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I've been reading many posts regarding this area over the last couple of months, and they've been great and useful. Lots of information about weather, taxes, employment, etc. from these posts. It's been great to read the whole spectrum of input.
My husband & I have been looking to relocate ourselves, but though we've read a bit about CNY, there's this nervousness because we come from far away-- the Texas Gulf Coast. We're ok with cloudy, cold, four seasons. We're looking for more of a variety as far as that goes. Here we've pretty much only got two seasons. For us, this is very undesirable. We have a child as well, and we'd like to get out & enjoy the outdoors...it's too hot much of the year to do that.
There are many places in this country that could foot the bill. We've looked into moving up to cities in North Texas like Amarillo or Lubbock.
The clincher is that we're Jewish. We'd like to live somewhere that has a healthy Jewish community as well.
Our country is struggling economically in many places, so naturally we've got no illusions, but by estimation, New York is a fascinating state, albeit it's got its fair share (like any other place) of bureacracy and misspending. It's just a fact of life. More important question--can the people manage? Could we manage & get by with my husband being a secondary (8-12) English teacher and myself getting a part time job (retail, general office)?
We're not fond of huge cities, where the most vibrant Jewish communities tend to be, so the Syracuse MSA may be the perfect fit.
Looking forward to your input
Hello Texas Gremlin,
I think you would be happy living somewhere around Metro Syracuse. The Dewitt area has always had a large Jewish population; Fayetteville & Manlius (more upscale suburbs) also have Jewish families. I think you might like the Fayetteville suburban area real well.
Rochester and the Capital District Cities (Albany-Schenectady-Troy-Cohoes) also have active Jewish communities; Roch & CapDist both have about the same size general total population cities=NOT QUITE double the size of Metro Syracuse.
Syracuse has many nice, safe, suburbs. We have a great Expressway & highway system for travelling around the Metro area easily and quickly. We have a lot of festivals, events, shows, and attractions as well as the New York State Fair are held here. We have good Malls & lots of shopping. Great Farmers Markets. Many nearby lakes/parks for relaxing, walking, bicycling, swimming, boating, fishing, etc. .. And more.
Your husband is a secondary English teacher? Schools all across the country, including here in NY State, have cut-back quite a bit on teachers and other staff that they employ, so your husband should do some inquiries into teaching opportunities here in Metro Syracuse & Suburbs BEFORE you move here.
Metro Syracuse/Suburbs-Onondaga County School Districts www.newyorkschools.com/counties/onondaga.html
Regarding jobs for you and your husband. YOU will not have any problem finding a part-time job for yourself. As I said, your husband will have to start searching for teaching opportunities before your family moves here because of all the cut-backs that have occurred in schools across the country. If both you and your husband obtain jobs, you will not have any problem managing your budget especially if you watch your spending until you are acquainted with what your total monthly expenses will be.
Metro Syracuse is a small enough large city for you to NOT feel overwhelmed. As long as you get used to our Winters, you can be very happy living here.
Its the incorporated Villages that tend to have sidewalks in town. I live in a suburb that is NOT an incorporated village so we do not have sidewalks everywhere; my suburb only has sidewalks along some of the busiest business streets where stores/restaurants/other businesses are located. Therefore, at my house in the Winter I have NO sidewalks to keep clear of snow. I do hire a snow-plow guy to plow my driveway. This year he increased his price to $300 which covers plowing the snow all Winter long; he plows everytime we receive 3" inches of snowfall even if that is more than once per day. Cheap enough for me to not have to bother with clearing the snow.
I, and other city-data members, previously helped a young man from south Texas with information and assistance to relocate to Metro Syracuse. I had numerous private and public discussions with him about relocating here. He had a promised job here before he moved here. He found a nice small house to rent in the suburbs and he told me that he is SO happy living here, that everyone has been so nice to him, and that he can not get over how BEAUTIFUL it is here compared to where he lived in Texas.
I guess that's all I can tell you right now. Feel free to ask additional questions in the future. We all will be glad to try to help you.
I know my husband & I are going to be very happy we made this move...
Where we're from, Corpus Christi, it's not so bad over all, it's just the incessant heat which keeps us from going outside more often and the lack of a larger Jewish community.
Relocation's still just a few years off, but we're starting to think we ought to consider Rochester as well--not put all our eggs in one basket. But other than the obvious things like size and location, in what distinct ways do the Syracuse MSA and Rochester differ, if they do?
We really do appreciate how you all are taking the time to help us out. You're all good ambassadors for the place.
Rochester is more white collar, where as Syracuse is more blue collar. There is some crossover in that regard though and Syracuse is transitioning in becoming more white collar. I dare say that Syracuse is more down to earth, but even Rochester is tame in comparison to bigger metros. Besides the other already mentioned factors, there isn't too much difference. I'd also guess that Syracuse is slightly more affordable in terms of overall cost of living.
