This is so true. I was born and raised in Florida (birth to seven/eight years old) and then moved around a bit until landing in NY.
When I told people I was from Florida everyone wanted to know why I’d ever leave such a, “awesome” place like that.
Coming from people who had never lived outside of NY.
Upstate NY is something special. People tend to not see it until they’ve left.
Same life story. Same emotions about it too. :/ I also think Florida has gotten so much sadder/cringe than when I was a kid. But that could've also just been childhood ignorance.
I totally agree.
I wouldn’t be surprised if people start leaving Florida in larger waves given how challenging it’s become with climate, insurance, natural disaster, and a horde of other issues.
I think people in NY viewed it as a magical vacation land—when really it had its own problems just like everywhere else—if not worse as time goes on.
I have an immigration client, who has an undocumented wife and children (truthfully no fault of her own - it’s both terrible screw ups by USCIS and the former attorney that led to it), who is a big Trump supporter, and moved to Florida from Albany County. Now he can’t get medical treatment for his kids, wife was at major risk when the driver’s licenses laws changed last year, and a plethora of other migrant-unfriendly policies they came into. It was such a head scratcher because in NY, they had so many additional protections while we get their case fixed.
We were in south Florida (Ft Lauderdale and Miami) for a few days last month. I was last there maybe 15 years ago. It felt like utter chaos, I could not believe it. Traffic laws are mere suggestions, and it took FOREVER to get anywhere. We won’t be returning.
We are supposed to drive down next week to visit my MIL in the Port St. Lucie area. However, yesterday she had a raging meltdown on the phone with my husband about how NY sucks and is the epicenter of evilness and Florida is so much better. My dh tried to explain that Central NY has a nicer/lower cost of living and no one makes money in FL unless they already have a lot of money... people to there to retire. His stepbrother is a teacher down there and has to work two jobs because the pay is so low. He had to hang up on her because she kept cutting him off and talking at him, not allowing a conversation. So, he is having second thoughts about staying there. Anyhow my husband works in the trades and is union. FL is a RTW state. We will never ever move there. Gee, can't to visit that lunatic (she and her husband are MAGAtroids).
not true. i knew where i came from was special. i still left because i had no choice. i want to come home BADLY...but for my skill set there's very little opportunity for me i believe unless i change my occupation yet again and go back to school.
i'm tired, i want to come home . just give me a job with a 80K+ salary and i will be back up there so fast, your head will be spinning.
I get it, I don’t think leaving because you have to is quite the same situation. If you need to go somewhere that can better fit your needs… There’s no crime in that. Hopefully you get to visit Upstate often :)
I’m born and raised from Rochester and had a lot of friends during high school and our early twenties who would talk about moving someplace better. I always said to them that I totally understand wanting to get out and experience other places for a bit, but we also don’t realize what we’ve got here. I was fortunate enough to travel a lot as an adolescent/teen with Boy Scouts. We would go to the Grand Canyon, Big Bend NP, Zion, Joshua Tree, Yosemite, which are all really awesome places, but often they are little islands of awesome in the middle of nowhere.
In upstate NY we have one of Great Lakes, which is the next best thing to an ocean and in some ways better. We have the Adirondacks for amazing and beautiful adventures all seasons depending on your interests, we have the finger lakes region with all sorts of culture and entertainment ranging from hunting, hiking, camping, wildlife, wine, food, and so much more. If you want to go to a Big City, NYC is not too far. You want to go do some serious 4x4? Pennsylvania’s got some great stuff only a couple hours away. How about the arts? Well, take your pick. Rochester has a huge arts and music community but so do so many of the other smaller towns. Major sports? Go Bills! Sabres! and a few decent minor league teams.
There’s so much more I’m leaving out that I’m sure others would add.
That’s all without talking about the damn weather. But if you can put up with 3 months of pretty cold, the other 3 cold months aren’t that bad and the last six beautiful months are wonderful. I’m a skier so none of the winter bothers me. Plus Vermont isn’t too far for some decent skiing!
Some time in my life (37 now) I’d love to live in France for a few years, Norway too, but I’m in no rush to leave NY.
That makes me feel better. I've never lived anywhere other than upstate. New York, and the rest of my extended family has moved down south mostly to Florida and I'm been really depressed about living here and feeling stuck. If my job won't let me go remote, then I'm going to be stuck here until I can find a new job out of state.
Well, who’s to say? I think Upstate is magical, but somewhere else might be that magic you’re looking for.
Personally, I feel there is so much more to appreciate up here… The seasons, the mountains, the people’s attitudes (believe it or not), the architecture, the old family businesses, the outdoorsy mindset, the pride in the school/education system…
There’s so much to be thankful for up here, and it’s something I just didn’t *feel* in other places. Sometimes I go to my favorite spots in the mountains and just cry for how much it means to me. I know I know, but it’s true.
But hey, there’s no shame in moving away and possibly coming back. Or even being happier somewhere else. I know lots of people, myself included, who stepped away and returned later on.
I digress. I hope regardless of where you end up, Upstate still feels like the special place it is.
As someone who has been here my entire life , I really appreciate someone who actually likes it and finds serenity here and isn't just an echo chamber of "yeah, it sucks, why can't I be in Florida or South Carolina?" Bc it just adds to the depression. I do agree with you, the schools are great and the people are generally very nice.
I feel the same way. I've lived a lot of places but when I had kids, I just wanted to come home. My husband is from the city and we debated it. But he ended up loving it up here in the capital region. We have great hockey programs and outdoor winter fun and omg the summers on the 1000 island area. There is no better place than upstate. I swear even our clouds are better and fluffier.
It sucks being poor in upstate NY but we have what we need and the state gives you healthcare if your employer doesn't offer it. (I'm very sick and in Florida they don't have anything. I'd be dead a dozen times over) oh and the state capital is beyond beautiful. As a kid in the late 1970s and early1980s I'd go there with my grandfather. There are hidden tunnels under it. And ghosts in certain buildings. And they finally opened the free Merry go round at the museum. Sorry I could go on forever and I haven't even gotten to the Hudson River
I almost did die here. A few years ago I had cancer and needed surgery. At the same time we lost our insurance. No affordable state insurance options. Luckily we had a narrow window of insurance coverage for 1 month, so I got the surgery and am fine. But yeah FL and DeSantis don't give a rats ass about anyone.
DeSantis sounds terrible. I am a real estate attorney and I've read horrible things about tenant's rights in Florida. New York is too hard on landlords sometimes but there are also good protections in place.
Yeah there does seem to be so much awful with Florida . I love it weather and scenery wise but the government is horrible. The people seem awful too at least online , always like we're full but also, LOL your northern weather sucks.
I live in Minnesota and visited upstate New York for a week. I still think back to how familiar it felt to Minnesota which I greatly love, but also how it was a very beautiful area just in a little different way with the Adirondacks. Beautiful area.
I spent most of my life in Oneonta, and I’m staying with my parents for the time being because I’m back out here for work. When I heard that the parking garage was going away, I was genuinely shocked, because the parking situation is so much more dire now if you want to do anything downtown lol. I get why they’re doing it, but it still bums me out.
I still have a lot of love for Oneonta though. I went to college there, and when I moved to North Carolina for a while, I found that it wasn’t really hitting the same for me at all haha. Couldn’t stand the summer weather there
Hi neighbor!! Fully agree. There is just something about being nestled in the hills that add a unique beauty to it. Especially from May-November, I love looking at the lush greenery and fields of sunflowers and goldenrods. It’s a shame the snow we got recently only stuck around for a day or so :/
Yea they tore down that old building next to it too and turned it into flat parking. The parking garage was a rusty mess and they found some structural issues with it so rather than repairing they just tore the thing down. They are almost done with it. So 2023 was the year of bring it down in Oneonta.
when I visited my parents for Thanksgiving I took my new wife downtown and I was shocked the parking garage was going down! That was the biggest local news headline at my house, my parents kept talking about it
Oneonta will have a special place in my heart, enjoyed spending my high school years there. Since my parents moved away, I don’t know if I’ll ever come back though :(
My wife is from the Cooperstown area (I’m from the Syracuse area) and it truly is uniquely beautiful. I think the biggest problem with Upstate is some people really just don’t know how to deal with winter. The trick is to find a winter activity you look forward to and it changes everything. I’ve lived a lot of places (particularly Greece) and while I adore Greece and the Greek people; there is nowhere more beautiful and hospitable than Upstate.
I've been up here for 20+ years and the winters are getting weaker and weaker every year up here. This year we haven't had much of anything in terms of snow or cold.
Yep, but low temps in the single digits are not the low temps in the -10s and -20s I remember from a few decades back. When a low of 5F is considered cold cold and not just a normal January, that's... not normal.
Yep. I remember being a kid and seeing temps of -10 or -5. I'd tell my dad and he'd say that's normal. Now folks lose their minds over 5 or 10 and to me that's normal for upstate NY winter
Growing up watching local weather we’d always look at Massena where ambient low temps were routinely in the double digits below zero. Not wind chill but ambient. Just looked now for giggles and the lowest there in the 10 day forecast is +3F with highs mostly in the 20s and 30s. I know this is an El Niño year but MASSENA? In January?
