Ithaca, New York? (Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany: for sale, insurance, condos)
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THANK YOU all for your helpful replies. I moved from a bombed out city in central NY to Santa Fe, New Mexico a year and a half ago. There are many good aspects to SFe but I found it to be greatly overrated with a lot of very serious drawbacks: high crime, major racial tensions. I still can't breathe at 7000'--have to drink 2+gallons water per day. Lots of naiive "New Age" freaks here. Very desolate landscape. SFe is to me more a place to visit than to live unless you're from here. I have met many many people who moved here from the East Coast who have moved back or are seriously considering it. I always considered myself a liberal. Here I am a conservative compared to the oppressive far left liberals. Recently a "fragrance free professional" lectured me that is insulting to refer to Mexicans as "Mexicans" despite my having lived over 1 year in Mexico and spent much time with "regular" people there. I now jokingly refer to them as "the people formerly known as Mexicans". These radicals want to control what you say and think--just like the far right!! Anyway I never thought I would look forward to the day I could return to upstate NY Republican farm country-at least within a few minutes one can leave Ithaca for some balance out in the olde towns. Maybe it's true what they say--as we grow older we turn into our parents. Looks like I am turning into my grandfather! ..where's my glasses?
PS I know NY winters and summers. There is no perfect place. At this moment in Santa Fe it is 26 degrees with 8" of snow. They don't plow the roads here. My neighbor left her door open and soon discovered 2 ferrets and a small rabbit inside her house. Anyway the upstate NY winters aren't so bad if you stock up food and don't have to go out on a regular basis. I find NYS winters very conducive to writing, reading and painting. ...and yes..the summer landscapes are heavenly in the countryside. ...not to forget Victorian, Federal and Greek Revival architecture--virtually none of that here--just flat roofed brown boxes like Arabia in the Middle Ages. Weather here tends to be very monotonous.
THANK YOU all for your helpful replies. I moved from a bombed out city in central NY to Santa Fe, New Mexico a year and a half ago. There are many good aspects to SFe but I found it to be greatly overrated with a lot of very serious drawbacks: high crime, major racial tensions. I still can't breathe at 7000'--have to drink 2+gallons water per day. Lots of naiive "New Age" freaks here. Very desolate landscape. SFe is to me more a place to visit than to live unless you're from here. I have met many many people who moved here from the East Coast who have moved back or are seriously considering it. I always considered myself a liberal. Here I am a conservative compared to the oppressive far left liberals. Recently a "fragrance free professional" lectured me that is insulting to refer to Mexicans as "Mexicans" despite my having lived over 1 year in Mexico and spent much time with "regular" people there. I now jokingly refer to them as "the people formerly known as Mexicans". These radicals want to control what you say and think--just like the far right!! Anyway I never thought I would look forward to the day I could return to upstate NY Republican farm country-at least within a few minutes one can leave Ithaca for some balance out in the olde towns. Maybe it's true what they say--as we grow older we turn into our parents. Looks like I am turning into my grandfather! ..where's my glasses?
There are many good aspects to SFe but I found it to be greatly overrated with a lot of very serious drawbacks: high crime, major racial tensions. Very desolate landscape. SFe is to me more a place to visit than to live unless you're from here.I have met many many people who moved here from the East Coast who have moved back or are seriously considering it.I always considered myself a liberal. Here I am a conservative compared to the oppressive far left liberals.These radicals want to control what you say and think--just like the far right!! Anyway I never thought I would look forward to the day I could return to upstate NY Republican farm country-at least within a few minutes one can leave Ithaca for some balance out in the olde towns.
Your posts are very true, and quite accurate. I came to the Southwest from the other corner of the US - Seattle -- and have the same observations as you write.
The people in Flagstaff, Boulder, and Santa Fe are environmental control freaks. In Flagstaff they block everything off to development and as a result home prices skyrocket to 500 grand, and the average rent is about $1,000 a month.
I've been here 2 years and have major issues with the politics in the places I've lived: Santa Fe (NM), Albuquerque, Flagstaff (AZ), and Henderson, NV. -- although Albuquerque is the most moderate politically.
Most people who I've met in NM and AZ here from both coasts and also chicago don't like it.
As for banning free speech, Thom Hartmann and his webmaster IN Santa Fe banned me from their web site because I was "too conservative" for them - even though I'm economically libertarian to liberal. (There's an essay about that on my blog.)
CKH: Bombed out city in the Syracuse sphere; although I still like Syracuse very much. It is real.
