Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I live upstate and wouldnt have it any other way. Of course, most people who live upstate nowadays share this feeling. Those lakes you mentioned, plus the catskills and thousands islands provide the best outdoors god has made.
I'm no expert on no cal but I have spent some time there. I think it is beautiful as well. Two reasons I put NY ahead:
1. people - nothing against californians, but I grew up east coast and thats the type of people and attitude I like.
2. Fall - upstate NY has the unparalled best fall in the world. There is no place on earth with colors as vibrant as an upstate fall. If you ever have the chance I strongly recomend a hike through one of our fantastic state parks and enjoy the seasons scenery.
Upstate NY has some very beautiful areas. I love the Finger Lakes and Adirondacks. But I like outdoors of NorCal more because find what it has to offer more interesting and scenic since it has the Redwood forests, Lake Tahoe, Sierra Nevada Mountains, and Napa Valley (compared to the Finger Lake wineries).
Both regions are beautiful when excluding weather, this is question is more about one's preference than anything.
The pacific coast highway is hard to beat.....but other than that the finger lakes with the wineries, lake Ontario, Adirondacks and the diversity in the weather and big cities not too far away makes Upstate NY a good place to live.
Although upstate NY is alright (especially the Adirondacks) Northern California is at a whole different level
The Pacific Coast vs. Lake ontario coast..... really??
San Francisco vs. all upstate cities combined.... really??
Finger lakes vs. Lake Tahoe..... kinda close here
Adirondacks vs. Sierra Nevada, Yosemite, Kings Canyon.... etc.... really??
Where Upstate wins easily is extremely low cost of living and quaint little villages like Seneca Falls, Fredonia, New Paltz, Lake Placid, Saranac Lake etc.
Overall though, not really a contest....
Much better comparison would be, say, Western North Carolina vs. Upstate NY or Western Massachusetts vs. Upstate NY
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
