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Another small city that comes to mind is Plattsburgh. Not only is it on Lake Champlain, but it is minutes from the Adirondack Mountains. It has about 21,000 people and in the same vein as Oswego and Cortland in regards to similar city populations and it also has a state college like those other two cities. There is also a community college. It also has had a growing manufacturing base and similar to the Seattle area, it has a ferry service that goes over to Vermont. It is also close to the Canadian border, with Montreal only about an hour away(think Vancouver from where you currently are/were). There are also public and private Pre K-12 school options within the city as well.
You guys are amazing! This has helped a great deal. You all offered so many options I am still looking through all the towns listed!
I have realized the heat 'requirement' might have not been explained properly. Even Seattle can have 90+ in the summer for 15- 20 days or so. It would be nearly impossible to find the perfect temps all year. But I did include it as sometimes people will say things like, " why don't you consider this one place in Texas or NM." Just wanted to be clear even though I do say "Currently on the list is WI Madison-Milwaukee, Western coast MI, ME and now NY. If you have other recommendations let us know!"
Also thanks for the link to bizbuysell. There are a few on there that we would love to purchase and even would fit in our budget. Great resource! I'm consistently finding these near Rochester. Therefore this might be pushing me towards that area.
Just curious laurabf, but would canal towns fit the criteria of being near water? I ask because Rochester has multiple Erie Canal villages/towns and they could work as well, while still being close to Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes.
I used to live in the finger lakes area of New York, and I gotta say, it gets a lot warmer than 80 degrees in the summer -- and muggy. That was years ago, but it probably hasn't gotten cooler. Just sayin'.
That's true but generally, 90+ temps aren't common. In the western part of the state, temps over 85 for several days in a row constitute "heat waves". Moreover, if you're on the eastern shores of either Erie or Ontario, you'll almost always have a breeze, usually very strong. You'll even get lake breezes off the Finger Lakes, although they won't be as strong as the winds off Erie or Ontario or even off Chautauqua because they are narrow and mostly north-south in orientation. Chautauqua is narrow, but its orientation is nw to se, so it gets more wind.
That's true but generally, 90+ temps aren't common. In the western part of the state, temps over 85 for several days in a row constitute "heat waves". Moreover, if you're on the eastern shores of either Erie or Ontario, you'll almost always have a breeze, usually very strong. You'll even get lake breezes off the Finger Lakes, although they won't be as strong as the winds off Erie or Ontario or even off Chautauqua because they are narrow and mostly north-south in orientation. Chautauqua is narrow, but its orientation is nw to se, so it gets more wind.
Yes. Summers I'd say are pretty sweet in all of upstate NYS... normally only gets sticky for a bit at the end of summer, but there are lots of little microclimates. Chautauqua Lake is unique like Linda pointed out, also in part due to its high elevation (for a lake) and close proximity to Lake Erie. Mayville is a pretty interesting location, it sits on Chautauqua Lake but it's also on the Chautauqua ridge along Lake Erie. If I was to re-locate somewhere in WNY, I'd probably pick there.
Yes. Summers I'd say are pretty sweet in all of upstate NYS... normally only gets sticky for a bit at the end of summer, but there are lots of little microclimates. Chautauqua Lake is unique like Linda pointed out, also in part due to its high elevation (for a lake) and close proximity to Lake Erie. Mayville is a pretty interesting location, it sits on Chautauqua Lake but it's also on the Chautauqua ridge along Lake Erie. If I was to re-locate somewhere in WNY, I'd probably pick there.
Good point about microclimates, as the Finger Lakes region has them as well. I guess another way to look at this may be to look for Wine regions within the state, as they generally thrive in such areas.
Summers I'd say are pretty sweet in all of upstate NYS... normally only gets sticky for a bit at the end of summer, but there are lots of little microclimates.
"That means Syracuse has had 23 days this year where the temperatures hit 90 degrees or more. The record is 28 days set in 1955."
That story appeared in 2012. It does get hot and sticky in the southern tier and in central New York and you must also factor in the miserable winters due to lake effect snows.
If the OP wants cool summers, Maine is the place to be.
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