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Interesting findings that show how states that might have higher grad. percentages generally have less challenging curriculums and offer less in terms of Advanced Placement.
On a side note, I was surprised to see how the Niagara Falls City SD actually has quite a few schools that perform at a high level, in spite of the reputation the city has in the area. Just by looking at the greatschools.net information on the schools in Niagara County, there isn't much difference between that district and districts with better reputations in Niagara County.
As long as you stay East of Hyde Park Blvd you will be fine. There are a lot of homes in the City of Niagara Falls that are selling for very affordable prices, but you have to be careful where you buy. if you are interested in a specific address, check out Google Earth and enter the address. Be sure to check out the entire neighborhood.
If you have kids, be aware that Niagara Falls is the new dumping ground for sex offenders from all over NYS.
I have to pipe in and say that you should also look at the Deveaux neighborhood of Niagara Falls. Based on what you've said about your resources, you could find a very nice home in northern Deveaux, on the west side of Route 104. Gorgeous houses right near the Niagara Gorge. On the other side of the 104 it is nice, too (it's where I live!), but with smaller homes on smaller lots, more modest. I love our street and most of our neighbors are nice. You can walk to Devil's Hole Park and you're just a minute's drive from Niagara University, and about a seven minute drive to Lewiston, which other people have mentioned as a good town. (It is, you should check it out, too.)
Good luck! We're actually going to be moving out of the area in the spring for personal reasons (my partner is from the south and I think we're going to try a change of scenery after 10 years of him living up here).
Lived there for a couple of years (14305) and it was awful. We lived in a beautiful house, but the crime was awful. Truly a shame! Wheatfield, Town of Niagara or even look into Tonawonda's. Good luck!
I would agree with Canerican that many people are leaving that area for good reason and I've lived there for almost all of my 50 years and I finally got fed up with NYS. If you HAVE to live in that area, I'd avoid the Falls simply because of the industry and the landfills there. You've heard of Love Canal no doubt but don't think the area is now clean. If you are considering living there, also look at Lockport (14094) and Pendleton (Same Zipcode), Lewiston, Youngstown, Ransomville, etc since you will still be close to the border. Watch out for landfills and dumps in the Model City and Ransomville areas, and know what you are purchasing.
If you are renting here are two places to avoid at all costs:
Niagara Falls Properties LLC
ApartmentsNiagara.com
Lewiston Management Group
Silver Lake Apartments
8235 Buffalo Avenue Niagara Falls, NY 14304 (716)283 - 2800
Office staff refuses to repair or service items that require maintenance, citing harassment of office staff by tenents who request repairs, threaten eviction of tenent over a pizza box disposed of in trash receptacle in the laundry area. Office staff claims as such that the tenent is obligated to pay entire year's lease, vacate premises after residing at the unit for 30 days, and also to forfeit one month security deposit along with 11 months of rent based on alleged "Harm" and "Violation" of lease terms as a result of "Harassing" the leasing office and of course the pizza box event.
Office staff refuses to service and clean washing machine provided for tenent's use for 5 days after other staff cover the unit in compost material and dirt and despite numerous requests to have the unit cleaned and made usable. Staff claimed the unit was clean when it was not and then cited harassment over voice mails left that they claimed they never received and failed to act upon. They then indicated that I should not have used the online service form, should not have called maintenance, or left voice mails, but instead visited the office so they no doubt could claim I never spoke to them.
Office staff failed to make my apartment ready for occupancy as agreed, leaving walls improperly repaired and spackled, not painted, and the carpet not thoroughly cleaned.
Despite the fact that the property's web site says otherwise and the fact the unit has a thermostat, there is no provision to control the heating in the unit since it is done by computer. The temperature is measured in the hallway and not in the apartments, making the system useless in the winter, wasting fuel, and forcing resident's to open windows to cool the apartments. The heat is turned off completely from May 1 to October 1 each year leaving apartments as cold as 50 degrees or colder during cold nights during that time.
Hot water is improperly supplied, with insufficient capacity to handle ten units, as a result staff turns the units up so hot that the water is scalding and still runs out easily and quickly.
Apartment wiring and outlets are dated and beyond serviceable life, most outlets are NOT grounded, date from 1950's, and are so badly worn that plugs fit so loose they risk falling out and arcing during load. Kitchen wiring is improperly made using a cheap plug strip to power the dishwasher and fridge.
