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Since I have been reading posts for a few years off and on, I was wondering if anyone that had planned on moving to or back to Upstate in the last 2 years is happy with decision and why? I am trying to decide whether to move back or to move to North Carolina from Florida in the next month.
My kids are already grown and all I now have is my two dogs. My main reason is family and water that my dogs can swim in. So, all in all, are you glad?
I just moved "back" to NY state from years away, Florida & Arizona. To tell the truth, I'm not sure if it was wise, yet. It hasn't been long enough to decide. It's very, very different from the West coast, which I was so used to for the majority of time away. People are much nicer, friendlier here. Traffic is much less. Positives. But, where I'm at now, not sure. The vibe is kinda simple here. Doesn't feel vibrant enough. Maybe the population is too small. I wanted to get out of Phoenix--too populated, too hot, too much of a political hotbead area. And, Florida was a big no, but, I might have another move in me, too. If I can figure out the right place.
I just moved "back" to NY state from years away, Florida & Arizona. To tell the truth, I'm not sure if it was wise, yet. It hasn't been long enough to decide. It's very, very different from the West coast, which I was so used to for the majority of time away. People are much nicer, friendlier here. Traffic is much less. Positives. But, where I'm at now, not sure. The vibe is kinda simple here. Doesn't feel vibrant enough. Maybe the population is too small. I wanted to get out of Phoenix--too populated, too hot, too much of a political hotbead area. And, Florida was a big no, but, I might have another move in me, too. If I can figure out the right place.
What about Ithaca or select parts of the bigger cities?
What about Ithaca or select parts of the bigger cities?
I think Ithaca would be too small. I'm in Syracuse now. I don't disslike it, but I've grown so accustomed to a giant metro, it's hard to adjust to a smaller sized one. Phoenix metro people were more worldly, city people, fast ...and rude, but into trends and LA'ish in some aspects. Sophisticated I suppose, yet not in some ways. So, giant metro vs smaller metro. West coast versus east coast. A lot to adjust to!!( I grew up in the Hudson Valley area & left 19 yrs ago)But, the people here are soooo nice, accomodating, helpful. The biggest shocker is that it feels a bit mid-western here. I thought I was imagining it. A bit of a reserved, conservative nature to people here. It's just surprising cuz in the Hudson Valley I never felt that.
Last edited by Nanny Goat; 07-04-2012 at 09:13 AM..
I think Ithaca would be too small. I'm in Syracuse now. I don't disslike it, but I've grown so accustomed to a giant metro, it's hard to adjust to a smaller sized one. Phoenix metro people were more worldly, city people, fast ...and rude, but into trends and LA'ish in some aspects. Sophisticated I suppose, yet not in some ways. So, giant metro vs smaller metro. West coast versus east coast. A lot to adjust to!!( I grew up in the Hudson Valley area & left 19 yrs ago)But, the people here are soooo nice, accomodating, helpful. The biggest shocker is that it feels a bit mid-western here. I thought I was imagining it. A bit of a reserved, conservative nature to people here. It's just surprising cuz in the Hudson Valley I never felt that.
Yes, I think people not familiar with this part of NY would be surprised by how down to earth and reserved people can be here. Once people open up though, they are generally very friendly. It is pretty much live and let live. What part of the area are you in? If you aren't there, you would probably be like the East Side of Syracuse and into the eastern suburbs due to people being affiliated with the colleges and it is a part of the area with a good diversity of people and some wealth. Perhaps the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area could work if the Syracuse area doesn't do it for you anymore.
Ithaca is a small college town, but it is pretty cosmopolitan for its size. Again, I believe that the college presence has a lot to do with that.
Yes, I think people not familiar with this part of NY would be surprised by how down to earth and reserved people can be here. Once people open up though, they are generally very friendly. It is pretty much live and let live. What part of the area are you in? If you aren't there, you would probably be like the East Side of Syracuse and into the eastern suburbs due to people being affiliated with the colleges and it is a part of the area with a good diversity of people and some wealth. Perhaps the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area could work if the Syracuse area doesn't do it for you anymore.
