An Open Letter to Syracuse

Dear Syracuse,

    You are my home.  I have gone to school here.  I have bought a home here.  I have built my family here.  I have lived here for nearly seven years.  But, Syracuse, I am conflicted.  I keep thinking about moving away.  My husband has opportunities in other cities.  Cities much bigger than you.  And while I love you dearly, Syracuse, we don't always get along.  Very few things are in walking distance, my friend, and that bothers me.  Your public transportation is infrequent and does not meet any of my needs.  To be frank, I think your public transportation is pretty horrible, Syracuse.  Combined with that is the fact that everything around here is based on the car.  Walking around is very difficult.  There are all these interstate underpasses, and unkept sidewalks.  Especially in the winter, Syracuse: your sidewalks are a mess.

    But with all my complaints, I have a hard time wanting to leave.  I have invested so much of myself in you.  I want you to be beautiful.  No, that's not it... you are already beautiful.  More than anything, I want YOU, Syracuse, to just see yourself as beautiful.  I want you to see the beautiful city I know you are, underneath all the BS. ...and even more, I want you to see what you could become.  I want you to see how much MORE  beautiful you could become if you gave yourself the chance.

     And that's all it is, Syracuse.  You need to take a chance on yourself.  Leap the cliff.  I know you'll land on your feet.  You already have so much going for you.  You are not the failed DestiNY project.  You are not Syracuse University.  You are a winner, regardless of what the basketball team does.  You have many quality neighborhoods.  You have amazing parks.  And you are affordable.  You don't demand a lot from me as a resident.  Sure, taxes many be high, but land value is so cheap that it all balances out.  Living here, I was able to buy a house at the age of 26.  Most of my peers at that time had small apartments, or were living with their parents (or living in an apartment payed for by their parents!).  Syracuse, you gave me the ability to own my own land and be responsible for it.  You have allowed me to have a backyard to experiment in, and transform.

      You also attract quality people here, Syracuse.  I may not have the largest circle of friends here locally, but the friendship I make here, I know I will have for live.  When I was living in other cities, I knew the friends I made wouldn't stay around forever.  They were in that city for a job, or there as a stepping stone to other places.  But with you Syracuse, I know the friends I make here are friends I could have with me for live.  The people I meet here are committed.  They are of a different caliber.  They aren't living here because it's easy for them.  They aren't here because of peer pressure to living in a "cool" city.  And they aren't here because that's where their job just happens to be.  No, these people are willing to take a chance on you.  They aren't scared of your abandoned spaces.  They see opportunity in your boarded up windows.  They see the beautiful you that I also see.

     So take a chance on yourself Syracuse.  Because there are a lot of people here willing to take a chance on you.  And if I must leave in a few years to be with my family, please make sure that I can always come back to you.

Love,
A City Resident.

Sidewalk Snow Removal

Snow removal is a fact of life in Syracuse.... for most of us. However, there are a LOT of properties that don't clean their sidewalks. This is dangerous, as people often have to walk in the street. This is ESPECIALLY dangerous when it's around schools / universities and CHILDREN have to walk in the street. However, I just heard about this:

Westcott Area Sidewalk Snow Removal Pilot Project: there are only a few days left for residents of target blocks to send in their registration and payment.

• • The purpose of this project is to guarantee safe routes to schools: Levy, Ed Smith, SU campus, ESF, SUNY Upstate
  • Target blocks include
    • Westcott Street: 500-900 blocks
    • Harvard Place: 100-300 blocks
    • Euclid Avenue: 300-800 blocks
    • Livingston Avenue: 700-800 blocks
    • Ackerman Avenue: 700-900 blocks
    • Lancaster Avenue: 700-100 blocks
    • Sumner Avenue: 700-800 blocks
  • there are approximately 500 properties on these blocks, and we need at least 60%, or 300 properties, in order for the project to happen (135 currently registered)
  • LANDSCAPES ETC, LLC has been selected as the contractor. Contact Jon Perkins at 692-4679(w) or 447-5844(cell) or Jon@landscapesetc.net
    
  • Deadline to register: Monday, Nov. 2

So if you live on one of these target blocks, please please please sign up! Even if you are a student, sign up and do the right thing by your neighborhood and your friends! Unless, you know.... you enjoy walking in the snow or the street.

Housing Trends

Syracuse Real Estate

I think that graph says it all.

Back in 2006, when I bought my house, I knew Syracuse was a good place to buy a house. Why? The simple reason that there never was a housing bubble here to burst. This past year has seen the prediction come true. As housing prices tumble around the country, Syracuse remains.... well... not "strong" per se.... but stable. Syracuse remains stable, and slowly rising. The trend especially becomes visible when you click on the "10yr" button above.

(Thanks goes to Zillow for their handy graph.)