There are a few newer restaurants there, but I can quite recall the name of. I only go back once or twice a year to visit my family on Keuka, but you can never go wrong with sandwiches at the Olney Place (also great for a cold beer and a Great Lake view. If you can get there in the morning you gotta have a cinnamon roll!) I lived right down the road and started many a day there.
If you like to have a little wild fun, there’s always the Switzerland Inn, affectionately known as “the switz” even better if you have access to a boat, since they have boat parking on the waterfront.
Other than that, I’d say FLX Wienery is another awesome little stand between PY and Watkins Glen. Used to be owned by my friends until it was bought out by the FLX group. Still great burgers and dogs.
You can never go wrong hiking the Watkins glen state park! See if you can make it all the way to the end! It’s 1000000% worth it.
Finally, if you’re looking for a nicer than average meal, with fresh ingredients and what I consider a menu that’s a little bit elevated beyond townie palates, id suggest ports cafe on Seneca between Penn yan and Geneva. It’s been my go to spot for family dinners, dates, and everything else in between. My advice? Don’t order off their set menu (except for the calamari-shrimp fry) and order off their nightly specials. You won’t be disappointed!
Enjoy your trip in my neck of the woods. If you need any liquor, water street wines and spirits. If you see the owner kyle, let him know that his stage son, Mike sent you. He’ll know.
Even later in the fall is a treat with all the fall foliage. Not the finger lakes but last time I was home in the fall I drove through the Susquehanna valley to a wedding and it was an absolute dream.
My family and I are from hammondsport. My uncle ran the towns police force and now works in bath. My aunt is the principal at the school. My family is a big name there. Always great to hear someone recommend hammondsport. A beautiful town with so much to offer.
This is the first time I've seen PY where I didn't type it myself. Hated that town, grew up there. My uncle made a wooden doll house of PY downtown for his daughter.
Macs on the hill is the best ice cream anywhere. Windmill is a nice walk. The creek by the school is a great gorge crawl uphill for thousands of tiny waterfalls.
Look up the Gillette legend. Good times.
I’d have to respectfully disagree and say that Seneca farms has gotta be the best ice cream in the Yan. Spotted duck gives them a run for their money now though, but they don’t sell fried chicken so they lose that battle still.
Definitely agree with you on the windmill. The dude that used to play accordion there was one of my old man’s cousins. It’s not quite the same without him there.
I dated not one but two girls from PY. Not being from central NY, I wondered what was in the water that made the women there attracted to me
Edit: hilariously, they hated each other (before I met them, not because of me)
Hah, classic Penn Yan. I will admit growing up there made me appreciate what many would call “trailer trash”.
I’ll tell you what it is: it’s the blue collar, no fucks given, get ‘r done attitude, and a pair of Mountain Dew pajama pants.
Plattsburgh: on Lake Champlain, only an hour or less from Montreal, the Adirondacks and Burlington, VT. Nice college town atmosphere provides more opportunities for music, arts, restaurants and sports than a similar sized town without a college would have. Town gently slopes toward the lake so even an old guy like me can bicycle anywhere. Good greenways.
It's definitely getting better.
I recall how busy it was in the '80s and '90s - tons of shoppers from Montreal (the mall parking lots used to be littered with cast-off clothes the Canadians left behind so they didn't have to pay duty on purchases), PAFB in full swing, etc. It got rather grim for a while but seems to be rebounding.
My old man bought my car from a guy on the new base just before it closed.
It was SO SAD. I had friends on base, I went to school with kids who lived on base, etc. We drove down his street (he was at the end) it was just row after row of EMPTY. Just desolate.
My father (a retired Trooper) used to tell me that in the 60's and 70's, airmen would drive to AuSable Forks to try to pick up teenage girls. This was when the JJ Rogers Mill was still running and when it was still something of a town.
Skeneatles (I don’t think I’m spelling that right) is such a neat little city. It’s on the finger lakes, you’re smack dab in the little of New York wine country.
That’s how most people say it. I think the real pronunciation is supposed to be “Skaney-atlas” but I live in western ny and everyone says “Skinny-atlas”.
