Can anyone tell me about BINGHAMTON? (Rochester, Syracuse: sales, Home Depot, job outlook)

[just_sayin']

lol... it's a restaraunt tjhat serves lots of fried food. It's usually thought of as a southern place, but apparently they have them in NY!

[pioneer8]

Oh, I see how it is... (smile)

[boston]

Hello,
I am thinking of moving to Elmira Heights, I was up there this weekend and was wondering about the home taxes and schools, crime rate and is it friendly. I am moving from Massachusetts so snow I know about. lol.

[scotselkie]

I've lived in the Binghamton area for almost 40 years (wow, I sound old, but I moved here when I was 4!). I really love it here. I find there are so many things to do that I don't have time for them all. We have a local opera company and a "light opera" company. Lots of parades and TWO bagpipe bands! Lots of food festivals (Italian, Greek, German, Polish and the spiedie fest - you certainly don't go hungry). Lots of churches of all denominations. I don't think one really out ranks another, but there are a lot of Catholic churches in the area. We also have a really great local theater in a working Cider Mill. I have never seen a bad show there yet. And the university brings in some great groups from all over the world in addition to the theater and musical performances of the students and faculty.

I work at the university and find that the vast majority of the students are good kids who are here to learn and not cause trouble. They also put a lot of $$ back into the local economy.

I grew up in Vestal and now live in Endwell. For $220,000 you'll get yourself a really nice house!! The local school districts are all good. I have personal preferences, but I think as long as parents keep close contact with their kids and the schools any of them would be fine.

As far as weather, sure it rains and snows, but I'd rather that than have to worry about heat stroke and such. Also as someone else noted, we get a lot less snow than Rochester or Syracuse or Watertown.

Yes, there are drugs but it is very easy to stay away from them. And yes, we have higher taxes, but I feel we also have better public services in return.

I have one sibling in the Syracuse area and one in the Rochester area. Both of them seems happy to be where they are...but I prefer Binghamton. I think it's more of a relaxed feel.

Let me be the first to say, "welcome to the Triple Cities".

[pioneer8]

So much good information. Thank you again.

[flyscotsman]

I just happened to check back in here, you asked... "Do you HAVE to actually live in the mountains? If you live in valleys, do you flood? I'm just curious."

You really don't: The cities here are very much built right in the narrow valley flats that the river has carved out, with some of the more expensive residential neighborhoods drifting up onto the hilltops.

If you're wanting "off the beaten path", I would highly recommend examining the Tioga Terrace area of Apalachin, which is within a very, very short driving distance (although very, very long walking distance, I did it in a pinch once) of Endicott and Vestal. If you're looking for fewer neighbors than a typical residential neighborhood, that's available too.

Flood wise, one or two recent years, the Endicott/Apalachin area has flooded up fairly badly, mainly closing bridges and that sort of thing when the snow melts and the river rises. It's not dangerous flooding like I knew on the Mississippi, but it's apparently an inconvenience when it does happen.

As for the bagpipe bands, I was only aware of one, the Broome County Celtic Pipers. One of the things I've recently discovered is just how many festivals there are here: Two weeks ago, we had the Greek festival in Vestal and the Broome County Bicentennial Parade in downtown Binghamton, last week, the Italian festival in Endicott, today is the Irish festival on Tipperary Hill, and on fourth of July weekend will be the air show, with a big "Light Up The Night" display of pyrotechnics and air-launched fireworks. I'm definitely going out for that!

Regarding bills, I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but definitely check the previous bills on any property you're considering buying: Outside of west-central Endicott (Union District), everybody is on NYSEG, and their rates can be exorbitant if the house isn't very tightly insulated and such.

However, if you're going to spend $220,000 on a house, you will be *very* comfortable. To put it in perspective, I just saw a listing for a colonial home in Vestal on 14+ acres for $150k.

[Ex-Ithacan]

In case you're interested, I've just posted some pics of downtown Binghamton in the picture thread (here in the New York forum). Some great old buildings.