Ithaca is a small college town, but it is pretty cosmopolitan for its size. Again, I believe that the college presence has a lot to do with that.
I'm in Camillus. It's pretty. The rolling hills are amazing and all of the blue spruce trees. Wow. And, we had a deer in our front yard. I didn't see too many deer hopping through in Phoenix. Hehe. Albany would be okay, but the housing is too high for us. I have friends there. East Syracuse, not sure price wise either. I haven't even gotten over there yet. Ithaca I've never been to, even when I lived in NY yrs ago. We bought in Camillus, but you never know if another area would work better at some point ahead. I'd like to stay in NY if I can though. Thanks for your info.
I'm in Camillus. It's pretty. The rolling hills are amazing and all of the blue spruce trees. Wow. And, we had a deer in our front yard. I didn't see too many deer hopping through in Phoenix. Hehe. Albany would be okay, but the housing is too high for us. I have friends there. East Syracuse, not sure price wise either. I haven't even gotten over there yet. Ithaca I've never been to, even when I lived in NY yrs ago. We bought in Camillus, but you never know if another area would work better at some point ahead. I'd like to stay in NY if I can though. Thanks for your info.
Hey Upstate Nancy, as someone new to the area, what are your honest recommendations about a newcomer moving there? I like to talk to some other people on here, rather than the usual "pro-Upstate" and "anti-Upstate" entrenched people.
My concerns are the following:
-Upstate is not a place where newcomers are coming in, in droves. So, the people usually have friends their entire lives, so for a newcomers, its hard to make new friends. For example, I travel a lot for my job, and have been to the Syracuse metro (and Capital Region) so much lately. I find the people to be friendly enough, but wary. Almost like "who do you know that I know, and why are you talking to me?" Albany is worse, might as well be NYC with the attitude. Do you find this also?
- I don't care about property tax if the homes are cheap. A $1000 mortgage is a $1000 mortgage, and generally-speaking, I don't care who gets what. Any surprises as far as money issues go? Some people on here complain endlessly about how hard the expensive NYS taxes make your life (like 50% of your money is gone due to the bloated NYS tax structure and wages/job attainment is very difficult).
- The #1 thing holding me back from moving there. The negativity of the people in the area. I can't stress this enough, it depresses me so much because I really wish the people were cooler. I've lived in Raleigh and the pride there makes you feel so good about living there. People from there LOVE where they live. Day in and day out, it makes a difference. Its hard to tune out the naysayers when 80% of the people you meet are naysayers.
I've gone to Syracuse at least 5 times in the last few months, and EVERYONE asks me why I would consider living in such a crappy place. I answer them: cheap homes, fresh air, no traffic, ever been to Philly?" Still, they shake their head and tell me I'm making a huge mistake. On my Trip #1 and Trip #2 into the area, I liked going up there. By Trip #5, I started to dread being sent there (plus the hotels are not that great either, compared to other places, but that's not important). I don't want to rent there, as homes are so cheap, but I'm extremely concerned that hearing all the negativity, day in and day out will wear me out quick. IMO, its so important to be surrounded by happy, well-adjusted people, than live in a constant sea of negativity. Any thoughts from a newcomer on this?
Hey Upstate Nancy, as someone new to the area, what are your honest recommendations about a newcomer moving there? I like to talk to some other people on here, rather than the usual "pro-Upstate" and "anti-Upstate" entrenched people.
My concerns are the following:
-Upstate is not a place where newcomers are coming in, in droves. So, the people usually have friends their entire lives, so for a newcomers, its hard to make new friends. For example, I travel a lot for my job, and have been to the Syracuse metro (and Capital Region) so much lately. I find the people to be friendly enough, but wary. Almost like "who do you know that I know, and why are you talking to me?" Albany is worse, might as well be NYC with the attitude. Do you find this also?
- I don't care about property tax if the homes are cheap. A $1000 mortgage is a $1000 mortgage, and generally-speaking, I don't care who gets what. Any surprises as far as money issues go? Some people on here complain endlessly about how hard the expensive NYS taxes make your life (like 50% of your money is gone due to the bloated NYS tax structure and wages/job attainment is very difficult).
