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No problem and I think people automatically hear NY and think that the whole state has a high cost of living, but that isn’t necessarily the case. A lot of the lower cost of living places are in Upstate NY and like I mentioned in another thread, cities such as Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Poughkeepsie have high black percentages than NYC. All have suburbs where you will find relatively more black residents than others, but steadily that is increasing as well. For instance, I would say for a black middle class family that wants good, relatively diverse schools with lower property taxes Upstate, a suburban SD that comes to mind is the Rush-Henrietta SD just south of Rochester. I believe the property taxes are lower there due to some industry and a strong retail base. Good location in terms of getting to Buffalo or Syracuse via I-90(NYS Thruway) as well. District information: https://data.nysed.gov/profile.php?instid=800000050593 https://www.rhnet.org/ (I believe it’s superintendent is black or of African American descent and it is also known for its pretty good sports programs like Girls Track and Field, Football and Basketball) Some sports references from there in the recent past: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mon...emplate=ampart
There are others mentioned earlier in the thread in different metros as well.
What could also have an appeal is that certain areas allow for access to major metros in the Northeast and Canada(Toronto and Montreal). This probably belongs in the professionals thread, but say you get a job at the new M&T Bank Tech Hub location in Buffalo(this is an actual thing with current openings, btw: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wgr...d-5b62cfbe086a ), you could do your thing locally, but once the border opens up, trips to Toronto are only an hour and a half away. Meaning, if you are in Buffalo, a trip to this annual festival in Toronto could be a yearly thing: https://www.caribanatoronto.com/
For families, there are plenty of amusement parks(Darien Lake in between Buffalo and Rochester, Seabreeze in Rochester, Great Escape outside of Glens Falls, etc.), museums(Strong Museum if Play in Rochester, Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, etc.) and parks throughout the state.
So, again, people strictly think NYC when they think of cultural activities or other aspects, but the other areas in the state also have some things to offer as well.
If you are into the outdoors, there is plenty to go around as well.
So, I wouldn’t necessarily count it out, especially given that the state is the blackest state outside of the South I believe in terms of percentage(inc. on par with or higher than some Southern states) and is a top 3-4 state in black population(was 1st from around the late 1960’s until about 2015).
It will just come down to opportunities and what you are open to.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 06-02-2021 at 08:57 PM..
No problem and I think people automatically hear NY and think that the whole state has a high cost of living, but that isn’t necessarily the case. A lot of the lower cost of living places are in Upstate NY and like I mentioned in another thread, cities such as Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Poughkeepsie have high black percentages than NYC. All have suburbs where you will find relatively more black residents than others, but steadily that is increasing as well. For instance, I would say for a black middle class family that wants good, relatively diverse schools with lower property taxes Upstate, a suburban SD that comes to mind is the Rush-Henrietta SD just south of Rochester. I believe the property taxes are lower there due to some industry and a strong retail base. Good location in terms of getting to Buffalo or Syracuse via I-90(NYS Thruway) as well. District information: https://data.nysed.gov/profile.php?instid=800000050593 https://www.rhnet.org/ (I believe it’s superintendent is black or of African American descent and it is also known for its pretty good sports programs like Girls Track and Field, Football and Basketball) Some sports references from there in the recent past: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mon...emplate=ampart
There are others mentioned earlier in the thread in different metros as well.
What could also have an appeal is that certain areas allow for access to major metros in the Northeast and Canada(Toronto and Montreal). This probably belongs in the professionals thread, but say you get a job at the new M&T Bank Tech Hub location in Buffalo(this is an actual thing with current openings, btw: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wgr...d-5b62cfbe086a ), you could do your thing locally, but once the border opens up, trips to Toronto are only an hour and a half away. Meaning, if you are in Buffalo, a trip to this annual festival in Toronto could be a yearly thing: https://www.caribanatoronto.com/
For families, there are plenty of amusement parks(Darien Lake in between Buffalo and Rochester, Seabreeze in Rochester, Great Escape outside of Glens Falls, etc.), museums(Strong Museum if Play in Rochester, Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, etc.) and parks throughout the state.
So, again, people strictly think NYC when they think of cultural activities or other aspects, but the other areas in the state also have some things to offer as well.
If you are into the outdoors, there is plenty to go around as well.
So, I wouldn’t necessarily count it out, especially given that the state is the blackest state outside of the South I believe in terms of percentage(inc. on par with or higher than some Southern states) and is a top 3-4 state in black population(was 1st from around the late 1960’s until about 2015).