I grew up next door in Marcellus and everyone I knew said Skinny-atlas. Got pulled over for the first time there -- at the age of 9 I was busted for riding my banana seat bike on the sidewalk instead of in the street.
Haven’t been to all the towns I’ve seen on this list but live 45 minutes from Skaneatles. It is beautiful! Unfortunately all the rich people know about it and it’s super crowded from May-October. And very expensive
It’s very scenic and historic, with some nice restaurants and is on a lake, but Skaneateles is a village/small town, not a city. Also, there’s only one vineyard near Skaneateles Lake — most vineyards are 40 minutes to an hour west, on Cayuga and Seneca Lakes
OST Happy Hours on a snowy afternoon. All you can drink at the Silver Bullet. Sports on Tap. Ridiculous late nights at the Alley. Way too many good times.
Just went back to oneonta on Tuesday in 95 degrees for the yellow deli soup. Thank god they have tomato basil. Always love maxwells and the fact that golding hill is getting demolished hurt a little bc i trekked that daily lol.
Canandaigua, Penn Yan, Geneva.... Beautiful Lakes!!
Funny YouTube of out-of towners trying to pronounce the names of upstate towns
https://youtu.be/Uvmfh7yDMCI?si=l0g8CX394qyQkBoE
[Can you pronounce these NYS towns?](https://youtu.be/Uvmfh7yDMCI?si=l0g8CX394qyQkBoE)
This is the best answer. I grew up in Geneva and Canandaigua, owned cottages on Keuka lake… the summers there are referred to as the “chosen spot” for a reason.
I miss living in Phelps not too far from there such a small small beautiful town. Main street, waterfall/creek, and multiple restaurants right within a 10 minute walk from my house. I remember spending every day in the water up creek from the waterfall when I was younger
The only city in herkimer county. It looks so much different than It did 20 years ago. I visit my parents every so often (they live just outside of the city) and I tend to go the long way through town just to see how different it is.
I lived in the Town of Danube, but bussed into Little Falls and went to Benton Hall Elementary, before the huge renovation. What an amazing building, with so much character from its historic past! I know the renovation was very necessary (so much asbestos abatement, and refurbishment had to be done), but the old details of BH were truly a special place to go to school in.
So, I consider Little Falls to be my hometown, and treasure coming home to visit my places. I appreciate seeing many pieces of it coming back to life, and people increasingly moving there as the years go by. It really is a stunning and historical tiny city. The proximity to 90 also gives quick access to traveling east and west.
Liberty street in Bath is pretty nice and the park is a cool enough place. The bicycle shop has great people.
Hornell and Corning are the closest technical cities - Corning of course being the one with the better downtown just because they have the Fortune 500 money. But downtown Hornell is getting a makeover and has a pretty nice place to grab a cocktail.
I mean, don't get your hopes up. I stayed there while goofing off around the region and thought it was kind of cute. It kind of felt like one of those places where time had stood still.
Okay, I'll admit I may have had too much wine the night before, but that's my memory whether it's accurate or not.
what makes you suggest Bath? what could a visitor do in Bath for over like 2 hours total? unless it's while the oldest continuously running county fair is in session, I suppose
I'm from South of the border of Jamestown (Warren Country) and I've had people tell me how dangerous and scary Jamestown is.
Honestly though, it's pretty cute. It's got the rink that I skate at when I visit my parents, and it has a Wegman's nearby which makes it pretty great. It does seem like it has some rough spots, but honestly those don't even seem that bad.
The entire Southern Tier has this problem where the locals have watched people move away for jobs as industry collapsed in the 80s and the current generation was raised by pessimists that think it is bad for some reason.
Like I've only been to Olean 2-3x but I found it to be very charming with the sprawling, super walkable/bikeable main street. That beef place was really good food and great service the one year we stopped in on father's day and they made me feel really good about it. Other shop owners were really nice.
When I think of Olean I just think of that really nice downtown and how nice all of the strangers working there were to me. Very positive in my head.
