Northern new york questions

pcdreams · #1 12/05/06, 12:48 PM

we're exploring real estate in northern new york and wanted to get some info on the area from locals.

It's theresa, NY.. Which appears to be north of watertown and west of Ft. Drum..

Biggest concerns--

what are taxes like (in general or in comparson to VT)
What type of regulations should I expect? (restrictive or relaxed)
Do you get lake effect snow (avg snowfall per year) ?
Is this a pretty remote area (hopefully)? or more of a suburb?
friendly folks or cliquish?

and finally heres the listing we're looking at just incase anyone knows anything about this property

http://www.nnyrealty.com/bdy.htm

ricky · #2 12/05/06, 07:01 PM

tell you what i was born in carthage ny lived there ,and most of my kin are still in carthage, fargo, and natural bridge area and dad was from lowville. first is this . taxes are high in ny weather is bad id say you have 8 months of bad and cold as cold can be. summer is from mid june to end of sept then the heat comes on. say 200 inches of snow average. but for that price its a steal. i think if your in vt then its a comp place to set up shop. my 2 cents

Helena · #3 12/05/06, 07:36 PM

I remember going to Watertown during the late 80's when my soon-law and daughter were in Watertown when he was in the Army there. Cold !!..my Gosh... I thought my face would freeze off going from the house to the car..a few feet away...?? I remember visiting and they shut down the town of Lowville where their housing was...you couldn't leave to go home..they shut all the roads.. Cold and snowy.. they would plow the roads and there would be 10 foot high snow drifts...!!!!... But... I guess there are good points to the area also...just give me time to think about them...hmm

Thousand Islands... Remote..yes... Think about the area...nice country..but a lot to consider before making a move...look into it...Good Luck !

mwhit · #4 12/06/06, 07:06 AM

OK... I'll be honest-- I would not want to live in Theresa. Too close to Fort Drum/Watertown/Alexandria Bay for me and Jefferson county has many more regulations, tougher zoning etc. than we do and a higher crime rate. It is only about 12 miles from Fort Drum... You do get some lake effect there-- we seldom get it in the big county (St. Lawrence). Not really sure about how friendly the folks are in Theresa-- when you drive through the town it seems rather run down and I've heard there are alot of drug users there?? If you are looking for peaceful, rural and relaxed restrictions go for St. Lawrence or possibly Lewis county (Lewis county has a harsher winter than we do though being in the Tug Hill region). The farm you are looking at does look nice and in the country, but that can change in the blink of an eye in Jefferson county-- housing and development has been rapid out there the past few years! If you notice farther down on the link page-- between 1999 and 2004 only 1 new building was built (permit data) but in 2005 there were 24 new buildings-- I imagine there were even more in 2006! Fort Drum has been expanding in every direction. If you want pece and quiet go a little farther north...

http://www.city-data.com/city/Theresa-New-York.html

pcdreams · #5 12/06/06, 07:30 AM

thanks all. being so close to ft drum this is kinda what I was expecting. Around here the closer the base you are, the more riff raff.. and as for developement.. well lets just say I'll take the advice and go further north

as for snow, heck I'll take that.. we don't get much here in MO and thats part of the reason we want to move to the northern tier.