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Yeah I wouldn't recommend Upstate NY. Its far more red, blighted and less desirable than New England. It doesn't fit OP's criteria.
Not true...I was going to mention the Albany area, but wanted to keep it as New England as possible for the thread. It offers pretty much everything the OP is looking for to be honest from the high/above average educational attainment, near a bunch of mountains, has multiple walkable Downtowns, multiple cities with a decent to good range of cultural diversity, not far from lakes(i.e.-Lake George), housing in relation to pay when looking at the median for both isn't that bad, it has an airport, train connection to NYC, etc. Ithaca meets a lot of the criteria as well, as only a couple of metro have a higher educational attainment in the country and it definitely has a "liberal"/outdoorsy/crunchy vibe, with Syracuse only an hour away and Rochester 2.
Yes, you can find hunting in rural parts of Upstate NY, but that can be found in much of the rural Northeast, including parts of New England.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 01-22-2021 at 07:41 PM..
I wasn't aware of their previous mayor, interesting. By and large, that's a pretty conservative part of New York. NY's 21st district handily elected Elise Stafanik, she leans very far to the right. There's a big hunting culture in the area too.
Before her, Bill Owens represented the area and is a Democrat. While I don't get into this too much, but I believe Clinton County also voted for Clinton in the previous presidential election in 2016. So, it can change at times.
Just a thought, though it may be a stretch, but in terms of more affordable housing, but Plattsburgh NY may be an alternative for the Burlington/Lake Champlain Valley. There is this ferry system that links both side of the lake: https://ferries.com/
Airport? People are talking up Trudeau. I’ve used it a lot flying to Vancouver since there are lots of nonstop flights. I once used it to do an LA-Vancouver trip after a business trip intruded on my yearly Vancouver leisure trip. You have to allow an extra hour to clear US customs and Trudeau is on the wrong side of Montreal with heavy traffic at the Champlain Bridge and along the St Lawrence. You also have to allow for the big traffic delays. The US passport control “How long have you been in Canada?”, “Two hours.”, gets a raised eyebrow.
I’ve driven on Lake Champlain. Ferries are seasonal and driving around to Burlington is a really big drive.
Not true...I was going to mention the Albany area, but wanted to keep it as New England as possible for the thread. It offers pretty much everything the OP is looking for to be honest from the high/above average educational attainment, near a bunch of mountains, has multiple walkable Downtowns, multiple cities with a decent to good range of cultural diversity, not far from lakes(i.e.-Lake George), housing in relation to pay when looking at the median for both isn't that bad, it has an airport, train connection to NYC, etc. Ithaca meets a lot of the criteria as well, as only a couple of metro have a higher educational attainment in the country and it definitely has a "liberal"/outdoorsy/crunchy vibe, with Syracuse only an hour away and Rochester 2.
Yes, you can find hunting in rural parts of Upstate NY, but that can be found in much of the rural Northeast, including parts of New England.
No offense, its beautiful.. but after living there for a while and comparing the two.. there really is no contest.
As soon as you cross into VT or MA there is an immediate noticeable difference.
Upstate NY isn't a stand-in for New England. There are similarities but there are differences. Neither is a booming place but Upstate NY is hurting more.
Airport? People are talking up Trudeau. I’ve used it a lot flying to Vancouver since there are lots of nonstop flights. I once used it to do an LA-Vancouver trip after a business trip intruded on my yearly Vancouver leisure trip. You have to allow an extra hour to clear US customs and Trudeau is on the wrong side of Montreal with heavy traffic at the Champlain Bridge and along the St Lawrence. You also have to allow for the big traffic delays. The US passport control “How long have you been in Canada?”, “Two hours.”, gets a raised eyebrow.
I’ve driven on Lake Champlain. Ferries are seasonal and driving around to Burlington is a really big drive.
Some ferries are, but the Plattsburgh to South Hero ferry is still operational according to the site.
I don’t know where the airport aspect came from...
Upstate NY isn't a stand-in for New England. There are similarities but there are differences. Neither is a booming place but Upstate NY is hurting more.
It depends on the area and I wasn’t making it a stand in for New England. My point was more about a more affordable housing alternative in the same general area as Burlington and allows for access to the city. I did more in line with how people suggested nearby areas of Maine like say Kittery for Portsmouth.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 01-23-2021 at 10:22 AM..
No offense, its beautiful.. but after living there for a while and comparing the two.. there really is no contest.
As soon as you cross into VT or MA there is an immediate noticeable difference.
I’ve heard and can see some of this as well, but a place like Oswego(went there too) is not what I’m referring to and Upstate NY is more industrial, in general. However, Ithaca is essentially an Upstate NY version of Burlington minus the nearby mountains(does have some nearby skiing, but still). Saratoga Springs is an Albany area city that is similar to these cities, isn’t too far from the Adirondacks, has a high educational attainment and jobs due to Global Foundries a semiconductor facility in that area.
With this said and to bring it back to New England, I’m surprised that the OP isn’t considering the Amherst/Northampton area of MA as well.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 01-23-2021 at 10:31 AM..
I’ve heard and can see some of this as well, but a place like Oswego(went there too) is not what I’m referring to and Upstate NY is more industrial, in general. However, Ithaca is essentially an Upstate NY version of Burlington minus the nearby mountains(does have some nearby skiing, but still). Saratoga Springs is an Albany area city that is similar to these cities, isn’t too far from the Adirondacks, has a high educational attainment and jobs due to Global Foundries a semiconductor facility in that area.
With this said and to bring it back to New England, I’m surprised that the OP isn’t considering the Amherst/Northampton area of MA as well.
It isn’t until you hit Berkshire county of Franklin County where MA begin to have the same feel as Northern New England. sports in the far Roth east perimeter too. I think it’s clear OP want the Northern NE feel if they excluded Amherst/Northampton’. It’s similar to VT but it’s still a bit more of a “metro area” much less remote than Burlington and Portland. Definitely more diverse than anywhere but Portland, maybe.
I like visiting the other side of the lake and heading into Adirondacks, they're fantastic! But honestly Plattsburgh leaves something to be desired. It also wouldn't match the OP's political leanings that were shared. Clinton County and most of the North County in Upstate is very red and decidedly Trump country.
That's helpful and does make a difference for me for sure.
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