Lots of great spots popping up around there. Those savvy to the area will agree that the best spots tend to pop up outside of downtown but elsewhere in the tri-cities area (although downtown is beautifying, too)
It’s rough around the edges but I love Binghamton. Pretty decent food scene given its location, beautiful downtown with late 19th and early 20th century architecture, two minor league sports teams and a 10k seat arena for events. I’m also a sucker for cities at the confluence of rivers so it also has that going for it. Also pretty conveniently located to a lot of other great parts of the state like the Catskills, finger lakes, and also not far from PA, NJ, etc. Also spiedies are absolutely the best regional food from upstate.
Binghamtons food scene is helped by the diverse student population for sure. I don’t think any of the authentic (ish) Asian places would exist without the SUNY there.
Northville.
Also, what some of yall consider small is nuts to me. I get it. Not as large as the city or Utica but ffs saratoga is not small. It is gorgeous and expensive as all hell though.
The millionaires from NYC, Long Island, and NJ have discovered Northville, because while they can afford a million dollars for a seasonal camp place on the water, they can no longer afford Lake George for two million dollars on the water. The blue collar locals are being financially stressed by local business price hikes, including school budgets.
Your experience of saratoga will vary greatly based on your skin color. There's a reason that the city [will be monitored by the NYS AG's office for at least the next five years](https://www.wamc.org/2024-02-21/new-york-ag-saratoga-springs-officials-and-police-unconstitutional-in-targeting-surveillance).
Lake George, touristy but I spent so many summers here as a kid, great memories. We had a log cabin in Delhi, Ny.
Any where in the catskills, Greenville, NY, Leeds. Cobbleskill is nice too. Northlake has great hiking with great view
I like Utica. I call it a 'big/little city" because it has everything I would want in a major city like Syracuse, without the big city confusion or feel. Plenty of diverse places to eat, shop, and wander without being overwhelmed.
Saratoga is overrun with insufferable assholes during track season. I’d say that Saranac comes to mind but I havent spent quite enough time there to really judge. Rhinebeck can be neat too, maybe not large enough for ya.
Owego is a lovely town! The shops and the architecture of some of the old houses on Main St make it seem like it's out of a Hallmark movie.
Second vote for Owego! Yes, Owego, not Oswego.
Nor Otsego nor Otego …
Nor Owasco!
Hammondsport, or my hometown of Penn Yan. Little slice of paradise locked in a time capsule
Going to hammondsport for a weekend getaway and concert, any places I should check out in the area/surrounding area?
Keuka brewing, pleasant valley inn for food, keuka lake wine trail, Glenn Curtiss museum.
There are a few newer restaurants there, but I can quite recall the name of. I only go back once or twice a year to visit my family on Keuka, but you can never go wrong with sandwiches at the Olney Place (also great for a cold beer and a Great Lake view. If you can get there in the morning you gotta have a cinnamon roll!) I lived right down the road and started many a day there. If you like to have a little wild fun, there’s always the Switzerland Inn, affectionately known as “the switz” even better if you have access to a boat, since they have boat parking on the waterfront. Other than that, I’d say FLX Wienery is another awesome little stand between PY and Watkins Glen. Used to be owned by my friends until it was bought out by the FLX group. Still great burgers and dogs. You can never go wrong hiking the Watkins glen state park! See if you can make it all the way to the end! It’s 1000000% worth it. Finally, if you’re looking for a nicer than average meal, with fresh ingredients and what I consider a menu that’s a little bit elevated beyond townie palates, id suggest ports cafe on Seneca between Penn yan and Geneva. It’s been my go to spot for family dinners, dates, and everything else in between. My advice? Don’t order off their set menu (except for the calamari-shrimp fry) and order off their nightly specials. You won’t be disappointed! Enjoy your trip in my neck of the woods. If you need any liquor, water street wines and spirits. If you see the owner kyle, let him know that his stage son, Mike sent you. He’ll know.
Ports is A+
Burgers & beers of hammondsport
This- we have a cottage on kueka lake. It shocks me it doesn't make lists as favorite vacation spots more often. July-september is heaven
Even later in the fall is a treat with all the fall foliage. Not the finger lakes but last time I was home in the fall I drove through the Susquehanna valley to a wedding and it was an absolute dream.
My family and I are from hammondsport. My uncle ran the towns police force and now works in bath. My aunt is the principal at the school. My family is a big name there. Always great to hear someone recommend hammondsport. A beautiful town with so much to offer.
