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Sean has left the building, according to a post he made yesterday in the chat thread he started a while ago. It is a shame that he is so bitter, he did at times make what seemed to me valid and worthy contributions. Good luck to him, I hope he finds his spot.
It's desirable for this message board to be an inclusive place that welcomes a diversity of opinions, and it'd be better if people didn't decide to quit posting.
What's been repeated on here for a long time, though, is akin to a Camden resident regularly posting on a Philadelphia forum and saying that southeastern Pennsylvania is a horrid dump. It's deliberately misleading and counterproductive.
What's been repeated on here for a long time, though, is akin to a Camden resident regularly posting on a Philadelphia forum and saying that southeastern Pennsylvania is a horrid dump. It's deliberately misleading and counterproductive.
I think ex-northerners want ny to do poorly because it validates their decision to leave. I too have family which has moved south and they always mention the two or three positives which are going on down there (and not the dozen negatives) and harp on any perceived negative ny has. Of course, inevitably, they will bring up politics (which are a problem here) and, wait for it....weather. Politics I cant really argue with, but I strongly believe the weather here is overrated, and well, not that bad (in comparison to other northeast cities). Basically, it looks like while other regions have ups and downs, ny just keeps moving along at a good pace; no boom towns and no bust towns, which is a good thing.
Anyways, not to sound corny but I feel that an upstate renaissance is happening.
I grew up in the Syr area (Oneida) and lived, was educated inad worked in Syracuse. I have also lived in Florida for 6 years and Tennessee for the past 3. I'm currently getting ready to move back due to a possible job opportunity and parents illness.
I'm here to say that the grass is surely not greener in the south. The only thing that anyone in the south mentions when the north is brought up is weather and taxes. Even other northerners comment that they would never go back to the winters up north. My comment to them is that I won't let weather dictate where I spend my life. Tennessee has months where it is above 95 each day with stifling humidity. If you think that is easy to live in, by all means, give it a try.
As far as taxes..I agree that they are much lower here but my friends all have to put their kids in private schools because the public schools here are so bad. Additionally, the police departments are understaffed, gang crime is rampant, murder numbers are higher and if Sean from Oneida wants to see real meth labs, come on down to Tennessee.
Cost of living is lower here and there is no state income tax. This is a benefit but the wages here are ridiculous. VW just opened a plant here in Chattanooga, as did Amazon with a large warehouse, to much celebration and everyone considers it an economic boom. VW is paying $12.50/hr to work 12 hours assembly line shifts with a raise after 3 years of $2.50/hr and Amazon is starting at $10.50/hr. Hardly the economic boom.
I have my own opinion of the southern and bible belt mentality but I'll just stick to the facts.
If you really hate the winter, then you should surely move south. That is the one great benefit..no snow and whiteouts to drive in. However, if you think that everything else will be significantly better, I think you'll be very disappointed.
It always amazes me when I talk to or see an ex-northerner make comments about how bad it is up here. Time after time, I read on syracuse.com about how he or she left upstate new york and consistently say negative things. However, they seem to have some sort of interest in the area if they continue to check up on it, almost as if they're jealous because their area isn't doing as well as it used to. Some things I usually point out to these ex-northerners; what's being done around the university hill area and other future projects? How bad is traffic? They like to mention Syracuse losing population but don't realize Onondaga county grew. What is the cost of living here compared to there?; since they always like to mention our taxes. But the one that really gets me is crime in Syracuse. Syracuse had 13 murders last year and its record for most ever murders is 24; enough said! The only thing that does suck about living up here is the weather, and that's just a preference thing, some people like winter sports.
I'm an ex-Northerner who do just about anything to move back to normal people! So we're not all like that. Now you've met one!
I do keep tabs on things news wise back home. I'm from the Albany area and there's always tons happening. Most of our family is there so we want to make sure nothing major happens.
Traffic? Sorry but no where in NY outside of NYC has traffic! Atlanta.....omg that place has traffic. I refer to Atlanta as Hell. Glad I didn't move there cause I think I would have to go postal.
Yes, taxes are higher in some areas, but hey you get what you pay for! Education for starters. I went to a technical college - Georgia's answer to the community college - last semester and I couldn't stand the ignorance. The reading level for the entire college is 4th grade. 4th grade!!! That includes people like me who ARE educated and can read beyond a college level!
So ummm yeah, I'd take those high taxes over stupid people ANY day!
My cousin actually lives in Atlanta and I've gone down a couple times and visited and yeah you're 100 percent right; traffic is insane. Also, I have some cousins that live in Miami, Charlotte, DC, and New York and traffic is mind boggling. Makes me wonder why anyone would want to live in such a large city.
So let me guess--all you Syracusans with the rose colored glasses on are young and don't remember a City of 220,000 with a booming downtown, plenty of employment, decent neighborhoods, and streets you could walk down in safety instead of the rust belt, obsolete, gray, depressing, bankrupt, crime filled ghetto of a City of 140,000 that Syracuse has become today. Believe me, if you live in Syracuse, the grass IS greener on the other side of the fence. And now, Syracuse is finally admitting the fact that it has tried to hide for over 20 years--that is faces a fiscal crisis that it cannot solve. Its day is over. The only hope the City has is to merge with the County and the County does not want that millstone around its neck. Get out while you can. Over 80,000 have since the 1950's and there has to be a reason for that.
So let me guess--all you Syracusans with the rose colored glasses on are young and don't remember a City of 220,000 with a booming downtown, plenty of employment, decent neighborhoods, and streets you could walk down in safety instead of the rust belt, obsolete, gray, depressing, bankrupt, crime filled ghetto of a City of 140,000 that Syracuse has become today. Believe me, if you live in Syracuse, the grass IS greener on the other side of the fence. And now, Syracuse is finally admitting the fact that it has tried to hide for over 20 years--that is faces a fiscal crisis that it cannot solve. Its day is over. The only hope the City has is to merge with the County and the County does not want that millstone around its neck. Get out while you can. Over 80,000 have since the 1950's and there has to be a reason for that.
What you are not putting into perspective is the fact that suburbanization and the inability to annex additional land or adjacent communities plays a roll in this and many other Northeastern and Midwestern cities. Actually, the metro population for the current 3 counties is at its highest population ever. So, many people just moved to the suburbs or to other parts of the metro, in many cases.
As for other cities growing, many Southern and some Western and even Midwestern cities have annexed land or former suburbs recently, while Syracuse hasn't done o sine the late 1920's/early 1930's. For instance, Jacksonville and Duval County in Florida became one entity around 1969. Louisville and Jefferson County in KY did the same thing just before this past census. Columbus OH and Oklahoma City have city limits that go over multiple counties. I could go on, but these are some things that need to be kept in mind.
There are still fine neighborhoods within city limits and unfortunately crime and gangs has always been in the city of Syracuse, to some degree. Things could be better in many aspects, but all isn't bad either.
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Exactly!!!