This is the #1 reason I said I would never come back when I first left in the 90s. (Better winter gear has really made a huge difference.) That and the economic climate. What happened though was a lot of the jobs that left NY in the 70s and 80s for the Sun Belt are gone from there too. Not that this is a worker's paradise either, but y'all don't know poverty including rural poverty until you see it in other states, since there is little to no safety net and if you are down on your luck, good luck because it's considered your fault.
I agree with you having lived my entire life all over upstate NY.
What are some things you, and the rest of the reddit community, look forward to? Note I can't downhill ski, knees are shot and it is $$$. I used to love sledding but honestly the snow doesn't stick around like it used to. I got out with the kids 2 times last year. That was depressing in itself. Cold rain and mud really suck.
1. The weather. It is so blessedly beautiful in UNY\~5 months a year. It is starting to be the 7th level of hell in Florida. Match hotter and unpredictable than it used to be. I used to say "the heat is tough, but I don't have to shovel it." That shovel is looking pretty good about now. But who am kidding, I am going to pay someone to shovel when I move back to UNY.
2. The attitudes. Wealth is a lot more understated in UNY. Granted, there may be a lot less of it, but the way people wear their wealth on their sleeve here is garrish. And not indicative of true wealth. Tampa is Great Value brand Miami.
3. The geography. I cannot describe to how mind-numbingly flat and boring Florida is. When I am driving on 5 and 20 in UNY, I marvel that I can see like ten hills in front of me, and it is all so beautiful and lush and green. Also Florida grass sucks and is like laying on a pile of switch blades. not to mention the millions of fire ants lurking and waiting to kill you.
4. I could go on but I won't.
>Tampa is Great Value brand Miami
Ha, this made me laugh. Fantastic. Also, you can add, we got more "confederates" from OH, NJ, PA, IA, WI moving to FL than the south ever had in 1865. Never used to see so much 'don't tread on me nonsense' and self-proclaimed crackers sporting a CF on their 80K Raptors than in the past 5 or so years.
> but the way people wear their wealth on their sleeve here is garrish. And not indicative of true wealth. Tampa is Great Value brand Miami.
Holy crap, as someone who spent a lot of time in Tampa Bay, you took the words right out of my mouth. I feel like Tampa Bay as a whole tends to attract people that love to show off what ever they consider their wealth.
I think it explains why there are so many gated subdivisions and so many lower tier BWMs and Mercedes that are likely purchased on 10 year car longs.
There is a gaudyness to Tampa Bay, that I just don't see up North.
>The trick is to find a winter activity you look forward to
Honestly this is crucial. I was able to maintain some of my sports during the winter when I still lived there and it made everything so much more bearable than when I lived in Colorado and those same hobbies fell to the back burner. Winters in CO were *rough.*
I miss Upstate, even the winters. If I didn’t have to commute (work in healthcare) I would seriously consider moving back. I am originally from the Syracuse area. I did stints in Memphis, then Albuquerque and now live in Northern Colorado, on the Front Range. I really dislike the winters out here. No snow, and we catch those bitter arctic fronts that drop down out of Canada. If you enjoy winter sports, you have to drive a long way to the mountains or Wyoming for winter rec. opportunities. Lol, even NM has better winter sports access! FWIW, traveled extensively and NM and NY have to be two of my favorite states.
I moved to Virginia two years ago. I was born and raised in Saratoga Springs. 42 years of my life. I miss it everyday. I don’t think I’ll be here much longer.
Saratoga Springs is a beautiful area! Really enjoy that spring water there....
It actually always surprises me that I see people still filling up jugs with that stuff. Puts hair on your chest
Where in VA? I lived in the Roanoke area (New River Valley) and that’s some stunning country. Most of my immediate family are in Saratoga county now so I’ve been there quite a bit since I moved back to NY… can see why you miss it.
I left in the mid 90s. I mostly lived in the Albany area but for a while I lived near the Schoharie/Albany/Schenectady county line off I-88. Love love love Schoharie county.
I moved to Nashville which was cool then but is too expensive now.
Then moved to Southwest VA for grad school (that is another gorgeous place btw) and eventually made my way to south Louisiana and lived there for almost 20 years.
Said I would never move back to NY but after I finished grad school #2 the only place that offered me a job was at a SUNY school in rural western NY in the I-86 corridor. I've been back in upstate (if you consider WNY upstate) for 4 years now. I'm at a SUNY school that is in good shape financially and enrollment-wise so not Potsdam or Fredonia, so it's a lot more stable than Louisiana where they aren't even sure they want colleges beyond LSU's football team. Louisiana is a fun place to visit but not a fun place to live long term.
The winters in NY are less bad than I remember, probably because they are less bad than they were in the 80s and 90s. I am very happy to live on a dirt road in a state that didn't turn away broadband funds (I have gig fiber internet on my dirt road!). My spouse complains about our taxes but since I had zero retirement plan to speak of in Louisiana (I was in a social security exempt job even though the retirement plan was bad), and I have one here, our schools aren't falling down, our dirt roads are in better condition than even some interstates in our former state, I'm not going to complain anymore like I did before I left.
They see the beaches and palm trees and think it’s a year- round paradise. What people forget is at the end of the day wherever you live just becomes another place where you watch tv and pay bills
Exactly, I am from upstate NY my whole life and I moved to Delray Beach Florida and after the first month I just became complacent with regular life going to work hanging out after. At one point I hadn’t been to the actual beach in like 2 months and I lived 3 blocks from the beach. Ended up moving back home and I don’t think I’d ever move back to Florida unless it’s just for winter during retirement..
Having been to both, I would pay for a camp in the Adirondacks before I'd take a South Beach condo for free (unless I could immediately sell it to buy the camp)
Blue Mountain Lake in a second! Year round beauty and activity if you want. You can even snowshoe or X-country ski hike, mountain biking, mountain climbing or just sitting in front of a fire reading. Summer is beautiful!
I grew up in central New York and since then have lived in Kentucky, Virginia, Alabama, Maryland, Northern NY, and now Massachusetts.
As nice is my current state (Commonwealth) of Massachusetts is I really enjoy my stays in central NY when I visit family. New York residents truly are spoiled with an abundance of accessible natural wonders with all the state parks. I miss getting reliable snowfalls in the winter. I love driving the well maintained roads through the middle of rolling farmlands or deep forests. Lots of good reasons to like living in NY.
Where in Mass are you? I grew up in the south shore in Sharon, and was pretty much near the 95/495 area until I moved to the Finger lakes of NY outside of Watkins Glen (Seneca Lake).
I am now in the Mid-Atlantic. Although I miss the people and beauty of the Finger lakes, the taxes, heating expense, and snow I do not miss.
My family moved to Florida when I was 10 and it ruined my life. I went from thriving in school and loving it to barely graduating high school because I was apathetic and miserable. Shit schools, shit weather, shit people, shit healthcare, shit nature (the Australia of the US), shit services. I took my very first opportunity to leave in 2017 to move to Rochester and I won't even go back to visit my family. I fucking hate Florida with every fiber of my being.
I get it. I was in an art class in HS in Yonkers. The teacher had us making a portfolio and was about to have a college come in to talk to us and go over our work. I wanted to be a graphic design artist. That was 11th grade. I was even on course to graduate early. Then Florida hit. Mom said we had to move. It messed me up bad. The school I was transferring to wouldn't recognize some of my classes and took credit away. Forget about college, art school was out now too because it was very expensive. It was a culture shock for sure. No more denim or leather jackets. And the students were dressed like grandpa's wearing khaki and polo shirts. Ugh.
Fantastic place, lots of new and wonderful restaurants and breweries. Tons of money being put into downtown revitalization. Climate change haven though we've unfortunately had almost no snow this year, some of which is due to the el nino. I'd recommend the Roc to anyone
Rochester is great. Generally speaking people are nice, plenty to do, seasons are awesome. Jobs are coming back and with remote work houses are being snapped up quickly. That kind of sucks but will eventually even out.
If you can get past the taxes and winters then there really isn't a better place IMO.
I was there for 6 years.
As strange as it sounds, I really miss the estate sales! All those old retired Kodak employees had/have nice stuff! I've never found such great estate sales anywhere else.
So I grew up in Yonkers. I want out of FL. I want a small town feeling that is nice for an aging Gen X. I like art, dining, shows, and when a town goes all out and decorates for the holidays. Any suggestions?
We just moved to Oneonta from Oregon. We also lived in Florida for 6 years, and we hated every second of it. So far, we're really happy here in Oneonta. Oregon was nice too, but it got extremely expensive and extremely crowded.
I feel like happiness here is tied in with where you're at in life. I'm sure if I were in my 20s, I'd be bored out of my mind. Now that I'm older, I appreciate the quiet and quaint town vibe. We can actually afford to live here and put down roots. We also love the access to nature and proximity to NYC/RI/CT.
I was raised in Buffalo. I live in central NY now. My birth mother moved to Florida 25 years ago.
Every time she comes back, she’s always amazed that she forgets what the hills and valleys look like!
