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I was born and raised in Syracuse (University area) until my early 20's. I have since lived in Texas, DC, Maryland and now Tennessee (I am 30). My family all still lives in Syracuse.
I subscribe to the forum for my local area and decided the other day to pop on over to this forum to see what people were discussing. I have to admit to being a little put off by all the negativity. Having lived in so many places I can honestly say that every place has it's plus's and minus's and believe it or not Syracuse does not have more minus's than what any other place has! However, it does seem to have more people willing to only talk about it's minus's.
Someone on my local forum in TN had to ask the question "What don't you like about the (TN) area" because she felt that too many people said only the good things for the area and she wanted a more unbiased view. And believe me, there are negative things about TN!
So since I and other outsiders are only getting a very biased view of the negative of Syracuse my question is:
I get especially frustrated with the "local economy sucks" and the "there's nothing to DO" whining.
To the Whiners:
Have you SEEN the employment classifieds in the past... forever? I've never had a tough time looking for a job, degree or not. If you're in debt up to your eyeballs and need a job making $40K/year just to keep up with the minimum payments and one doesn't magically fall into your lap... Don't.blame.Syracuse. If you have to work 2 or 3 convenience store jobs to make that $40K because you didn't finish college and don't want to push yourself in sales or physical labor (<--- they pay VERY well and there are positions in plenty)... Don't blame Syracuse.
Don't tell everyone you know that Syracuse has wronged you when really, you need to muster up a little ambition, just the same as everyone else, and go out there and do what you need to do. Don't worry yourself sick about late bills and jump onto an online forum and bash Syracuse for doing all of this to you. It's sad - for you... not for those of us who take responsibility for our OWN happiness.
Have you actually gotten your butt out of the house and ventured past the local mall or bar for "things to do?" Oh you have? You went to drink on a boat during Harborfest? Wonderful - what a socialite, you are.
*We have 4 distinct seasons, and many activities to do during each.
The three months of fall are spent: finishing up our vegetable gardens, going to Highland Forest (or just your local park!) and crunching through leaves on the trails, apple picking in LaFayette and finding delicious ways of getting rid of the bushel you picked when 1/4 of that would have been enough (lol). I love going to the Finger Lakes wineries with my family and watching our children run around the vineyards and eating the complimentary popcorn and fresh grape juice that *I* remember having there as a kid. I love the breathtaking views of the foliage down the length of the lake - Keuka's and Seneca's, in particular. When I was single and with friends, I enjoyed the same views... I just drank more than I probably should have. It's also the start of soccer season, cold night games with friends, and snuggling under blankets in the stands to support your local high school or college. There's pumpkin picking and all that goes with it... memories to make of gutting the pumpkin on newspaper on the kitchen floor, washing the seeds/salting/baking them for snacks, carving the pumpkin and/or baking it for spiced muffins, pies, bread, puree for pumpkin risotto. Halloween and the jokes that it will snow and all the little princesses and witches and action figures will look Michelin-esque, with their winter coats UNDER the costumes. LOL. Thanksgiving and Wegman's glorious turkey sales - where else in the WORLD can you find turkey for 29cents/lb.? I load my freezer up and we eat turkey until Spring. LOL!
The real winter season starts the day after Thanksgiving and with that, the start of Christmas preparation. Buy tickets (which aren't all expensive and only $5-$10 for students) to the Nutcracker ballet in the Civic Center. There's shopping available in the malls and boutiques downtown and in the countless adorable villages of upstate. If that's not enough for you, head to the Mecca of Retail in New York City... just four hours away. Experience all of THAT... and then return home, grateful that you're near enough to visit without paying their high cost of living. Go out to your favorite place and cut down a Christmas tree, wrestle it into a tree stand... decorate it. Breathe in that fresh pine scent, telltale that the season is here. Head out, on Christmas Eve, and ice skate with your extended family or your close friends on the rink downtown, in front of the 70ft. high lit tree and the NiMo building, changing color ITSELF. Go home and put the kids to bed and start the Christmas magic for them or go to Sacred Heart Basilica, down the street, and sit in the darkness and warmth of a hushed, sleepy, crowded church... listening to an angelic choir singing all of your favorites before midnight Mass. You don't need to be Catholic to listen - music is universal. Go to Skaneatles to see a village of a Charles Dickens Christmas.
