would you live in upstate ny all year round?

If so, were would you go?

Re: would you live in upstate ny all year round?

I personally wouldn't, but my brother's GF is from Rochester and said she loved growing up there, and would move back.

Re: would you live in upstate ny all year round?

I would consider it. My brother moved up to Syracuse before he got married and he likes it up there. I am looking around Syracuse and Albany area.
If I did not have to deal with driving through the city, i would consider it more. I drove home alone a couple of years ago, not during rush hour and a 5 hour drive, took over 8 hours.
I am not a big fan of lakes, though too.

Message edited 5/22/2013 4:22:36 PM.

Re: would you live in upstate ny all year round?

i lived in albany for over 4 years. its a nice area. traffic is minimal, and you can get anywhere by driving within 20 minutes. it was an easy life. parking was everywhere - from restaurants to bars!!

in the winter, yeah, it sucks...but they are USED to it. the plows are out and about and its really not that awful.

the fall is a gorgeous time and it was only 30 minutes or so from lake george.

if you like upstate, i would say GO FOR IT! all of my and DH's family are from down here, and so are our jobs, so it made sense to move back. not sure if i would live there forever. when i was there, i was craving a good NYC not-having-to-drive happy hour!!!! but in general, it was a peaceful place to be.

Re: would you live in upstate ny all year round?

it wouldnt be my preference - but if DH wanted to i would

i lived in albany for 4 yrs too and i agree w/ everything femalej said.

ALSO i have to add i have friends that lived in Chittenango and Cazenovia. Towns right next to eachother outside of Syracuse. They are both really nice! Chittenango looks like LI, Caz is a little more country-looking and i think more expensive.

Message edited 5/22/2013 6:13:09 PM.

Re: would you live in upstate ny all year round?

would you live in upstate ny all year round?

How far upstate? Personally, I could not go further north than Putnam county and that is pushing it for me.

would you live in upstate ny all year round?

Lived in Syracuse for 5 years. Too cold for me

Re: would you live in upstate ny all year round?

I moved to the Hudson Valley in 2008... technically 1999 if you count going away to college.

Its a very very different place than NYC or LI. Slower, more polite, but also less to do, stores close earlier. I'm always wishing for more museums etc to take my kids to but we visit our family in NYC frequently...its only a 90 min or so drive.

Re: would you live in upstate ny all year round?

Born & raised in Columbia County. You'll get plenty of acreage there & it's not far from the city, etc.

Big thing is to research schools. Schools up there are not like here on LI. The town I'm from is a Class D school. Budgets always have trouble passing....and there has been talk of even closing down the school & busing students to other districts. Keep in mind some kids have LONG bus trips to begin with & this would make them much longer. Also - my school was K-12 (which also had many benefits.)

Re: would you live in upstate ny all year round?

it's beautiful and I love going there in the summer (lake placid) but I could never live there. I'm not a long winter person.

Re: would you live in upstate ny all year round?

I went to college right outside the Albany area in a beautiful suburb. I love it there, part of me knows that is nostaglia from college days, we have family there and love visiting. DH would never live there but if it werent for my parents and siblings I would. It really hasa comfy feeling to me and you can get a gorgeous house for what a coop/condo costs here!

Message edited 5/23/2013 8:07:32 AM.

Re: would you live in upstate ny all year round?

I wouldn't now...I just love being in the city too much. I couldn't be away from it for long periods of time.

But if in a bunch of years, DH and I decided to head upstate somewhere, I'd probably shoot for somewhere like Saugerties...it's just got the kind of vibe that jives with us. We've been there before and love it.

Re: would you live in upstate ny all year round?

would you live in upstate ny all year round?

Saugerties or Woodstock or Saratoga Springs would be my ideal "upstate" choice for living.

Re: would you live in upstate ny all year round?

I have lived in the Capital Region for the last 6 years. I live in a suburb of Albany - half a mile from the grocery stores and the gym, a mile from Target/Panera, 2 miles from a Walmart/Lowes - you get the idea.

We are about 20 minutes away from Saratoga Springs (where I work) - there you have the racetrack, SPAC (lots of concerts there over the summer), and a wide array of restaurants and bars. We are about 45-60 minutes away from Lake George. In the summer and winter, there is a lot to do in the Adirondack region (skiing, boating, etc). We are about 5 minutes from Proctors - they frequently have Broadway shows there and the prices are much more reasonable than Broadway. There are also a lot of nice places to eat nearby.

There are many awesome schools in the area. Taxes here vary A LOT depending upon the county you live in. You can pay anywhere from 3500 - 10,000+. Houses vary a lot as well. An older colonial will most likely cost you at least $250K, a new colonial will be at least $350K.

Traffic can be bad here if you need to take the Northway during peak times - similar to LI traffic.

My major complaint is that we are far from our families. I also hate that our weather is not moderated by the ocean. During the winter, it is usually at least 10 degrees colder than it is on LI. We also get more snow, which is annoying, but they are much more effective at plowing here. they are constantly plowing and they do an awesome job. On LI, I always felt like it took them at least 2 days to get their act together. During the summer, we seem to get slightly warmer weather - again our temps are not moderated by the ocean.

If you have any specific questions about the Capital Region, feel free to FM me.

Re: would you live in upstate ny all year round?

I'm from the Hudson Valley (Orange County) and all of my family still live up there.

Having lived in NYC and LI though, while I still love it up there to visit, I am not sure if I could go back to raise DS.

It's not super diverse and many people I am still friends with from my HS days are not liberal AT.ALL.

Plus, from what I can see with family/friends, it is extremely difficult to find a good job.

Especially if you do not have a Master's degree and a lot of experience.

I noticed that many people are self-employed or commute to Westchester and/or the city.

Others are STILL working at places I worked at in high school and college (think retail, waitressing).

The last place I worked at F/T has offices further Upstate (i.e. Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse) and my boss told me that he paid them 1/2 of my salary that I was making here on LI.

Re: would you live in upstate ny all year round?

Yes! I love it upstate! If only family would move with me!

Re: would you live in upstate ny all year round?

Never. Well...do you consider Rockland upstate? I could do Rockland...but upstate upstate gives me the heebie jeebies. Every single time I have gone it has been cold, cloudy and creepy.

Re: would you live in upstate ny all year round?

It's definitely a different way of life.

Especially people who have lived there for generations.

Re: would you live in upstate ny all year round?

No way. It's not even the slower way of life. I hate the snow and could not handle even more of it

Re: would you live in upstate ny all year round?

No never. I couldn't get used to the slow lifestyle up there. Plus I hate winter as it is; I couldn't deal with the long snowy winters. If I ever moved it would be someplace warm year round. Both of my siblings went to school upstate and hated it. They said there was never anything to do but drink!!!! Lol

Re: would you live in upstate ny all year round?

No, I couldn't live anywhere colder & with more snow than here (LI) and I like being close to the city, it's too quiet & spread out up there for me.
My in-laws live in Orange Country near West Point & we visit a lot... there are some cute towns along the Hudson.

would you live in upstate ny all year round?

I would if I could take my family and friends. Hubby is from upstate (30 minutes from Buffalo) I could probably deal with it.

Re: would you live in upstate ny all year round?

Message edited 5/29/2013 5:40:42 AM.