Pretty much any metro or bigger micro area is going to have at least one synagogue. Even smaller communities like Potsdam, Tupper Lake(seasonal), Lake Placid and Hornell have synagogues.
Yes - Syracuse is slightly more affordable - just by a small margin. Rochester metro area overall is far more affluent and has more going on in terms of cultural amenities. If you're into art films, museums, eclectic dining etc. then Rochester has a bit more to offer but Syracuse has made greats strides in those areas in the past ten years. Due to its larger size I think it safe to assume that Syracuse's offerings will always be more limited in number but the differences are not dramatic.
I know my husband & I are going to be very happy we made this move...
Where we're from, Corpus Christi, it's not so bad over all, it's just the incessant heat which keeps us from going outside more often and the lack of a larger Jewish community.
Relocation's still just a few years off, but we're starting to think we ought to consider Rochester as well--not put all our eggs in one basket. But other than the obvious things like size and location, in what distinct ways do the Syracuse MSA and Rochester differ, if they do?
We really do appreciate how you all are taking the time to help us out. You're all good ambassadors for the place.
Hello Texas Gremlin & Husband,
I always say that my 2 choices for living in Upstate NY cities would be either Syracuse or Rochester. I just happened to have gotten a job in Syracuse first. Rochester would have been fine too but not quite as convenient for ME.
Differences between the two cities. Other C-D Members have already covered most of those. Metro Rochester is not quite twice as large as Metro Syracuse. More white collar vs more blue collar. Syracuse I think is a little more easy going. Syracuse has a little more affordable home prices throughout our suburbs. Rochester suburbs seem to have a definite price range WITHIN each suburb. As an example: in Cicero (Syracuse) you can buy a home from around a low of $110,000 on up to $350,000+. In Rochester each suburb seems to have a closer-similar-price range: $225,000 to $275,000 OR $350,000 to $400,000; that sort of idea/range. Travelling around Metro Syracuse on our great expressways/highways is VERY easy and quick. Travelling around Metro Rochester on their expressways/highways takes more driving time because of the distances between far-apart suburbs (longer driving/farther apart) and at certain periods they have more traffic; but nothing extreme. More affluence in Rochester=bigger city & has had very successful Kodak and Xerox (both now in transition). For the most part, both Syracuse and Rochester have the same stores, restaurants, businesses although Rochester has some additional ones that have not yet come to Syracuse. A little more cultural & social opportunities in Rochester. It's about 80 miles between Syr & Roch and a 90 minutes drive=depending how fast you drive. Both Metros have similar Quality of Life aspects. Both Metros are Good Places to Raise Children/Families. Both Metros have good mid-point TO excellent School Systems depending on where you live in the Suburbs. Syracuse is fortunate to have MANY very-close-to-Metro lakes with parks. Both Metros are close to the beautiful Finger Lakes Region=clean water lakes/Vinyards/wineries/gently-rolling slightly-hilly farmlands/bed-n-breakfast accommodation places/scenic countryside. Syracuse is closer to travel to the Adirondack Mountains/Lakes and closer to the Thousand Islands summer vacation area located north in the St. Lawrence River. Rochester is closer to the big city of Toronto for visits. Syracuse is closer to French-Canadian Montreal and to Capital city Ottawa/Hull for visits. Not sure what else to tell you. Ask questions and we'll try to answer.
I also like Syracuse's location better. Both are close to the Figer Lakes and its scenery, but I think the topography and environment in Syracuse and its immediate surroundings is much prettier. Also, in terms of travel times, Syracuse is about an hour, hour and a half closer to the major metros on the East Coast because of its location in the middle of the state on 81 and 90.
Another thing I can think of is that Rochester views its Western suburbs to be more working to middle class, where as the Eastern suburbs are generally more middle to upper middle class. There might be a little crossover in that regard. In Syracuse, the Northern suburbs are similar to Rochester's Western suburbs with mire upper middle areas. For the Eastern suburbs are pretty much like the Eastern burbs in Rochester. I guess the Western suburbs are pretty much middle to upper middle, except for the village of Solvay(blue collar). South of Syracuse is pretty much rural, except for working class Nedrow. There's a Native American presence in Syracuse, especially south of the city due to the Onondaga Indian Nation. Besides Buffalo, Syracuse is the only other metro in the state with a substantial Native American presence, with most attending LaFayette Schools.
Thanks for listing the differences between the two cities, though they may be slight, they're what makes each one distinct. Please feel free to continue posting whatever insights you all have. We've probably asked all we can think of for now. Will continue to post later.
I wanted to send you some information in a private message but wasn't able to do that because I'm not on your list of "Contacts" so I'll save that info in my file in case you accept pvt msgs sometime in the future.
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Will continue to post later.
