Syracuse ranks 17th as one of America's funnest places! (Hancock: schedule, international)
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yeah, that's why I just gave syracuse a compliment
My mistake, I missed the one compliment for Syracuse out of your many negative Syracuse/pro Florida posts.
But back to the topic on hand, things I always found fun in Syracuse were skiing, swimming at all the lakes (I'm not a fan of salt water so lakes suit me just fine), boating, all the festivals downtown, the downtown ice rink, armory square, the symphony outdoor concerts, hiking trails. I can add more but I'll stop there for now.
Syracuse has Armory Square/Franklin Square/Hanover Square which are CNY equivalent to the east and/or west village, tribeca, or soho.
Downtown Orlando has Lake Eola, and a much bigger bar/restuarant scene than Armory. Sorry, but hanover and clinton square are dead half the time in comparison to Orlando. I've been out at night at both places, and Orlando wins, hands down.
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They have a ways to go like a downtown cinema and grocery store, but those Syracuse locations are on their way. Syracuse can boast a home grown destination like the Dinosour BBQ.
Orlando has plenty of home-grown destination restaurants. Darden Inc, which owns a lot of big chains had its start right outside of Orlando. The first Olive Garden opened in Orlando, and even today, there are plenty of mom and pop restaurants all over the city. There are literally tons of cuban and mexican places, in addition to ethiopian, indian and thai restaurants. Where is the nearest ethiopian restaurant in syracuse? Oh that's right --- there aren't ANY.
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If you want a Mall of America type shopping experience, there is (continuing drama) of CCM/Destiny USA. I know, I know, there are many opinions on this project, but I use it to make my point. Hopefully the Citi/Pyramid dispute can be resolved and construction can commence. I also hope that the inner-harbor can find a developer once the financial markets rebound.
Sorry, but you can't compare the shopping in CNY to anything in Vegas or Orlando. Where is the nearest Saks Fifth Ave? Neiman Marcus? Bloomingdale's?
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The point is, Syracuse has a composite of destinations found in other parts of the country. The problem with Cities like Vegas is that they are only known for gaming, Orlando for Disney, beyond that they really have nothing.
Vegas is much more 1 dimensional than Orlando is. Vegas just has the strip and downtown and it's geared towards adults. Orlando has the beaches 45 mins away, in addition to all type of FAMILY entertainment in addition to the disney theme parks (i.e. the wide world of sports complex, the Orlando Science Center, a huge IMAX complex in universal, Orlando philharmonic, Orlando theater etc.). Not to mention, Vegas is the middle of a DESERT! If you drive 20 mins outside of Orlando, you get to see some of the most beautiful natural springs in the whole country where you can go swimming in the summer and manatee-watching in the winter.
The nearest IMAX for mainstream movies is in Rochester, NY. The IMAX at the MOST in syracuse only shows nature specials in general, or movies that have been out for awhile (i.e. The Polar Express).
What about a flight out of hancock airport? Yep, you're connecting through either O'hare or JFK (unless you want to fly to Orlando direct ). Or you could just drive 2 hours to Buffalo and fly out on southwest.
Seriously, syracuse is a nice place for those of you who like a quieter pace of life with 4 seasons and natural beauty, but don't kid yourself into thinking that the shopping, culinary or "fun" experience is anything close to Orlando.
Last edited by chopchop0; 04-29-2010 at 07:09 PM..
Downtown Orlando has Lake Eola, and a much bigger bar/restuarant scene than Armory. Sorry, but hanover and clinton square are dead half the time in comparison to Orlando. I've been out at night at both places, and Orlando wins, hands down.
Orlando has plenty of home-grown destination restaurants. Darden Inc, which owns a lot of big chains had its start right outside of Orlando. The first Olive Garden opened in Orlando, and even today, there are plenty of mom and pop restaurants all over the city. There are literally tons of cuban and mexican places, in addition to ethiopian, indian and thai restaurants. Where is the nearest ethiopian restaurant in syracuse? Oh that's right --- there aren't ANY.
Sorry, but you can't compare the shopping in CNY to anything in Vegas or Orlando. Where is the nearest Saks Fifth Ave? Neiman Marcus? Bloomingdale's?
Vegas is much more 1 dimensional than Orlando is. Vegas just has the strip and downtown and it's geared towards adults. Orlando has the beaches 45 mins away, in addition to all type of FAMILY entertainment in addition to the disney theme parks (i.e. the wide world of sports complex, the Orlando Science Center, a huge IMAX complex in universal, Orlando philharmonic, Orlando theater etc.). Not to mention, Vegas is the middle of a DESERT! If you drive 20 mins outside of Orlando, you get to see some of the most beautiful natural springs in the whole country where you can go swimming in the summer and manatee-watching in the winter.
The nearest IMAX for mainstream movies is in Rochester, NY. The IMAX at the MOST in syracuse only shows nature specials in general, or movies that have been out for awhile (i.e. The Polar Express).
What about a flight out of hancock airport? Yep, you're connecting through either O'hare or JFK (unless you want to fly to Orlando direct ). Or you could just drive 2 hours to Buffalo and fly out on southwest.
Seriously, syracuse is a nice place for those of you who like a quieter pace of life with 4 seasons and natural beauty, but don't kid yourself into thinking that the shopping, culinary or "fun" experience is anything close to Orlando.
Syracuse does have Spanish Caribbean, Southwestern/Tex-Mex/Mexican, Vietnamese, Thai, Jamaican, Indian, Korean, Chinese and Middle Eastern restaurants, with European, African and Asian based food markets .