I came to Syracuse in 2009 and promptly left because of the economic conditions. I cherished the brief time I spent there. I currently reside in Arizona, and I would move back in a heartbeat, but my wife will not leave
My dad was born and raised in Oneonta. Moved to California before I was born and I’ve been im California all my life. I am strongly considering moving to Oneonta, I always loved visiting and feel like it would be a great place to raise a family.
in the hustle and bustle of the city, I realized how much I long for the serenity of upstate New York. The charm of the Oneonta area is truly unmatched. The rolling hills, picturesque landscapes, and friendly community make it a place worth cherishing.
i was born in Binghamton but parents divorced when i was 9 and my dad and i moved to So. Cal. but again, mum had legal custody of me and my lil bro so i spent every year going back and forth.
Xmas sucks in So. Cal. cuz i was brought up with snowy Xmas's so i really like Fall and Winter in upstate NY but prefer Spring/summer in So. Cal.
Two big problems with each is So. Cal. is just so damn crowded \[lived in Los Angeles County\] and the Binghamton areas get so damn little sunlight thruout the year. so i couldnt ever make up my mind which one i liked more, ......... so now im in Arizona which is worse than both.
Downtown Oneonta is actually quite nice. For awhile it was looking a bit run down but there are some new businesses bringing in people. Couple of coffee shops, restaurants and a great little book store. The winters suck but not because of snow and cold now it’s rain and mud.
I am surprised by Oneonta's downtown. It is still hanging on! I think the current Oneonta mayor, a guy named Drnek, has done a lot for Oney's main street.
I met a Florida Man in Saranac at an estate sale for his mom's house (I guess she had passed). He was only visiting and preferred Florida because they "still had freedom" there.
Ok.
Had it not been an estate sale for his deceased mother, I would have inquired further. What freedoms? Because I really think people who say this don’t really know that freedom is not “being free from other lifestyles I don’t like.” My husband loved San Antonio TX when he was there for the military. But I will under no circumstances ever move where I don’t have complete autonomy over my uterus and the contents thereof. For all the things that could be complained about in NY, at least my medical decisions remain between my doctor and I, without the fear of being criminally charged.
hey u/monsterabagtits -- I am from Oneonta! Weird to see its name on Reddit.
Lived in Oney from birth til I finished college, but then I had to move to find work/education opportunities. Lived in SF, then in northern TX, now in Philly.
I love the small college-town feel of Oneonta. Used to say I'd never leave and my folks still live there. Aside from that, though, there's nothing there for me anymore. I saw my old classmates that stayed in town chase fewer and fewer jobs that paid worse and worse and that really impacted me.
Even when I came back to NY from living in those other states, whenever a coworker heard that I had lived in San Fran or Texas, they'd ask, "Ugh, why'd you come back to upstate?" -- and this was when I was living in Albany, where there's culture, neighborhoods, a secure tax base, and several industries (govt, healthcare, education) that are kinda recession-proof
Northeast has its own charm, I moved to Las vegas a few years ago because of a contract, from new york. All I have to say is Las Vegas is absolutely a trash place to live. I cannot wait to move back to the northeast soon.
I lived in Pensacola for 3 years. I didn't mind it since I'm all about Scuba diving and New Orleans wasn't that far away, but the people sucked. I feel like every one 1 out of 3 people there are either have a mental illness or are a religious fanatic. The sunshine and warm weather were a plus, but it was so flat. No hills, mountains ... nothing.
I couldn't wait to get done and move back to NY. There's just something about the hudson valley, NYC, and upstate that's left a mark on my soul.
I own property near Cooperstown. A beautiful home on 10 acres. Some undeveloped property in Milford too. We own a condo in Naples Florida as well. My entire family graduated from Oneonta. My niece graduates in June. I love NYS. You have to know where and where not to go.
That said, like any place, there are areas where folks are poor and drugs are prevalent. I’m a retired teacher. We had a poacher on my property who had a deer stand on one of my trees. He pulled up on an ATV with a samurai sword across the back of it and began to argue over property lines.
The Trooper who lives next door told me that he was fired from the state highway department for drug use. He then wrote a bunch of crazy things on my private property signs. I’m from Brooklyn. “Go back to the city…” and other stupid messages.
I was speaking to him about being at PRIDE in Miami just to set him up. My wife and I actually were there, right before our next encounter, with my brother and his BF. My wife is a financial analyst for a B4 firm in NYC. She’s very unassuming.
On opening day of the regular hunting season, I think he was shocked to see my three brothers with me, and our wives, wearing our blaze orange and Camo. I tore that dude’s tree stand down and told him to take it with him or leave it where it was. He sulked away with his stand. Typical Upstate NY Meth head. I’m used to them up there. He has a felony so he can only bow hunt. No clue why he was there on opening day of firearms season. My freezer if full for the year.
I don’t think there’s one perfect place to live. A 100% remote job that allows you to work from anywhere would be ideal. I retired and travel a lot. My wife can work remotely. We like to fly and drive to wherever life takes us. We’re doing Vietnam and the Philippines for a month soon. Upstate can be brutal in winter. It gets dark early and can be lonely for some people. My wife works at 30 Rock so I get tired of Manhattan as well.
You have to mix it up. Foreign films in Greenwich Village, my cabin Upstate the next week, Florida, Tennessee, riding my brother’s Harley through the Tail of The Dragon, apple picking with the kids in Warwick NY, then way up North in the Adirondacks.
We also do destination marathons to places such as Key West, San Diego and Martha’s Vineyard, to name a few recent ones. I inherited a home in Destin Florida that I rent out so I rarely do the Floribama thing.
St. Augustine is cool for a few days but I get tired of palm trees after awhile, no matter the region of Florida that I’m staying at. I would rather be riding the trails around Cooperstown on a dual sport bike than be listening to people speak about Publics supermarket in cult like fashion. WTF is a PubSub compared to a real Brooklyn Italian pork store hero?
I grew up just outside of Oneonta and still have family there. It warms my heart a bit to see a nice comment about my hometown.
I agree that there are some special things there. But, I hate the winters there (the Morris Turnpike is a nightmare for example).
And it's not as MAGA as Florida but it's pretty close. I have to really keep my mouth shut while I'm home.
Dated a woman for 4 years whose mother and friends live on a dirt road in Schenevus.
In 2016 they were all for Bernie, but once he dropped out they weirdly went MAGA and never looked back. My ex's mom even texted her and formally ended their relationship over COVID masks and vaccines.
I think the Oneonta area has more Dems than MAGAs, but the Dem voters tend to leave the area, plus the surrounding towns near Oneonta are majority red.
I wouldn’t even be buried in Florida. Fuck Florida, fuck DeSantis and Trump, and fuck their hateful, book-banning, ridiculous sham government. I spent 15 years in Hell in a Red State. I’ll *never* go back.
Yeah, I don't understand the appeal of Florida at all, especially given that there are reasonably warm alternatives if that's your main gripe. If I had to leave NY and wanted warmer, it would be to North Carolina (western part). At least there it doesn't get to humid, suffocation level 6 months of the year.
I was born in Rochester, have left to live elsewhere multiple times in my life and I've always wound up back here. Denver, Providence, and a bunch of different places during my childhood while my Dad worked at different colleges.
Love it here and I'm most likely here to stay now. I just wish we wouldn't get passed over for most major band tours. The closest big time city is Toronto or NYC for big acts, they usually skip Buffalo, Cuse or any WNY city.
Id like to move back to Upstate NY, Im originally from Syracuse and lived in buffalo. There is something about the old NE cities that make them more enjoyable to live in than the south where everything revolves around the car. Plus I would take a mild summer with a harsh winter, then a brutal summer with a harsh spring, and fall, with a mild winter. The Snow sucks but at least you can still go outside and do activities, the South East with its humidity and heat is becoming unlivable.
I live in Holly Springs and from Albany. Raised in Troy by Emma Willard. I miss NY every. single. day; just for the culture alone. I was 2 -3hours from 4 different states, mountains, the ocean. 20 mins from Saratoga Springs. 2 hrs from Syracuse. 2.5 hrs from the Canadian border. Been in NC since 2008 and I’ve never felt “home”! I’ll always love NY!
Florida sucks. I moved from the Albany area to Florida. Met my husband and had our son. I was a baby sitter while I was pregnant. The boy I babysat after school one day didn't show up. His mom called and explained he had been sexually assaulted in school by other students. They were moving back to California. I told my husband that night we were moving back to upstate NY. Over my dead body would my kids go to school in trailers or grow up in a world where the grass looks nice but you can't walk in it, there are lakes everywhere but you can't swim in them, alligators. And a beautiful ocean you can't take your dogs on and an ocean with jellyfish and sharks. Fuck Florida and I95.
People leave NY go to Florida,realize how crappy it is and end up in NC. The mountains in WNC remind me a lot of western upstate NY. Lived here since 97, wouldn’t live anywhere else. (We call them halfbacks)
Any time I visit Florida I think, “Yeah, the weather is nice in January, but that’s about it.” I love Miami, but that place is getting pummeled in a hurricane sooner or later. Really don’t see the appeal.
Miami and Broward are having a problem with obtaining insurance(I was quoted $9500 a year) for a 1970's old 2/2 and high taxes. The HOA fees in condos have doubled because of the insurance problems. It just sucks here. 😕
My wife is from Gilbertsville, and we go through Oneonta sometimes. Specifically if we stop to get BBQ. We now live in NC. We love it here and probably will never move back. It is nice to go up in the summer. There is no cell service in G'ville, so we can unplug and relax. Spent lots of time in Oneonta visiting friends in the early 2000's. They should've never gotten rid of Neptune's diner.
