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What's your overall favorite city in upstate/western New York. Based on downtown, natural surroundings, architecture, economy etc. I haven't seen upstate NY mentioned on here in a long time.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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We adopted a beagle a year ago and made a road trip over to Utica for a meet and greet to pick her up and spent the weekend there. I could tell it's another struggling post industrial city with a lot of grit. But we made a sweet memory there, and I'm particularly fond of the Italian American food in Utica, one of my favorite cities for it. I love Chicken Riggies and the hot Italian peppers they use in the sauce. I ended up bringing two dozen jars of the sauce home with me (it's hard to find outside of Utica). It's got a beautiful valley setting on the Mohawk River and I enjoyed the scenery in the surrounding area. It's very close to the Adirondacks and lots of lakes nearby. I could see returning again, it's a bit of a sweet spot for me.
I've only driven through Buffalo and made a quick lunch stop coming back from Niagara Falls. Some parts I had seen had a lot of abandonment, but in fairness this was 10 years ago and I didn't get a chance to dig into the good stuff.
The upstate metro I'm most familiar with is Albany/Troy/Schenectady. Albany has some nicely restored historic row homes on the edge of the capital. The architecture in downtown is impressive, but this city needs work as it falls quickly into blight in a lot of neighborhoods there. The Empire State Plaza is a hardcore example of mid 20th century urban planning, a huge fortress unto itself. I have a mixed opinion on it, but it's certainly interesting. There is NY state museum on the grounds that's worthy of spending time at. The city does have a big government town atmosphere.
Up the river, Troy feels like a miniature Brooklyn as it has several blocks of intact blocks of late 19th century row homes. There's a lot of cool small businesses in downtown Troy. It's rough around the edges, but I enjoyed walking around the downtown core of Troy, moreso than Albany.
Can't say I have a favorite Upstate/Western NY city. I'd have to see more of Buffalo to decide. I'd also be interested to see what kind of path Troy is heading down and what kind of investment comes to that city. It's still in its "got good bones stage" but it's unique in the US and it has the best architecture of any upstate city that I've seen. For now I'll vote Utica for the food and I met my awesome beagle from a dog rescue based there.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 09-21-2022 at 02:14 PM..
Although the smallest, Ithaca seems the most romanticized or at least unique of the cities. Beautiful natural setting, walkable city center and a stable to modestly growing urban core.
The others are bigger and have their pros and cons, but are more your typical midsized industrial cities.
Buffalo- although no longer a big city nationally, it remains the biggest city in upstate. It has a nice collection of intact walkable areas north of the downtown. On the downside, it still has a very rust belt feel with lots of disadvantaged areas in the city and flat aging suburbs. The location is close to Toronto, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. The great lake and hills to the south are within easy access. But a long way from NYC, the ocean and the high peaked mountains.
Rochester - Not quite as big as Buffalo, but it also has a nice collection of cohesive urban neighborhoods in it's SE quadrant. The eastern suburbs are very attractive with the modest hills, canal and historic villages. Although no longer wealthier than other upstate cities, it still retains more of a white collar feel than Buffalo or Syracuse with better colleges. The downside is the economy has really stalled and the relative isolation from the east coast cities and beaches.
Syracuse - It has a pretty setting at the foot of the Appalachian plateau. You have the mountains, Finger Lakes and Lake Ontario within close proximity. The University and it's sports teams are a real asset. The big mall in the city is also unique. The downtown isn't amazing, but it is arguably more vibrant/intact than the other upstate cities. On the downside, the city is smaller than Roch/Buff. It doesn't really have the same collection of walkable neighborhoods. The city and inner suburbs can feel very rust belt.
Albany - the most prosperous of the big upstate cities. It has the prettiest or at least most urban residential areas with it's townhouses. It has the closest proximity to mountains, NYC, NE, the ocean, Boston, Philly,etc. It feels like an east coast city in a way the others can feel like great lakes industrial cities. The biggest downside is the MSA is split across 3 midsized cities. Rochester and certainly Buffalo give off a bigger city feel. It also doesn't have the proximity to a great lake.
Utica- far smaller than the big 4. It can feel very much like declining area. Nice valley setting though and it has unique food culture with it's traditional Italian American dishes and very diverse collection of new dishes brought by recent immigrants. Depending on your politics, it's the only one in a Trump county.