Apartments are not weather tight with no door seals allowing rodents and large black ants easy access from hallways who's outer doors do not shut tight and are always left ajar.
Office staff regularly stands outside the back of the buildings and smokes, directing their second hand smoke so it follows the prevailing winds right into my kitchen.
Other residents and staff are now strewing sales literature and other paper and plastic printed material in, around, and on the stairwells and steps inside the apartment.
Sign board (Cork Board) that said "No Solicitations" had a laser printed advertisement for someone offer "Hair Cuts" from a "Florida Barber".
Kitchen cabinets are not properly hung, are loose, ready to fall off, and not level. From left to right, the right side of mine are about 6 inches lower then the left.
Exterior lighting is nonexistant or not working with parking light lots not working at all and front lights flashing on and off.
Office and maintenance staff is hostile and evasive, taking the fact that tenent's ask repairs to be made personally, and becoming defensive, nonresponsive when spoken to, sarcastic, and rude. Completely unprofessional and confrontational.
Maintenance staff speeds in the parking lot skimming the rear of the building with their 3/4 ton truck within inches of the building nearly hitting residents who are forced to exit there using the outward opening entry door.
Office staff retains credit card information illegaly since it was never provided again to make my first month's rent and deposit from the old application. There should be no record of these accounts between purchases.
Building B has a roof collapsed into one apartment and foundation problems causing easy access for rodents and insects, as well as water damage to propogate throughout other apartments. This condition has persisted for years I am told.
Apartments and hallways are filthy, my closets have residue from where people have spit on the walls in them. Carpets in the living areas and bedrooms are filthy, worn, stained, and burned from cigarettes.
First Prise Properties -firstpriseproperties.com
63 Park Club Lane
Williamsville, NY 14221 716-839-5551
I decided to give these folks a try back in WNY near Niagara Falls since their web site seemed to indicate these were nice places. Wow, what a surprise that was to find that you won't be renting anything close to what is shown on this website. The complex is called Wildwood Acres as listed on their site and it is indicated as being at this address:
Wildwood Acres
5101 Tuscarora Road
Town of Niagara, New York 14304
Fridge, stove, washer & dryer hook-ups, central air conditioner.
The units however DO NOT include ANY of this except the deck which is doubtful at best. Considering mine was rotting, had not been painted in decades, was covered in broken glass. There is NOT plenty of parking. The lot for my unit was full of potholes, other residents in some of the units had so many cars there was no place to park. Some of the holes were deep enough you'd risk bottoming out most normal cars unless you drove an SUV or truck.
The units themselves were filthy, mine had not been cleaned even though I was made to wait for an extra week to have it cleaned and made ready. They went so far as to send some maintenance flunky over to lie to me and claim it was cleaned. The carpet was full of animal urine and stunk as such and had not been cleaned in decades either, I know, I cleaned it and the water that came out of it was black. In addition toilets did not work, light fixtures were again decades old, full of cigarette smoke and dust, hanging loose from the ceiling. Further inspection had me find burnt and charred wiring in the ceilings no doubt from fires of days gone by. This left the wiring with the insulation that was left, useless since it was so brittle. I complained to no avail they refused to clean the place. Talking to this Mike Coogan idiot had him act as though he and I were buddies or something, and no doubt this jerk thinks everyone is a drunken slob and bar friend just like him. He made excuses for his "Son" who would park in our lot even though he did not live there and when I complained later, he just thought it all funny. Finally I left after noticing that his pedophile son, Sean Coogan had hit my car 5 times in the parking lot with their ride on mower when cutting the lawn. I am sure this was done intentionally since it was parked in the lot with all the other cars.
With the safety concerns, wiring problems, filth, dishonest and biased treatment by those in the office, I am a divorcee and disabled, these are Catholics and behave as mafia goons since we had all this "Name Game" going on with Ms. Vaughn calling me "Smith" and never seeming to be able to get my name right. So I think you will find you have other and better choices in the WNY housing market unless of course you are part of "The Family", if you know what I mean, nudge nudge, wink wink
Taking a look at their "Website" with the profoundly "Inane" over use of "Quotations" including banners hawking drivel such as "Get Over Yourself" I really think they should take some of that advice, or not, and start taking some things seriously while taking themselves less so. Unless we have someone else "Put a T in their Team". We and most likely you, will not be finding "True Love" over there. This I think you can "Take to the Bank".
My suggestion is to RUN, do NOT WALK away from these people. If you have to live in WNY, which I'd also advise against, then this is NOT the place to do it.
