Reviews & Comments
Syracuse, NY
Honest, local, and fair review -
9/29/2021I was born 30 miles from Syracuse,, moved away to travel all over the USA, living in about 8 different cities, then came to live in Syracuse, NY. I have been here for 20 years now. I raised 4 children here, most of whom are adults (who still live here).
I think many reviewers of Syracuse on this page are either inexperienced with the rest of America and think the grass must be greener, have an axe to grind (e.g., the "Syracuse is anti-Business" comment), or lack a healthy perspective on all of the different, important facets of what makes a city good or bad to live in. I also think the Best Places site the site giving Syracuse Metro housing a "58" vs "100" for the rest of the USA makes no sense.
Here's what's good:
*Great Hospitals (Upstate, Crouse, St Joe's, etc) all over the place.
*Great Universities (Syracuse University, LeMoyne, Colgate, even Cornell if you're willing to drive an hour + OCC a large, well funded Community College) make education great. Add in the fact that students attending Syracuse schools get FREE college tuition at all the above-mentioned colleges rounds out the education picture.
*Economy INSIDE of Syracuse is pretty rough, BUT ... the suburbs such as Dewitt (basically a section of Syracuse), Fayetteville, Manlius, Camillus, Cicero, and etc are very prosperous with extremely high-paying jobs available. Steel, Telecom, Engineering, Aerospace, Defense, Amazon/Lockheed Martin, Medical & Insurance, IT, etc .. companies from all over the world have offices in the larger Metro area. All of these suburbs are less than 20 mins away from downtown Syracuse, so ... I think saying it's a "poor city" implies something that is inaccurate. There are lots of people here who work in services and for low wages - but at the same time companies are begging for skilled workers in IT, Engineering, Medicine, and etc ... so you figure that part out.
The first job I ever got in Syracuse paid me between 100k. I know dozens of others who live extremely well here.
*Crime - I live actually inside of Syracuse city limits. The "hood" is just 6 blocks from my house. I have never see a crime in my neighborhood, never so much as even a package taken from my porch. I walk around at night. It's quiet. It's clean. People mow their lawns and pick up their trash. In truth, all the crime and blight is located in a few condensed neighborhoods. Avoid living in those areas.
The statistics are misleading because the crime is not spread out evenly across the city. Crime maps are available, published by the Syracuse police department. Large swaths of the city are green.
*Parks, green spaces - Syracuse has the historic Erie canal (now basically a 100-mile forest walking path), huge parks for biking and boating, lakes you can swim in with beaches and ice cream stands. There is a bike path that runs the length of the city to the suburbs. There are green spaces in every neighborhood, well maintained, clean. The air is clean. Forest is everywhere.
*Infrastructure - Syracuse infrastructure needs an overhaul - and it is getting it. The gov't just funded a 2.2 BILLION dollar overhaul of the entire downtown area. It's called the Syracuse Community Grid - look it up and see the models. This project has already started construction and should be completed by 2024. The rest of the city is reasonable, except in the very poorest areas.
*The weather - well, Syracuse has lots of rain and lots of snow. If you don't like snow, don't move here - we are the snowiest major city in the country. On other hand, I happen to really like snow, even deep snow. It's charming and mystical. All you really need is good snow tires and some warm clothes to get around in - and a snowblower is important, too. Even then, they start plowing the streets at 4am so it's kept under control. I think it's fine. I do dislike all the rain, however - that being said ..
*Scientists believe Syracuse will be one of the best cities to live in during climate change. We will never have a shortage of water, no extreme weather (nor will we), lots of land, and the weather will just milder and milder as it warms. Look this up, it's interesting.
*HOUSING* this is one of the best things about Syracuse. Housing is cheap-cheap-cheap, even in good neighborhoods. I bought my house for 75,000. It has 3 floors, 4 bedrooms and 2 baths. It has almost a full acre of land. Yeah I have improved it, but I happen to know this is about 1/3 the price people pay elsewhere. Cheap houses are all over the place. If you want a million dollar house, you will find one (tho that would be 3 million somewhere else, likely).. but if you want to live in a decent home for less than 100k, Syracuse is about as good as it gets.
Also, if you want to buy some land and build your own ... there is tons of great, forested land for 1,000/acre. I am not kidding. And construction companies all over the place to help.
The great housing situation in Syracuse leads to another thing I like about life here:
*NO CROWDING - Syracuse has empty highways and rarely any significant traffic jams, even during rush hour. I never feel croweded when out shopping or eating (except for at Destiny USA mall, on weekends). I love the life without all the honking and sitting in endless traffic, as I experienced in other cities.
*Government services - sorry complainers, but Syracuse does a good job. Streets are clean. Police are everywhere. Fire departments are super-well funded. Clinics and help for the poor are available. College is free if you attend inside the city (although the city schools range between terrible and mediocre). If you don't, the SUNY university system (very well-regarded) is among the best, and costs just 8k/year (yes, I said $8,000) to attend full time (tuition only). Power and service outages are rare (for me, just once in 20 years). The DMV isn't even crowded, and people pick up the phone if I call dog control or trash pickup.
*The Entertainment scene - there are tons of nice places to eat, see, and enjoy. Lots of people from the suburbs drive into the city and waste tons of money on food and fun. There is an amazing mall here, 4th largest in the US, called Destiny USA - everything you have ever wanted to do is there - go carts, climbing, food and shopping, every great restaurant, even VR experiences and laser tag.
... what am I forgetting? What do I think is bad about the city? Well, some parts of the city are worn down looking. It's definitely post-industrial with empty warehouses and factories, but that's all the cities. The infrastructure is decaying (but again they are spending bilions on it this year and next). There could be MORE of the better-paying jobs, but then housing prices would go up and we'd be paying that to the landowners, so .. but still, I know some people would like for the going wages to be higher (especially for unskilled labor).
Syracuse was recently voted one of the top places to raise a family (look that up, too).
So, if you really want to live in a sleepy, cheap, clean, green city .. and you have the kind of skill-set that a company will pay you for (STEM, teaching, Medicine, the Trades (construction, electrician, mechanic, welder, etc), then Syracuse is for you. If you love the outdoors, Syracuse is for you. If you want to raise a family, Syracuse is great for you, too.
If you like hustle and bustle (many people do), if you are sensitive to weather and temperature, or if you lack a marketable skill-set - Syracuse is NOT for you.