- The #1 thing holding me back from moving there. The negativity of the people in the area. I can't stress this enough, it depresses me so much because I really wish the people were cooler. I've lived in Raleigh and the pride there makes you feel so good about living there. People from there LOVE where they live. Day in and day out, it makes a difference. Its hard to tune out the naysayers when 80% of the people you meet are naysayers.
I've gone to Syracuse at least 5 times in the last few months, and EVERYONE asks me why I would consider living in such a crappy place. I answer them: cheap homes, fresh air, no traffic, ever been to Philly?" Still, they shake their head and tell me I'm making a huge mistake. On my Trip #1 and Trip #2 into the area, I liked going up there. By Trip #5, I started to dread being sent there (plus the hotels are not that great either, compared to other places, but that's not important). I don't want to rent there, as homes are so cheap, but I'm extremely concerned that hearing all the negativity, day in and day out will wear me out quick. IMO, its so important to be surrounded by happy, well-adjusted people, than live in a constant sea of negativity. Any thoughts from a newcomer on this?
Hello VintageSunlight,
Where are you meeting all these negative unhappy Syracuse people that you mention? At my employment I've worked closely with the other 200-300 co-workers and most everybody is fine with living in Syracuse/Central New York.
I hate to say it but I think its the people who have very few personal interests/activities in their lives, have a negative view about almost every subject, the attitude that "grass is greener" (NOT) in some other state, and basically lead a boring life, who are the people who you are meeting.
Nope! Newcomers are thankfully not coming into this area in droves (although some people are moving here and that's just fine). "In droves" would change Syracuse too much. I would hate to think Syracuse would become a "mini" Los Angeles or NY City with the "attitudes" and rudeness and plastic fake personalities/friendships. If we are currently "mid-western" then that's great to my thinking. I don't agree that its difficult to make friends here; although friendship is not automatic here. People have to "see where you're coming from", see if there's any compatibility with another person first before friendship is extended. I think if a newcomer is a Paris Hilton or "Situation"(Jersey Shore) or Pat Robertson, then some people won't have any interest in a friendship. But if a newcomer is grounded, is educated/intelligent, isn't a 24 hour party person, doesn't have backward outdated archaic ideas, isn't obnoxious/uncivil/wisemouth, then maybe a friendship could develop. People are friendly enough, mostly courteous here. You call it wary, maybe they are seeing if there's enough in common for friendship. I figure that people have a lot of acquaintances but few "real" friends; some people call all acquaintances & "real" friends just plain friends; there is a big difference.
People complain about property taxes and other taxes here. In other states the governments just call them fees and charges=same thing as taxes. Some people just don't want to pay for anything; everything for free. I don't like to pay for school taxes (no kids attending school) but I have to and I don't complain about it endlessly. Some people don't want to pay the tolls on the NYS Thruway; I say, "then don't use it".
Negative people in this area. Yup. We've got some! They simply don't have enough interests/fun activities in their lives; get a life! They like to hear themselves talk/don't have anything intelligent to talk about. Some don't want big changes to happen in Syracuse (even I would be leery of "huge" changes); although I do wish that Syracuse already had a population of 1,500,000 people=that would make for a city better suited for me. I remember some people complained and didn't want to see those huge old oil storage tanks "Oil City" moved out of the Hiawatha Blvd./Bear Street area near Carousel Center/Destiny Mall. What an absurd stance to take and complain about.
Unlike some people you say you've met, I wouldn't ask you why you "would" want to move to Syracuse. My question would be why would you "not" want to move to Syracuse? Reasonable cost of living, great reasonable priced homes, good place to raise a family, all sorts of other qualities. If anyone wants hundreds of automatic friends at first sight and glitzy, showy, 24 hour enterainment and endless nightlife take my word for it, Syracuse is "not" the place for you=but then neither is any other NY State city/town north of New York City.
Syracuse is not perfect that's for sure but its a good solid place as far as I'm concerned. Even for me Syracuse is too small. I would prefer to live in the Suburbs of Boston or Toronto or Chicago or San Francisco or Vancouver but that's not going to happen so I am happy with Syracuse. ..... And probably would be happy in Rochester or Buffalo .... not Cap.Dist.
