OT: Simpsons mock Upstate NY

[skurey]

For me it's the weather. The area would be perfectly fine if we didn't have winter for 6 months.

 

[OrangeDW]

For me it's the weather. The area would be perfectly fine if we didn't have winter for 6 months.

The famous Jim Boeheim quote, “for 6 months of the year we have the best weather in the country. The other 6 months, it’s basketball season”...it’s kinda true when we got a squad. Let’s have a SQUAD next year, Jimmy!

 

[ssbriefcase]

For me it's the weather. The area would be perfectly fine if we didn't have winter for 6 months.

I'd take weather over no water and constant droughts any day. If everybody up there had to live out west for a few years, they'd have a brand new appreciation for "weather".

 

[skurey]

Nope I'll take a drought thanks. Don't have to shovel during a drought.

 

[orangehomer]

Nope I'll take a drought thanks. Don't have to shovel during a drought.

so now we are just down to weather? feeble.

 

[bigmike]

There are 13 potholes in my street between my house and the corner. There’s only ONE house between my house and the corner.

That said, I feel some type of way about some ex-Upstater or Canadian making jokes about my state to some bonehead mass audience!(yes, that’s a George Costanza quote). Only I can make fun of it.

And I will make fun of everyone else’s hurricanes, mudslides, earthquakes, excess heat, traffic jams, overexpensive houses, paying 3 G’s for a crappy studio apartment in a corny gentrified manbun neighborhood, stupid accents, stupid Mellow Mushroom restaurants, backwards schools, landlocked by 15 other states flat flyover states, etc. situations with brutal ruthlessness too. Don’t @ me.

Just a great post. Needed more than a like.

 

[realorange]

Just come to South Carolina.

Third worst roads in the USA.

 

[billsin01]

There are 13 potholes in my street between my house and the corner. There’s only ONE house between my house and the corner.

That said, I feel some type of way about some ex-Upstater or Canadian making jokes about my state to some bonehead mass audience!(yes, that’s a George Costanza quote). Only I can make fun of it.

And I will make fun of everyone else’s hurricanes, mudslides, earthquakes, excess heat, traffic jams, overexpensive houses, paying 3 G’s for a crappy studio apartment in a corny gentrified manbun neighborhood, stupid accents, stupid Mellow Mushroom restaurants, backwards schools, landlocked by 15 other states flat flyover states, etc. situations with brutal ruthlessness too. Don’t @ me.

I like this post, but I actually kinda feel the opposite. I think it's always funny when people make fun of where I'm living or used to live b/c most of the time it's actually pretty true. Especially since a lot of people who make fun of it live somewhere else and couldn't fathom living where you live. I don't know -- it's basically just a place that works for you to live and ultimately there are good things and bad things about just about everywhere.

My buddies from NJ and NYC in college used to constantly rail on upstate NY and I would mercilessly make fun of NJ (I actually love NY, though I'm not into living there). It always seemed pretty funny.

I may have also said at some point that the biggest upside of climate change is that maybe it will wash away the southeast portion of the country. I kid, I kid.

 

[orangecuse]

Just come to South Carolina.

Third worst roads in the USA.

Super low taxes, much cheaper gas, no emissions tests for any vehicles required by the state, and so on...not to mention no salt, freezing/heaving of roads, etc. Greenville and the like just booming, construction everywhere. Tough dealng with those subjective "worst" roads.

 

[billsin01]

Upstate New York has some of the best quality of life anyplace in the world. All it had ever needed is better marketing.

I'm not into ranking places to live b/c I think everyone has different priorities but I don't really think it's a matter of marketing. I like upstate. I don't LOVE upstate, but maybe that's just me. I like, but don't LOVE DC too. But I left for two reasons -- jobs and weather. DC is no San Diego, weather-wise. We had a brutally wet spring last year and and really rainy year altogether the past couple years (this year has actually been beautiful, thus far). But the eight weeks or so from say mid-March to mid-May are just shockingly different. Every time I talk to my parents it's 38 and spitting rain (I know it's warmed up now) and I literally feel bad going, "oh, yeah, it's 66 and sunny, but I'm sure it will warm up soon!!" CNY in particular is really dark it seems like. Just feel like I get twice as many sunny days here for whatever reason.

And then jobs -- It seems like Buffalo and Rochester are doing better but for most college grads you're sent scurrying elsewhere to find jobs. That hurts in a lot of ways.

But, for me, I like upstate a lot, but I found myself dying laughing at that song. I really don't think people should derive too much value from where they live (especially when so many people would switch places with you in a heartbeat if they're stuck in some brutal section of a city in the US or some war-torn or drug cartel infested country in the rest of the world).

