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I just looked at the homes mentioned in the article for Syracuse and the first one is actually in a first ring suburb(Westvale in the town of Geddes) and the second one is in the South Valley neighborhood(a solid, decently diverse area with walkability and parks nearby south of Seneca Turnpike). That's the thing, the city proper is only 25 square miles and if you choose a first ring suburb, you still aren't far from amenities within the city.
I'd say if you want the city proper, I'll say that Downtown(inc. adjacent Franklin Square to the NW and the closest portions of the Park Avenue neighborhood(east of South Geddes)), Eastwood(NE corner of the city) and adjacent Sedgwick(an old money neighborhood to the west on the city's North Side); Westcott(east of Syracuse University/University Hill), Meadowbrook(also east of Syracuse University/University Hill), Outer Comstock around Comstock and Jamesville Avenues(South of Syracuse University/University Hill), Strathmore(another old money area with a couple of parks) and Winkworth(a more suburban type of area) in the city's SW corner and the South Valley, among others. All are within minutes of a hospital, most are relatively walkable and pretty stable areas. A couple of other neighborhoods such as Court-Woodlawn(an outer North Side neighborhood(north of Grant Boulevard/east of Le Moyne Avenue) and Salt Springs(a predominantly black working/middle class neighborhood on the outer East Side) may have appeal to some as well.
If you want suburbs, in terms of walkability, villages such as Liverpool, Baldwinsville, Fayetteville, Manlius, North Syracuse, Skaneateles, Marcellus and Camillus, among a few others, come to mind. Skaneateles, Manlius and Fayetteville are in areas that are relatively more upscale and are outer suburbs/communities. Baldwinsville, Camillus and Marcellus are also more second ring communities. Personally, Liverpool, while small is appealing in terms of having a big county park(Onondaga Lake Park), restaurants, some events and the area is one of the more diverse suburban communities/school districts in the area.
A couple of non village suburban areas with some walkability such as Lyncourt in the town of Salina and Dewittshire in the town of DeWitt could have some appeal as well.
If you don't mind being further out, a nice, walkable village such as Cazenovia in Madison County is a bit upscale, but not as much as the previously mentioned areas and is more rural. Like Skaneateles, it is also on a lake.
What could help keep the suburbs in play is that you can get just about anywhere in the area within 20 minutes, give or take.
Also, if walkability isn't a factor and you want suburbs, a suburb like say Onondaga Hill in the town of Onondaga comes to mind due to having a hospital in the community. You also have medical facilities in the Northern suburbs which consist of towns such as Clay, Salina and Cicero. Camillus and Manlius are other towns with medical facilities.
You are also within an hour an a half or less from places like the Adirondack Mountains, the Thousand Islands, Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes(and its wineries) and other outdoor amenities/locations.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 08-10-2022 at 09:31 AM..
I just looked at the homes mentioned in the article for Syracuse and the first one is actually in a first ring suburb(Westvale in the town of Geddes) and the second one is in the South Valley neighborhood(a solid, decently diverse area with walkability and parks nearby south of Seneca Turnpike). That's the thing, the city proper is only 25 square miles and if you choose a first ring suburb, you still aren't far from amenities within the city.
I'd say if you want the city proper, I'll say that Downtown(inc. adjacent Franklin Square to the NW and the closest portions of the Park Avenue neighborhood(east of South Geddes)), Eastwood(NE corner of the city) and adjacent Sedgwick(an old money neighborhood to the west on the city's North Side); Westcott(east of Syracuse University/University Hill), Meadowbrook(also east of Syracuse University/University Hill), Outer Comstock around Comstock and Jamesville Avenues(South of Syracuse University/University Hill), Strathmore(another old money area with a couple of parks) and Winkworth(a more suburban type of area) in the city's SW corner and the South Valley, among others. All are within minutes of a hospital, most are relatively walkable and pretty stable areas. A couple of other neighborhoods such as Court-Woodlawn(an outer North Side neighborhood(north of Grant Boulevard/east of Le Moyne Avenue) and Salt Springs(a predominantly black working/middle class neighborhood on the outer East Side) may have appeal to some as well.
If you want suburbs, in terms of walkability, villages such as Liverpool, Baldwinsville, Fayetteville, Manlius, North Syracuse, Skaneateles, Marcellus and Camillus, among a few others, come to mind. Skaneateles, Manlius and Fayetteville are in areas that are relatively more upscale and are outer suburbs/communities. Baldwinsville, Camillus and Marcellus are also more second ring communities. Personally, Liverpool, while small is appealing in terms of having a big county park(Onondaga Lake Park), restaurants, some events and the area is one of the more diverse suburban communities/school districts in the area.
A couple of non village suburban areas with some walkability such as Lyncourt in the town of Salina and Dewittshire in the town of DeWitt could have some appeal as well.
