Is it really that bad upstate New York?

[collardgreenswithhashbrowns]

I've heard some really horrible things about upstaet New York that make even the worst of the Rust Belt in Ohio look promising. Is it really that bad in Syracuse and Buffalo; it seems as though it would make an affordable place for New Yorkers to move to as opposed to New Jersey or the New England States if they would connect it by rail and market it more. Not sure that gentrification is the best thing for the area, but it is a start.

[duker9180166]

It seems affordable because there is little to no demand. There is minimal demand because there are no jobs.

[lingua064373007]

It's not as bad as the rust belt. Buffalo would be the worst off out of the whole upstate. It is certainly nowhere near as bad as say syracuse. The big car jobs were never there to begin with. Its just that when the industrial revolution wound down, so did a lot of those factory jobs. But it is pretty up there and tourism still attracts people. It is affordable up there and scenic. Don't expect to find a factory job, but if you have a good skill or are some kind of entrepreneur that can make a niche up there you'll do ok.

[iceman1529]

The weather is utterly horrible for 8-9 months of the year, but other then that is just like anywhere else.

[nova_queen_28]

New Jersey and the New England states are closer to Manhattan which is where the money and jobs are far more prevalent.
Believe me, areas of NY State that are within reasonable commuting distance already have plenty of people in them.
Some areas of New York are 4, 5, or more hours from Manhattan while much of New Jersey and Connecticut is within 2 hours.

Upstate is beautiful and has some lovely tourist attractions that provide some jobs, but as a generality there are not enough jobs for the people.

[TonyS8538]

What makes things bad Upstate is the fact that a lot of jobs that were based there have either relocated to Mexico, or outsourced to places like India and China. And with the jobs leaving, economies and areas become depressed.

Buffalo does have a lot of bad parts there though job wise may actually be one of the "better" cities...though not by much. Pockets of Syracuse are bad as well, but there are parts that are good too. In both cases what saves their economies are the colleges (Buffalo State College, University at Buffalo and Syracuse University). After that.....economically wise, it's bad there.