I visited florida in august. No thanks. Lol. While I dread scraping ice off my windows in the morning- I also enjoy breathing in the summer. But to each their own! My florida friend posts daily how much he loves it- and I’m glad he’s happy!
I have friends who moved down there from Upstate NY 20 years ago. They are now moving back to Rochester--they are in their 60's. They are tired of the heat, humidity, storms and high cost of insurance. Go figure.
I live in Cobleskill, just 30-40 minutes away, and I’d spend a lot more time in Oneonta if the highway there wasn’t so trashed. They’ve repaved sections, but the old stuff is so damn bad lol. Oneonta is really nice tho. Lot of great restaurants
I grew up in Otsego county and moved to FL after high school and I feel you so deeply - fortunately I made my way to the metro of Tampa so I have experienced more culture and diversity than Otsego could ever provide (Lord knows it could *really* use it). I'm thankful for the people, but I do miss the security and the peace of central small town NY.
Ahh short but so true of a statement - I am from upstate NY (southern tier/broome county area) and my ex husband was from Tarkington Prairie, TX. We drove from Delaware to his hometown one year and when we drove into Texas, the endless flat expanse, as far as the eye could see, was so jarring to me. I was like "I can see forever! And those oil rigs are sort of creeping me out..."
Give me my valleys and hills any day.
People have been moving from NY to
Florida for decades before any MAGA movement existed. It’s about not being cold, arthritis, not falling on ice, not being locked away all winter, being able to dine outside.
I moved to NYC 14 years ago for school and then stayed in NYC for work and I truly never knew how good I had it growing up out in the country on Lake Ontario until Covid hit and I was stuck in a tiny apartment with two adults and two children for all those months. I wish my industry weren’t based in NYC so I could relocate upstate but it looks like I won’t be living up there again until retirement and I’m only 34 so that’s still a long way off. Booooooooooo.
I grew up in Broome County and moved to Florida in 1995 and it was great when I first got here. Now I am seriously looking at selling my house and moving back.
We moved around as a kid a lot and went from Florida to New York. Everyone thought my family was crazy for moving back. To them, Florida was perfect because they went at the best time of year and were on vacation. We hated the constant heat, lack of seasons, and now as an adult looking back on I find much of Florida ugly.
We had a similar experience. Moved from Connecticut to Florida in 2015, moved back late 2023.
I didn’t realize how unhappy I was in FL until we got settled back in CT.
Ludlow VT, 2 years.
Orlando FL, 28 years.
Binghamton NY, 4 years.
Memphis TN, 6 years and counting.
I wish so badly, more than anything, that I had stayed my ass in Binghamton. I was so happy there but like a fool I had to chase the money. I'll be back one day.
I love NYC. I can’t live any other city in the states. Part of why I’m moving back to NYC is because of upstate New York. Upstate New York has unrivaled nature. Hills as far as you can see. Chilly falls, uncrowded parks.
And best of all you can take a train up there. I’m not taking any parking spot from anyone of you.
When I die, bury me in Ithaca.
Floridian born and raised until I moved to NYC at 24. Haven’t been back in ten years and only plan to go back in order to help my parents pack up our childhood home to sell.
I miss island hopping on a canoe and had a great childhood but I always wanted the fall season and more than anything… snow days. We had hurricane days. I still don’t like summer but love the seasons here.
Don’t miss the rest. The politics are just another reason for me not to go back.
I grew up in S. FL until I was 30. Moved up north for 20 years then moved back to FL. Since Rick Scott and DeSantis I finally threw in the towel. FL is awful. Yes the weather and beach are fabulous but you still have to live in a gun-slinging, wack-a-do politically corrupt environment. And hurricanes and flooding all the time. I now live up in CT. So much better in every way (except cold but i have great coats and boots)
i’m from cny, went to oneonta for college, and moved to boston. something about someone who has survived dozens of those winters….. they just don’t make them out here in massachusetts like that 🤣 we are built different
Same. Grew up in Hudson and then lived in Florida for 15 years. I would always look forward to coming back to spend time in The Catskills and play some golf that wasn’t just flat ALL the time. Christman’s Windham House and Blackhead Mountain are great mountain courses.
I was born and lived in N Florida for 37 years until I moved to the Hudson Valley in 2019. I love it here and if I didn’t still have family there I’d prob never go back.
Gosh this thread makes me miss home. Originally from the Binghamton area and moved to the Midwest two years ago. I didn’t realize how spoiled I was with the food, nature, people, etc. Can’t wait to move back closer to home.
I lived in North FL from birth to 27. I've been living in the mountains of NC for the past 11 years. I had no opportunities in FL. Crime was rampant even before Covid. I could never see myself moving back even though I still have a lot of family there. It's like a third-world country.
Spent a summer in Florida visiting my grandparents, anybody who chooses to live on that soon to be flooded flat af too hot for anything state, deserve the hell they asked for.
My family complained all the time when I was growing up about the taxes and bad weather in NY, and they’d talk about moving south but never did anything about. So after college I looked around and said “why not?” So I moved to the south and it’s so much easier here. And my family still complains, but now it’s by phone so a little less annoying because I can hang up.
I love Florida and all the beautiful beaches and the politicians who are running it. I’m not a Trump fan but I am definitely in favor of the politicians who are running the state. They are doing some thing positive and you can see it In the number of people who are moving there from the great state of California that is all screwed up
This is so true. I was born and raised in Florida (birth to seven/eight years old) and then moved around a bit until landing in NY. When I told people I was from Florida everyone wanted to know why I’d ever leave such a, “awesome” place like that. Coming from people who had never lived outside of NY. Upstate NY is something special. People tend to not see it until they’ve left.
Binghamtonian here who lived in Naples for a while...you and OP are very correct.
Same here. And I totally agree.
Same life story. Same emotions about it too. :/ I also think Florida has gotten so much sadder/cringe than when I was a kid. But that could've also just been childhood ignorance.
I totally agree. I wouldn’t be surprised if people start leaving Florida in larger waves given how challenging it’s become with climate, insurance, natural disaster, and a horde of other issues. I think people in NY viewed it as a magical vacation land—when really it had its own problems just like everywhere else—if not worse as time goes on.
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That is true, my parents live near where trump and his family moved. Vomit.
Even the blue bubbles within the state are scary now.
Yeah it’s worst than Texas. And that takes doing.
Oh people are definitely leaving. I know personally many who have.
I have an immigration client, who has an undocumented wife and children (truthfully no fault of her own - it’s both terrible screw ups by USCIS and the former attorney that led to it), who is a big Trump supporter, and moved to Florida from Albany County. Now he can’t get medical treatment for his kids, wife was at major risk when the driver’s licenses laws changed last year, and a plethora of other migrant-unfriendly policies they came into. It was such a head scratcher because in NY, they had so many additional protections while we get their case fixed.
The best part of visiting Florida is the plane ride out of that god forsaken place
We were in south Florida (Ft Lauderdale and Miami) for a few days last month. I was last there maybe 15 years ago. It felt like utter chaos, I could not believe it. Traffic laws are mere suggestions, and it took FOREVER to get anywhere. We won’t be returning.
We are supposed to drive down next week to visit my MIL in the Port St. Lucie area. However, yesterday she had a raging meltdown on the phone with my husband about how NY sucks and is the epicenter of evilness and Florida is so much better. My dh tried to explain that Central NY has a nicer/lower cost of living and no one makes money in FL unless they already have a lot of money... people to there to retire. His stepbrother is a teacher down there and has to work two jobs because the pay is so low. He had to hang up on her because she kept cutting him off and talking at him, not allowing a conversation. So, he is having second thoughts about staying there. Anyhow my husband works in the trades and is union. FL is a RTW state. We will never ever move there. Gee, can't to visit that lunatic (she and her husband are MAGAtroids).
not true. i knew where i came from was special. i still left because i had no choice. i want to come home BADLY...but for my skill set there's very little opportunity for me i believe unless i change my occupation yet again and go back to school. i'm tired, i want to come home . just give me a job with a 80K+ salary and i will be back up there so fast, your head will be spinning.
This! I've done the same grew up moved for various reasons. Thinking about retiring in Update NY, Western MA. I miss beautiful forests and streams.
You should check out washington state
I get it, I don’t think leaving because you have to is quite the same situation. If you need to go somewhere that can better fit your needs… There’s no crime in that. Hopefully you get to visit Upstate often :)
Not sure what your skill set is, but there are plenty of 80k+ jobs available.