TOM: Wonderful to hear from you about your similar observations. I was beginning to think that I was too cynical. It seems to me that a lot of people who have relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico either live in a very narrow, segregated ivory tower sphere, have poor observation skills, or, having pulled up stakes at considerable expense to move here are in denial about the "realities" of Santa Fe/New Mexico and don't want to or cannot face/admit to them. There is, nevertheless a group of transplants who are very happy here [many very eccentric to put it mildly]; yet I find that they are often very young with many options ahead and/or come from limited travel experience and/or a very dull crossroads compared with SF. I suspect people like us get short shrift from the "powers that be" here because there is tremendous boosterism and billions of dollars in residential real estate alone at stake here; their golden goose must not be [any further] disturbed.
Good to know that I am not the only one eyed man in the Land of the Blind. Oh--and one of the transplants here wants the Hispanics descendants of the Spanish colonialists to stop erecting crosses along public roadways where family members have died because they claim it violates separation of church and state. Another conflict between "native tradition" and imperialist alien newcomers.
CKH: Bombed out city in the Syracuse sphere; although I still like Syracuse very much. It is real.
TOM: Wonderful to hear from you about your similar observations. I was beginning to think that I was too cynical. It seems to me that a lot of people who have relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico either live in a very narrow, segregated ivory tower sphere, have poor observation skills, or, having pulled up stakes at considerable expense to move here are in denial about the "realities" of Santa Fe/New Mexico and don't want to or cannot face/admit to them. There is, nevertheless a group of transplants who are very happy here [many very eccentric to put it mildly]; yet I find that they are often very young with many options ahead and/or come from limited travel experience and/or a very dull crossroads compared with SF. I suspect people like us get short shrift from the "powers that be" here because there is tremendous boosterism and billions of dollars in residential real estate alone at stake here; their golden goose must not be [any further] disturbed.
Good to know that I am not the only one eyed man in the Land of the Blind. Oh--and one of the transplants here wants the Hispanics descendants of the Spanish colonialists to stop erecting crosses along public roadways where family members have died because they claim it violates separation of church and state. Another conflict between "native tradition" and imperialist alien newcomers.
Syracuse in some parts are rough. I will admit that, but tell me a major city of any good size that doesn't have such parts. If you find one, let me know so I can check it out.
TOM: Wonderful to hear from you about your similar observations. I was beginning to think that I was too cynical. It seems to me that a lot of people who have relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico either live in a very narrow, segregated ivory tower sphere, have poor observation skills, or, having pulled up stakes at considerable expense to move here are in denial about the "realities" of Santa Fe/New Mexico and don't want to or cannot face/admit to them. There is, nevertheless a group of transplants who are very happy here [many very eccentric to put it mildly]; yet I find that they are often very young with many options ahead and/or come from limited travel experience and/or a very dull crossroads compared with SF. I suspect people like us get short shrift from the "powers that be" here because there is tremendous boosterism and billions of dollars in residential real estate alone at stake here; their golden goose must not be [any further] disturbed.
Good to know that I am not the only one eyed man in the Land of the Blind. Oh--and one of the transplants here wants the Hispanics descendants of the Spanish colonialists to stop erecting crosses along public roadways where family members have died because they claim it violates separation of church and state. Another conflict between "native tradition" and imperialist alien newcomers.
Well.......of all the people I've met over 2 years in NM and AZ, the *ONLY* people who are - "dissapointed" - with "complaints" - are from a selected group of cities:
Seattle
New York
San Francisco
L.A.
Chicago
...whereas people moving here from Texas and parts of the Midwest love it here !
Yet on the other hand there are a lot of people in Arizona from New England doing very well in their occupations -- especially Real Estate.
So if we stay it's a matter of learning how to adapt to the differences in the Southwest.
The best answer I have is from a study of Personality Types in All 50 states called "The United States of Mind"
Compared to the cities above, NM and AZ score VERY high on the Consciencious (traditional) personality type, and VERY low on the Open to Experience (socially liberal) score:
ckh: I hate to admit it but it was really Utica which as you probably know has taken major hits with about 50% of the population moved away due to industrial decline. Many empty former home sites and boarded up buildings though it is gradually coming back thanks in part to many refugees from Bosnia, former USSR and other countries. 8000+ Bosnians reviving old neighborhoods. I never thought I would miss Utica--I do--especially the beautiful architecture and green hills. ...and the generally very friendly, strong, down to earth people. When we left the City has Victorian homes available for as little as $5,000. The Munson Williams Art Museum Collection is probably worth close to $1 billion. [before economic Wall St. debacle recently].
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Opressive Far Left In The Southwest