Go skiing, snowboarding, snowTUBING, ice skating, sledding, snowshoeing, cross country skiing... we have endless trails in the county and town parks and Toggenburg Mountain, Labrador Mountain, Song Mountain. If you feel intimidated by those, go to Four Seasons in Fayetteville. If you don't feel challenged enough, go to Gore near Cortland. Or, go to Lake Placid in the Adirondack Mountains... it's not too far for a day trip of skiing. For that matter, head to the Catskills or Poconos. Again, not too far for a day trip. Watch the Crunch play hockey in the War Memorial. Go to see Jim Boeheim and his team play in the Carrier Dome - try to find somewhere to park, freeze your butt off on the way there, buy your tickets from scalpers, get sucked into the Dome's doorways 10 at a time, watch Syracuse earn a 30 point lead in the first half, barely hold onto it for the first half of the second, then lose the lead in the last 5 minutes, fighting to win in double overtime... while Otto the Orange bounces around the perimeter. Drink beer on the back half of the football field and meet up with people you hardly know, running up to greet you. Wander down to Marshall St. for the best pizza on the Hill and drink with friends. Go to the opera. Go see the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. Go see plays at LeMoyne College, Syracuse University, or one of the smaller local colleges. The Rosamond Gifford Zoo (Burnet Park Zoo to those of us who've lived here our whole lives) is open 362 days a year. Go to one of the local museums - Salt Museum or St. Marie among the Iroquois in Liverpool, Onondaga Historical Society down by Columbus Circle, the Everson Museum (and for the Christmas Tree displays!) and the MOST (Museum of Science and Technology and IMAX and a planetarium!) and the Erie Canal Museum downtown, the Erie Canal Museum in Fayetteville... fill yourself up with the pride that some of us learned in elementary school, on countless field trips to these museums. Syracuse used to be the Iroquois Nation's capital. It's been here for a long time - LEARN about it.
Get OUT and experience things... don't demand that we entertain you.
Last edited by proulxfamily; 10-30-2008 at 05:52 AM..
Well, proulxfamily, you said it all and you said it well. People move away from the familiar and the novelty of a new place is itself exciting but it wears off soon enough.
The seasons--all 4 of them, and theres activities for each
The people--the straight shooting,real, and caring lot that makes up Syracuse
Cost of living
Food--best variety in the US
The green grass, trees, streams, and lakes
Well, the fact that we really don't have too many "bad" neighborhoods(some might be "gritty" but not "bad" and some of our urban neighborhoods rival any of our suburban neighborhoods). For a city of our size, we really have quite a few cultural options. Clean air and good water. Good schools to where even in our "bad" ones, you can still get a good education if you desire. Many sporting event options. Our proximity to many other areas like NYC, Toronto, DC, Montreal, Boston and Philly among others(all within 5 hours). Yes, the seasons, especially the Fall. Westcott Street and the vibe of the area.
Syracuse Symphony, Rosamond Gifford Zoo, the many festivals held in the city, the pace of life, WCNY, Wegmans, the great parks, libraries, nice people. I feel more at home here then I ever did back on Long Island. I have found in reading these various forums that the folks who have been living in an area for a long time are far more critical than newcomers. I suppose that's because they have seen the changes that unfortunately happen everywhere and are seldom for the better.
Syracuse Symphony, Rosamond Gifford Zoo, the many festivals held in the city, the pace of life, WCNY, Wegmans, the great parks, libraries, nice people. I feel more at home here then I ever did back on Long Island. I have found in reading these various forums that the folks who have been living in an area for a long time are far more critical than newcomers. I suppose that's because they have seen the changes that unfortunately happen everywhere and are seldom for the better.
About that last sentence, that's not necessarily true. If you go by what the media shows, then yeah, I can see where that comes from, but people need to learn how to live life out of their comfort zone sometimes. You might be surprised about what someone, something or someplace has to offer. Sometimes people do it to themselves as to why they see all change or most of the changes being bad, when even in the change, things generally stay the same.
8 Reasons Why Syracuse New York is a Great Place to live!
1) "Syracuse, 6th Lowest Foreclosure Rate of the Top 100 U.S Cities" - Realty Trac 2008
2)"Syracuse Ranked 5th Out of the Top 100 Largest Metropolitan areas to Own Real Estate in the Country" Fortune Magazine Investors Guide to 2007
3)"Syracuse, Top City to Raise a Child" - Parenting Magazine
4) "Syracuse Ranked 17th of America 50 Greenest Cities" - Popular Science 2007
5) "Syracuse, Top City for Quality of Life" - US News & World Report 2006
6) "Of the Top 100 Largest Metropolitan Areas in the Country, Syracuse is expected to be the 7th Best Place to build equity in the next four years, According to "Ownership, Rental Costs and Prospects of Building Home Equity" - Real Estate Notebook 2008
7) "Syracuse Named One of Four "Healthy or Improving" Housing Markets in the Nation" - National NAR Press Release 2008
8) "Unlike the Rest of the State, Central NY home prices have risen between 6 percent and 21 percent since 2005" - Syracuse Post Standard 2008
Last edited by cnyre; 10-31-2008 at 06:53 PM..
Reason: spelling error
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Oh you have? You went to drink on a boat during Harborfest? Wonderful - what a socialite, you are. 
Go out to your favorite place and cut down a Christmas tree, wrestle it into a tree stand... decorate it. Breathe in that fresh pine scent, telltale that the season is here. Head out, on Christmas Eve, and ice skate with your extended family or your close friends on the rink downtown, in front of the 70ft. high lit tree and the NiMo building, changing color ITSELF. Go home and put the kids to bed and start the Christmas magic for them or go to Sacred Heart Basilica, down the street, and sit in the darkness and warmth of a hushed, sleepy, crowded church... listening to an angelic choir singing all of your favorites before midnight Mass. You don't need to be Catholic to listen - music is universal. Go to Skaneatles to see a village of a Charles Dickens Christmas. 
8 Reasons Why Syracuse New York is a Great Place to live!