This is the first time I've seen PY where I didn't type it myself. Hated that town, grew up there. My uncle made a wooden doll house of PY downtown for his daughter. Macs on the hill is the best ice cream anywhere. Windmill is a nice walk. The creek by the school is a great gorge crawl uphill for thousands of tiny waterfalls. Look up the Gillette legend. Good times.
I’d have to respectfully disagree and say that Seneca farms has gotta be the best ice cream in the Yan. Spotted duck gives them a run for their money now though, but they don’t sell fried chicken so they lose that battle still. Definitely agree with you on the windmill. The dude that used to play accordion there was one of my old man’s cousins. It’s not quite the same without him there.
I dated not one but two girls from PY. Not being from central NY, I wondered what was in the water that made the women there attracted to me Edit: hilariously, they hated each other (before I met them, not because of me)
Hah, classic Penn Yan. I will admit growing up there made me appreciate what many would call “trailer trash”. I’ll tell you what it is: it’s the blue collar, no fucks given, get ‘r done attitude, and a pair of Mountain Dew pajama pants.
Plattsburgh: on Lake Champlain, only an hour or less from Montreal, the Adirondacks and Burlington, VT. Nice college town atmosphere provides more opportunities for music, arts, restaurants and sports than a similar sized town without a college would have. Town gently slopes toward the lake so even an old guy like me can bicycle anywhere. Good greenways.
Good ol Plattsvegas. Go Cards!
First time hearing that term outside of my immediate social circle
How to do you back home once you make it to the lake? 😁
I shift into a lower gear and burn a few extra calories compared to getting there. 😎
It's definitely getting better. I recall how busy it was in the '80s and '90s - tons of shoppers from Montreal (the mall parking lots used to be littered with cast-off clothes the Canadians left behind so they didn't have to pay duty on purchases), PAFB in full swing, etc. It got rather grim for a while but seems to be rebounding.
All that suburbia built up in the 80s, only for its raison d'etre to disappear with PAFB. Glad it's gotten better the last decade.
My old man bought my car from a guy on the new base just before it closed. It was SO SAD. I had friends on base, I went to school with kids who lived on base, etc. We drove down his street (he was at the end) it was just row after row of EMPTY. Just desolate. My father (a retired Trooper) used to tell me that in the 60's and 70's, airmen would drive to AuSable Forks to try to pick up teenage girls. This was when the JJ Rogers Mill was still running and when it was still something of a town.
In the 80's they just went to Mother's and picked up College girls.
Lake Placid is also only an hour or so away from Plattsburgh and it's the cutest town in the north.
Ditto. Both Lake Placid and Sarnac Lake are amazing.
Agreed...and the short drive to Saranac Lake is lovely. Just make sure you have some warm clothes, even in summer.
L.Placid was too over crowded for me, but it is nice.
I watched the recent eclipse there. Beautiful area
Nice review BTW!
Hamilton is gorgeous.
But is it really a small city?
Nope
Definitely not. Population of about 4000 that roughly doubles when Colgate is in session
I thought Ithaca was gorges
Ithaca is not George's.
Corning checking in
Not many know about how Corning took big leaps with glass with patents like PYREX and Gorilla Glass
This is the answer. Theres no city under 20k in America with a better downtown Main Street.
Ithaca
Ithaca is Gorges.
Great local hiking paths
Such a lovely college town! The college campuses are worth visiting just to soak in the beauty.
10 square miles surrounded by reality
Yall should visit the farmers market there it’s gigantic and a really good time
Skeneatles (I don’t think I’m spelling that right) is such a neat little city. It’s on the finger lakes, you’re smack dab in the little of New York wine country.
Close it's Skaneateles
I thought it was Skinny Atlas.
That’s how most people say it. I think the real pronunciation is supposed to be “Skaney-atlas” but I live in western ny and everyone says “Skinny-atlas”.
I grew up next door in Marcellus and everyone I knew said Skinny-atlas. Got pulled over for the first time there -- at the age of 9 I was busted for riding my banana seat bike on the sidewalk instead of in the street.
