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OK, I admit it - the thread title was a bit of a bait.
I'm asking the question because I hope everyone will say "Nothing - It's perfect!"
We're set on moving from Phoenix AZ to the Syracuse area, and initially had our minds made up that Manlius is the place we want to be. We have 2 children, ages 3.5 and 20 months, so good schools are of paramount importance.
After further research, however, maybe it's not so cut & dry. We're looking at the Onondaga Hill area for a couple reasons:
1) The WestHill school district is highly regarded.
2) The property taxes are more reasonable.
My sister and her husband and kids lived there for about 3 years and when we visited them there we liked it, but of course being there for one day certainly didn't give us a feel for the place. At the time we were there we had no plans to move back to the 'Cuse, so we weren't looking at things that way.
So, tell us why we should or shouldn't pick Onondaga Hill. Does it feel "removed" enough from the city, as in does it have it's own distinct feel, neighborhoods, etc? Is there good shopping nearby without having to go down to Salina Street? I used to manage the Blockbuster on Salina Street and I know what that area was like 10 years ago, and unless it's changed, I'll say No Thank You to going down there for daily errands, especially at night.
We like to be in the nicer areas, but we don't want too much "keeping up with the Joneses." Is it better than Manlius for that?
Any information, good or bad, about Onondaga Hill would be appreciated. Comparisons to Manlius and the FM school district would be great, too.
My main negatives with Onondaga Hill are the following:
1. Terrible access to most employers in the Syracuse area. (no western highway loop) Only a couple main roads.
2. Very narrow side roads.
3. No nearby shopping. Even the suburb with the closest shopping (Camillus) doesn't have as many options as the northern or eastern suburbs.
4. Like you said. Onondaga Hill doesn't feel "removed" enough from the city for my liking. The city still has that "depressing" vibe IMO. The eastern and northern suburbs are more self-contained and therefore less influenced by the negative city vibe. Onondaga Hill just isn't large enough in population yet to make it feel like a full blown suburban community.
Everyone is different. This is just my perspective on Onondaga Hill.
As a person from Onondaga Hill and went to Westhill schools, it is a nice area. It's not like Manlius so much in terms of "keeping up with the Joneses". Eventhough it is next to the Valley and Elmwood neighborhoods, it's safe there. Actually, the Valley from Seneca Turnpike down to Nedrow is still nice. You would have to go shopping by either Westhill High, Camillus/Fairmount(which has expanded a great deal recently) or to Carousel. You could also take 481 to the Eastern suburbs for shopping there by go across the Valley on Seneca Turnpike. You can access I-81 going across the Valley too. Westhill is a good school district too. My family moved there in 1981 and my parents still live there now. So, I know the area very well. I don't know where someone said that the side streets are narrow. If anything about Onondaga Hill that i thought was negative was that it was pretty dark at night, and that there wasn't more shopping right in the community.
Another district I think is great and has pretty much everything is the Jamesville-DeWitt school district. It's still good academically, safe, very diverse, not too big or too small, has good sports programs and support, has the Erie Boulevard area, Shoppingtown Mall and is close to the shopping in the Fayetteville area too. It's close to employers and highway access. It's close to SU and LeMoyne is right there as well.
My main "issue" with Onondaga Hill is that you have to go through the west or south sides to get there. Either that or swing way around to Fairmount and go back and up to it... which makes Onondaga Hill a pain in the rear to get to. I don't want people afraid to drive down Brighton or South Geddes (especially those unfamiliar with the area) and seeing the crime ridden, boarded up, graffiti'd... and just plain ugliest and dirtiest... parts of the city. I also agree with Bella's take on it. *We* weren't willing to pay for a $150K+ home on Onondaga Hill with those kinds of negatives.
Manlius isn't a Keeping up with the Jones' kind of place, in my experience. I think people see all the new homes and the listings up to a million dollars and think it must be tough to keep up with the neighbors here... and well, Manlius and Fayetteville *do* have that reputation. The Jones *do* live here... but they don't live in the village itself... they live in the big developments that *I*, personally, dislike so much. It's just my own opinion but the new homes really have no character to them at all. Otherwise, "normal" people live in the village. We shovel our own driveways, cut our own grass, grow vegetable gardens and work on DIY projects (our neighbor introduced himself when he heard us talking about resurfacing the driveway and offered to teach us how to do it ourselves instead of paying a few thousand to a professional - and it looks great, btw. lol), draw with chalk in the driveway with the kids, have friends over for barbeques and an ice chest of beer, walk to the village center for ice cream and community events throughout the year... and the occasional kid wailing that they have to come inside already. LOL
It's an absolutely normal kind of place... normal being a safe community to raise children. I love the fact that I *can* walk to the grocery store at 10:30 at night - it's only a few blocks away, after all - and feel perfectly safe. I love that we're still on the busline if/when we need to use it - we're at the very end of the line but it's an option I like having... especially as a one-vehicle family. And I REALLY love that all of those Jones Families are in their expensive developments paying outrageous property taxes while we're close to everything (and just as safe) here in the village paying less than a quarter of theirs... and our children will be getting the same educations and benefits of living in the Town of Manlius. (LOL - sorry, the snark in me had to come out.)
