Los Angeles to Syracue U? (New York, Syracuse: how much, hotel, movies)

[jessemh431]

I live in West LA right now and am a senior in high school. I really like what SU has to offer and love that it is close to family in Utica and Sodus. I visited last summer and fell in love with the campus. Also, my mom went there and really enjoyed it.

However, as anyone coming from anywhere besides the Northeast or Midwest will ask, how bad is winter? Will I completely regret it? I have never been to snow except to snowboard, but I do like it. Also, I drive a 2 door hatchback (Ford Focus ZX3). It is front wheel drive and I have read that front wheel drive is better for snow. But will it be possible to actually drive there or is 4WD, public transportation, a friend with 4WD, or a snowmobile a better option? Haha.

Thanks for any help and input on my decision.

Jesse

[jrice]

You shouldnt have any problems w2ith driving. You now how in parts of Cali when it rains the road kinda gets slick? Same thing with snow. Its all in how you drive in it

[jessemh431]

K cool. That's my main concern with upstate New York: will I ever be able to go anywhere in winter without 4WD?

But OMG! The hills there are sooo steep! I can't believe cars get up those.

[jrice]

Originally Posted by jessemh431

K cool. That's my main concern with upstate New York: will I ever be able to go anywhere in winter without 4WD?

But OMG! The hills there are sooo steep! I can't believe cars get up those.

you wont need 4wd. and the hills arent that bad, most are similar to those around Mulholland

[proulxfamily]

I've grown up here all of my life and not even when I was a novice driver in the hills south of Syracuse (largest in the immediate area) did I need 4WD or AWD. We still don't have it. LOL

The roads are kept CLEAR - and by clear, I mean black and dry - and if needed, they're heavily salted (to melt ice and give traction.) Keep a good head on you and don't try to be superman on ice and you'll be fine. If you start feeling jittery and nervous with road conditions, slow down to whatever speed makes you feel better, even if it's a crawl. People tend to just go around you and understand what makes some drivers nervous. And don't be afraid to **** off people by driving slowly in bad weather... this is New York; we're used to being ticked off on the road. :P

[jessemh431]

Wow, you guys are really nice. LOL. I'm not used to this since I was born and raised in LA.

I just remember driving down a street (Fraternity Row I believe) and looking up a steep hill. Then I realized that street doesn't have stop sign. I put it together and came to the conclusion that there's not stop sign there because in the winter the cars just slide down the hill and can't stop. Does that happen?

But that's cool that the snow plows work so well. I guess with how much Syracuse gets you probably have state of the art snow plows with professional snow plowers. LOL. If it's too bad some day, hopefully I will have already made friends with another student that's used to driving in snow and he will drive me.

Do you guys know anyone that has moved from the Southwest to Syracuse? What do they think of the area?

And is Armory Square actually nice now? My mom went there a while ago and she said it was nothing, but I read that it is now a popular destination for locasl. Is it fun for college aged kids? Where else do they hang out?

[jrice]

Originally Posted by jessemh431

Wow, you guys are really nice. LOL. I'm not used to this since I was born and raised in LA.

I just remember driving down a street (Fraternity Row I believe) and looking up a steep hill. Then I realized that street doesn't have stop sign. I put it together and came to the conclusion that there's not stop sign there because in the winter the cars just slide down the hill and can't stop. Does that happen?

But that's cool that the snow plows work so well. I guess with how much Syracuse gets you probably have state of the art snow plows with professional snow plowers. LOL. If it's too bad some day, hopefully I will have already made friends with another student that's used to driving in snow and he will drive me.

Do you guys know anyone that has moved from the Southwest to Syracuse? What do they think of the area?

And is Armory Square actually nice now? My mom went there a while ago and she said it was nothing, but I read that it is now a popular destination for locasl. Is it fun for college aged kids? Where else do they hang out?

I moved from Vegas (suburb of SoCal) to here--but I was born and raised here

Armory Sqaure is nice, and for a guy you're age you'll like it. What else do you want to do?

Theres alot to do here--depending on taste, you could try off roading--similar to dune buggys on the beach.

I think you'll like the women here ALOT more--alot less pretentious, and most dont care about your wallet or if you now so and so. But keep in mind, there are not alot of Hollywood 10's floating around.