If you don't mind being further out, a nice, walkable village such as Cazenovia in Madison County is a bit upscale, but not as much as the previously mentioned areas and is more rural. Like Skaneateles, it is also on a lake.
What could help keep the suburbs in play is that you can get just about anywhere in the area within 20 minutes, give or take.
Also, if walkability isn't a factor and you want suburbs, a suburb like say Onondaga Hill in the town of Onondaga comes to mind due to having a hospital in the community. You also have medical facilities in the Northern suburbs which consist of towns such as Clay, Salina and Cicero. Camillus and Manlius are other towns with medical facilities.
You are also within an hour an a half or less from places like the Adirondack Mountains, the Thousand Islands, Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes(and its wineries) and other outdoor amenities/locations.
It’s alright. It meets the affordable criteria, offers quite a bit for its size and it isn’t really too sprawled out. It is in a good location, in terms of day trips to other cities, as most major Northeastern and eastern Canadian cities are within 4 hours or so by car(NYC, Philadelphia, Toronto, Montreal and Boston(more like 4 and a half) and you have plenty of mid sized and smaller cities/villages that are worth visiting as well. So, if you are retired and wanted to go to say Ithaca, that is only an hour away or Cooperstown, that’s only an hour and a half away. Cities like Buffalo and Albany are about 2-2 and a half hours, if that. Rochester is an hour and a half. Niagara Falls is more like 2 and a half hours away. A hidden gem small “city” like Corning is about an hour and 40 minutes. There are others as well. This can apply for those that like outdoor amenities and could be another thing to consider.
There is an airport too, with direct flights to FL and other locations: https://syrairport.org/ (To be fair, nearby cities may have lower fares)
I just looked at the homes mentioned in the article for Syracuse and the first one is actually in a first ring suburb(Westvale in the town of Geddes) and the second one is in the South Valley neighborhood(a solid, decently diverse area with walkability and parks nearby south of Seneca Turnpike). That's the thing, the city proper is only 25 square miles and if you choose a first ring suburb, you still aren't far from amenities within the city.
I'd say if you want the city proper, I'll say that Downtown(inc. adjacent Franklin Square to the NW and the closest portions of the Park Avenue neighborhood(east of South Geddes)), Eastwood(NE corner of the city) and adjacent Sedgwick(an old money neighborhood to the west on the city's North Side); Westcott(east of Syracuse University/University Hill), Meadowbrook(also east of Syracuse University/University Hill), Outer Comstock around Comstock and Jamesville Avenues(South of Syracuse University/University Hill), Strathmore(another old money area with a couple of parks) and Winkworth(a more suburban type of area) in the city's SW corner and the South Valley, among others. All are within minutes of a hospital, most are relatively walkable and pretty stable areas. A couple of other neighborhoods such as Court-Woodlawn(an outer North Side neighborhood(north of Grant Boulevard/east of Le Moyne Avenue) and Salt Springs(a predominantly black working/middle class neighborhood on the outer East Side) may have appeal to some as well.
If you want suburbs, in terms of walkability, villages such as Liverpool, Baldwinsville, Fayetteville, Manlius, North Syracuse, Skaneateles, Marcellus and Camillus, among a few others, come to mind. Skaneateles, Manlius and Fayetteville are in areas that are relatively more upscale and are outer suburbs/communities. Baldwinsville, Camillus and Marcellus are also more second ring communities. Personally, Liverpool, while small is appealing in terms of having a big county park(Onondaga Lake Park), restaurants, some events and the area is one of the more diverse suburban communities/school districts in the area.
A couple of non village suburban areas with some walkability such as Lyncourt in the town of Salina and Dewittshire in the town of DeWitt could have some appeal as well.
If you don't mind being further out, a nice, walkable village such as Cazenovia in Madison County is a bit upscale, but not as much as the previously mentioned areas and is more rural. Like Skaneateles, it is also on a lake.
What could help keep the suburbs in play is that you can get just about anywhere in the area within 20 minutes, give or take.
Also, if walkability isn't a factor and you want suburbs, a suburb like say Onondaga Hill in the town of Onondaga comes to mind due to having a hospital in the community. You also have medical facilities in the Northern suburbs which consist of towns such as Clay, Salina and Cicero. Camillus and Manlius are other towns with medical facilities.
You are also within an hour an a half or less from places like the Adirondack Mountains, the Thousand Islands, Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes(and its wineries) and other outdoor amenities/locations.
The main takeaway for me is that the heavy snowfall in both Traverse City and Syracuse, should be enough to knock those off the lists completely.
The Traverse City area is beautiful in the nice weather months, with many wineries in the region, along with stunning lakeside vistas, hiking trails and nature surrounding the town.
But Traverse City has a very long, very cold winter, with lots of snow. Syracuse' winter is not much better--seeing some of the highest annual snowfalls in the country.
Traverse City has between 125 and 145 inches of annual snow. While Syracuse has around 120+/- annually.