Now to speak truthfully to you. From the little I've gathered from your writing, Syracuse "is not" the place for you. But neither is any other city/place in "Upstate" New York. Certainly not Albany Metro.. We are too "settled" or "mid-western" if that's what you want to call it, for you to like it here. I think you need an area that is more bustling/vibrant/socially active/robust and I don't know of any city in the Northeast U.S. with that description except the very biggest cities. So I really don't think you'd be happy here even though its a great place for families raising children and many other single and married people. I Like Metro Syracuse AND I Love Upstate New York!
I'm in Camillus. It's pretty. The rolling hills are amazing and all of the blue spruce trees. Wow. And, we had a deer in our front yard. I didn't see too many deer hopping through in Phoenix. Hehe. Albany would be okay, but the housing is too high for us. I have friends there. East Syracuse, not sure price wise either. I haven't even gotten over there yet. Ithaca I've never been to, even when I lived in NY yrs ago. We bought in Camillus, but you never know if another area would work better at some point ahead. I'd like to stay in NY if I can though. Thanks for your info.
Hello Upstate Nancy,
If you moved from Phoenix AZ to anywhere in the Northeast U.S., then I guess you wanted a more "settled" "relaxed" atmosphere. If you wanted some place more vibrant then I think you'd have to choose New York City or Boston or some other major big city. Fast paced & go-go-go & glitzy is not the cities in the Northeast U.S. It sounds more like South Beach or Miami or Orlando or LA or Las Vegas. I think that most of the cities in the New England States, New York State, & Pennsylvania are pretty much like or worse than Metro Syracuse. Actually Syracuse is better than so many other cities. I really do like Syracuse.
Have you mentally identified why you may not be happy living in Camillus or the Syracuse area. You've got to find the bottom line dissatisfaction cause.
If you are not exactly happy living in Camillus, then I don't think you'd be happy in any other Syracuse Suburb either including the Eastside suburbs; some people say that the people in the wealthier upscale suburbs are even more stand-offish than us regular middle class people who live in the other suburbs=that's not MY opinion! If it is simply that you would like to live in a more upscale suburb then you should consider finding a home in Pompey Pines, Manlius, Skaneatles or maybe Radisson. Even though I could be happy spending time visiting places like Ithaca, Saratoga Springs, Lake George, Lake Placid, Old Forge, Alexandria Bay-1000 Islands, I would not want to live there its too small. AND I don't think any other location in "Upstate" New York is going to be better for you either. Also, please don't compare Albany to Syracuse. If you are not happy in Syracuse then put Albany right out of your mind=end of my comment on that.
It's probably best if you give yourself more time right where you are in Camillus to see if your feelings about this area change. If not, then I guess you'll have to move/head for a faster-paced region or a more upscale area (whatever the base problem is) of the U.S. because you will not find it in the Northeastern States. Sorry to hear about your unhappy feelings. Best of luck to you.
Where are you meeting all these negative unhappy Syracuse people that you mention? At my employment I've worked closely with the other 200-300 co-workers and most everybody is fine with living in Syracuse/Central New York.
I hate to say it but I think its the people who have very few personal interests/activities in their lives, have a negative view about almost every subject, the attitude that "grass is greener" (NOT) in some other state, and basically lead a boring life, who are the people who you are meeting.
Nope! Newcomers are thankfully not coming into this area in droves (although some people are moving here and that's just fine). "In droves" would change Syracuse too much. I would hate to think Syracuse would become a "mini" Los Angeles or NY City with the "attitudes" and rudeness and plastic fake personalities/friendships. If we are currently "mid-western" then that's great to my thinking. I don't agree that its difficult to make friends here; although friendship is not automatic here. People have to "see where you're coming from", see if there's any compatibility with another person first before friendship is extended. I think if a newcomer is a Paris Hilton or "Situation"(Jersey Shore) or Pat Robertson, then some people won't have any interest in a friendship. But if a newcomer is grounded, is educated/intelligent, isn't a 24 hour party person, doesn't have backward outdated archaic ideas, isn't obnoxious/uncivil/wisemouth, then maybe a friendship could develop. People are friendly enough, mostly courteous here. You call it wary, maybe they are seeing if there's enough in common for friendship. I figure that people have a lot of acquaintances but few "real" friends; some people call all acquaintances & "real" friends just plain friends; there is a big difference.