It will just come down to opportunities and what you are open to.
Agreed. Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester and Albany are
A) affordable
B) have decent suburbs and schools
C) have decent jobs you can live comfortably on.
^I’d add the Albany area as well. Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown is one of the most integrated top 100 metros in the country and has a relatively high black median household income in part due to commuter rail access into NYC and the surrounding area. More suburban/small town SD’s like Pine Bush, Wappinger Falls, Highland Falls, Cornwall, Valley Central, Chester, Arlington, Washingtonville and Hyde Park are some with a decent black middle class presence. Beacon is a small, artsy city with a presence as well.
In PA, Harrisburg is similar and suburban SD’s like Susquehanna Township and Central Dauphin, as well as the city of Carlisle(current mayor is black) are a few places outside of the city that could appeal to such families. Other PA areas like Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton and East Stroudsburg(just under an hour and a half from NYC, also a relatively high black MHHI) are seeing people from the NYC area(inc. NNJ) and Philadelphia move into those areas, with some still working in those major areas.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 06-03-2021 at 06:28 AM..
^I’d add the Albany area as well. Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown is one of the most integrated top 100 metros in the country and has a relatively high black median household income in part due to commuter rail access into NYC and the surrounding area. More suburban/small town SD’s like Pine Bush, Wappinger Falls, Highland Falls, Cornwall, Valley Central, Chester, Arlington, Washingtonville and Hyde Park are some with a decent black middle class presence. Beacon is a small, artsy city with a presence as well.
In PA, Harrisburg is similar and suburban SD’s like Susquehanna Township and Central Dauphin, as well as the city of Carlisle(current mayor is black) are a few places outside of the city that could appeal to such families. Other PA areas like Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton and East Stroudsburg(just under an hour and a half from NYC, also a relatively high black MHHI) are seeing people from the NYC area(inc. NNJ) and Philadelphia move into those areas, with some still working in those major areas.
Going to a SUNY.. every black kid I met from Albany area loved it. Friend groups seemed pretty integrated from there. Buffalo not so much. Rochester meh, kinda. Syracuse was a mix. NYC not a chance. Pughkeepsie-Newburgh oh yeah.
Going to a SUNY.. every black kid I met from Albany area loved it. Friend groups seemed pretty integrated from there. Buffalo not so much. Rochester meh, kinda. Syracuse was a mix. NYC not a chance. Pughkeepsie-Newburgh oh yeah.
I can see this, in a general sense. Some of this can depend on where in these areas as well. Oswego wasn’t bad in this regard.
In terms of 4 year SUNY schools in Upstate NY, Buffalo State, Morrisville State and UAlbany have relatively high black student enrollments for non-HBCU’s. Buffalo State(current president is a black woman): https://nces.ed.gov/globallocator/co....asp?ID=196130
Ironically, I have a few siblings that attended and/or graduated from all three. All 3 also get a nice mix of NYC/Downstate and Upstate students. Other Upstate SUNY’s such as Oswego, Brockport, Plattsburgh, Potsdam and Canton have percentages in the 10-14% range. There are some Upstate private and community colleges with decent percentages(Medaille & Villa Maria in Buffalo; St. Rose in Albany are a few private examples; Monroe and Erie for a couple of community college examples).
Then, you have the CUNY system for NYC, which has some very diverse campuses and includes the predominantly black Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn. MEC information: https://www.mec.cuny.edu/
So, in terms of state colleges/universities in NY, you find quite a few with decent to predominant black percentages.
Pennsylvania, as far as I know, is the other Northeastern state with a range with this. Perhaps NJ and even MA(due to a state school in Boston having a predominant percentage) or CT(?) may have a similar range as well.
I can see this, in a general sense. Some of this can depend on where in these areas as well. Oswego wasn’t bad in this regard.
In terms of 4 year SUNY schools in Upstate NY, Buffalo State, Morrisville State and UAlbany have relatively high black student enrollments for non-HBCU’s. Buffalo State(current president is a black woman): https://nces.ed.gov/globallocator/co....asp?ID=196130
Ironically, I have a few siblings that attended and/or graduated from all three. All 3 also get a nice mix of NYC/Downstate and Upstate students. Other Upstate SUNY’s such as Oswego, Brockport, Plattsburgh, Potsdam and Canton have percentages in the 10-14% range. There are some Upstate private and community colleges with decent percentages(Medaille & Villa Maria in Buffalo; St. Rose in Albany are a few private examples; Monroe and Erie for a couple of community college examples).