Clinton Square actually pretty busy all year due to the festivals and ice skating during the winter. There restaurants that will be opening in that area of Downtown as well. Hanover Square is busier on the weekends, but you places to go to during the week as well. It also doesn't hurt that the area has the biggest free Jazz festival in the Northeast, along with other musically based festivals in the area.
Syracuse now has flights that go directly to Toronto due to Air Canada having a hub there and there are some flights that connect to Pittsburgh too.
There are beaches in the area on many of the lakes in the area. You also have locations for skiing, a new water park at the Greek Peak location, the State Fair, Sylvan Beach, Turning Stone Casino and much more within a short drive.
As someone who enjoys traveling, I find orlando's airport to be much more accommodating. Again, syracuse is a nice, quiet rural city, but it really is a third-tier city when you consider cities around the country. I would place a city like Orlando into the second-tier, along with cities like Pittsburgh, Austin, or Cleveland. At the top are the obvious ones like NYC, Boston, DC Philadelphia, or Atlanta.
Last edited by chopchop0; 04-29-2010 at 09:39 PM..
Interesting study. If I were to rank the cities outside of NYC in terms of fun. I would probably would have ranked Buffalo as #1, just because of the amount of activities in the city, and the proximity to the falls. Syracuse has a number of good festivals though, I always thought it had a good downtown.
As someone who enjoys traveling, I find orlando's airport to be much more accommodating. Again, syracuse is a nice, quiet rural city, but it really is a third-tier city when you consider cities around the country. I would place a city like Orlando into the second-tier, along with cities like Pittsburgh, Austin, or Cleveland. At the top are the obvious ones like NYC, Boston, DC Philadelphia, or Atlanta.
Have you ever lived anywhere other than Orlando and Syracuse? Just wondering why you feel such a need to compare the two.
I'm not one to sit here and pretend that Syracuse is this bustling, cosmopolitan place. It isn't. But neither is it some backwater... head out to the Dakotas or go to Wyoming and tell me what you think about Laramie.
The topic was whether or not Syracuse is a fun place. I posit that it is, for various reasons not related to the number of Ethiopian restaurants. Making this Orlando vs. Syracuse just makes all the Syracuse people start spouting half-truths and it makes you turn into a defensive fool. Orlando, as you've noted, is fun. Syracuse, as the people who like the place have noted, is fun. I don't see the reason to drag it any further.
By the way, learn to ski. It makes the winter much more enjoyable.
Last edited by justflow1983; 04-30-2010 at 03:18 AM..
Reason: clarity
Seriously, syracuse is a nice place for those of you who like a quieter pace of life with 4 seasons and natural beauty, but don't kid yourself into thinking that the shopping, culinary or "fun" experience is anything close to Orlando.
Thats an absurdly narrow definition of fun. Things are fun if you enjoy doing them. Here in Dublin, I have "fun" enjoying the nightlife. But I miss the "fun" i used to have when I lived somewhere that I could go kayaking/camping/snowboarding/rock climbing. They're both "fun," and a place doesn't just have to fit a narrow definition of "fun" to be "fun."
Have you ever lived anywhere other than Orlando and Syracuse? Just wondering why you feel such a need to compare the two.
Did you miss the topic of this thread? Somebody obviously compared them It's a stupid comparison to be sure, though.
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I'm not one to sit here and pretend that Syracuse is this bustling, cosmopolitan place. It isn't. But neither is it some backwater... head out to the Dakotas or go to Wyoming and tell me what you think about Laramie.
Like I said, syracuse a is third-tier city. It's probably busier than Laramie, but that's about it.
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The topic was whether or not Syracuse is a fun place. I posit that it is, for various reasons not related to the number of Ethiopian restaurants. Making this Orlando vs. Syracuse just makes all the Syracuse people start spouting half-truths and it makes you turn into a defensive fool.
I'm not the one who doesn't hancock's airport schedule. I seem to know that better than the other poster
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Orlando, as you've noted, is fun. Syracuse, as the people who like the place have noted, is fun.
I said that before, but they are fun for different reasons.
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I don't see the reason to drag it any further.
fine
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By the way, learn to ski. It makes the winter much more enjoyable.
US Airways scrapped its Pittsburgh to Syracuse flight 2 yrs ago (and it sucked anyways -- it was a prop plane).
As someone who enjoys traveling, I find orlando's airport to be much more accommodating. Again, syracuse is a nice, quiet rural city, but it really is a third-tier city when you consider cities around the country. I would place a city like Orlando into the second-tier, along with cities like Pittsburgh, Austin, or Cleveland. At the top are the obvious ones like NYC, Boston, DC Philadelphia, or Atlanta.
Direct flights, US Airways from Syracuse: Philly, DC, Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, Boston, NY. Delta hits Detroit, Cincinnati, Atlanta... you can get to many eastern half of the US major cities direct from here. It may be on a fairly small plane, but you can do it.
Pittsburgh being scrapped largely had to do with that ceasing to be a major hub for US Airways...
We visited Disney in the end of June and we warned by friends to leave the park at 1:00PM, go to our hotel, and come back at 4:30. Why? Because they said the humidity would be so unbearable we wouldn't last the entire day.
And you know, they were absolutely right. The only problem was that our hotel pool was as warm as a bathtub.
At least when it's cold in Syracuse, you can wear layers of clothing. But there is no escaping (being cooped up inside in A/C does not count) Florida's disgusting weather from May to October.
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). Or you could just drive 2 hours to Buffalo and fly out on southwest.