I would agree with Canerican that many people are leaving that area for good reason and I've lived there for almost all of my 50 years and I finally got fed up with NYS..
FWIW the total population decline from the 1990-2000 census for all of Niagara County including the City of Niagara Falls was 910 people out of a population of around 215,000. According to the latest Census Bureeau Estimates released just last week the population of Niagara County including the City of Niagara Falls INCREASED by 360 people for the year ended July 1, 2009.
FWIW the total population decline from the 1990-2000 census for all of Niagara County including the City of Niagara Falls was 910 people out of a population of around 215,000. According to the latest Census Bureeau Estimates released just last week the population of Niagara County including the City of Niagara Falls INCREASED by 360 people for the year ended July 1, 2009.
I guess I could believe that, but here is ONE person who's left there for good and won't be back. I made some good money there, worked very hard for many years, and won't be spending a penny of it there ever. I think maybe Niagara County really won't change much and the real trend may be in the areas south of there. I mean look at Amherst, Pine Ave and the Boulevard, I drove through there recently and it looks like a war zone! These used to be nice areas, now they are not paved at all, etc.
I think NYS tends to take us to the cleaners knowing when we retire or become disabled as a result, we all leave anyway in disgust so they get what they can while they can. I don't think the area has ANY good history for its people and you can find better places to live.
I guess I could believe that, but here is ONE person who's left there for good and won't be back. I made some good money there, worked very hard for many years, and won't be spending a penny of it there ever. I think maybe Niagara County really won't change much and the real trend may be in the areas south of there. I mean look at Amherst, Pine Ave and the Boulevard, I drove through there recently and it looks like a war zone! These used to be nice areas, now they are not paved at all, etc.
I think NYS tends to take us to the cleaners knowing when we retire or become disabled as a result, we all leave anyway in disgust so they get what they can while they can. I don't think the area has ANY good history for its people and you can find better places to live.
I hope you find happiness in your new locale, though I do not understand your bitterness since you said you made good money here. Life is too short to bear bitterness against anyone or anything especially an inanimate object such as a State. Me I don't pay a lot of attention to the inner workings of the state government or politicians. I look for my happiness elsewhere. I am however thankful that my out of pockets tax and living expenses are lower in NY than they were in Virginia. It's nice not to have to pay a thousand dollars a year to register my cars, it's also nice not to pay tax on groceries for my ever eating family of five. I am also thankful that my income here is significantly higher than what it was in Virginia. We love it in WNY and plan on staying for a looooong time.
BTW I did not realize NF Boulevard was turned into a dirt road. Must be part of the back to the earth green movement. Oh those trend setters in Amherst
Just saying now, the entire area is rather depressed and has been since the 70s, when the main manufacturing jobs left. Now there is a large abandoned industrial complex along the Niagara River. Here's what I have to say about the areas:
Niagara Falls- Was an economically booming area until the 1970s when the factories left. Areas like Lasalle and the area along Pine Ave. are nice, but be on the lookout for burglaries in areas west of I-90. Portage Road, the downtown, etc... Also, look up "Love Canal". The city is on the upswing, but it's moving quite slowly.
Wheatfield- There are large fields of wheat there (no duh!). Rural area with some suburban development, nice commute to jobs in Buffalo, Niagara Falls is directly west.
Niagara- Do not confuse this place with the city of Niagara Falls. It's much smaller than Niagara Falls and is home to the Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls, which is really nice. The town shares a ZIPcode with Niagara Falls. Easy commute to Niagara Falls and Buffalo since several major highways pass through the area.
Lewiston- Small suburb directly to the north of Niagara Falls, home to the Artpark and the L-Q Bridge. Cheap houses...Check out Model City and that area...Model City is not built up at all; It was a failed dream to build a beautiful city by entrepreneur William T. Love. To commute to Buffalo, however, you must pass through the Falls, either on I-90 or the Robert Moses Parkway. If you want a scenic drive and can stand some traffic, take the RMP. If you want to get there quick, take I-90.
Youngstown- Does not border the city of NF, and the commute to Buffalo is considerably longer. Home to Old Fort Niagara, small town on Lake Ontario, cheap but nice houses.
Just putting this out there now, all the young people are leaving to go elsewhere for other job opportunities. Also, driving through Niagara Falls is like driving on the moon b/c the roads are so badly maintained...But they're WORKING ON IT at least...
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Some things to watch out for.