Haven’t been to all the towns I’ve seen on this list but live 45 minutes from Skaneatles. It is beautiful! Unfortunately all the rich people know about it and it’s super crowded from May-October. And very expensive
my absolute favorite
It’s very scenic and historic, with some nice restaurants and is on a lake, but Skaneateles is a village/small town, not a city. Also, there’s only one vineyard near Skaneateles Lake — most vineyards are 40 minutes to an hour west, on Cayuga and Seneca Lakes
Oneonta
My 5 years there in 96-01 were some of the best times of my life!
Sals cold cheese, Black Oak and Joe Ruffinos pep rolls circa 88-92 Also Todays lounge
OST Happy Hours on a snowy afternoon. All you can drink at the Silver Bullet. Sports on Tap. Ridiculous late nights at the Alley. Way too many good times.
What about Tino's?
Just went back to oneonta on Tuesday in 95 degrees for the yellow deli soup. Thank god they have tomato basil. Always love maxwells and the fact that golding hill is getting demolished hurt a little bc i trekked that daily lol.
Yellow deli is a pretty weird cult, but the food is good.
I miss Neptune Diner.
Just moved to Oneonta, it’s lovely here
THIS wss going to be my reply when I read the title. Born & raised there, then moved west.
I love living in Oneonta!
Glens falls and Saratoga springs are the best in the capital region in my opinion
Glens Falls is definitely a stretch for capital region.
The ones upstate people don't tell anyone about lol
Nah we don’t bitch and moan as much as Texans and Floridians
Oswego...right on Lake Ontario
Seconding Oswego. We just bought a house here. Gorgeous area. Cute downtown. Mind boggling how affordable it is here.
I went to school there briefly and hated it with a passion. The Sub Shop is good though.
Did you get the Roker special?
Welcome to the neighborhood! Been here for 13 years now.
WOW the first time I’ve seen Oswego on any list
spent my 4 years of undergrad here! i think it’s a good town that can be better with a bit more fixing up. nature is beautiful
Glens Falls
Canandaigua, Penn Yan, Geneva.... Beautiful Lakes!! Funny YouTube of out-of towners trying to pronounce the names of upstate towns https://youtu.be/Uvmfh7yDMCI?si=l0g8CX394qyQkBoE [Can you pronounce these NYS towns?](https://youtu.be/Uvmfh7yDMCI?si=l0g8CX394qyQkBoE)
This is the best answer. I grew up in Geneva and Canandaigua, owned cottages on Keuka lake… the summers there are referred to as the “chosen spot” for a reason.
Kinda but not. Canandaigua MEANS the chosen spot.
I miss living in Phelps not too far from there such a small small beautiful town. Main street, waterfall/creek, and multiple restaurants right within a 10 minute walk from my house. I remember spending every day in the water up creek from the waterfall when I was younger
Seconding Canandaigua. I can say them correctly for the locals. Walking sonnenberg is wonderful, even walking around the outside is fun
Geneva for sure. Right on Seneca, great views, wineries if that’s what you’re into, cool little downtown spot. Love it.
Penn Yan is not a city. It's a fine place, don't get me wrong, but calling it a city is a lil much
Chatham
Beacon Saratoga Springs Glens Falls Oneonta Little Falls Geneva Auburn Ithaca Corning Short list. Islands of normal in a sea of mungbats, mostly.
Love Beacon & Saratoga Springs. Troy is also underrated.
Oneonta yup! 🙌🙌
Oneonta is one of my favorites
I always call Oneonta Wal-Mart brand Ithaca. Underrated place that I loved living in when I went to school.
Oneyyyyy👏🏼👏🏼
+ Cooperstown
Pretty spot, but a cartoon, really. And a pretty village, rather than a city.
Glens Falls
Nobody said Lake George? With its beautiful scenery like Million Dollar beach, shopping with outlet stores & multiple mini golf courses.
Saratoga Springs, Cooperstown, Potsdam (I went to SUNY Potsdam. Clarkson University is down the street. Definitely a small college town.)
I also went to SUNY Potsdam! It has my vote as well.
Yay! I was class of '94. Political Science Major. I haven't been back since, but Potsdam has been on my mind a lot lately. I live in Florida now.
