at schools in Oswego County:https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb/Co...&county=Oswego

I would suggest Oswego City and Central Square among the others.

Here's some information about the area:The Official Web Site of Oswego County, NY, USA

Oswego County Tourism Home Page

Oswego County Today

The Official Web Site of the City of Oswego

Homepage - Oswego, NY - The Palladium-Times -

Chetney Real Estate - Oswego, NY

Harborfest 2009, Oswego, New York

Welcome to the Town of Oswego Web Site

Greater Oswego - Fulton Chamber of Commerce

The Port City Portal - /Oswego

Oswego City Schools

Websites of the school districts: CNY School Districts

[MattinFL]

Thank you for all of the responses. My wife and I are working through the links.

[MattinFL]

Are there places to rent in Oswego? Being a college town I assumed there would be plenty to rent, but I am finding nothing online.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by MattinFL

Are there places to rent in Oswego? Being a college town I assumed there would be plenty to rent, but I am finding nothing online.

Try here:Oswego Apartments for rent in Oswego NY - OswegoApartments.com

Apartments for rent near SUNY Oswego NY

Upstate New York Apartments & Townhomes - Quality Housing for the Best Value

Upstate New York Apartments & Townhomes - Quality Housing for the Best Value

I hope this helps......

[Sgoldie]

Other than the excellent information you've already gotten.

Here is a link to a couple of apartment complexes in Oswego and Fulton as well as other upstate towns. These are probably your best bet for initial relocation. I would be careful in renting houses or apts in houses unless you specify that they are not student rentals which in general are abysmal. - Upstate New York Apartments & Townhouses - Quality Housing for the Best Value These will be on the eastern end of the city near the race track and shopping centers. The local (and embarassing) gossip rag where you could post a wanted ad is - Insideoswego.com Home prices are very affordable and you may want to explore that option.

Snow, usually twice as much as Syracuse, certainly more than Buffalo. Oswego is much more hilly than most who come to visit the lake from out of town realize. The city use to be informally sectioned as to ethnicity by various catholic churches and still is to some extent: east side - St Pauls (Irish), St Peters, a Lutheran, Congregational, Methodist (Irish & English & German), St Louis, now defunct (French), and on the west side - St Stephens (Polish), St Marys, and the largest (Irish, French, English), St Josephs (Italian), and several protestant demoninations.

The college does make for a higher economic standard than that of Fulton and probably better schools as well as addl entertainment options. Fulton hasn't much of a downtown to speak of to anchor the city and I wouldn't recommend it unless closer proximity to Syracuse is necessary.

[bville2]

It is a beautiful area and as the PP, the people are very down to earth. If you will be working in Syracuse, then I would suggest Fulton. It is about 15 minutes from main shopping and will take you about 30 minutes, in good weather. In bad weather, it's hell. The schools in both Oswego and Fulton are probably comparable to the smaller town schools outside of Buffalo. There are many beautiful older homes in both cities and areas that are more like mini-suburbs. Housing is dirt cheap compared to the suburbs such as Baldwinsville. My sister has a beautiful home there for sale and if it was in Northern suburbs of Baldwinsville or Liverpool, it would be a 300k house, there it is an 90k house. One thing, I wouldn't move without a job, unemployment in Oswego County is about 10% if not higher.