Binghamton - similar to Utica in scale. It doesn't really feel like a metro area. Although the university arguably gives it a leg up over Utica in terms of brining in outsiders. Beautiful natural river valley confluence setting. The county went red in 2016 and reverted back to slightly blue in 2020. Like Utica, the county has lost population consistently since 1970.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jpdivola
Albany - the most prosperous of the big upstate cities. It has the prettiest or at least most urban residential areas with it's townhouses. It has the closest proximity to mountains, NYC, NE, the ocean, Boston, Philly,etc. It feels like an east coast city in a way the others can feel like great lakes industrial cities. The biggest downside is the MSA is split across 3 midsized cities. Rochester and certainly Buffalo give off a bigger city feel. It also doesn't have the proximity to a great lake..
Agree on your assessment of Albany. It's location is in a sweet spot within roughly three hours to NYC, Boston, and Montreal and quick mountain access to the Catskills, Berkshires, and Adirondacks. It probably has the best selection of suburbs in Upstate. The Northway corridor on I-87 has a string of nice areas between Clifton Park and Saratoga Springs. The three cities (Albany/Troy/Schenectady) have an East Coast meets Rust Belt vibe.
Although the smallest, Ithaca seems the most romanticized or at least unique of the cities. Beautiful natural setting, walkable city center and a stable to modestly growing urban core.
The others are bigger and have their pros and cons, but are more your typical midsized industrial cities.
Buffalo- although no longer a big city nationally, it remains the biggest city in upstate. It has a nice collection of intact walkable areas north of the downtown. On the downside, it still has a very rust belt feel with lots of disadvantaged areas in the city and flat aging suburbs. The location is close to Toronto, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. The great lake and hills to the south are within easy access. But a long way from NYC, the ocean and the high peaked mountains.
Rochester - Not quite as big as Buffalo, but it also has a nice collection of cohesive urban neighborhoods in it's SE quadrant. The eastern suburbs are very attractive with the modest hills, canal and historic villages. Although no longer wealthier than other upstate cities, it still retains more of a white collar feel than Buffalo or Syracuse with better colleges. The downside is the economy has really stalled and the relative isolation from the east coast cities and beaches.
Syracuse - It has a pretty setting at the foot of the Appalachian plateau. You have the mountains, Finger Lakes and Lake Ontario within close proximity. The University and it's sports teams are a real asset. The big mall in the city is also unique. The downtown isn't amazing, but it is arguably more vibrant/intact than the other upstate cities. On the downside, the city is smaller than Roch/Buff. It doesn't really have the same collection of walkable neighborhoods. The city and inner suburbs can feel very rust belt.
Albany - the most prosperous of the big upstate cities. It has the prettiest or at least most urban residential areas with it's townhouses. It has the closest proximity to mountains, NYC, NE, the ocean, Boston, Philly,etc. It feels like an east coast city in a way the others can feel like great lakes industrial cities. The biggest downside is the MSA is split across 3 midsized cities. Rochester and certainly Buffalo give off a bigger city feel. It also doesn't have the proximity to a great lake.
Utica- far smaller than the big 4. It can feel very much like declining area. Nice valley setting though and it has unique food culture with it's traditional Italian American dishes and very diverse collection of new dishes brought by recent immigrants. Depending on your politics, it's the only one in a Trump county.
Binghamton - similar to Utica in scale. It doesn't really feel like a metro area. Although the university arguably gives it a leg up over Utica in terms of brining in outsiders. Beautiful natural river valley confluence setting. The county went red in 2016 and reverted back to slightly blue in 2020. Like Utica, the county has lost population consistently since 1970.
In terms of the last sentence for the Syracuse description, while some first ring suburbs are more working/lower middle in look, you also have some solidly to upper middle first ring suburbs such as Onondaga Hill, Westvale, DeWitt(CDP), Jamesville/Southwood and the Parkwood/Franklin Park area of East Syracuse(town of DeWitt).
In terms of the second to last sentence, the University/Westcott area has 3 walkable areas(Westcott, Crouse-Marshall and East Genesee Street/East Fayette(some say Midtown), with the Eastwood neighborhood in the NE corner of the city making up about 10-11% of the city’s population. With the latter, you also have the adjacent, middle/upper middle class Sedgwick neighborhood there as well. That last neighborhood is also next to the walkable Butternut Circle area of Grant Boulevard in the generally working to solidly middle class Court-Woodlawn neighborhood.
One more thing, what separates Syracuse’s Downtown from the others is that much of the nightlife is in the more known Armory Square district and also the more low key Hanover Square district. Both have housing and you have some spots in other parts of Downtown. The Heart of Downtown/Salina Street has also seen some development in recent years. There seems to be some type of festival every week or 2 in Clinton Square or somewhere in Downtown as well. So, it may have the best balance of live, work and play out of the bigger area Downtowns. In fact, this is taking place Saturday: https://downtownsyracuse.com/events/...wn-living-tour
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 09-22-2022 at 05:21 PM..
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