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So funny to see this question...I grew up in Homer. Charming small town, growing more these days as I guess more commuters to Syracuse and Ithaca are settling there. Good ski slopes in the area, parks, etc. Many small towns around it (Deruyter, Virgil, McGraw, Tully, Marathon, Little York) but be prepared - VERY rural! Very reasonable to live there, though. Safe, too. SUNY Cortland is a good college that draws students from all over too. Good luck!
That's very accurate. We visited Homer last year and looked at a number of lovely and affordable older homes there. We are still thinking of it as a real possibility. VERY nice small town, family-healthy feel. A nice distance from a variety of places, but doesn't feel forgotten or forlorn. Fairly close to Ithaca and other places with a lot of shopping, but unspoiled by over-commercialization and "modernization." Great pride in the fine schools--which is pretty typical of most of New York State. If you've got a young family and want them to have a well-rounded life in a safe, stable small town set in lovely countryside, or you yourself like a traditional small-town, peace-and-quiet feel, this would be a good choice.
but unspoiled by over-commercialization and "modernization."
Yeah, for now. As more commuters escape the urban blight of Syracuse, and leave the older surrounding suburbs, these areas within commuting distance will fall victim to sprawl, and with it, the coming of big box stores, strip malls, retail chains,etc.. Growth around Syracuse has already swallowed a lot of farmland, and has left local and county officals scrambling to deal with inadequate infrastructure and the problems resulting from these newly-built commuter towns or subdivisions. Older towns are not immune to these bad planning practices, either, especially if there are city officals that sit on town councils that are, uh, "open" to the perks (and sometimes actual cash) that home developers wave under their noses. Rochester has been very progressive in this regard and has embraced alot of "smart growth" concepts that have helped save a lot of farmland and open space. I wish Syracuse and Onodoga County would do the same, but so far I haven't seen any evidence of it.
Last edited by looking4home; 09-19-2006 at 09:45 PM..
Reason: add
I wish Syracuse and Onodoga County would do the same, but so far I haven't seen any evidence of it.
That's not true. The town of Lysander has a huge plan to save farmland. Van Buren is getting grants from the state to buy farms so they will keep them farms.
Nick Pirro (the County Executive) is from the city and he is very anti-suburban development. So is Walsh. IMO, this is one reason why this area is not very progressive minded and doesn't think BIG, like other cities. Pirro even made a 2010 settlement plan that said that they will not build infrastructure like water, and sewer lines or widen roads because it will promote growth in the suburbs. Nick Pirro and most of the leadership in the Onondaga County gov't are very focused on all stopping development outside the city. It was their main "economic development" issue from 2000 -2004. It was the topic they thought would save CNY and create growth some how??? Hmmm, stopping development in the suburbs is really going to help save the city. The Onondaga County gov't only wants to attract companies to existing business parks or industrial areas. That means companies have to build on ugly brownfields in unattractive locations far away from things companies want like highway access. Since that's highly unlikely, there aren't any companies locating here, they all go to Rome, NY Saratoga County, or Western NY. If the County had more control, I'm sure they would do more like outlaw new housing developments so everyone would need to build new houses in Oswego, Madison or Cayuga County.
By the way, Rochester has way more "sprawl" than Syracuse. Roughly 300,000 in population more of it than Syracuse. Syracuse's suburbs are 250,000 in population. Rochester's suburbs are 550,000 in population. Rochester builds 2,500 new homes in their suburbs each year. Syracuse only builds about 1,000 new homes in the suburbs each year. Rochester's "smart growth" is basically the Town Pittsford buying farmland and keeping it undeveloped. Since Pittsford is the richest town in Upstate full of Kodak executives, they can afford to do that. Most other towns around Rochester have not done anything. Only a couple other towns like Webster received grants from the state to save a farm or two. That's it.
Sprawl.. we have bigger problems, like no jobs, to worry about. A quote from another website, its very good:
"We're always glad to see scholars and the news media pay attention to the decline of Upstate cities, a central element in the broader story of Upstate New York's struggle to compete for business, people and jobs. We wish, though, that the discussion could get beyond the simplistic, and sometimes downright silly, talk about "sprawl.".....
Last edited by bellafinzi; 12-19-2007 at 04:44 PM..
Thank you for that info - I'm glad to hear that Onondaga co. is being proactive. Believe me, once you begin to sprawl, there is no way to control it. It has a life of its own. I've never seen it successfully managed. It seems you are pro-business/pro-growth, which is fine, but be careful what you wish for. You can't reclaim farmland once it's been lost to the developer's bulldozer. And unlike other regions of the U.S. which experiences actual population growth, the true definition of sprawl is what you have in CNY - no real growth in terms of numbers, just a shifting population, away from the bigger cities like Albany, Syracuse, Rocgester,etc.
...Spent a bunch of years goin' to the Armory on the north end of Cortland...Took a tank up to the gas station in south Homer to fuel up once....a "unique" experience....
Homer is a nice rural place. So is DeRuyter, which boasts a lake (actullay it's s resevoir, but you wouldn't know it...you can swim, take a boat out, etc.) and the homes, even on the lake, are realatively cheap (try a comparison with Cazenovia a few miles to the North! Geesh!! 1M vs. 150k (that's minimum, for a summer house)... so yes, the area is nicer..unless you need to buy a 1M dollar house on a Lake... (that's Caz!)
Preble is another lovely lake, it's a few miles North of Homer, and friends tell me the houses are very inexpensive there...It's also right on the 81 into Syracuse..
East Homer, Truxton and Cuyler are nice towns BUT VERYYYYY RURAL (there's a few houses and barns for a "town"... maybe a little TOOO rural!?!)
There are other little towns just to the North and East of Homer...and the prices are very nice..Apulia (pronounced A-Pull-Ya), Tully, Fabius (a bit more East of the 81)...everyone in these little towns knows everyone...There's usually a country store, farmers wander through town on errands, the local matron-historians run the historical society, the towns have parades...and everyone votes at the firehouse... (which will have pancake breakfasts on Sunday with REAL maple syrup!). There are lots of golf courses and skiing around, and towns like Tully (on the I81) are a short distance to Syracuse, which has a downtown, museums, etc...
Homer though is closer Cortland (it's practically on top of it--Cortland is a bit depressed) and the closest "city' is probably Ithaca, which is LOVELY, and very vibrant.
I live (sort of) in the area you're inquiring about. I have just under 10 acres, two waterfalls (one small, one big-ish--I consider over two stories "big"), a pond, multiple barns, paddocks and riding rings...all for the low, low cost of just over 100K. The taxes stink, but the mortgage is dirt cheap. The house is a fixer-upper, but that's what I wanted... (and yes, I'm fixing it up)...
So the area has a lot to offer...
Last edited by Ham Sandwich; 12-20-2007 at 12:38 AM..
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Don't hold your breath
The Onondaga County gov't only wants to attract companies to existing business parks or industrial areas. That means companies have to build on ugly brownfields in unattractive locations far away from things companies want like highway access. Since that's highly unlikely, there aren't any companies locating here, they all go to Rome, NY Saratoga County, or Western NY. If the County had more control, I'm sure they would do more like outlaw new housing developments so everyone would need to build new houses in Oswego, Madison or Cayuga County. 
