Are Homes Really This Cheap? (utilities, to live in, utility costs)

[The Magicians Eye]

Originally Posted by jrice

And unlike in the SW part of the country you will live in a "real" neighborhood--where you actually know your neighbors, and I dont know if it bothered you but it did me, you dont need to know spanish to communicate with the majority of them

That's funny, this is what my girlfriend's father told me when I was talking to him about moving there. I don't mind not talking with my neighbors but it doesn't bother me to know them ether. My girlfriend is really shy when it comes to that but I know it makes you feel safer to know the people around you. The Spanish thing might be nice. We'll see though. I'm Half Cuban but don't speak a lick of Spanish. Out here everyone assumes I'm Mexican (that kind of pisses me off). What bugs me the most is having the school call and leave messages in Spanish on my phone just because of our name. They aren't the only ones that do that ether. It's very annoying getting solicitation phone calls in Spanish.

On the other hand I'm a little worried about stereotype issues in NY. I heard it can be pretty bad. In Oregon I use to get pulled over at least once a month for no reason at all. They would run my name make sure I was legal and move on. I hope I don't have to deal with that type of crap up there.

[jrice]

Originally Posted by The Magicians Eye

That's funny, this is what my girlfriend's father told me when I was talking to him about moving there. I don't mind not talking with my neighbors but it doesn't bother me to know them ether. My girlfriend is really shy when it comes to that but I know it makes you feel safer to know the people around you. The Spanish thing might be nice. We'll see though. I'm Half Cuban but don't speak a lick of Spanish. Out here everyone assumes I'm Mexican (that kind of pisses me off). What bugs me the most is having the school call and leave messages in Spanish on my phone just because of our name. They aren't the only ones that do that ether. It's very annoying getting solicitation phone calls in Spanish.

On the other hand I'm a little worried about stereotype issues in NY. I heard it can be pretty bad. In Oregon I use to get pulled over at least once a month for no reason at all. They would run my name make sure I was legal and move on. I hope I don't have to deal with that type of crap up there.

Although I'm white and can't really speak from personal experience but I think the rep that upstate gets about racial profiling is very overstated. I have friends of all ethnic backgrounds, and while in their company I have yet to see or hear anything that implied racist or racially demeaning. As far you being stopped or anything, keep in mind there are alot of Italians around so you may blend in

Trust me, I know about the spanish thing. I had an IT consultancy in Vegas and more than once I would have prospective clients DEMAND I send a spanish speaking tech or consultant. Here English is king of languages.

[The Magicians Eye]

Yeah I know it won't take long for me to find out if things will be ok up there. I know I won't be the only brown person up there but I do spend a ton of time around white people that are normaly known for having a closed mind when it comes to skin color haha. I'll just tell them I got a bad tan from riding horses and living the wild west life in Arizona haha. I have a friend in NYC and they truly thought that's the life we lived out here. I just laught and then told him when he comes to visit to mind his Ps and Qs and remember it's not NYC. We have a whole different type of crazy out here haha.

[proulxfamily]

Here's a house I've been eyeing... if our 2 years were over (to not have to pay capital gains tax on the profit), my husband and I would sell our current home and buy this one in a SECOND. It's at the base of a few really swanky developments and is such a beautiful spot... and with a mortgage of only $60K and taxes of $2610/year, we'd have a lot of cashflow for improvements each month.

It's somewhat tempting to pay the capital gains and do this anyway. LOL- it's the worst house in the best location... but it's not even that bad. Just could use a facelift and cosmetic attention. It would be such a fun project.

Property Details: Additional Photos But yeah, I could definitely get used to payments of $559/mo. *sputter*

[The Magicians Eye]

Looks like a pretty nice place. And yes your train of thought is 100% what I have in mind. I'm not sure I'd want the pool though. Keep in mind I'm from Arizona and I just couldn't see my family using nearly enough to be worth the head ache.

So it talks about this house bing 33ft from a fload zone. Is floading a major problem in CNY? During your rain season do you see a bunch of floaded basements?

[The Magicians Eye]

Oh ok I just looked at the satellite photos and see that this flood area is a natural pond across the yard from the house. Hmm so I guess being next to a "flood zone" could have a some perks. I'd love to have a pond next to my home. Well maybe. Do you guys have mosquito problems in CNY? Those things love to bite me. My blood must be tasty because I'm all fat and gooey inside haha.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by The Magicians Eye

That's funny, this is what my girlfriend's father told me when I was talking to him about moving there. I don't mind not talking with my neighbors but it doesn't bother me to know them ether. My girlfriend is really shy when it comes to that but I know it makes you feel safer to know the people around you. The Spanish thing might be nice. We'll see though. I'm Half Cuban but don't speak a lick of Spanish. Out here everyone assumes I'm Mexican (that kind of pisses me off). What bugs me the most is having the school call and leave messages in Spanish on my phone just because of our name. They aren't the only ones that do that ether. It's very annoying getting solicitation phone calls in Spanish.