I know you said West LA, but what part you from? I used to do alot of business there and thought LA was ok--wouldnt want to live there or anything. If I had to live in SoCal I would have chosen around Anaheim

[jessemh431]

Besides weather, what would you consider to be the main difference?

I enjoy simple things like driving around and doing stupid stuff or movies or theme parks or chillin at a mall/downtown.

I'm much more of a city guy. Not into the offroading stuff. I do like snowboarding, going to the beach (which I doubt I could do in Syracuse) and boating a lot though.

One thing I'll fer sure miss from SoCal is the sheer number of attractive people. How are "other" lifestyles treated in Syracuse since I'm...in between I guess you could say. Haha. I bet it's probably not as open as LA, but with a large university, it must be somewhat liberal...right?

I live near LAX currently. Basically a suburbia's suburbia. I can't stand it. IDK if you are familiar with the LA area, but my favorite areas are West Hollywood (I like the urbanness and busy-ness, but the liberalness doesn't hurt either), Miracle Mile, Downtown Hermosa Beach, Downtown SaMo, Downtown Long Beach/Belmont Shore, Koreatown, Old Town Pasadena, and the part of Sherman Oaks right off Ventura Blvd. Those are the only places in LA I could live.

I personally can't stand the entire OC...sorry. Laguna Beach is the only place I can tolerate there.

However, I hope to some day end up living in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Hoboken, Back Bay Boston, some other place in the urban part of Boston, San Francisco, or an urban part of LA (West Hollywood, etc. from above).

Based on where I hope to end up someday, will I be a good fit for Syracuse as a city or no?

[jrice]

With your life style you'll have no problems at all. I mean its not as open as LA but you wont find any issues here.

Then you'll have plenty to do here, we have a huge mall (soon to be the biggest on the east coast or something), alot of areas to drive around and explore, and lots of places to snowboard.. During summer, if you stay here, there are beaches, etc Alot of outdoor activities.

There are plenty of attractive people around, not the stereotypical LA attractive--bleached hair, silicone, etc but if you like the italian type you'll like it here.

I like Sherman Oaks, and Miracle Mile. Hated Hollywood and Beverly--just the snobbishness you know. Alot of people there talk down to you regardless is your income bracket is the same or higher than theirs.

If you wind up in the NY tristate area look at Manahtten, the trendy spots of the Bronx, and Brooklyn. Stay away from NJ especially Hoboken

No offense about the OC--keep in mind I came in from Vegas which is just as plastic and unpleasant as LA so Anaheim was a nice change of pace, atleast it seemed to be--staying at a hotel and being there on business kinda limits your exposure to the area culture

[jessemh431]

Cool.

Dang...that must be huge. What's it called? Where's it gonna be? I figure snowboarding will be good there. What beaches do Syracuse residents go to? I know when I visit family in Utica, they go to Lake George, Lake Delta, or Sylvan Beach.

The typical SoCal girls and Italians are my two favorite.

Yeah, Sherman Oaks and Miracle Mile are really cool. I also hate Beverly Hills. The Hollywood Hills and Hollywood are what people usually visit and determine as snobby. West Hollywood is where Yuppies that can afford more than Silverlake or Santa Monica go, the super-liberals, and the gays live.

I love Greenwich Village and NYU, but my family won't let me go there. I will never afford that area if I don't go to NYU, so I plan on living in the LES. I really wanna be in TriBeCa though. I like Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights, and Williamsburg in BK. IDK any nice places in BX. Everyone says NJ is terrible, but Hoboken seems nice.

LOL...anyways that's for a different forum.

I always forget that LV became a mini-LA, just even more soulless, but with no redeeming factors for locals to enjoy. Anaheim can be pretty down to earth, quite boring though. I think that's what I don't like though. I like the action going on and that's what attracts me to NYC. However, I just don't like LA too much. Everything is monotonous. The weather, the activities, etc. The weather really makes me mad. Since I live near the beach I rarely experience any temps above 80 or below 45 and I am someone who can't stand monotony unless it is what I get in my Chipotle burrito. Oh and the fog all winter and spring is annoying. And the amount of complaining that goes on in the city. Everyone always has something to complain about--no one is ever in a good mood. period. its always good...buuutttt...