The good and bad.
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12/31/2006
I was raised in Oneonta, NY. The good is that it's a diverse and relatively open-minded town, there is some very unique shopping downtown, the people are very friendly (will carry on a conversation with a stranger), and it's not far from Cooperstown, Fly Creek (with the Cider Mill :D), and other really beautiful places. However, the bad is the economic structure. There is very little opportunity and prices are kind of high for everything, overall. However, if you have a good job, and have enough money to make a monthly trip or so to Binghamton, then it's a wonderful place to live. Much of the population is quite poor, however, you do not see very many homeless people (if any), as everyone has a tendency to get by due to some decent programs. The schools are quite good, and Riverside, the lesser of all of the schools, has really turned around and become a great school to go to. The people take a lot of pride in this town and are very much involved.
There is a local farmer's market downtown during part of the summer, and there are plenty of health food stores and grocery stores so that you can get away from just shopping at the local Wal-Mart. There are a lot of different kinds of restaurants and some of the best pizza in the country is right there at Gino and Joe's and Sal's (among other great pizzerias.) An other great aspect is the landscape, it's a beautiful area and since it's mostly a sugar maple region, the hills turn to stunning yellow, orange and red splotches in the autumn, and it's like you're living in a painting. :)
I really enjoyed growing up there, for the atmosphere; but, the economy can very much spoil your time there.
Also, I plan to move back to this area when I'm finished with college, to raise my own [future] children there. :)
Shannon | Tulsa, OK