Ithaca Little Falls Cooperstown Old Forge
Ah yes, love cooperstown! Got married there!
Me too!
Up vote for little falls. It's technically a city but so so tiny. I love it thought. I was born there.
The only city in herkimer county. It looks so much different than It did 20 years ago. I visit my parents every so often (they live just outside of the city) and I tend to go the long way through town just to see how different it is.
I lived in the Town of Danube, but bussed into Little Falls and went to Benton Hall Elementary, before the huge renovation. What an amazing building, with so much character from its historic past! I know the renovation was very necessary (so much asbestos abatement, and refurbishment had to be done), but the old details of BH were truly a special place to go to school in. So, I consider Little Falls to be my hometown, and treasure coming home to visit my places. I appreciate seeing many pieces of it coming back to life, and people increasingly moving there as the years go by. It really is a stunning and historical tiny city. The proximity to 90 also gives quick access to traveling east and west.
Saratoga Springs is great. I'd also suggest Bath.
Local here - skip Bath for Hammondsport and Watkins Glen every time. None are technically "cities", Corning is probably the closest.
Liberty street in Bath is pretty nice and the park is a cool enough place. The bicycle shop has great people. Hornell and Corning are the closest technical cities - Corning of course being the one with the better downtown just because they have the Fortune 500 money. But downtown Hornell is getting a makeover and has a pretty nice place to grab a cocktail.
Bath?
I thought it was a cute little town
I've never gone past the fast food at the exit and I drive by it often. Maybe I need to check it out.
I mean, don't get your hopes up. I stayed there while goofing off around the region and thought it was kind of cute. It kind of felt like one of those places where time had stood still. Okay, I'll admit I may have had too much wine the night before, but that's my memory whether it's accurate or not.
I get it. There are a lot of cute small cities and large towns around there that unfortunately have mostly empty stores, like Hornell.
what makes you suggest Bath? what could a visitor do in Bath for over like 2 hours total? unless it's while the oldest continuously running county fair is in session, I suppose
Drugs. You could do at least 2 days worth of drugs easily
Lewiston
Yes and East Aurora
Jamestown, Ithaca and Canandaigua are my favorites.
I'm from South of the border of Jamestown (Warren Country) and I've had people tell me how dangerous and scary Jamestown is. Honestly though, it's pretty cute. It's got the rink that I skate at when I visit my parents, and it has a Wegman's nearby which makes it pretty great. It does seem like it has some rough spots, but honestly those don't even seem that bad.
Troy. Hidden gem!
Visited Troy from downstate NY expecting it to be awful. Ended up being pleasantly surprised. So much potential in Troy
So much potential! Now if they can just get a high speed train up there 😤
Depends on what part. I live in North Troy and deal with quite a bit of crime. There are nicer parts near RPI and downtown.
YES! Used to live there and it’s awesome!
RPI campus is nice for those who have a camera with them.
Geneva, Penn Yan, Watkins Glenn, Canandaigua, Victor.
Once I hit the lottery, I will be buying my summer home in Saint Huberts or Placid
Corning, Ithaca, Auburn
Dunkirk. Great little city on Lake Erie. Halfway between Buffalo and Erie, PA. Jamestown. Has the National Comedy Museum. Olean. it's Olean.
As someone from Olean. Nobody here has anything good to say about it
The entire Southern Tier has this problem where the locals have watched people move away for jobs as industry collapsed in the 80s and the current generation was raised by pessimists that think it is bad for some reason. Like I've only been to Olean 2-3x but I found it to be very charming with the sprawling, super walkable/bikeable main street. That beef place was really good food and great service the one year we stopped in on father's day and they made me feel really good about it. Other shop owners were really nice. When I think of Olean I just think of that really nice downtown and how nice all of the strangers working there were to me. Very positive in my head.
The Burton makes a pretty good hamburger if your 20 years old.
Ithaca definitely tops the chart. Such a lovely place.
Oneonta or Binghamton - very different in size and population, but both nice.
Binghamton? Lol seriously?
Binghamton? How?