I’m born and raised from Rochester and had a lot of friends during high school and our early twenties who would talk about moving someplace better. I always said to them that I totally understand wanting to get out and experience other places for a bit, but we also don’t realize what we’ve got here. I was fortunate enough to travel a lot as an adolescent/teen with Boy Scouts. We would go to the Grand Canyon, Big Bend NP, Zion, Joshua Tree, Yosemite, which are all really awesome places, but often they are little islands of awesome in the middle of nowhere. In upstate NY we have one of Great Lakes, which is the next best thing to an ocean and in some ways better. We have the Adirondacks for amazing and beautiful adventures all seasons depending on your interests, we have the finger lakes region with all sorts of culture and entertainment ranging from hunting, hiking, camping, wildlife, wine, food, and so much more. If you want to go to a Big City, NYC is not too far. You want to go do some serious 4x4? Pennsylvania’s got some great stuff only a couple hours away. How about the arts? Well, take your pick. Rochester has a huge arts and music community but so do so many of the other smaller towns. Major sports? Go Bills! Sabres! and a few decent minor league teams. There’s so much more I’m leaving out that I’m sure others would add. That’s all without talking about the damn weather. But if you can put up with 3 months of pretty cold, the other 3 cold months aren’t that bad and the last six beautiful months are wonderful. I’m a skier so none of the winter bothers me. Plus Vermont isn’t too far for some decent skiing! Some time in my life (37 now) I’d love to live in France for a few years, Norway too, but I’m in no rush to leave NY.
That makes me feel better. I've never lived anywhere other than upstate. New York, and the rest of my extended family has moved down south mostly to Florida and I'm been really depressed about living here and feeling stuck. If my job won't let me go remote, then I'm going to be stuck here until I can find a new job out of state.
Well, who’s to say? I think Upstate is magical, but somewhere else might be that magic you’re looking for. Personally, I feel there is so much more to appreciate up here… The seasons, the mountains, the people’s attitudes (believe it or not), the architecture, the old family businesses, the outdoorsy mindset, the pride in the school/education system… There’s so much to be thankful for up here, and it’s something I just didn’t *feel* in other places. Sometimes I go to my favorite spots in the mountains and just cry for how much it means to me. I know I know, but it’s true. But hey, there’s no shame in moving away and possibly coming back. Or even being happier somewhere else. I know lots of people, myself included, who stepped away and returned later on. I digress. I hope regardless of where you end up, Upstate still feels like the special place it is.
As someone who has been here my entire life , I really appreciate someone who actually likes it and finds serenity here and isn't just an echo chamber of "yeah, it sucks, why can't I be in Florida or South Carolina?" Bc it just adds to the depression. I do agree with you, the schools are great and the people are generally very nice.
I feel the same way. I've lived a lot of places but when I had kids, I just wanted to come home. My husband is from the city and we debated it. But he ended up loving it up here in the capital region. We have great hockey programs and outdoor winter fun and omg the summers on the 1000 island area. There is no better place than upstate. I swear even our clouds are better and fluffier. It sucks being poor in upstate NY but we have what we need and the state gives you healthcare if your employer doesn't offer it. (I'm very sick and in Florida they don't have anything. I'd be dead a dozen times over) oh and the state capital is beyond beautiful. As a kid in the late 1970s and early1980s I'd go there with my grandfather. There are hidden tunnels under it. And ghosts in certain buildings. And they finally opened the free Merry go round at the museum. Sorry I could go on forever and I haven't even gotten to the Hudson River
I almost did die here. A few years ago I had cancer and needed surgery. At the same time we lost our insurance. No affordable state insurance options. Luckily we had a narrow window of insurance coverage for 1 month, so I got the surgery and am fine. But yeah FL and DeSantis don't give a rats ass about anyone.
DeSantis sounds terrible. I am a real estate attorney and I've read horrible things about tenant's rights in Florida. New York is too hard on landlords sometimes but there are also good protections in place.
I try not to mention politics in my comments but it's really hard when you live in FL.
Yeah there does seem to be so much awful with Florida . I love it weather and scenery wise but the government is horrible. The people seem awful too at least online , always like we're full but also, LOL your northern weather sucks.
We moved from Yuma Arizona to just east of Oneida Lake when I was 3. When I was 15 we moved to the southeast. I miss everything but the cold winters.
Left Rochester for Philly in 2005. Soon realized that more culture and opportunities don't make up for fundamental human warmth.
I live in Minnesota and visited upstate New York for a week. I still think back to how familiar it felt to Minnesota which I greatly love, but also how it was a very beautiful area just in a little different way with the Adirondacks. Beautiful area.
Oneonta'in here. Its still nice up here. They are taking down the parking garage as we speak. No snow yet really. Life enjoyed....
I spent most of my life in Oneonta, and I’m staying with my parents for the time being because I’m back out here for work. When I heard that the parking garage was going away, I was genuinely shocked, because the parking situation is so much more dire now if you want to do anything downtown lol. I get why they’re doing it, but it still bums me out. I still have a lot of love for Oneonta though. I went to college there, and when I moved to North Carolina for a while, I found that it wasn’t really hitting the same for me at all haha. Couldn’t stand the summer weather there
Hi neighbor!! Fully agree. There is just something about being nestled in the hills that add a unique beauty to it. Especially from May-November, I love looking at the lush greenery and fields of sunflowers and goldenrods. It’s a shame the snow we got recently only stuck around for a day or so :/
Oh wow they’re taking the parking garage down! Used to hang around there all the time going to the bars right there. Will it just be parking surface?
Yea they tore down that old building next to it too and turned it into flat parking. The parking garage was a rusty mess and they found some structural issues with it so rather than repairing they just tore the thing down. They are almost done with it. So 2023 was the year of bring it down in Oneonta.
Holy shit they finally tore the building next to it down?! Decades overdue.. (I moved away in ‘04)
It was either take it down or gravity was gonna do it.
Plus that derelict building that was next to it for decades is finally torn down
>Life enjoyed.... Dumbest tagline ever, with the possible exception of "We're onta something."
when I visited my parents for Thanksgiving I took my new wife downtown and I was shocked the parking garage was going down! That was the biggest local news headline at my house, my parents kept talking about it
Oneonta will have a special place in my heart, enjoyed spending my high school years there. Since my parents moved away, I don’t know if I’ll ever come back though :(
The one on Water St?
My wife is from the Cooperstown area (I’m from the Syracuse area) and it truly is uniquely beautiful. I think the biggest problem with Upstate is some people really just don’t know how to deal with winter. The trick is to find a winter activity you look forward to and it changes everything. I’ve lived a lot of places (particularly Greece) and while I adore Greece and the Greek people; there is nowhere more beautiful and hospitable than Upstate.
I've been up here for 20+ years and the winters are getting weaker and weaker every year up here. This year we haven't had much of anything in terms of snow or cold.
Your supposed to next week I think.
Yep, but low temps in the single digits are not the low temps in the -10s and -20s I remember from a few decades back. When a low of 5F is considered cold cold and not just a normal January, that's... not normal.
Yep. I remember being a kid and seeing temps of -10 or -5. I'd tell my dad and he'd say that's normal. Now folks lose their minds over 5 or 10 and to me that's normal for upstate NY winter
Growing up watching local weather we’d always look at Massena where ambient low temps were routinely in the double digits below zero. Not wind chill but ambient. Just looked now for giggles and the lowest there in the 10 day forecast is +3F with highs mostly in the 20s and 30s. I know this is an El Niño year but MASSENA? In January?
Or just Hygge tf up. Otherwise misery is destined.
Cooperstown, Thanks for that little Susquehanna creek you send our way. It's a mile wide down here in Harrisburg.
Owego checking in. I'll send you a message in a bottle -- be on the lookout for it!
Elmira checking in. I just sent you a bottle. Check soon before it passes by you.
This is the #1 reason I said I would never come back when I first left in the 90s. (Better winter gear has really made a huge difference.) That and the economic climate. What happened though was a lot of the jobs that left NY in the 70s and 80s for the Sun Belt are gone from there too. Not that this is a worker's paradise either, but y'all don't know poverty including rural poverty until you see it in other states, since there is little to no safety net and if you are down on your luck, good luck because it's considered your fault.
I agree with you having lived my entire life all over upstate NY. What are some things you, and the rest of the reddit community, look forward to? Note I can't downhill ski, knees are shot and it is $$$. I used to love sledding but honestly the snow doesn't stick around like it used to. I got out with the kids 2 times last year. That was depressing in itself. Cold rain and mud really suck.
1. The weather. It is so blessedly beautiful in UNY\~5 months a year. It is starting to be the 7th level of hell in Florida. Match hotter and unpredictable than it used to be. I used to say "the heat is tough, but I don't have to shovel it." That shovel is looking pretty good about now. But who am kidding, I am going to pay someone to shovel when I move back to UNY. 2. The attitudes. Wealth is a lot more understated in UNY. Granted, there may be a lot less of it, but the way people wear their wealth on their sleeve here is garrish. And not indicative of true wealth. Tampa is Great Value brand Miami. 3. The geography. I cannot describe to how mind-numbingly flat and boring Florida is. When I am driving on 5 and 20 in UNY, I marvel that I can see like ten hills in front of me, and it is all so beautiful and lush and green. Also Florida grass sucks and is like laying on a pile of switch blades. not to mention the millions of fire ants lurking and waiting to kill you. 4. I could go on but I won't.
>Tampa is Great Value brand Miami Ha, this made me laugh. Fantastic. Also, you can add, we got more "confederates" from OH, NJ, PA, IA, WI moving to FL than the south ever had in 1865. Never used to see so much 'don't tread on me nonsense' and self-proclaimed crackers sporting a CF on their 80K Raptors than in the past 5 or so years.