If you do a search in 13104 and look for homes under $150K or $200K, I think you'll be VERY surprised.
Actually, you can get to onondaga Hill by take I-81 South to the DeWitt(I-481) exit and then getting off at the Brighton Ave. Exit(Exit #1), go up Rock Cut Road take a left and go down Seneca Turnpike across the Valley to Onondaga Hill. You avoid those rough areas and it's a scenic drive too.
Actually, you can get to onondaga Hill by take I-81 South to the DeWitt(I-481) exit and then getting off at the Brighton Ave. Exit(Exit #1), go up Rock Cut Road take a left and go down Seneca Turnpike across the Valley to Onondaga Hill. You avoid those rough areas and it's a scenic drive too.
You *can* but it's still not a nice drive through... nothing I would want to drive through after paying $150K+ on a house. And WOW- pretty steep hills to drive in the winter. LOL - I used to drive down Seneca Turnpike from Manlius to go to OCC and in the winter, I'd often have to loop around to the West St. or North Geddes exit and go south down Avery... that twisty drop down into the valley from Brighton Towers was nothing I wanted to mess with in icy/snowy conditions.
And again, it's coming right to that ugly issue. Even that nicer strip isn't well cared for (I believe the poster mentioned not wanting to drive down that road, specifically, where the Blockbuster is)... the last time I was down there was to take the back way to get to O'Neils orchard in LaFayette... and a lone police officer was splattered with blood and calling for backup in the street in front of the ice rink/sports field, dealing with one parent who had stabbed another in a fight... at a CHILDREN'S soccer practice during the afternoon. What.the.heck? NOT somewhere I want to even drive through on a regular basis.
You *can* but it's still not a nice drive through... nothing I would want to drive through after paying $150K+ on a house. And WOW- pretty steep hills to drive in the winter. LOL - I used to drive down Seneca Turnpike from Manlius to go to OCC and in the winter, I'd often have to loop around to the West St. or North Geddes exit and go south down Avery... that twisty drop down into the valley from Brighton Towers was nothing I wanted to mess with in icy/snowy conditions.
And again, it's coming right to that ugly issue. Even that nicer strip isn't well cared for (I believe the poster mentioned not wanting to drive down that road, specifically, where the Blockbuster is)... the last time I was down there was to take the back way to get to O'Neils orchard in LaFayette... and a lone police officer was splattered with blood and calling for backup in the street in front of the ice rink/sports field, dealing with one parent who had stabbed another in a fight... at a CHILDREN'S soccer practice during the afternoon. What.the.heck? NOT somewhere I want to even drive through on a regular basis.
I understand, but an incident like that is rare for that part of town. Yes, winter might be another story, but it is a nice drive when the weather is nice. You could cut through Tipp Hill by using Avery too. Just get off at Geddes take a right on to West Genesee and take a left on Avery to Velasko to Onondaga Hill.
I guess I don't get this attitude. You live in Syracuse. These places exist. Get used to it?
What I was saying was that if I *want* to drive through the dirtiest and most unsafe parts of Syracuse every day on the way home, $150K+ is too much to pay for that... priviledge? I could buy a huge old Victorian halfway up the hill to the Res for $40K. ie. The drive to Onondaga Hill, it's dis-location relative to where we choose to shop, and the fact that most of our family and friends live in the eastern suburbs... all of that means it's not right for *us*, at any price... but for the price of homes up on Onondaga Hill being the same as homes in Manlius, the value of living here is - in my opinion and experience - far greater.
I'm not quite sure why this is so much about me though... this is for the OP, who doesn't want to have to go down to even Seneca Turnpike in the Valley... going through the 'hood and the west side definitely isn't going to be better than that. LOL
What I was saying was that if I *want* to drive through the dirtiest and most unsafe parts of Syracuse every day on the way home, $150K+ is too much to pay for that... priviledge? I could buy a huge old Victorian halfway up the hill to the Res for $40K. ie. The drive to Onondaga Hill, it's dis-location relative to where we choose to shop, and the fact that most of our family and friends live in the eastern suburbs... all of that means it's not right for *us*, at any price... but for the price of homes up on Onondaga Hill being the same as homes in Manlius, the value of living here is - in my opinion and experience - far greater.
I'm not quite sure why this is so much about me though... this is for the OP, who doesn't want to have to go down to even Seneca Turnpike in the Valley... going through the 'hood and the west side definitely isn't going to be better than that. LOL
I didn't get this memo that Seneca Turnpike is now "the 'hood". That's hilarious. I'm sorry, but that area is not THAT bad. Also, there are alternative ways to get to Onondaga Hill without going through "the 'hood".
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Wow!
