Orange County, CA to Corning area; how much of a culture shock? (New York: sales, house)
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We (wife, 4yr old and myself) are currently in Southern Orange County, California, which we like very much, but can be a bit busy at times. We used to live in NYC before moving to CA and still have family there.
Now might have a job opportunity in Corning area and am wondering just how much of a culture shock such move would entail. Never been to Corning area; looks great on pictures, but difficult to judge how different life would be.
We'll certainly do a look see trip if it becomes an option, but would already appreciate any feedback from anybody that is familiar with both areas.
Bear in mind it's something like a 5 hr drive to NY City. More like 1 hour to Rochester, which is the next larger shopping hub than the Big Flats/Horseheads area between Elmira and Corning.
Bear in mind it's something like a 5 hr drive to NY City. More like 1 hour to Rochester, which is the next larger shopping hub than the Big Flats/Horseheads area between Elmira and Corning.
Ithaca isn't too far either. Maybe an hour, if that.
I would say at this point Big Flats can match Ithaca box for box (except for EMS, but for that kind of thing drive the other way, avoid sales tax and go to http://www.wildasaphoutfitters.com/ ). Definitely not restaurant for restaurant though!
[quote=ki0eh;12054183]I would say at this point Big Flats can match Ithaca box for box (except for EMS, but for that kind of thing drive the other way, avoid sales tax and go to Wild Asaph Outfitters - Home ). Definitely not restaurant for restaurant though![/quote]
Very true on the last part. Same in terms of cultural options too. It does seem like Corning's Gaffer District isn't too bad for a city of 10,000 though. A trip to the Outlets in Waterloo might not be a bad thing to do as well.
My sister in Village of Painted Post, Corning City School District, pays about $10,000/yr in combined property tax on a maybe $220,000 house (that would be $450,000 and maybe $4,000/yr in combined property tax where I live now in PA, probably near seven figures in Orange County - 4 br 3 ba architect designed early 1970's contemporary on 1/2 acre up the hill) She considers the schools excellent, my niece is pretty well wrapped up in horsey stuff although that's certainly not a school activity. Employment at Corning, Inc. is somewhat cyclical but its owning family makes great effort at keeping the community attractive for headquarters and technical folks. Roads are much better than in comparable rural or exurban areas outside NY state, crossing into PA brings many fewer paved roads and narrower ones that are paved.
Outside the Corning school district socioeconomic circumstances drop down a couple of pegs (and taxes maybe only one peg, until you cross the border into PA). It doesn't take long driving back roads outside Corning to realize that Steuben and adjacent counties are counted in the federally defined Appalachian Region for good reason. Instead of coal, the resource du jour is natural gas - the Marcellus Shale boom (Google that to see widely disparate viewpoints) is only just starting and already it seems that every other farm has a Wal-Mart size well pad on it.
The next larger city to Corning is Elmira, they share an airport and mall/box store area. The west side of Elmira especially reflects the area's former wealth and downtown has a minor league hockey arena and performance space. The rest of it is bypassed, for good reason although more sad than dangerous in a SoCal sense. Elmira College is tiny and any moderatinf influence from it extends seemingly for a block or two.
Ithaca is historically smaller than Elmira but much more culturally significant in this century (Elmira resident Mark Twain being long in his grave) due to the presence of the largest Ivy League institution, Cornell University, which is also NY state's land-grant agricultural university. Ithaca College is fairly good-sized but insignificant by comparison. It's easy to find information online about Ithaca. It's much harder to find gainful employment there, perhaps an extreme case of overeducated underemployment in college towns since spinoff industry is insignificant even compared to Penn State, much less Stanford or MIT.
South of Corning by a little bit (some commute) are Mansfield and Wellsboro, PA, a little over ten miles apart. Mansfield has a state college and basic stores but is kind of run down. Wellsboro has many cute stores downtown even beyond the dust-collector gift shop category. I've often thought if you put then together you'd have a real town.
North of Corning is Watkins Glen and Montour Falls, spectacularly sited villages that should be known for more than racing. There are many pretty villages in the Finger Lakes Region, and in most of them you could buy a mansion for a song, especially applying SoCal standards. Wine cruising is a sport for the tourists, quickly learn the many parallel back roads to escape the NJ and CT tags driven by folks who have had more than a few. Another tip is to note which wines you like but don't buy them at the winery - head to GCP liquor store on the Horseheads strip and get them for less with a mixed case discount.
The biggest culture shock for you will be going from a big city to a very small city that is in some ways remote. Corning is a very small city and it is not located near any big metro area.
However, you will find that for a small town, Corning is more educated and affluent than most, due to the fact that it still retains the global HQ for Corning, Inc. Nearby Ithaca, home to Cornell University, is a quintessentially progressive college town.
As for Children's activities, certainly lots to do for recreation, and it is a family-friendly community. I'm sure you would find plenty of youth sports activities at school and through community organizations (little league, pee-wee hockey, etc). The downside for kids is that you won't have access to some of the large cultural institutions, museums, professional sports, and other amenities found in big metro areas.
Bottom line: if you think a more rural and laid back lifestyle is right for you and your family, Corning is a good choice.
Much to think about and it is very clear to me that we will have to spend a couple of days there to try and get a feeling of how life would be.
That said, rural and laid back sounds good, having four seasons sounds good, seeing snow sounds good; having a high of 23 today when it is 75 here, much less appealing
Thanks again to all!
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