[bmclean1]

OK if you want the truth about Binghamton, I'll tell you. I've lived here my whole life. My family have reached the breaking point with NY and the Binghamton area. My best advice is to not come here. The industrial base has dried up terribly. Of the job listings locally there are only about 2 pages, and thats on a good day. Most are for temp agencies and don't pay much over min wage. There is a serious gang and crime problem developing. Binghamton is currently receiving Grant Money to take in NYC transplants through the Department of Social Services. Thus the crime and drug problems. The property taxes are ridiculous. I pay almost $5000.00/yr on a $100,000 property. This area has been going through a mass exodous of its people. The population has declined by approx 20-30,000 people in the last 15 years. And thats in a small City "area" of 200,000 people. We are now below 200,000 people "areawide" Binghamton has below 50,000 people.
We once had a rich history of industry and technological development. But all thats left are the polluted remains of those facilities.
There is a very serious pollution problem locally as well. Underground pollutants have severely dropped the real esate values in Endicott and Hillcrest areas. There are also investigations into Cancer related ilnesses from these pollutants.
You will get alot of people telling you all about the fireworks and parades. Do you know what the lead parade float was this year? It was the Department of Social Services float. Thats very disturbing.
So, we are leaving for the south where there are far better opportunities. Do yourself a favor and consider another place. You won't regret it.

[flyscotsman]

"The industrial base has dried up terribly. Of the job listings locally there are only about 2 pages, and thats on a good day. Most are for temp agencies and don't pay much over min wage."

Oh for sure. If you're coming here *looking* for work, don't do it, especially if you want industrial work. However, if you're with a company and have some job security that's bringing you here (as was the impression I got from them), you're fine on this point.

"There is a serious gang and crime problem developing. Binghamton is currently receiving Grant Money to take in NYC transplants through the Department of Social Services. Thus the crime and drug problems."

I think this is a major issue too, since it's causing the slum neighborhoods to be more active than they ought to be. In the same breath, "serious" crime is relative: There was a spurt of crime last fall, but most of this, while it'd be considered serious in a very small town, is still extremely amateur by national crime standards. It's a matter of quantity rather than quality: A relatively frequent number of tiny crimes in bad neighborhoods, rather than serious crime.

"This area has been going through a mass exodous of its people. The population has declined by approx 20-30,000 people in the last 15 years. And thats in a small City "area" of 200,000 people. We are now below 200,000 people "areawide" Binghamton has below 50,000 people."

This is true of all of New York state to some degree, even Manhattan is losing young people. The government just isn't very friendly to business the way the Southern and Western states are, and that drives workers to go out wherever the work is. The only county that gained young/family-age population in the last 15 years (there was a piece in the New York Times last week on this) was Tompkins county, just north of here, and that's only because of Cornell and Ithaca college crowds.

"There is a very serious pollution problem locally as well."

This one's again a matter of relativity: I was alarmed at first, but on inspection I've realized this is pretty typical of places all over the industrial northeast. As long as you don't actually move into the affected areas (and who would? they're half-abandoned) and check out where your house gets the water supply from, it's alright.

"You will get alot of people telling you all about the fireworks and parades. Do you know what the lead parade float was this year? It was the Department of Social Services float. Thats very disturbing."

Kind of hilarious, too. I hadn't heard of that, but I personally was stunned by the short-lived "Food stamps make Broome County strong!" ad campaign. I definitely agree that the local government agencies are far too friendly to, well, that element of society, I'd like to see some firmer police activity and reduction of "public benefits", and I can also see the case for choosing another region of the country: After I finish my degree, I'm probably going to Colorado, primarily because my professional life has a ceiling here and because Colorado is more aligned to my cultural tastes. I also know a lot of people who leave here go to North Carolina.

However, I definitely wouldn't agree that it's a bad place to live. It's in the eye of the beholder, I suppose, and definitely a factor of your needs. The property taxes aren't actually much higher than what my family had to deal with in rural Illinois (which, admittedly, is also absurdly overtaxed, part of the reason I left). As I said before, life here varies a lot from neighborhood to neighborhood, but there's happy niches to be found.

[Ex-Ithacan]

I'm not saying Binghamton is the best city in the state, but the crime rate is lower than the national average. It's certainly not a place to worry about as far as safety goes.