On the other hand I'm a little worried about stereotype issues in NY. I heard it can be pretty bad. In Oregon I use to get pulled over at least once a month for no reason at all. They would run my name make sure I was legal and move on. I hope I don't have to deal with that type of crap up there.

It isn't as bad in terms of profiling. As a Black person that has grown up in very White neighborhoods in the area, I'd say most of the people in this area are down to earth. I will say that most racial issues are more hidden and less blatant.

You will see that there are quite a few interracial couples here and even our "hoods" are actually pretty mixed.

As for places with nice affordable houses, you want to look at some nice city neighborhoods like South Valley, Westcott, University, Eastwood, Salt Springs, Tipperary Hill on the Far West Side and the Northside north of Grant Boulevard. In terms of suburbs, Mattydale, Lyncourt, Lakeland(Solvay SD), Seneca Knolls(Baldwinsville SD), Pitcher Hill(North Syracuse SD), parts of Nedrow(mainly north of Roswell), Park Hill and Franklin Park(East Syracuse-Minoa SD), Galeville(Liverpool SD), in and around the village of North Syracuse and even some homes in Fairmount(West Genesee SD). I'm probably missing a few areas too.

[Jeromeville]

Flooding doesn't typically take place in the Syracuse area, unless you are near the Seneca River (that would be Baldwinsville, and I can only remember one flood ever happening there in recent years).

Regarding flood zones... these designations are notoriously over-the-top in the Syracuse area and usually indicate homes that are smack dab on top of small creeks that never flood. There recently was a flood zone designation removed in my neighborhood... if you saw the "flood threat" they were talking about (a tiny brook) you would have laughed.

Cicero (which is in the north) is near a large swamp which occasionally gets sprayed for mosquitoes.

Rule of thumb for Syracuse area: the farther north you go, the flatter it gets. The southern half of Onondaga County is hilly. And the city of Syracuse itself is somewhat hilly.

I don't know why people in Syracuse get pools, to be honest. Sure it can get hot in summer, but why take care of a pool when you can just pop over to Green Lakes, Jamesville or Lake Ontario and swim at a beach?

[phaelon56]

Originally Posted by The Magicians Eye

On the other hand I'm a little worried about stereotype issues in NY. I heard it can be pretty bad. In Oregon I use to get pulled over at least once a month for no reason at all. They would run my name make sure I was legal and move on. I hope I don't have to deal with that type of crap up there.

In this area there are folks pulled over for DWB but typically it usually happens in areas where there's a significant amount of street level drug dealing and the officers who work the neighborhood see a car that they don't recognize as being an okay person who lives in the neighborhood (and for those who may doubt my contention about the limited DWB issue in this area - I have respectable and very close friends who are black and have been pulled over for no reasons on multiple occasions - yes it really does happen)

I sincerely doubt that pullovers for DWH are very common in this area of at all. The more typical practice in Syracuse and the surrounding suburbs that's related to people being pulled over for no reason or flimsy reasons has everything to do with the type and appearance of the vehicle and little if anything to do with race or ethnicity.

If your vehicle has tinted windows, ground effects, spinners, a flashy set of 20's, a stereo slamming out bass notes that shake the ground around the car... or any combination of those things - you can expect to get pulled over on general principle occasionallly no matter who you are.

Syracuse has a very small Mexican population. The majority of newer residents who are Spanish speaking tend to be from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic with a very small number from Central America, Cuba, Spain or South America. In my experience you'll find that people here most often assume only that you have some Hispanic ancestors if you have a Hispanic sounding name and don't tend to make other assumptions.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by phaelon56

In this area there are folks pulled over for DWB but typically it usually happens in areas where there's a significant amount of street level drug dealing and the officers who work the neighborhood see a car that they don't recognize as being an okay person who lives in the neighborhood (and for those who may doubt my contention about the limited DWB issue in this area - I have respectable and very close friends who are black and have been pulled over for no reasons on multiple occasions - yes it really does happen)

I sincerely doubt that pullovers for DWH are very common in this area of at all. The more typical practice in Syracuse and the surrounding suburbs that's related to people being pulled over for no reason or flimsy reasons has everything to do with the type and appearance of the vehicle and little if anything to do with race or ethnicity.

If your vehicle has tinted windows, ground effects, spinners, a flashy set of 20's, a stereo slamming out bass notes that shake the ground around the car... or any combination of those things - you can expect to get pulled over on general principle occasionallly no matter who you are.

Syracuse has a very small Mexican population. The majority of newer residents who are Spanish speaking tend to be from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic with a very small number from Central America, Cuba, Spain or South America. In my experience you'll find that people here most often assume only that you have some Hispanic ancestors if you have a Hispanic sounding name and don't tend to make other assumptions.

Just to add to the "Hispanic" comments, many people might not know that in Solvay, you will find some Spanish surnames as well. These people aren't necessarily "Hispanic" in the stereotypical sense and are more "White" looking.