 

[billsin01]

Super low taxes, much cheaper gas, no emissions tests for any vehicles required by the state, and so on...not to mention no salt, freezing/heaving of roads, etc. Greenville and the like just booming, construction everywhere. Tough dealng with those subjective "worst" roads.

What's the perk of no emissions tests for vehicles? Of all things people complain about this is one of those that confuses me. If your car is running fine, the test is like a 6 minute inconvenience and, if you buy into the idea that you'd like to breathe cleaner air, there's a pretty big upside.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Love upstate, love Colorado, and love the west coast. Love most of the NE in general. For me I don’t care for and would never live in the south or Midwest.

 

[billsin01]

Love upstate, love Colorado, and love the west coast. Love most of the NE in general. For me I don’t care for and would never live in the south or Midwest.

Yeah kind of feel the same way. I could probably do an NC or SC if I was close to one of the bigger cities. Really like some of the Chicago suburbs. But otherwise I feel pretty much the same. That said, I'm sure there are plenty of nice places in the MW. Southeast I can't stand ... even for work for a night or two.

 

[OttoMets]

Yeah kind of feel the same way. I could probably do an NC or SC if I was close to one of the bigger cities. Really like some of the Chicago suburbs. But otherwise I feel pretty much the same. That said, I'm sure there are plenty of nice places in the MW. Southeast I can't stand ... even for work for a night or two.

Agree with you...except "Southeast" begins roughly at Florida Avenue NW from my perspective. Maybe farther north even. (Hey, this could be even more fun than one of those "CNY is in Upstate! No it isn't!" regional arguments.)

I like a lot of cultural aspects to cities in the Midwest, but I don't think I could live in a place that's so flat. Then again, I could never live in a place like western Pennsylvania that's so claustrophobically hilly. Seems that I'm a little picky.

 

[General20]

I'm not into ranking places to live b/c I think everyone has different priorities but I don't really think it's a matter of marketing. I like upstate. I don't LOVE upstate, but maybe that's just me. I like, but don't LOVE DC too. But I left for two reasons -- jobs and weather. DC is no San Diego, weather-wise. We had a brutally wet spring last year and and really rainy year altogether the past couple years (this year has actually been beautiful, thus far). But the eight weeks or so from say mid-March to mid-May are just shockingly different. Every time I talk to my parents it's 38 and spitting rain (I know it's warmed up now) and I literally feel bad going, "oh, yeah, it's 66 and sunny, but I'm sure it will warm up soon!!" CNY in particular is really dark it seems like. Just feel like I get twice as many sunny days here for whatever reason.

And then jobs -- It seems like Buffalo and Rochester are doing better but for most college grads you're sent scurrying elsewhere to find jobs. That hurts in a lot of ways.

But, for me, I like upstate a lot, but I found myself dying laughing at that song. I really don't think people should derive too much value from where they live (especially when so many people would switch places with you in a heartbeat if they're stuck in some brutal section of a city in the US or some war-torn or drug cartel infested country in the rest of the world).

In Syracuse unemployment is down, wages are up, overall participation int he job market is up, and 73% of the people moving into the city are millennials which is 3rd best in the nation. College grads are hardly being driven away. Your ideas about the job market here are outdated.

Weather is certainly subjective. But Syracuse is the snowiest major city in the country but not one if the 50 coldest or 50 windiest cities. We have lots of relatively warm days to play in all the snow we get, and the best snow removal of any city on earth, which to me is perfect.

I do think Spring is the worst weather we get here, but 9 of the 12 months of the year I'll take Syracuse's weather over DC's.

Nobody should derive value from where they live, but everybody should love where they live. It's too easy to move to not love where you live. I always say the best thing you learn in law school is where to live. Due to the bar exam you are forced to choose your state, so it only makes sense to choose your city too. I could have lived in any city in the country, and was actively recruited by law firms in several of them. I chose to live in Syracuse because I consider it to be THE best city in the world for me. I dont expect everybody to share my opinion about Syracuse or anything else, but most if the people who criticize have done a hell of a lot less research than I have about it, and are a hell of a lot less informed than I am about it, and I have no problem justifying my decision to move to Syracuse especially since its been such a great decision for me and my family.

 

[billsin01]

Agree with you...except "Southeast" begins roughly at Florida Avenue NW from my perspective. Maybe farther north even. (Hey, this could be even more fun than one of those "CNY is in Upstate! No it isn't!" regional arguments.)

I like a lot of cultural aspects to cities in the Midwest, but I don't think I could live in a place that's so flat. Then again, I could never live in a place like western Pennsylvania that's so claustrophobically hilly. Seems that I'm a little picky.

How dare you make fun of Florida Avenue, sir!! If it weren't for Florida ave I'd only have half as many speed camera tickets.