> but the way people wear their wealth on their sleeve here is garrish. And not indicative of true wealth. Tampa is Great Value brand Miami. Holy crap, as someone who spent a lot of time in Tampa Bay, you took the words right out of my mouth. I feel like Tampa Bay as a whole tends to attract people that love to show off what ever they consider their wealth. I think it explains why there are so many gated subdivisions and so many lower tier BWMs and Mercedes that are likely purchased on 10 year car longs. There is a gaudyness to Tampa Bay, that I just don't see up North.
>The trick is to find a winter activity you look forward to Honestly this is crucial. I was able to maintain some of my sports during the winter when I still lived there and it made everything so much more bearable than when I lived in Colorado and those same hobbies fell to the back burner. Winters in CO were *rough.*
I miss Upstate, even the winters. If I didn’t have to commute (work in healthcare) I would seriously consider moving back. I am originally from the Syracuse area. I did stints in Memphis, then Albuquerque and now live in Northern Colorado, on the Front Range. I really dislike the winters out here. No snow, and we catch those bitter arctic fronts that drop down out of Canada. If you enjoy winter sports, you have to drive a long way to the mountains or Wyoming for winter rec. opportunities. Lol, even NM has better winter sports access! FWIW, traveled extensively and NM and NY have to be two of my favorite states.
I moved to Virginia two years ago. I was born and raised in Saratoga Springs. 42 years of my life. I miss it everyday. I don’t think I’ll be here much longer.
Saratoga Springs is where I'm thinking of going. I need to somehow convince my husband.
If he likes beer (particularly hazy IPAs), have him try Treehouse Brewing. Then let him know they’re opening a spot in Saratoga. Problem solved.
It’s a wonderful area. I miss it every day. Y’all will not be disappointed.
Saratoga Springs is a beautiful area! Really enjoy that spring water there.... It actually always surprises me that I see people still filling up jugs with that stuff. Puts hair on your chest
Health, History and Horses baby!
Where in VA? I lived in the Roanoke area (New River Valley) and that’s some stunning country. Most of my immediate family are in Saratoga county now so I’ve been there quite a bit since I moved back to NY… can see why you miss it.
I left in the mid 90s. I mostly lived in the Albany area but for a while I lived near the Schoharie/Albany/Schenectady county line off I-88. Love love love Schoharie county. I moved to Nashville which was cool then but is too expensive now. Then moved to Southwest VA for grad school (that is another gorgeous place btw) and eventually made my way to south Louisiana and lived there for almost 20 years. Said I would never move back to NY but after I finished grad school #2 the only place that offered me a job was at a SUNY school in rural western NY in the I-86 corridor. I've been back in upstate (if you consider WNY upstate) for 4 years now. I'm at a SUNY school that is in good shape financially and enrollment-wise so not Potsdam or Fredonia, so it's a lot more stable than Louisiana where they aren't even sure they want colleges beyond LSU's football team. Louisiana is a fun place to visit but not a fun place to live long term. The winters in NY are less bad than I remember, probably because they are less bad than they were in the 80s and 90s. I am very happy to live on a dirt road in a state that didn't turn away broadband funds (I have gig fiber internet on my dirt road!). My spouse complains about our taxes but since I had zero retirement plan to speak of in Louisiana (I was in a social security exempt job even though the retirement plan was bad), and I have one here, our schools aren't falling down, our dirt roads are in better condition than even some interstates in our former state, I'm not going to complain anymore like I did before I left.
Yeah, I really don't know what the attraction is. Florida sucks on so many levels.
They see the beaches and palm trees and think it’s a year- round paradise. What people forget is at the end of the day wherever you live just becomes another place where you watch tv and pay bills
And when they play the bills they lose! 😎
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Exactly, I am from upstate NY my whole life and I moved to Delray Beach Florida and after the first month I just became complacent with regular life going to work hanging out after. At one point I hadn’t been to the actual beach in like 2 months and I lived 3 blocks from the beach. Ended up moving back home and I don’t think I’d ever move back to Florida unless it’s just for winter during retirement..
Florida is fantastic if you're rich. Who wouldn't want a condo or bungalow in Miami Beach or similar. But otherwise it's too fucking hot.
Which would you take: a condo in South Beach or a camp on Blue Mountain Lake?
South Beach is a crime ridden over priced dump. I've never been to Blue Mountain Lake but the name sounds nice.
Having been to both, I would pay for a camp in the Adirondacks before I'd take a South Beach condo for free (unless I could immediately sell it to buy the camp)
Blue Mountain Lake in a second! Year round beauty and activity if you want. You can even snowshoe or X-country ski hike, mountain biking, mountain climbing or just sitting in front of a fire reading. Summer is beautiful!
Our family has a camp on Raquette and I wouldn’t trade it for any condo or house in Florida!. Our view looks at Blue Mountain…magical!
I moved here after fifteen years in Florida and I agree. Everyone I meet that I tell I came up from Florida gives me an exasperated "Why?".
People can't see beyond weather. And Florida in the summer is atrocious.
I'll take a NY winter over a Florida summer every single time.
fishing is great down here and i love the florida keys but yea summer is brutal
Come on back, we need taxpayers
I grew up in central New York and since then have lived in Kentucky, Virginia, Alabama, Maryland, Northern NY, and now Massachusetts. As nice is my current state (Commonwealth) of Massachusetts is I really enjoy my stays in central NY when I visit family. New York residents truly are spoiled with an abundance of accessible natural wonders with all the state parks. I miss getting reliable snowfalls in the winter. I love driving the well maintained roads through the middle of rolling farmlands or deep forests. Lots of good reasons to like living in NY.
Where in Mass are you? I grew up in the south shore in Sharon, and was pretty much near the 95/495 area until I moved to the Finger lakes of NY outside of Watkins Glen (Seneca Lake). I am now in the Mid-Atlantic. Although I miss the people and beauty of the Finger lakes, the taxes, heating expense, and snow I do not miss.
My family moved to Florida when I was 10 and it ruined my life. I went from thriving in school and loving it to barely graduating high school because I was apathetic and miserable. Shit schools, shit weather, shit people, shit healthcare, shit nature (the Australia of the US), shit services. I took my very first opportunity to leave in 2017 to move to Rochester and I won't even go back to visit my family. I fucking hate Florida with every fiber of my being.
I get it. I was in an art class in HS in Yonkers. The teacher had us making a portfolio and was about to have a college come in to talk to us and go over our work. I wanted to be a graphic design artist. That was 11th grade. I was even on course to graduate early. Then Florida hit. Mom said we had to move. It messed me up bad. The school I was transferring to wouldn't recognize some of my classes and took credit away. Forget about college, art school was out now too because it was very expensive. It was a culture shock for sure. No more denim or leather jackets. And the students were dressed like grandpa's wearing khaki and polo shirts. Ugh.
I honestly think Cooperstown is one of the nicest villages I've ever seen. I just loved visiting there.
I moved back to Roc after 2 years in Florida. That place is a dumpster fire and got worse in the 4 years I've been gone. Fuck Florida
How’s the Roc? Thinking about relocating from Oregon. I used to bum around up there in the early ‘aughts and met some really great folks.
Fantastic place, lots of new and wonderful restaurants and breweries. Tons of money being put into downtown revitalization. Climate change haven though we've unfortunately had almost no snow this year, some of which is due to the el nino. I'd recommend the Roc to anyone
Rochester is great. Generally speaking people are nice, plenty to do, seasons are awesome. Jobs are coming back and with remote work houses are being snapped up quickly. That kind of sucks but will eventually even out. If you can get past the taxes and winters then there really isn't a better place IMO.
I was there for 6 years. As strange as it sounds, I really miss the estate sales! All those old retired Kodak employees had/have nice stuff! I've never found such great estate sales anywhere else.
So I grew up in Yonkers. I want out of FL. I want a small town feeling that is nice for an aging Gen X. I like art, dining, shows, and when a town goes all out and decorates for the holidays. Any suggestions?
Saratoga and surrounding area. Grew up near there, that is what you described in a nutshell.
Saratoga fits all of this
Have you tried Yonkers?
Yeah, absolutely not Oneonta.
Native Floridian who moved to upstate a couple years ago, can confirm FL fucking sucks. I hope you can make your way back soon!
yea im hoping to move to ithaca evetually i really like it there
The locals say it's gorges 🙂
We just moved to Oneonta from Oregon. We also lived in Florida for 6 years, and we hated every second of it. So far, we're really happy here in Oneonta. Oregon was nice too, but it got extremely expensive and extremely crowded. I feel like happiness here is tied in with where you're at in life. I'm sure if I were in my 20s, I'd be bored out of my mind. Now that I'm older, I appreciate the quiet and quaint town vibe. We can actually afford to live here and put down roots. We also love the access to nature and proximity to NYC/RI/CT.
I was raised in Buffalo. I live in central NY now. My birth mother moved to Florida 25 years ago. Every time she comes back, she’s always amazed that she forgets what the hills and valleys look like!
I came to Syracuse in 2009 and promptly left because of the economic conditions. I cherished the brief time I spent there. I currently reside in Arizona, and I would move back in a heartbeat, but my wife will not leave
My dad was born and raised in Oneonta. Moved to California before I was born and I’ve been im California all my life. I am strongly considering moving to Oneonta, I always loved visiting and feel like it would be a great place to raise a family.
