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I've lived in western CT, NYC, and Buffalo and drove regularly all around the state, but it's been a while since we were in the area and as a kid/young adult I had different criteria for a cool place to move to than I do now.
My husband and I have two young kids and we are trying to find a nice hometown to settle down in. We've lived in Colorado, Seattle, and Florida recently and want to move back to the Northeast. We plan on homeschooling.
We have to be near a VA hospital - this is essential. The husband can have up to several appointments per week so we don't want to be constantly commuting, esp. in the winter.
We want to be somewhere kind of rural - no immediate neighbors, but have the option to go into town when needed - something historical, ice-cream-shop-and-church-and-inn kind of a downtown, not a McDonalds-gas station-and-Walmart sort of town.
We have about 150-175 to spend on a house (we might take out a small mortgage if we can't find anything nice in that range, but still want to keep it under 250K at the highest). I know this is actually do-able in WNY, but I'm not sure about other parts. We would prefer an area that is lower COL since we live on a fixed income for the most part supplemented by working from home. We're moderately comfortable right now, but if something happens to the income in the future and it becomes lower we don't want to be in trouble paying bills.
It'd be nice if we could live near a train station for easy access to the city, but not right ON the train line, because that costs more. DH hates Syracuse/Buffalo area, but somewhere around Binghamton would be OK with him, although I like the Catskills personally, but don't know about the cost of living.
Bath, Batavia and Canandaigua have VA Medical Centers. Both would fit what you are looking, with Bath being more affordable. Facilities in New York - Locations
Castle Point and Montrose also have centers, but cost of living will be higher. Unfortunately, none of those communities have train stations. You could look into a nice, rural like community near Syracuse, Buffalo or Albany too. Batavia and Canandaigua are near stations in Buffalo and/or Rochester.
Good advice above. In order of price of homes (in general): Bath, Batavia, Canandaigua. IMHO, in order of desirability for amenities: Canandaigua, Batavia, Bath. However, in any of these areas, you should be able to find houses in your price range. Don't forget to look at real estate taxes - they may be higher than what you're expecting and may affect your decision.
I think that each of these towns has a very different feel to it from a cultural perspective and the type of people overall that live there. You should really consider which would be a good fit for you from that perspective. Spend some time in each town, go to the local grocery stores and restaurants and hang out for a bit - then decide where you feel you could fit in best.
I've looked into Bath and I actually liked what I saw (online). It seems to have the vibe we're looking for.
The husband is currently in the works applying for 100% Disability - if he got it then property taxes wouldn't be an issue. If he stays at 70% then they will be, unfortunately. I'm also worried about things like... car insurance, utilities, etc.
I've been to Canandaiga (sp) and Batavia and while they're not bad I do think I like Bath more.
Or else somewhere east of the turnpike within driving distance of Albany. I've been near Coxsackie before and thought it was nice and quiet enough. There are also some really nice mountainy areas around and south of there, but I'm not sure how expensive they get. I don't want to do long drives in bad winter weather to get to the hospital, but I also really like the "Rip Van Winkle" vibe of some areas. The quiet, slightly creepy vibe is something I like. I know, I'm weird.
I've never been in Bath but again from what I saw online so far I do like it. Thanks for the suggestion. I will also look into the other towns mentioned; their names are not familiar immediately.
I guess another question I have is what is general COL like. The only info I've found so far online are really geared toward NYC vs the other cities, but not the smaller towns outside them. I've lived in Buffalo, like I said, but that was years ago and I was a broke college student living in the slums, not paying utilities seperate from rent, not paying my own car insurance, etc. It's a whole different ballgame now and since we haven't lived much in the NE in a while I'm not sure what COL is like for those types of things.
Bath, Batavia and Canandaigua have VA Medical Centers. Both would fit what you are looking, with Bath being more affordable. Facilities in New York - Locations
Castle Point and Montrose also have centers, but cost of living will be higher. Unfortunately, none of those communities have train stations. You could look into a nice, rural like community near Syracuse, Buffalo or Albany too. Batavia and Canandaigua are near stations in Buffalo and/or Rochester.
Meant to say all three fit, but breezy makes great points in terms of afforability and getting a feel for the communities.
I find the Bath area rather isolated compared to Batavia and Canandaigua, but that may be OK with you. You are close to Corning, but that area won't offer as much as the other two. With Batavia, you are right in between Rochester and Buffalo. Both will be very affordable and both have low COL. Canandaigua area may be a bit more, but you don't have to go too far outside the town to find a very good COL - I think the real estate taxes will be higher here though. I think that Canandaigua is the nicest of all three, both the town and it is right on the lake - a very pretty and scenic area.
I would recommend that you do not pick a town based on what you read on the Internet - you need to visit. All are in relatively close proximity to each other that you could visit all three in a week visit.
^^Good points again and I wonder if other small towns close to the VA Med Centers would work? For instance, a community like LeRoy or Caledonia are nice small towns that put you close the VA locations and the train station in Rochester. Places like Chittenango or Baldwinsville in the Syracuse area, East Aurora and Akron in the Buffalo area and Hammondsport and Avocados near Bath could work. Perhaps Ravena or Voorheesville in the Albany area too.
For starters, you need to find out what each hospital is tasked to do. If your husband wants orthopedics, it may not be at some hospitals. If it is for genral medical, most have some, but next to SUNYAB and the med school, you get med students and MDs, though MDs in VAs can practive anywhere.
Find the reason you want the hospital and work around that.,
I'm familiar with a lot of the area - I've been to Batavia, Canandaigua, etc. I haven't been to Bath, that's the only one. The VA Hospital in Buffalo was actually right across the street from the dorm I was staying in while I went to UB.
We are OK with rural. We don't really get out much. I'm more interested in our immediate property (home, garden, etc.) and a peaceful atmosphere than in going into the city all the time.
Thanks for the info, I will definitely take it all into consideration. And of course we will visit as well - but right now we're trying to narrow down the places we can visit feasibly since we have to buy a house relatively soon and already plan on looking at NY, SC, and WV.
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