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Perhaps, or perhaps they value different things. I have lived elsewhere. I can think of nowhere off the top of my head that in my profession lets me have a house as nice as mine with a school system as good and as proximal to the things I generally visit. A good number of NYers end up in the South. Its taxes are low, but if you want your kids in a good school system a low tax rate doesn't mean much if you had to drop vast amounts on the house. And even then you're probably looking at a God-awful daily commute.
And parks? Forget it. There are literally at least half a dozen parks with swing sets for kids within a 10 minute drive of me. The last city I was in in the South had hardly any at all. It was ridiculous looking back on it. In the entire city the largest grass area I can even think of was a football field. People didn't go outside, so those who wanted to go outside were left lacking.
Exactly!
Rochester, Syracuse & Buffalo may not be the most glamorous cities in the country but to many of us who have lived elsewhere & now are ready to settle down, find affordable housing where we also don't have to fight a 1 hr commute & enroll our children in safe quality schools they are just about perfect (especially true in the suburbs).
Not familiar with Greece, but yes they are real. Property taxes are, as mentioned, exhorbitant. 3-4% of your home's value each year is generally what you're looking at. Still, the savvy buyer looks at total cost of ownership and even with those high taxes the purchase prices are so low that this ends up being a very reasonable place to live. CNN (?) this week rated Rochester third in the nation on places it makes more sense to buy than rent.
I disagree that Utilities are high. Notwithstanding the almost criminally LOW rates in Fairport Electric, others are paying fairly standard rates. Water and sewer are fine, too.
Your home property likely will raise over time, but only slowly. This recession has done very little damage, overall, to Rochester area housing because it did not get drunk on excess during the bubble. The city's economy is neither terrible nor great but fairly constant, at least compared to other areas.
$150k gets you into some of the smaller homes in the really nice suburbs with great schools, low crime, etc. 250k will get you into those same suburbs with a newer home, four bedroom, 2200-2500 square feet. Even 200k if you go further out. If you can swing $200k with its $6000/year property taxes you have a great many options.
Once you hit the 300k+ you're looking at some really nice houses.
$220K assessed in Victor gets roughly $5K in property taxes. Same house over the line into Perinton would be $8K or more in taxes.
$220K assessed in Victor gets roughly $5K in property taxes. Same house over the line into Perinton would be $8K or more in taxes.
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Great point, as people don't realize that the taxes vary from town to town. So, homes at similar prices in different towns, could have very different tax situations.
As far as the areas around 104, the general rule of thumb, if you stay to the east of Culver rd your ok. Most of the neighborhoods over there are decent to great. The homes around the bay can be stupidly expensive, but you get a gorgeous backyard view.
The OP was asking about Greece. The homes in Greece are near (or on) 104 but they are NOT "east of Culver Road."
Greece is a GREAT town. The taxes ARE high. I live in Raleigh and pay the same amount in taxes as I did on my house in Greece 16 years ago (about $1,450/year). My house now is twice as large (literally) as the beautiful Craftsman bungalow that I owned in Greece. I'm sure the taxes on that little bungalow have gone up considerably, too. When I left, I had friends who were paying $5,000 to $7,000 a year in taxes on houses in newer Greece neighborhoods. I have no idea what they pay now. I shudder to think.
When looking for a house, look at the crime in the neighborhood. This site shows the past two months' of crime:
As far as the "glamour" of living in Rochester, this is what I miss about Rochester off the top of my head: its multiple festivals (especially Corn Hill), the lake, the pier, the beach, the toy museum, SeaBreeze amusement park (we have NOTHING like that in this area), the planetarium, the George Eastman House (and its events), the zoo (we have to drive a couple hours to get to a zoo, and it's so large, it's exhausting to do so much walking to see so few animals), its libraries (I asked one time to be connected to the "main library downtown," and Raleigh doesn't have a main library downtown; it doesn't have a "main" library anywhere, only small branches), the ponds in Greece (they're called lakes here), Braddocks Bay, good Italian restaurants with good Italian bread, all types of owner-operated restaurants (there are mostly dull chain restaurants here, and owner-operated ones are often sky-high in price), small towns along the Barge/Erie Canal; Canandaigua; close proximity to: Niagara-on-the-Lake and Niagara Falls in Canada, the Finger Lakes, wine country, downhill skiing 45 minutes away, the Medieval fair in Fair Haven (the best, can't hold a candle to anything here), and antique auctions, antique shops, wide open spaces (just driving along Lake Ontario Parkway feels exhilarating after being here), and last, but not least, the BEST grocery store chain in the WORLD: Wegmans!
So people who stick up their noses at living in Rochester -- and the surrounding areas -- don't know what they're talking about.
And as far as the parody -- it doesn't take a whole lot to make fun of a vintage promo film, and I can't think of any medium to large city that doesn't have bad areas. Even Raleigh.
Last edited by lovebrentwood; 08-31-2009 at 08:51 AM..
The OP was asking about Greece. The homes in Greece are near (or on) 104 but they are NOT "east of Culver Road."
Quote:
what are the good zip codes in the city itself?
Sounded to me like he was looking in the city also, which I know much better. I don't know Greece very much, so usually I do not respond to posts about Greece.
lovebrentwood, friends of ours pay around $2800+/yr. in taxes in the Dewey/Stone area of Greece (1/8th acre, under 1400 sq. ft., 1.5 car garage).
Full shot on my mother's house just west of Mt. Read would be close to $4K, but she's elderly and on the STAR program. Her house is 900 sq. ft. on 1/4 acre.
Holy moly. I lived in the Dewey/Stone area, no garage. Although I loved living in the Rochester area, I'm glad I moved.
I lived in the same house there for 7 years, and I sold it for what I bought it for and was told by real estate agents that I was fortunate not to lose anything. I think the homes go for about $10K more now, 16 years later.
In the same time period, my home in Raleigh appreciated about $70K total (from its original price), which for Raleigh, is still somewhat low compared to newer homes. (I've always preferred older homes.)
$4K in taxes on a 900 square foot home west of Mt. Read!? OMG! No wonder people are flocking here. (Although things are pretty bad now -- very high unemployment, high real estate, high living costs, etc.) The Rochester area has more things to do.
And no wonder you are in SC.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HowardRoarke
lovebrentwood, friends of ours pay around $2800+/yr. in taxes in the Dewey/Stone area of Greece (1/8th acre, under 1400 sq. ft., 1.5 car garage).
Full shot on my mother's house just west of Mt. Read would be close to $4K, but she's elderly and on the STAR program. Her house is 900 sq. ft. on 1/4 acre.
To dispel some of the negativity; I love the City of Rochester and would strongly encourage you to buy a house here. Your dollar will go far and the area has it all.
My favorite areas of the City of Rochester are on it's southeast side.
I currently reside in the 14620 ZIP code, known locally as the "South Wedge" and I really love it.
Last edited by TeflonPeZ; 09-10-2009 at 02:17 PM..
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Exactly!
Egads.
