Is Syracuse too comfortable with itself? (New York, Buffalo: real estate, foreclosure, condos)

[Jeromeville]

When people around the country ask me about the prospect of moving to Syracuse, housing, jobs, is it a nice place to live, my first instinct is to say "Yes!" Then when I think about it some more, I have to add: "Yes, it's a nice place to live IF... you already have a job lined up, or you know people here already, or you have family here."

I've lived here all my life (and have family here) and like having access to the pretty country and attractions all around. It's home. On the other hand, once my family obligations are done, I am not sure I'm going to stay. Syracuse is a pretty nice and unpretentious place but even I can sense how stagnant it is in its attitude. And no, I don't want it to turn into some yuppified hive of Starbucks swillers and being hip and trendy because that brings its own kind of conformity.

It is sometimes frustrating to open up the newspaper and read the same stuff they've had for decades, articles about the same old neighborhoods, the same unrelenting emphasis on college and high school sports, the same politicians being endorsed every election. Something is missing.

I find the scene on the Hill and Armory Square to be dreadfully dull too. College students can be just as conformist as old people, in their own way.

Syracuse is unpretentious, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's friendly to strangers or to longtime residents who want change. For all of the complaints about how Syracuse needs to change, a lot of the people making these complaints seem at the same time very comfortable with the status quo and do not really make room for change. Why is this?

[ckwyviorka]

My family has recently moved from Charlotte to Syracuse. We have been here for almost 6 months and I have to say that although I don't love everything about Syracuse, there are some things that I am embracing. I grew up in NY and moved out of NY once I graduated college because there wasn't much to offer me here. Charlotte is a growing area that everybody feels the need to move to because "it has so much more to offer." Well, it does have tons of traffic, construction that can not keep up with the influx of new residents, children in trailers because they do not have the space needed at most schools, a rise in crime and a huge foreclosure rate. It is also very open to those moving there, is clean, has tons of stuff to do and has nice weather. Like any area, good and bad points. I am glad to be back in NY because it is not pretentious and people are frugal and do not (for the most part) live above their means. I have heard of more people owning their home and actually purchasing things here with cash in the almost 6 months that I have been here than in 10 years living in NC. It is a good thing! I think that NY as a whole has become stagnant and I really do think that changes need to be made to bring people back to NY as well as jobs. I would love to see downtown renewed and the skyline to have a wow factor, I would love to see people improve their homes (there are so many homes just let to go to pot here), I would just love to see proactivity on the part of the city period!

[ki0eh]

Well, in other areas there's more crime to fill the newspapers. And, high school sports is nothing in CNY compared to parts of PA. I remember ten years ago going out in the urban/trendy area in St. Louis and thinking even then, "Armory Square is three times this." Many other areas have had LITERALLY the same politicians forever, see Harrisburg where the Mayor has been in office since 1981. I don't think any place is welcoming to change, even places that need it a lot more than Syracuse. I think the places that are most welcoming to outsiders are generally made up of outsiders who have pushed up real estate values. I'm not saying there might not be better places than Syracuse for you, but if you do have a job the things that your post says bother you might not be better elsewhere.

[HomerBrink]

I think when people move somewhere new everything is different so it is perceived as change but after a while things become same old same old so to speak.

[RollsRoyce]

I wouldn't call Armory Square dreadfully dull. As a young person, I find it to be the closest thing to a vibrant big city entertainment and shopping district. Although perhaps less edgy than it used to be, new upscale developments like Jefferson Clinton Commons are ushering in a new era of upscale housing and green office space. One of the things holding Syracuse back is the class warfare mentality that is particuarly prominent among its blue collar residents. Some examples including resenting people that drive import or luxury cars, excoriating people that live in large and/or newer houses, and calling people snobs if they shop at stores more "upscale" than Sears, Wal-Mart, and Target. Many lifelong Syracuse residents complain about the status quo, yet when new developments like Jefferson Clinton Commons or high paying jobs at companies like Sensis are created, these same bitter people complain that they cannot afford the condos or their GED makes them unqualified for the jobs. It's people like this that should move away as they bring down the area with their negativity have done nothing to upgrade their skills or qualifications in an economy that doesn't guarantee $75,000 jobs and a middle class lifestyle for clicking a few buttons on an assembly line. Attracting and retaining young, ambitious and professional people is crucial in revitalizing cities. Without high paying jobs it will be very difficult to attract and retain this demographic group.

The biggest priority should be creating knowledge-based jobs as well as building highrise glass towers and renovating vacant buildings to give downtown Syracuse a "wow" factor. To facilitate this transformation, all incumbent politicians should be removed from office and all economic development leaders should be replaced with people with no connections to the Syracuse area or former residents that have lived in larger areas with vibrant economies.