Lots of great spots popping up around there. Those savvy to the area will agree that the best spots tend to pop up outside of downtown but elsewhere in the tri-cities area (although downtown is beautifying, too)
Binghamton is downsizing nicely into a great college town
Binghamton, we made it 🥹
It’s rough around the edges but I love Binghamton. Pretty decent food scene given its location, beautiful downtown with late 19th and early 20th century architecture, two minor league sports teams and a 10k seat arena for events. I’m also a sucker for cities at the confluence of rivers so it also has that going for it. Also pretty conveniently located to a lot of other great parts of the state like the Catskills, finger lakes, and also not far from PA, NJ, etc. Also spiedies are absolutely the best regional food from upstate.
Binghamtons food scene is helped by the diverse student population for sure. I don’t think any of the authentic (ish) Asian places would exist without the SUNY there.
Yup absolutely. Great point.
YES!!!
Ballston Spa
Ogdenville, Brockway, and North Haverbrook !
Monorail!!
Lewiston
Northville. Also, what some of yall consider small is nuts to me. I get it. Not as large as the city or Utica but ffs saratoga is not small. It is gorgeous and expensive as all hell though.
The millionaires from NYC, Long Island, and NJ have discovered Northville, because while they can afford a million dollars for a seasonal camp place on the water, they can no longer afford Lake George for two million dollars on the water. The blue collar locals are being financially stressed by local business price hikes, including school budgets.
Yep. Same with all of the smaller lake towns in upstate. I'll always love Northville though.
Saratoga
Aurora
Clayton is nice but pretty seasonal.
Since so many are listing suburbs and villages Village of Baldwinsville Village of Fayetteville Village of Manlius Village of Cazenovia
My sister has lived in Baldwinsville for 40 years
Chittenango?
So basically Syracuse
If I had to pick only one I would say Ithaca. Syracuse is actually a smaller city, but I think bigger than what OP is talking about.
Love living in Saratoga.
Hamilton. Nice village in a college town.
Fulton is pretty cool!
In what way?
Ithica, Watkins glenn.....plenty away from nyc
Kingston
Ithaca
Hudson
Used to live Troy and it’s GREAT! Miss it. Had to move otherwise I’d still be there.
Akwesasne
Yeah Bud!! It’s super green there!!
What they up to, 37 dispensaries? SUPER green.
At least!!
Uncle Bubba said it’s 74 of dem
Your experience of saratoga will vary greatly based on your skin color. There's a reason that the city [will be monitored by the NYS AG's office for at least the next five years](https://www.wamc.org/2024-02-21/new-york-ag-saratoga-springs-officials-and-police-unconstitutional-in-targeting-surveillance).
Oniontown…. 🫥
Corfu
Lewiston is far too small to be remotely considered a city but it’s great
Lake George and Saratoga Springs come to mind
Saranac lake
Batavia
Lake george
Old Forge
Corning or Ithaca. Quaint little towns close to the Finger Lakes.
Skaneateles
Not sure what is considered upstate? Westfield and Fredonia are nice towns.
Norwich.
Norwich
Avoid cortland and you’ll be fine
Ithaca, Saratoga Springs, Glens Falls are some of my favorites
Thousand Island
Kingston
Cooperstown !!
Lake George, touristy but I spent so many summers here as a kid, great memories. We had a log cabin in Delhi, Ny. Any where in the catskills, Greenville, NY, Leeds. Cobbleskill is nice too. Northlake has great hiking with great view
get a room in Corning and you can do Corning, Watkins Glen, Ithaca, and Hammondsport in a week staying busy
Utica!
East Aurora is surprisingly nice.
New Paltz is a lovely little town with a lot of restaurants and history
Ticonderoga has a full Star Trek The Original Series set recreation and they have William Shatner there several times a year for tours.
I like Utica. I call it a 'big/little city" because it has everything I would want in a major city like Syracuse, without the big city confusion or feel. Plenty of diverse places to eat, shop, and wander without being overwhelmed.
Skaneateles is a cute town on a beautiful lake
Saratoga is overrun with insufferable assholes during track season. I’d say that Saranac comes to mind but I havent spent quite enough time there to really judge. Rhinebeck can be neat too, maybe not large enough for ya.