People complain about property taxes and other taxes here. In other states the governments just call them fees and charges=same thing as taxes. Some people just don't want to pay for anything; everything for free. I don't like to pay for school taxes (no kids attending school) but I have to and I don't complain about it endlessly. Some people don't want to pay the tolls on the NYS Thruway; I say, "then don't use it".
Negative people in this area. Yup. We've got some! They simply don't have enough interests/fun activities in their lives; get a life! They like to hear themselves talk/don't have anything intelligent to talk about. Some don't want big changes to happen in Syracuse (even I would be leery of "huge" changes); although I do wish that Syracuse already had a population of 1,500,000 people=that would make for a city better suited for me. I remember some people complained and didn't want to see those huge old oil storage tanks "Oil City" moved out of the Hiawatha Blvd./Bear Street area near Carousel Center/Destiny Mall. What an absurd stance to take and complain about.
Unlike some people you say you've met, I wouldn't ask you why you "would" want to move to Syracuse. My question would be why would you "not" want to move to Syracuse? Reasonable cost of living, great reasonable priced homes, good place to raise a family, all sorts of other qualities. If anyone wants hundreds of automatic friends at first sight and glitzy, showy, 24 hour enterainment and endless nightlife take my word for it, Syracuse is "not" the place for you=but then neither is any other NY State city/town north of New York City.
Syracuse is not perfect that's for sure but its a good solid place as far as I'm concerned. Even for me Syracuse is too small. I would prefer to live in the Suburbs of Boston or Toronto or Chicago or San Francisco or Vancouver but that's not going to happen so I am happy with Syracuse. ..... And probably would be happy in Rochester or Buffalo .... not Cap.Dist.
Now to speak truthfully to you. From the little I've gathered from your writing, Syracuse "is not" the place for you. But neither is any other city/place in "Upstate" New York. Certainly not Albany Metro.. We are too "settled" or "mid-western" if that's what you want to call it, for you to like it here. I think you need an area that is more bustling/vibrant/socially active/robust and I don't know of any city in the Northeast U.S. with that description except the very biggest cities. So I really don't think you'd be happy here even though its a great place for families raising children and many other single and married people. I Like Metro Syracuse AND I Love Upstate New York!
grdnrman
Wow. Couldn't be further from the truth and a bit presumptuous . I appreciate your opinion and taking the time to write, but I think I either came across wrong or you misinterpreted what I wrote. I love Midwestern values, I'm very family oriented, and I am looking for a slower pace, as I currently live in a major northeastern city (Philly) and I'm itching to leave because of it. Also, probably the last conception people have of me is Jersey Shore or Paris Hilton groupie or some such nonsense. I drive a 4x4 truck, listen to country/indie music, surf, and most people think I'm kinda a hippie, because I typically shun big city life, nightclubs, and live a simple life.
To restate, I travel a lot for my job. Currently, one of my jobsites is in the Syracuse metro, and I also have another in the Albany metro. The people I speak to are just random people- the guy in the pizza place where I have lunch, neighbors to the jobsite that come over and inquire about what we are doing, people in bookstores, local bars, etc. Not to get too specific, but one of my jobsites is in Ballston Spa, which is a cool little town that locals rarely complain about. Again, I just don't get the same negativity even here than in Syracuse. For reasons that are simply geographical, I can't really live there although I think that area of upstate NY would be just fine for me and the pursuits that interest me.
I compared Syracuse to Raleigh, and although Raleigh has a much higher population, I would argue that it is a VERY family oriented area, much to the chagrin of most young people. Probably even more so than Syracuse, so I'm not sure what basis that has on what I wrote, or how I implied that I'm not looking for a down to earth family-type place. Once again, let me reiterate that I'm not insulting the city but asking questions. It seems that the regulars on these forums have a real hard time with that.
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