If folks who are retiring don't mind a good 5 months+ of snow, cold and ice from November to April, then those 2 cities are great picks for this list.
Good grief man lol. We get it you don't like snow. You really need to stop posting as if you are the subject expert on these things because you can't stand snow. It's quite obvious you haven't actually experienced a winter in any place you rank toward the bottom of everything. Agreed winter isn't for everyone. Still you could use a spoon to spread this hyperbole around. Traverse City and Syracuse get a lot of snow, but I promise you it is not one continual relentless blizzard Nov 1 to April 30th either If someone moves to either of them they are not going to have to kill a Wampa to stay warm while Han Solo runs for help. Traverse City especially can be quite vibrant with all the winter sports and ski resorts nearby.
It's all about preference. We are all very clear on what yours are, but please allow others theirs.
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I'm not surprised, as these are all places that are inexpensive, because they are not popular, people are not dying to move there. Whether it's the lack of amenities, crime, weather, or possibly more important, distance from other family, I would not expect many retirees to move to any of those places. We are planning to stay in the same state (WA) when we retire, due to my mother, our 3 kids, 2 grandkids, and several in-laws being here. We can pay cash with our equity, and that will cost us about $500k, with some left over, and we will only have to pay taxes and insurance.
I'm not surprised, as these are all places that are inexpensive, because they are not popular, people are not dying to move there. Whether it's the lack of amenities, crime, weather, or possibly more important, distance from other family, I would not expect many retirees to move to any of those places. We are planning to stay in the same state (WA) when we retire, due to my mother, our 3 kids, 2 grandkids, and several in-laws being here. We can pay cash with our equity, and that will cost us about $500k, with some left over, and we will only have to pay taxes and insurance.
Traverse City is actually growing at a pretty good clip, along with getting a bit expensive. This in spite of it apparently being snowmageddon.
Traverse City real estate prices are high by Michigan standards. Those with money have a 2nd home/cottage in the area. For the average retiree, I do not consider Traverse City affordable.
Yeah. This forum tends to skew more affluent and more formally-educated than most typical Americans, too, so what someone on here what deem to be "affordable" (i.e. Traverse City) would likely seem expensive to many other Americans not on City-Data.
Good grief man lol. We get it you don't like snow. You really need to stop posting as if you are the subject expert on these things because you can't stand snow. It's quite obvious you haven't actually experienced a winter in any place you rank toward the bottom of everything. Agreed winter isn't for everyone. Still you could use a spoon to spread this hyperbole around. Traverse City and Syracuse get a lot of snow, but I promise you it is not one continual relentless blizzard Nov 1 to April 30th either If someone moves to either of them they are not going to have to kill a Wampa to stay warm while Han Solo runs for help. Traverse City especially can be quite vibrant with all the winter sports and ski resorts nearby.
It's all about preference. We are all very clear on what yours are, but please allow others theirs.
I’m not the one you’re responding to, and fair enough that those areas don’t experience continual blizzards all winter, or have sub zero temps the whole time, but there’s other serious cons that come with a cold weather environment for retirees, namely ice.
We have a second home in the mountains, and slipping and falling on ice is no fun for young people, and it can be a death sentence for some. My grandpa broke a hip falling and never came out of the hospital.
I guess this is why retirees on a budget will often choose oppressive heat, and/or humidity, in the summer over a cold winter if they don’t have family keeping them in the area? You can’t slip on heat, nor will your tires lock up on it while driving.
Northern Michigan and Upstate New York are both beautiful places though. I had family with cottages in the former, and my in-laws have some in the latter.
I’m not the one you’re responding to, and fair enough that those areas don’t experience continual blizzards all winter, or have sub zero temps the whole time, but there’s other serious cons that come with a cold weather environment for retirees, namely ice.
We have a second home in the mountains, and slipping and falling on ice is no fun for young people, and it can be a death sentence for some. My grandpa broke a hip falling and never came out of the hospital.
I guess this is why retirees on a budget will often choose oppressive heat, and/or humidity, in the summer over a cold winter if they don’t have family keeping them in the area? You can’t slip on heat, nor will your tires lock up on it while driving.
Northern Michigan and Upstate New York are both beautiful places though. I had family with cottages in the former, and my in-laws have some in the latter.
Tires do not lock up unless you don't have the right type of tires and are in very serious conditions. Speaking of Syracuse, they remove the snow from streets and have a system for snow removal from sidewalks in place to be done efficiently(streets are done better, but walkable areas are pretty good in terms of sidewalks).
Also, keep in mind that the list does take into account that people may snowbird it for the winter. This does happen and people may leave around/after Thanksgiving time until about mid March or so.
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If someone moves to either of them they are not going to have to kill a Wampa to stay warm while Han Solo runs for help. Traverse City especially can be quite vibrant with all the winter sports and ski resorts nearby. 