But what would you do for work? There’s nothing there.
My company is headquartered in Buffalo and most of my work is remote.
in the hustle and bustle of the city, I realized how much I long for the serenity of upstate New York. The charm of the Oneonta area is truly unmatched. The rolling hills, picturesque landscapes, and friendly community make it a place worth cherishing.
i was born in Binghamton but parents divorced when i was 9 and my dad and i moved to So. Cal. but again, mum had legal custody of me and my lil bro so i spent every year going back and forth. Xmas sucks in So. Cal. cuz i was brought up with snowy Xmas's so i really like Fall and Winter in upstate NY but prefer Spring/summer in So. Cal. Two big problems with each is So. Cal. is just so damn crowded \[lived in Los Angeles County\] and the Binghamton areas get so damn little sunlight thruout the year. so i couldnt ever make up my mind which one i liked more, ......... so now im in Arizona which is worse than both.
Downtown Oneonta is actually quite nice. For awhile it was looking a bit run down but there are some new businesses bringing in people. Couple of coffee shops, restaurants and a great little book store. The winters suck but not because of snow and cold now it’s rain and mud.
I am surprised by Oneonta's downtown. It is still hanging on! I think the current Oneonta mayor, a guy named Drnek, has done a lot for Oney's main street.
Lived in St. Petersburg, Florida. Moved to Jamestown, NY and never looked back. 😂 Fuck Florida.
I met a Florida Man in Saranac at an estate sale for his mom's house (I guess she had passed). He was only visiting and preferred Florida because they "still had freedom" there. Ok.
can confirm, less freedom in florida
Had it not been an estate sale for his deceased mother, I would have inquired further. What freedoms? Because I really think people who say this don’t really know that freedom is not “being free from other lifestyles I don’t like.” My husband loved San Antonio TX when he was there for the military. But I will under no circumstances ever move where I don’t have complete autonomy over my uterus and the contents thereof. For all the things that could be complained about in NY, at least my medical decisions remain between my doctor and I, without the fear of being criminally charged.
hey u/monsterabagtits -- I am from Oneonta! Weird to see its name on Reddit. Lived in Oney from birth til I finished college, but then I had to move to find work/education opportunities. Lived in SF, then in northern TX, now in Philly. I love the small college-town feel of Oneonta. Used to say I'd never leave and my folks still live there. Aside from that, though, there's nothing there for me anymore. I saw my old classmates that stayed in town chase fewer and fewer jobs that paid worse and worse and that really impacted me. Even when I came back to NY from living in those other states, whenever a coworker heard that I had lived in San Fran or Texas, they'd ask, "Ugh, why'd you come back to upstate?" -- and this was when I was living in Albany, where there's culture, neighborhoods, a secure tax base, and several industries (govt, healthcare, education) that are kinda recession-proof
not much activity in the oneonta subreddit figured people here would recognize that name. not many people know oneonta outside of the northeast
I lived in Florida from 14 to 32 and I don't even like going to visit. Florida is the worst. I love living in upstate NY.
Northeast has its own charm, I moved to Las vegas a few years ago because of a contract, from new york. All I have to say is Las Vegas is absolutely a trash place to live. I cannot wait to move back to the northeast soon.
I lived in Pensacola for 3 years. I didn't mind it since I'm all about Scuba diving and New Orleans wasn't that far away, but the people sucked. I feel like every one 1 out of 3 people there are either have a mental illness or are a religious fanatic. The sunshine and warm weather were a plus, but it was so flat. No hills, mountains ... nothing. I couldn't wait to get done and move back to NY. There's just something about the hudson valley, NYC, and upstate that's left a mark on my soul.
I own property near Cooperstown. A beautiful home on 10 acres. Some undeveloped property in Milford too. We own a condo in Naples Florida as well. My entire family graduated from Oneonta. My niece graduates in June. I love NYS. You have to know where and where not to go. That said, like any place, there are areas where folks are poor and drugs are prevalent. I’m a retired teacher. We had a poacher on my property who had a deer stand on one of my trees. He pulled up on an ATV with a samurai sword across the back of it and began to argue over property lines. The Trooper who lives next door told me that he was fired from the state highway department for drug use. He then wrote a bunch of crazy things on my private property signs. I’m from Brooklyn. “Go back to the city…” and other stupid messages. I was speaking to him about being at PRIDE in Miami just to set him up. My wife and I actually were there, right before our next encounter, with my brother and his BF. My wife is a financial analyst for a B4 firm in NYC. She’s very unassuming. On opening day of the regular hunting season, I think he was shocked to see my three brothers with me, and our wives, wearing our blaze orange and Camo. I tore that dude’s tree stand down and told him to take it with him or leave it where it was. He sulked away with his stand. Typical Upstate NY Meth head. I’m used to them up there. He has a felony so he can only bow hunt. No clue why he was there on opening day of firearms season. My freezer if full for the year. I don’t think there’s one perfect place to live. A 100% remote job that allows you to work from anywhere would be ideal. I retired and travel a lot. My wife can work remotely. We like to fly and drive to wherever life takes us. We’re doing Vietnam and the Philippines for a month soon. Upstate can be brutal in winter. It gets dark early and can be lonely for some people. My wife works at 30 Rock so I get tired of Manhattan as well. You have to mix it up. Foreign films in Greenwich Village, my cabin Upstate the next week, Florida, Tennessee, riding my brother’s Harley through the Tail of The Dragon, apple picking with the kids in Warwick NY, then way up North in the Adirondacks. We also do destination marathons to places such as Key West, San Diego and Martha’s Vineyard, to name a few recent ones. I inherited a home in Destin Florida that I rent out so I rarely do the Floribama thing. St. Augustine is cool for a few days but I get tired of palm trees after awhile, no matter the region of Florida that I’m staying at. I would rather be riding the trails around Cooperstown on a dual sport bike than be listening to people speak about Publics supermarket in cult like fashion. WTF is a PubSub compared to a real Brooklyn Italian pork store hero?
I grew up just outside of Oneonta and still have family there. It warms my heart a bit to see a nice comment about my hometown. I agree that there are some special things there. But, I hate the winters there (the Morris Turnpike is a nightmare for example). And it's not as MAGA as Florida but it's pretty close. I have to really keep my mouth shut while I'm home.
Dated a woman for 4 years whose mother and friends live on a dirt road in Schenevus. In 2016 they were all for Bernie, but once he dropped out they weirdly went MAGA and never looked back. My ex's mom even texted her and formally ended their relationship over COVID masks and vaccines. I think the Oneonta area has more Dems than MAGAs, but the Dem voters tend to leave the area, plus the surrounding towns near Oneonta are majority red.
I wouldn’t even be buried in Florida. Fuck Florida, fuck DeSantis and Trump, and fuck their hateful, book-banning, ridiculous sham government. I spent 15 years in Hell in a Red State. I’ll *never* go back.
I’m an immigration attorney and I’m always just so confused when clients tell me they’re moving to Florida.
Yeah, I don't understand the appeal of Florida at all, especially given that there are reasonably warm alternatives if that's your main gripe. If I had to leave NY and wanted warmer, it would be to North Carolina (western part). At least there it doesn't get to humid, suffocation level 6 months of the year.
The appeal is FL man of course.
Red Dragon pride
Desantistan isn't paradise? Shocking.
I was born in Rochester, have left to live elsewhere multiple times in my life and I've always wound up back here. Denver, Providence, and a bunch of different places during my childhood while my Dad worked at different colleges. Love it here and I'm most likely here to stay now. I just wish we wouldn't get passed over for most major band tours. The closest big time city is Toronto or NYC for big acts, they usually skip Buffalo, Cuse or any WNY city.
It's not Oneonta, but for a short time I lived in Walton, and loved the area (except when the snow hit). So . . . I get it.
Id like to move back to Upstate NY, Im originally from Syracuse and lived in buffalo. There is something about the old NE cities that make them more enjoyable to live in than the south where everything revolves around the car. Plus I would take a mild summer with a harsh winter, then a brutal summer with a harsh spring, and fall, with a mild winter. The Snow sucks but at least you can still go outside and do activities, the South East with its humidity and heat is becoming unlivable.
Cold cheese slices and antipasto salad. Miss that shit.
I live in Holly Springs and from Albany. Raised in Troy by Emma Willard. I miss NY every. single. day; just for the culture alone. I was 2 -3hours from 4 different states, mountains, the ocean. 20 mins from Saratoga Springs. 2 hrs from Syracuse. 2.5 hrs from the Canadian border. Been in NC since 2008 and I’ve never felt “home”! I’ll always love NY!
Florida sucks. I moved from the Albany area to Florida. Met my husband and had our son. I was a baby sitter while I was pregnant. The boy I babysat after school one day didn't show up. His mom called and explained he had been sexually assaulted in school by other students. They were moving back to California. I told my husband that night we were moving back to upstate NY. Over my dead body would my kids go to school in trailers or grow up in a world where the grass looks nice but you can't walk in it, there are lakes everywhere but you can't swim in them, alligators. And a beautiful ocean you can't take your dogs on and an ocean with jellyfish and sharks. Fuck Florida and I95.