[HomerBrink]

Rolls Royce - Interesting comment. I always thought it would be interesting to investigate the demographics of all the naysayers (don't want to use the word "haters" - too strong) regarding NYS.
I think you'd find a lot of them fit the description of the people you make reference to above.

[RollsRoyce]

Originally Posted by HomerBrink

Rolls Royce - Interesting comment. I always thought it would be interesting to investigate the demographics of all the naysayers (don't want to use the word "haters" - too strong) regarding NYS.
I think you'd find a lot of them fit the description of the people you make reference to above.

HomerBrink - That is my suspicion as well. Personally, I could care less where people shop, whether they are blue or white collar or where they live. As long as they contribute to the economy and don't denigrate their communities or upstate New York to people interested in relocating here, I have a live and let live mentality. Constructive criticism is healthy and people are certainly entitled to their opinions. I take issue with people that fail to disclose why they feel so harshly against a city, town or region and paint something with such a broad brush. When reading negative comments, potential residents have no idea one's animosity toward a particular area is based on a poor experience in high school, having a dead-end job, or other issues that in many cases won't apply to someone relocating.

[ckhthankgod]

RollsRoyce, your comments are too true and on point. I think another example of the class warfare mentality is when you look at how many people view the area's Black community, which I'm a part of. There seems to be this automatic, "their on welfare/they are from the Southside/they cause all of the problems" mentality in this area, that is unfortunate and is very generalized. People never think about the many Black people that live on the Eastside or the Northern and Eastern suburbs, as well as some other communities.

I also think the issue with the status quo is to look at who is in charge in terms of government and even law/law enforcement. It seems like there is this circle that interestingly revolves around certain families, if not ethnic groups in the area. So, I wonder if that in a sense, blocks others out that could offer input about the area.

Don't get me wrong, I love my area, but I too understand what you brought up Jeromeville and I wonder about the same thing.

With that said, it is a very good place to raise a family, to work, go to school, you have 4 seasons, quite a bit of culture for it's size and much more.

[RollsRoyce]

ckthankgod: Great point about the political dynasty families and law enforcement. It seems that virtually all of the cops are Italian and Irish with few people that are black, asian (particuarly vietnamese) and hispanic. Let me clarify, I am not for quotas and don't believe people that aren't qualified should be admited/promoted based solely on race as this issue is now simmering at the Supreme Court with the New Haven, CT firefighters case. Although I'm not privy to this information, I'm sure there are qualified people of color and other european ethnicities that would be excellent additions to the force, however they are not part of certain ethnic strongholds that control county and local governments and control both political parties.

As a white person, the negative comments on the Syracuse.com and 9wsyr.com forums disturb me. It's almost as if some relish in hearing crime occur in the city. Fortunately, however unfortunate in nature these comments are not isolated to Syracuse and almost identical posts can be seen on tv station and newspaper sites in Buffalo, Rochester, White Plains, and even the tabloid New York city and Boston papers.

I do like Syracuse, and hopefully things will improve and from experience the grass is certainly not greener elsewhere.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by RollsRoyce

ckthankgod: Great point about the political dynasty families and law enforcement. It seems that virtually all of the cops are Italian and Irish with few people that are black, asian (particuarly vietnamese) and hispanic. Let me clarify, I am not for quotas and don't believe people that aren't qualified should be admited/promoted based solely on race as this issue is now simmering at the Supreme Court with the New Haven, CT firefighters case. Although I'm not privy to this information, I'm sure there are qualified people of color and other european ethnicities that would be excellent additions to the force, however they are not part of certain ethnic strongholds that control county and local governments and control both political parties.

As a white person, the negative comments on the Syracuse.com and 9wsyr.com forums disturb me. It's almost as if some relish in hearing crime occur in the city. Fortunately, however unfortunate in nature these comments are not isolated to Syracuse and almost identical posts can be seen on tv station and newspaper sites in Buffalo, Rochester, White Plains, and even the tabloid New York city and Boston papers.

I do like Syracuse, and hopefully things will improve and from experience the grass is certainly not greener elsewhere.

My point exactly. It's not even about the people of color, but even unconnected Whites as well. I've seen this at the department I work at actually.

Yes, it is disturbing to read some of the comments on those posts, as they almost use the incidents to make themselves feel better about why they don't live in the city or something. It's also almost like it depends on who it involves in terms of the comments as well.

Again, while there is crime in Syracuse, it really isn't as bad as people make it out to be, because pretty much the overwhelming majority of it involves people that know each other some way or a particular negative lifestyle.