Beautiful surroundings
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6/23/2008
I have lived all over this country and can say that Jamestown is a lovely old city. It has some problems common to small, rural cities in the northeast - lack of job opportunity and growth, some housing decay, etc. But thankfully, committed people are working on that. The downtown is generally quite pretty, and residential areas have a wide variety of architectural styles. Chautauqua County itself is beautiful, with 28-mile long Chautauqua Lake (as well as other smaller lakes) and also bordered in part by the great Lake Erie. There are grape vineyards, farmlands, rolling hills, a great many trees, everything is very green, and there is nearby Chautauqua Institution, a world reknowned center of art, religion, and philosophy.
There are trade-offs you find anywhere - in place of a booming economy with water and traffic problems, etc., you have easy commutes and clean air and plentiful water. Housing is amazingly cheap (average home price in the 70s), but home apprciation is not good. Again, trade-offs. There are numerous recreational areas around the lake. Bemus Point is a great spot on the water just 10 minutes up the road. Winters are a drawback unless you are a fan of a long, cold, snowy (and I mean SNOWY, as in 90-plus inches) season, but it's great for ski enthusiasts, and there are plenty of places to cross country and downhill ski. Summer water sports abound of course.
There is not the kind of activity you find in a big city, but if you like smaller city living in a definate four-season climate, it is a great place to live and raise a family.
tori | Jamestown, NY