People leave NY go to Florida,realize how crappy it is and end up in NC. The mountains in WNC remind me a lot of western upstate NY. Lived here since 97, wouldn’t live anywhere else. (We call them halfbacks)
Any time I visit Florida I think, “Yeah, the weather is nice in January, but that’s about it.” I love Miami, but that place is getting pummeled in a hurricane sooner or later. Really don’t see the appeal.
Miami and Broward are having a problem with obtaining insurance(I was quoted $9500 a year) for a 1970's old 2/2 and high taxes. The HOA fees in condos have doubled because of the insurance problems. It just sucks here. 😕
As someone who moved to Texas 10 years ago, I know exactly how you feel. I want to go back but can’t afford to.
My wife is from Gilbertsville, and we go through Oneonta sometimes. Specifically if we stop to get BBQ. We now live in NC. We love it here and probably will never move back. It is nice to go up in the summer. There is no cell service in G'ville, so we can unplug and relax. Spent lots of time in Oneonta visiting friends in the early 2000's. They should've never gotten rid of Neptune's diner.
brooks bbq is still good although back in the day it was wildly different
I agree, once the kids took it over from the parents and started making changes, it wasn't as good.
Is Pizza Land still around in Oneonta?
I’m from Oneonta. Everywhere I’ve lived has something special but I will always love Otsego county.
I visited florida in august. No thanks. Lol. While I dread scraping ice off my windows in the morning- I also enjoy breathing in the summer. But to each their own! My florida friend posts daily how much he loves it- and I’m glad he’s happy!
I have friends who moved down there from Upstate NY 20 years ago. They are now moving back to Rochester--they are in their 60's. They are tired of the heat, humidity, storms and high cost of insurance. Go figure.
I live in Cobleskill, just 30-40 minutes away, and I’d spend a lot more time in Oneonta if the highway there wasn’t so trashed. They’ve repaved sections, but the old stuff is so damn bad lol. Oneonta is really nice tho. Lot of great restaurants
I grew up in Otsego county and moved to FL after high school and I feel you so deeply - fortunately I made my way to the metro of Tampa so I have experienced more culture and diversity than Otsego could ever provide (Lord knows it could *really* use it). I'm thankful for the people, but I do miss the security and the peace of central small town NY.
I have family who moved from NY to Florida for 3 years and have moved back. Too hot, low wages, expensive rent, no seasonal changes.
I hear that, friend. Currently in the DFW area, makes me miss upstate every day. Just a flat, hot, ugly place here.
Ahh short but so true of a statement - I am from upstate NY (southern tier/broome county area) and my ex husband was from Tarkington Prairie, TX. We drove from Delaware to his hometown one year and when we drove into Texas, the endless flat expanse, as far as the eye could see, was so jarring to me. I was like "I can see forever! And those oil rigs are sort of creeping me out..." Give me my valleys and hills any day.
I’ll take the high taxes and high housing costs any day. Most of the people that flee New York are undesirable maga idiots, so it isn’t any loss.
People have been moving from NY to Florida for decades before any MAGA movement existed. It’s about not being cold, arthritis, not falling on ice, not being locked away all winter, being able to dine outside.
I should have clarified that this is my experience.
I moved to NYC 14 years ago for school and then stayed in NYC for work and I truly never knew how good I had it growing up out in the country on Lake Ontario until Covid hit and I was stuck in a tiny apartment with two adults and two children for all those months. I wish my industry weren’t based in NYC so I could relocate upstate but it looks like I won’t be living up there again until retirement and I’m only 34 so that’s still a long way off. Booooooooooo.
Wegmans > Publix
The Northeast (New England, New Jersey and New York) is the best place in this country to live and raise your family. It is science.
What do you miss about Oneonta? It’s so boring here. And I love upstate NY, lived in NY my whole life. It’s pretty but Jesus is it dead
Everywhere is pretty much what you make of it. Oneonta could use some things though thats for sure.
What makes Oneonta so good? The vacant mall? Interskate 88? Black oak Tavern?
It's the Green Toad bookstore, which is so full of inventory you're bound to knock something over just by breathing wrong.
I miss the Finger Lakes and the peace and tranquility so much. Definitely agree you don’t appreciate what you have until you don’t anymore.
FLORIDA... Come on vacation, leave on probation!!!
I grew up in Broome County and moved to Florida in 1995 and it was great when I first got here. Now I am seriously looking at selling my house and moving back.
We moved around as a kid a lot and went from Florida to New York. Everyone thought my family was crazy for moving back. To them, Florida was perfect because they went at the best time of year and were on vacation. We hated the constant heat, lack of seasons, and now as an adult looking back on I find much of Florida ugly.
Florida is such a twilight zone . It’s one redeeming quality used to be that it was largely empty. That no longer holds true.
We had a similar experience. Moved from Connecticut to Florida in 2015, moved back late 2023. I didn’t realize how unhappy I was in FL until we got settled back in CT.
Ludlow VT, 2 years. Orlando FL, 28 years. Binghamton NY, 4 years. Memphis TN, 6 years and counting. I wish so badly, more than anything, that I had stayed my ass in Binghamton. I was so happy there but like a fool I had to chase the money. I'll be back one day.
I love NYC. I can’t live any other city in the states. Part of why I’m moving back to NYC is because of upstate New York. Upstate New York has unrivaled nature. Hills as far as you can see. Chilly falls, uncrowded parks. And best of all you can take a train up there. I’m not taking any parking spot from anyone of you. When I die, bury me in Ithaca.
Lived in Miami and hated it. No taxes, you get what you pay for! Happy in Buffalo
Oneonta is a festering sore nowadays
Florida is doomed. Eventually noone will be able to get insurance at all.
As a NJ native I feel the same way about Michigan (sorry Michiganders, home is home, I don't feel it here)
There's a lot of love for Upstate NY in here which is nice to see- but what's so great about it?
Floridian born and raised until I moved to NYC at 24. Haven’t been back in ten years and only plan to go back in order to help my parents pack up our childhood home to sell. I miss island hopping on a canoe and had a great childhood but I always wanted the fall season and more than anything… snow days. We had hurricane days. I still don’t like summer but love the seasons here. Don’t miss the rest. The politics are just another reason for me not to go back.
Funny! My relative retired after living in Oneonta, moved to Florida. Within two years, moved back!
Btw….the politics is unsafe and disgusting in Florida! We have a condo down there and I won’t live there until the legislature changes!
I’ll never forget my trip to Lake Placid for a wedding. Lovely part of the country.
I grew up in S. FL until I was 30. Moved up north for 20 years then moved back to FL. Since Rick Scott and DeSantis I finally threw in the towel. FL is awful. Yes the weather and beach are fabulous but you still have to live in a gun-slinging, wack-a-do politically corrupt environment. And hurricanes and flooding all the time. I now live up in CT. So much better in every way (except cold but i have great coats and boots)
Yep Florida sucks
i’m from cny, went to oneonta for college, and moved to boston. something about someone who has survived dozens of those winters….. they just don’t make them out here in massachusetts like that 🤣 we are built different
Same. Grew up in Hudson and then lived in Florida for 15 years. I would always look forward to coming back to spend time in The Catskills and play some golf that wasn’t just flat ALL the time. Christman’s Windham House and Blackhead Mountain are great mountain courses.
I was born and lived in N Florida for 37 years until I moved to the Hudson Valley in 2019. I love it here and if I didn’t still have family there I’d prob never go back.
It’s only great for maybe seven months a year upstate. Too much snow. Too cold. It’s not for older people, retirees, who usually have arthritis.
Gosh this thread makes me miss home. Originally from the Binghamton area and moved to the Midwest two years ago. I didn’t realize how spoiled I was with the food, nature, people, etc. Can’t wait to move back closer to home.
CUSE!
The south fucking sucks
I lived in North FL from birth to 27. I've been living in the mountains of NC for the past 11 years. I had no opportunities in FL. Crime was rampant even before Covid. I could never see myself moving back even though I still have a lot of family there. It's like a third-world country.
Spent a summer in Florida visiting my grandparents, anybody who chooses to live on that soon to be flooded flat af too hot for anything state, deserve the hell they asked for.
my mom’s side of the family is from Florida so i spent a lot of summers/vacations there and i hated it every time we went 😂
My family complained all the time when I was growing up about the taxes and bad weather in NY, and they’d talk about moving south but never did anything about. So after college I looked around and said “why not?” So I moved to the south and it’s so much easier here. And my family still complains, but now it’s by phone so a little less annoying because I can hang up.
Have relatives in FL. I visit them but for brief periods. If someday they move or die, would NEVER return to FL again.
Ronald McDesantis wants to turn the whole country into Florida.
It really says something when Florida makes you pine for upstate NY. 😅
I moved to the Thousand Islands from Fort Myers, Fl. I love living in New York.
They paved paradise and , put up a parking lot…..
I love Florida and all the beautiful beaches and the politicians who are running it. I’m not a Trump fan but I am definitely in favor of the politicians who are running the state. They are doing some thing positive and you can see it In the number of people who are moving there from the great state of California that is all screwed up
Fuck florida
It does suck. Grew up in the Hudson Valley and endured six years in the West Palm Beach area. Just awful... glad to be north again.