Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My husband just found out that he will be completing his medical residency at SUNY Syracuse, so we need to move there in the next couple months. Since we know we will be in the area for at least 4-5 years, we are looking to buy a house and I would really appreciate some advice on what neighborhoods I should be looking at. His commute to the hospital should be no more than 15-20 minutes, and my biggest concern is safety since I will be home by myself frequently. We are looking for a family friendly neighborhood that is very close to shopping/restaurants. We are from NJ and currently very spoiled with how close we are to everything and I would like to not have that change too much if possible. I don't mind older houses as long as they are fairly well maintained, he prefers newer houses but ideally not "cookie-cutter" houses. Budget-wise, we would like to keep it closer to (or under) $150k.
Any advice you can give is greatly appreciated! We will be up in the area to look around soon, but it would be nice to have a good idea of where to start looking. One more thing- should we look into buying a vehicle with 4WD?
My husband just found out that he will be completing his medical residency at SUNY Syracuse, so we need to move there in the next couple months. Since we know we will be in the area for at least 4-5 years, we are looking to buy a house and I would really appreciate some advice on what neighborhoods I should be looking at. His commute to the hospital should be no more than 15-20 minutes, and my biggest concern is safety since I will be home by myself frequently. We are looking for a family friendly neighborhood that is very close to shopping/restaurants. We are from NJ and currently very spoiled with how close we are to everything and I would like to not have that change too much if possible. I don't mind older houses as long as they are fairly well maintained, he prefers newer houses but ideally not "cookie-cutter" houses. Budget-wise, we would like to keep it closer to (or under) $150k.
Any advice you can give is greatly appreciated! We will be up in the area to look around soon, but it would be nice to have a good idea of where to start looking. One more thing- should we look into buying a vehicle with 4WD?
Thank you in advance!
Elena
You won't need 4WD, just good snow tires when the weather turns... I like getting them at Dunn, down on Bridge St., because they rotate them for free and will replace flats within the life of the tire. (They'll even come and get you and your vehicle, if you happen to have blown a tire on a highway. Ask me how I know! :P )
For the above homes, it was what was left after I did a search for Dewitt (13214), Manlius, and Fayetteville and gleaned through the interior pictures and mentally threw out a bunch for taxes I think are too high.
eta: It's known as SUNY Upstate, here... and I only say that because people might not take you seriously if you say SUNY Syracuse. It doesn't exist. We wish it did but it doesn't... yet.
I think DeWitt and the Fayetteville-Manlius area would be more of what you are use to, but you can get to SUNY Upstate from most, if not all suburbs within 15-20 minutes. An area of DeWitt that may be a compromise is the area near Drumlins Golf Course and around Tecumseh/Randall/Jamesville/Nottingham Roads, as there are a mix of homes and some in that price range. Homes off of Thompson Road in DeWitt tend to be older and many are definitely within that price range, with shopping right there on Erie Boulevard East.
Westvale in the Westhill SD may work as well. Here are examples of homes within your price range and within or close to 15-20 minutes away from SUNY Upstate: RealtyUSA - Property - Property-List
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 03-16-2013 at 04:08 PM..
Check the taxes. The area is fine... but I'm not a fan of their taxes or traffic. (MANY events in the park, leading to main road shutdowns, plus it's basically the artery that connects the second highest-populated area of Clay to the city of Syracuse, when people know somewhere is busy and try to stay off the highways.)
My husband just found out that he will be completing his medical residency at SUNY Syracuse, so we need to move there in the next couple months. Since we know we will be in the area for at least 4-5 years, we are looking to buy a house and I would really appreciate some advice on what neighborhoods I should be looking at. His commute to the hospital should be no more than 15-20 minutes, and my biggest concern is safety since I will be home by myself frequently. We are looking for a family friendly neighborhood that is very close to shopping/restaurants. We are from NJ and currently very spoiled with how close we are to everything and I would like to not have that change too much if possible. I don't mind older houses as long as they are fairly well maintained, he prefers newer houses but ideally not "cookie-cutter" houses. Budget-wise, we would like to keep it closer to (or under) $150k.
Any advice you can give is greatly appreciated! We will be up in the area to look around soon, but it would be nice to have a good idea of where to start looking. One more thing- should we look into buying a vehicle with 4WD?
Thank you in advance!
Elena
Should you have 4wd??
It's not a must have and I've had it and not had it.
But in a multi car household one should prolly have it.
Roads were horrible this morning. 4wd made it effortless. 2wd would have been a pain.
In afew hours the roads will be plowed and a car will be fine. After this winter I can't imagine not having it. Last winter I wondered why people have it.
Better to have it and not need it the need it and not have it.
I will say this, I live in the eastern half of the town of Salina and the good thing about that is that the commute to Upstate Medical or Syracuse University can be done within 20 minutes using streets and roads. This can be done in terms of other towns/areas as well. So, you wouldn't even have to bother with using the highway into work. Parts of towns like Salina, DeWitt, Onondaga, Geddes and maybe even Camillus and Manlius would or could work. If you don't mind living in city limits, look into most of the East Side and perhaps Eastwood, among others.
Re 4WD vs. 2WD: I've had both in this area and if you have a newer car with front wheel drive, traction control and snow tires, 4WD really isn't needed at all. I have a 2008 Accord and it it's remarkably sure footed on snowy roads. I suppose if the roads had deep snow (>4 inches), the 4WD would be useful but snow removal is generally pretty good here.
That said, snow tires are not optional in my opinion. The difference between winter driving with all seasons vs. snow tires is night and day. Get the snows installed on cheap steel rims and switching back and forth will be a breeze. Many shops will consider it to be a tire rotation.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