 

[billsin01]

In Syracuse unemployment is down, wages are up, overall participation int he job market is up, and 73% of the people moving into the city are millennials which is 3rd best in the nation. College grads are hardly being driven away. Your ideas about the job market here are outdated.

Weather is certainly subjective. But Syracuse is the snowiest major city in the country but not one if the 50 coldest or 50 windiest cities. We have lots of relatively warm days to play in all the snow we get, and the best snow removal of any city on earth, which to me is perfect.

I do think Spring is the worst weather we get here, but 9 of the 12 months of the year I'll take Syracuse's weather over DC's.

Nobody should derive value from where they live, but everybody should love where they live. It's too easy to move to not love where you live. I always say the best thing you learn in law school is where to live. Due to the bar exam you are forced to choose your state, so it only makes sense to choose your city too. I could have lived in any city in the country, and was actively recruited by law firms in several of them. I chose to live in Syracuse because I consider it to be THE best city in the world for me. I dont expect everybody to share my opinion about Syracuse or anything else, but most if the people who criticize have done a hell of a lot less research than I have about it, and are a hell of a lot less informed than I am about it, and I have no problem justifying my decision to move to Syracuse especially since its been such a great decision for me and my family.

OK, so a lot to chew on here. I think I love people making fun of different areas of the country (even places I live or have lived) is because nothing drives me more crazy than people claiming they live in the best place on earth. There are SO many places that offer really interesting combinations of factors that could be really appealing to a lot of people -- including the MW, SE and upstate, none of which are where I would chose to live, per se. So maybe that's just a personal pet peeve of mine.

Cold or snow aren't a huge deal to me, so I can see your point on weather. I think generally though, people hate snow and cold so that's a pretty big factor for the general public's perception. For me, it's more a function of sun and what you do with the weather. I'm not that into snowmobiling or hunting or ice fishing, etc. I love skiing (and the skiing here blows) but I'm not real excited about CNY skiing. I just feel like I get seasons here but more warm weather and significantly more sun.

Didn't realize that about the job market. That's great. I knew Buff and Roc were doing pretty well. It wasn't that way back in 2000 when I graduated. But hopefully that trend continues. I'm an upstate fan I just don't get upset when people bang on it (or DC, for that matter).

 

[ClamOtto]

That said, I feel some type of way about some ex-Upstater or Canadian making jokes about my state to some bonehead mass audience!(yes, that’s a George Costanza quote). Only I can make fun of it.

You beat me to it. I was going to say that I've never heard anybody complain about upstate NY more than native upstaters, and I've never heard anybody get as angry about other people making fun of upstate than native upstaters.

 

[HSPORANGE]

In Syracuse unemployment is down, wages are up, overall participation int he job market is up, and 73% of the people moving into the city are millennials which is 3rd best in the nation. College grads are hardly being driven away. Your ideas about the job market here are outdated.

Weather is certainly subjective. But Syracuse is the snowiest major city in the country but not one if the 50 coldest or 50 windiest cities. We have lots of relatively warm days to play in all the snow we get, and the best snow removal of any city on earth, which to me is perfect.

I do think Spring is the worst weather we get here, but 9 of the 12 months of the year I'll take Syracuse's weather over DC's.

Nobody should derive value from where they live, but everybody should love where they live. It's too easy to move to not love where you live. I always say the best thing you learn in law school is where to live. Due to the bar exam you are forced to choose your state, so it only makes sense to choose your city too. I could have lived in any city in the country, and was actively recruited by law firms in several of them. I chose to live in Syracuse because I consider it to be THE best city in the world for me. I dont expect everybody to share my opinion about Syracuse or anything else, but most if the people who criticize have done a hell of a lot less research than I have about it, and are a hell of a lot less informed than I am about it, and I have no problem justifying my decision to move to Syracuse especially since its been such a great decision for me and my family.

Just to play devils advocate a bit here. Unemployment is down and wages are up in most areas. This is a national trend not a Syracuse trend. Regarding the 73% of millennials moving into the city. Syracuse was really late to the game as far as building residential units in downtown. Most cities started building out the downtown residential units well before Syracuse started to. Of those people moving into the city of Syracuse, lets be honest, how many are from somewhere outside of a 1 hour radius of dt Syracuse? I'd be willing to bet that not many are. What this statistic shows me is that millennials are choosing to live in downtown Syracuse as opposed to say Liverpool or Cicero as they have more entertainment options in the city.

The job market there is still very tough for recent college grads unlike in many other areas of the country. Not a great amount of big companies up there actively recruiting large numbers of students to fill good paying open roles when they graduate. Yes Syracuse and Upstate NY in general has been able to slow down the brain drain from the early 2000's levels, but it still exports many college educated people to other regions of the country.

