Thinking of leaving the South and heading to the Northeast. (New York: theater, colleges)
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Smoking bans extend to places other than bars. Some towns ban smoking in parks, beaches and public areas. The only time I see smokers is usually outside of a Wal-mart.
Omg!!! (<-----I never say "omg". This is how excited I am) This is going to be great!!! This has affected my life in so many ways. I have asthma that is triggered by even the smallest amount of cigarette smoke and it REALLY pisses me off when people choose to smoke in parks and national parks where people are trying to exercise and enjoy clean air. You can't smoke in restaurants here in TN, which has actually let me enjoy getting to eating out (unlike in TX where I could never eat in a public restaurant because of the smokers), but I still have to decline going to get a drink or a plate of food at bars here...and sometimes I even have to decline going to amusement parks and participating in other outdoor activities where people congregate because I can't be exposed to secondhand smoke.
I always look ahead to see where we can go on trips and what we will have to avoid because of smokers, because sometimes, my rescue inhaler isn't enough to get my breathing back to normal. I had to go to the hospital in Oklahoma after walking into a gas station to use the restroom and unknowingly hitting a wall of smoke from the patrons there who had smoked in the bathroom. It was horrible and my rescue inhaler just wasn't enough. They had to give me a steroid shot at the ER.
This is an issue I am constantly dealing with and trying to find ways around, so knowing that I will have more (if even just a little) freedom to breathe in NY and New England, will be great!!! I was looking for a smoke free bar I could go into in Boston, as that is something I would like to see there. It surprised me to find that I could probably go into any bar I wanted and try the food and drink.
Breathing easier already! Thank you NY, MA, and all of New England!!! Yayyyy!!!
The college where I work is going totally smoke-free as of 2014. All playgrounds and athletic fields in public parks in my city are now smoke free, too. I'm not sure if that's state law or just a local one. Most hospital and all public school grounds are totally smoke free. Most buildings open to the public no longer allow smoking around their main entrances. It gives new meaning to "breathe free" even to those who don't suffer from lung ailments.
TexKnox, I know that you mentioned sports. Are there any particular sports that you like to watch? You mentioned amusement parks and are there any in particular that you like? I'm just asking, because it could help pinpoint places that serve you interests.
TexKnox, I know that you mentioned sports. Are there any particular sports that you like to watch? You mentioned amusement parks and are there any in particular that you like? I'm just asking, because it could help pinpoint places that serve you interests.
My wife likes ALL sports, pretty much. I'm more of a music, art, and history person, but I enjoy watching baseball, hockey, and football in person (not so much on TV).
We like most any amusement park, as long as it is safe, fun, clean (as clean as an amusement park can come), and entertaining.
I am also very interested in historical sites. What are your coolest historical sites? I love ships, aircraft, and trains (as one commenter asked earlier), as well.
The college where I work is going totally smoke-free as of 2014. All playgrounds and athletic fields in public parks in my city are now smoke free, too. I'm not sure if that's state law or just a local one. Most hospital and all public school grounds are totally smoke free. Most buildings open to the public no longer allow smoking around their main entrances. It gives new meaning to "breathe free" even to those who don't suffer from lung ailments.
My wife likes ALL sports, pretty much. I'm more of a music, art, and history person, but I enjoy watching baseball, hockey, and football in person (not so much on TV).
We like most any amusement park, as long as it is safe, fun, clean (as clean as an amusement park can come), and entertaining.
I am also very interested in historical sites. What are your coolest historical sites? I love ships, aircraft, and trains (as one commenter asked earlier), as well.
You may like the Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, Fort Ontario in Oswego, Fort Stanwix in Rome, Fort Ticonderoga in Ticonderoga, the Sackets Harbor Battlefied Site in Sackets Harbor, Boldt Castle in Alexandria Bay, Glenn H. Curtiss museum in Hammondsport, Genesee Country Village in Mumford and the Susan B. Anthony Home in Rochester, among many others.
As for amusement parks, I think you would like Darien Lake, the Great Adventure, SeaBreeze and Sylvan Beach, among a few others.
As for sports, in terms of high level sports, Buffalo and Syracuse are your best bets, but pretty much every Upstate metro has minor league and/or Division 1 college sports. It is the same with the arts and music to some degree as well.
The Baseball HOF is in Cooperstown, NY along with the NYS Agricultural Museum which is like Genessee Country Village or Colonial Williamsburg with staff in period costume and doing "jobs" as they would have been done during the time period. Cooperstown also has the James Fenimore Cooper House and the Glimmerglass Opera. (Mohawk Valley/"Leatherstocking" Region)
The Thoroughbred Racing HOF, the Gideon Putnam Hotel, Canfield Casino in Saratoga Springs, NY. (Capital District)
Hyde Park and Valkill, the homes of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt in Hyde Park, NY. FDR's grave is here. Also, there are other mansions to visit in this area including the Vanderbilt Mansion. (Hudson Valley).
US Military Academy at West Point. (Hudson Valley)
Sonnenberg Gardens in Canandaigua, NY (Finger Lakes)
Ft Niagara in Youngstown, NY (Niagara Frontier)
Art/music/cultural venues:
Artpark in Lewiston, NY (Niagara Frontier)
Chautauqua Institute in Chautauqua, NY (Southern Tier)
Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY (Capital District)
Albany, Buffalo, and Syracuse all bring a variety big name acts to their big arenas.
Sports:
Football:
Buffalo Bills play in Orchard Park, NY; they hold their training camp in late July and August at St John Fisher College in Pittsford, NY outside of Rochester. Most of the practices at the training camps are open to the public.
The NY Jets hold their training camp at Cortland State College in Cortland, NY in late July and August.
Syracuse University has Div 1 college football and plays in the Carrier Center.
SUNY Buffalo also has made the jump to Div 1 college football although they play a much more modest list of opponents.
Hockey:
Buffalo Sabres play in the First Niagara Center in Buffalo.
Rochester has the Americans (aka Amerks), which is a farm team for the Sabres, in the American Hockey League.
I think Syracuse has a minor league pro hockey team as well.
Baseball:
Most of the upstate cities have minor league baseball teams at various levels. Buffalo has the AAA Bisons. Jamestown has the NY-Penn League Jammers. Minor league baseball games are a lot of fun for not big $$$. The movie Bull Durham and the Alabama song, "The Cheap Seats" ring true about baseball outside the big leagues.
Basketball:
There's a lot of Div I & II college basketball in Upstate NY. I think most four colleges field basketball teams, and there are a lot of colleges scattered through Upstate. Buffalo, Albany, and Syracuse have all been NCAA tournament sites over the years, and Syracuse is does so frequently as Syracuse U is a basketball powerhouse.
Also, something else that could help you pinpoint an area(s), is to use the Maps on the city-data website or the NY Times 2005-2009 ACS census map which can show the percentage of same sex households in a census tract. Some towns have a higher percentage than others. According to the NY Times map, it appears that the census tract that includes a portion of Glenmont and Selkirk, south of Albany, has the highest percentage for a non-urban census tract. Only census tract 59 in the city of Rochester and census tract 1702 in the city of Syracuse have a higher percentage of same sex households in Upstate NY according to that map information. I believe that map is based off of estimates and may have some other information effecting the numbers, but that is what it shows.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 08-02-2013 at 09:00 AM..
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