Then, you have the CUNY system for NYC, which has some very diverse campuses and includes the predominantly black Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn. MEC information: https://www.mec.cuny.edu/
So, in terms of state colleges/universities in NY, you find quite a few with decent to predominant black percentages.
Pennsylvania, as far as I know, is the other Northeastern state with a range with this. Perhaps NJ and even MA(due to a state school in Boston having a predominant percentage) or CT(?) may have a similar range as well.
It's also, to the best of my knowledge:
one of only two states that abolished slavery prior to the Civil War that have at least one HBCU within its borders (Ohio, IIRC, is the other)
the only state above the Mason-Dixon Line that has not one, but two, HBCUs as part of its public higher-education system — and both of them are in metropolitan Philadelphia, specifically, Chester County
Both of them are also the oldest institutions of their kind.
In the top tier — the four "state-related" universities that get a significant portion of their budgets and governing boards from the state but have non-state-appointed trustees as well — are Penn State, Temple, the University of Pittsburgh and Lincoln University, the oldest degree-granting HBCU in the country, located outside Oxford. Founded in 1854, it's been part of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education (the formal name for the "state-related" tier) since 1972.
In the second tier — the 14 "state-owned" schools, most of them founded as teachers' colleges, that together comprise the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education — is Cheyney University, the institutional descendant of Philadelphia's Institute for Colored Youth. Founded in 1837, the ICY was the first school in the country established specifically to educate Black children; it prepared them for careers as teachers. Cheyney gets its name from the owner of the Chester County farm to which it moved from Philadelphia in 1902. It became part of the State System in 1983. Cheyney, however, has had financial troubles over the past decade or so that threatened its accreditation; it managed to raise enough funds to retain it in 2019 but remains on a sort of probation from the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges.
one of only two states that abolished slavery prior to the Civil War that have at least one HBCU within its borders (Ohio, IIRC, is the other)
the only state above the Mason-Dixon Line that has not one, but two, HBCUs as part of its public higher-education system — and both of them are in metropolitan Philadelphia, specifically, Chester County
Both of them are also the oldest institutions of their kind.
In the top tier — the four "state-related" universities that get a significant portion of their budgets and governing boards from the state but have non-state-appointed trustees as well — are Penn State, Temple, the University of Pittsburgh and Lincoln University, the oldest degree-granting HBCU in the country, located outside Oxford. Founded in 1854, it's been part of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education (the formal name for the "state-related" tier) since 1972.
In the second tier — the 14 "state-owned" schools, most of them founded as teachers' colleges, that together comprise the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education — is Cheyney University, the institutional descendant of Philadelphia's Institute for Colored Youth. Founded in 1837, the ICY was the first school in the country established specifically to educate Black children; it prepared them for careers as teachers. Cheyney gets its name from the owner of the Chester County farm to which it moved from Philadelphia in 1902. It became part of the State System in 1983. Cheyney, however, has had financial troubles over the past decade or so that threatened its accreditation; it managed to raise enough funds to retain it in 2019 but remains on a sort of probation from the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges.
Yes, those were the 2 institutions that came to mind right away when thinking of colleges/universities in PA in regards to the topic. As for the state schools that non HBCU's, it looks like East Stroudsburg: https://nces.ed.gov/globallocator/co....asp?ID=212115
are at least over 10% black in student enrollment. I thought that Millersville would be up there, but is just under 10%. East Stroudsburg I could see, because the area in general is getting people from NYC and NJ moving into the area and likely attending school there. Mansfield I knew about due to some Upstate NYers from nearby cities/areas go there for school. Not surprised by Temple, but actually thought the percentage was higher.
Not surprised by Temple, but actually thought the percentage was higher.
You're not alone, and I think that has a lot to do with the school's now-disgraced most famous alumnus, comedian-educator Bill Cosby.
He did a lot to put Temple on the national map through his comedic monologues in the 1960s, in particular his riffs off Temple's forlorn football program ("it was always first and 49 on our own 1"). And, of course, as Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show, he was also a proud Temple alum.
I got recruitment materials from Temple when I was in high school. Given the other schools that actively sent me recruitment materials, I thought Temple was an HBCU too.
And I think the reputation still precedes it: a group of Black students at Temple got a lot of flak two years ago for making and selling T-shirts with the legend "hbcu•ish" on them, referring to Temple.
The school's location in the middle of North Central Philadelphia, the part of the city with the highest percentage of Blacks and some of the lowest median household incomes, probably also helps reinforce this idea.
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