Weather was never an issue for me although it would become depressing when it was still snowing in April.

 

[realorange]

Super low taxes, much cheaper gas, no emissions tests for any vehicles required by the state, and so on...not to mention no salt, freezing/heaving of roads, etc. Greenville and the like just booming, construction everywhere. Tough dealng with those subjective "worst" roads.

Problem is they don't know how to take care of the roads. Yes, there is good economy for the most part but the state legislature can only think about getting re-elected and that's why we have super low taxes with infrastructure that is horrible and no money to fix it.
Believe me when I tell you it's not a subjective statement when I say our roads and bridges are some of the worst.
It will take a bridge collapsing like there was on the thruway 30 years ago before they'll do anything to improve the situation.

 

[orangehomer]

I like this post, but I actually kinda feel the opposite. I think it's always funny when people make fun of where I'm living or used to live b/c most of the time it's actually pretty true. Especially since a lot of people who make fun of it live somewhere else and couldn't fathom living where you live. I don't know -- it's basically just a place that works for you to live and ultimately there are good things and bad things about just about everywhere.

My buddies from NJ and NYC in college used to constantly rail on upstate NY and I would mercilessly make fun of NJ (I actually love NY, though I'm not into living there). It always seemed pretty funny.

I may have also said at some point that the biggest upside of climate change is that maybe it will wash away the southeast portion of the country. I kid, I kid.

so basically you have disqualified yourself from having any meaningful contribution on this topic

 

[billsin01]

so basically you have disqualified yourself from having any meaningful contribution on this topic

Wow. Testy.

 

[FrancoPizza]

In Syracuse unemployment is down, wages are up, overall participation int he job market is up, and 73% of the people moving into the city are millennials which is 3rd best in the nation. College grads are hardly being driven away. Your ideas about the job market here are outdated.

I think the skeptics here would say that means only 4 people moved to Syracuse last year and 3 of them were millenials. Or maybe it's a zero-sum movement of people from the burbs to the city limits as another poster speculated. The most objective stat is net population +/- for specific demographics, and I haven't seen those metrics paint Syracuse in a favorable light... yet.

The job market growth is limited to a few sectors. If you have more specific information that dispels that perception then please share with the rest of us. I will say the drone economy presents a unique opportunity for the local software/radar companies to really explode their business. SRC, for example, is hiring and advertising at unprecendented levels. They are paying $10k bonuses just for the referral and hiring of experienced candidates. That type of growth is exciting but, again, benefits very specific skill sets and I know first-hand that they are struggling to find good applicants. If NY State can continue to invest in the drone business corridor, maybe we can get an investment from Amazon or some other spin-off $ to continue that momentum. Drones are the way of the future in all areas of commerce, not just defense. In the rosiest scenario I could see Syracuse/upstate become rebranded as drone HQ 10-15 years from now.

I do think Spring is the worst weather we get here, but 9 of the 12 months of the year I'll take Syracuse's weather over DC's.

For people who ski, maybe. And kids love snow, so there's that. Spring is under-appreciated. I think people just get impatient and want to get outdoors to do stuff. And it seems that springs have lately been cooler and wetter which doesn't help.

I love your enthusiasm, though. The one thing this city needs is better marketing of its assets. Many just don't appreciate or recognize our selling points.

 

[FrancoPizza]

For me it's the weather. The area would be perfectly fine if we didn't have winter for 6 months.

Winter would be perfectly fine if Syracuse basketball could get back to being Syracuse basketball.

 

[orangecuse]

Problem is they don't know how to take care of the roads. Yes, there is good economy for the most part but the state legislature can only think about getting re-elected and that's why we have super low taxes with infrastructure that is horrible and no money to fix it.
Believe me when I tell you it's not a subjective statement when I say our roads and bridges are some of the worst.
It will take a bridge collapsing like there was on the thruway 30 years ago before they'll do anything to improve the situation.

My comment was really in jest, however, I've lived in the Charlotte area for 25 + years now and have been around many places in South Carolina, and I haven't noticed them really being that bad, maybe I just haven't been paying much attention.

I've been around Greenville often, Spartanburg, Rock Hill, Columbia (which is a dump) Sumter, Florence, Charleston, Mt. Pleasant, Myrtle Beach, owned secondary property for over a decade in Pawley's Island, SC, etc. Now, the one thing that does stand out to me in regards to the roads down here, and that includes NC as well, is the lack of shoulders everywhere for the most part. And, that they have these stupid left turn arrow signal lights that stay red (instead of flashing, being amber, etc.) when there is no body within a mile coming from the other direction and you have to sit there and wait for the signal to cycle through again. Now, these are the types of big issues we have here in the Carolinas to really complain about.