Raleigh to Owego (New York, Union, Binghamton: how much, vacation home, schools)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We are considering a move from the Raleigh/Durham NC area to Binghamton. We prefer older historic homes, and local restaurants and so on. Doing some research, Owego seem promising based on the home styles in the downtown area there. We like to go out for a nice dinner every once in a while, but we also are raising a family, and we do not need much nightlife etc. However, it would be nice to be able to walk to a few places for coffee or lunch etc. while kids are at school. Can anyone weigh in on Owego? Or perhaps compare and contrast living in Owego to say Binghamton. Thanks in advance for your help!
We are considering a move from the Raleigh/Durham NC area to Binghamton. We prefer older historic homes, and local restaurants and so on. Doing some research, Owego seem promising based on the home styles in the downtown area there. We like to go out for a nice dinner every once in a while, but we also are raising a family, and we do not need much nightlife etc. However, it would be nice to be able to walk to a few places for coffee or lunch etc. while kids are at school. Can anyone weigh in on Owego? Or perhaps compare and contrast living in Owego to say Binghamton. Thanks in advance for your help!
Owego is a nice small village of about 4,000(there is a town of Owego, which has about 20,000 people inc. the village), while Binghamton is a city of about 45,000 or so. Owego would provide what you are looking for and was voted as the Coolest Small Town in America in 2009 by one publication. It has had flooding issues in the recent past, as has the Southern Tier in general. So, that may be something to think about. Here is some more information on Owego and Tioga County: Owego Homepage Town of Owego Home Page
Other potential options in the Binghamton area may be Endicott(most of), Johnson City(much/some of), Port Dickinson and parts of the city of Binghamton(schools may be an issue, but there are private options within the city). There may be other areas that I'm not mentioning as well like parts of Endwell or Vestal that could work as well. As for schools, Vestal seems to have the best reputation, but Maine-Endwell is right there and Owego, Union-Endicott and most others are at least solid.
Owego sounds very good for what you say you are looking for. The village has the classic small town feel, restaurants, coffee shops etc. The schools are very good too. Vestal might work, but really dosen't have much of a village or town. Probably wouldn't be able to walk to much, but the schools are good. I wouldn't reccomend Binghamton, to many iffy compoments. A lot of the areas where there are restaurants or things like that aren't in great areas, and the schools are pretty bad. I'd say Owego is your best bet, lots of old victorian homes and a nice village downtown.
...........If you find a place just outside the village in the Town of Owego..you can always just take a short drive into Owego..park about anywhere...then walk to any destinations/or just walk around.........
...........If you find a place just outside the village in the Town of Owego..you can always just take a short drive into Owego..park about anywhere...then walk to any destinations/or just walk around.........
Good point in relation to property taxes, which tend to be lower outside of villages.
Thanks very much for the input. It is good to know there are multiple options as we may have to make a quick decision without having much time to visit the area extensively. Thanks again.
Thanks that is really helpful, great pictures, and thanks for sharing. It looks like a charming little town, really close to what we are looking for! The old restored homes are really beautiful, and I took a quick look on some home sites and may appear to be very affordable as well.Thanks again, and it looks like if the offer comes through Owego is where will target.
So just learned about the flooding from last year. Obviously the devastating floods from last year appeared to be an outlier, and it was sad to see the negative extent of the effect. However, how much should we worry about flooding, are there parts of the town or other towns that do not get flooded usually?
For example, on the outer banks in NC, there are places that typically fare worse during hurricanes (usually where the vacation homes were built). The older homes seemed to be built in places that consistently are less affected. Also outside of putting a house up on stilts, is there anything that can be done to mitigate flood damage?
The flooding in 2011 was(the extent of) a rare event. I'm not as regular as I used to be on here..but if you find a place and want some unbiased input...drop me a message on this forum.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Floods
