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[risa1230]

Does anybody have any info on Syracuse university? A really great position just opened up there. I've lived in NYC before, but not upstate NY. I hear it gets ridiculously cold!Also, I've been living in Southern CA for the past two years, so anything below 70 degrees is cold to me! But, how is the university as a whole? Any opinions would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[donstefano]

You get used to the cold quite easily. After a while, you remember not to go out unless you have to, and always to be well dresses. University is great.
Minus is location (for me at least - my perfect job came up there some time ago, and I didn't apply....): it really is a bit far from everything. On the plus though: with an acqdemic salary you can lead a very good life over there. Houses are really cheap.

[risa1230]

Thanks for your info! Can you tell me what the city is like?

[zharkov]

Syracuse U has a good rep and, yes, it does get cold.

I didn't accept a job in the area partly because the crime rate seemed disappointingly high for a mid-sized city, compared to a place like Portland ME, say.  Relatives who live in the area do like it, however. 

[risa1230]

wow, high crime rate? I hadn't head about that. Definetly something I'll be looking into. Thanks!

[gennimom]

Mind you, I've never been to New York except to pass through JFK and LaGuardia, but my parents have often told this tale: In the '50s when my dad was still in the National Guard in Jersey, he had to spend one summer at a camp in northern New York. He came home raving about the town nearby and how beautiful it was. They actually contemplated moving up there. The very next winter however, they heard on the news about how the town was the coldest spot in the nation, with the temperature at well below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm not sure, but I think it was somewhere in the 50s or 60s below 0. Having been through 20 below, with a windchill as low as 49 below, I say no thanks!

[francie_]

Syracuse as a city is, in a word, awful.  Trust me on this.  Crime, in the form of muggings and attempted assaults, happens regularly on the campus and in the adjacent neighborhoods.   Towns in the surrounding area are much nicer, however.  Traffic congestion is moderate, so commuting is pretty easy. 

Syracuse gets more snow on average than Buffalo, the recent storm notwithstanding, and upstate New York in general is pretty rainy.  (The silver lining is that skin cancer rates are among the lowest in the nation.)  Low temperatures in the winter hover around freezing, with some weeks of colder weather.  Summers are the reverse, a couple of weeks of hot and humid weather at most.  High temperatures over 90 are rare. 

The university has some good programs, and faculty can be very collegial.  As much as it tries to be, it's not a top research school, IMHO, and not all departments offer the Ph.D.  Basketball and football are high priorities.

Risa1230, you should PM me for more details. 
Regards, Francie 

And Gennimom, if you do not have first-hand and accurate information, why did you bother to post here?

[risa1230]

Gosh, I'm getting a lot of negatives about syracuse. Is it really THAT bad? Should I forget about applying for the job? Its just so hard to apply for a job that looks good on paper, but your not sure what to make of the city.  Thanks for all of your opinions! Maybe I need to do some more research on syracuse.

[francie_]

Risa, I think it really depends on the job and its fit to you and your research.  It's not the worst place to live, but you must be able to tolerate cold and snow.  That's just a reality. 

[minor_t]

Risa, please do apply.  The Syracuse job may be the perfect one for you, and you may be exactly what Syracuse needs.  The forumites are wonderful at giving opinions, but only you know what will work best for you.  I know people who live very happily in upstate NY, and a high crime rate doesn't seem to deter those who want to live in (fill in the high crime city - don't want to start a flame war here.)

Go for it.  If you get a campus interview, you'll find out for yourself if that's where you want to be.

mt  

[risa1230]

Thanks... I was starting to panic =)!  I think I'll just go ahead and apply and take it from there. The reality is that there is no perfect job in the perfect city. You usually get one or the other, not both! Reality sucks sometimes! =)

[sirkdn]

I have lived in upstate NY (further up than Syracuse) and I would take a job there in a second (now live in NYC).  Yes, the city has parts that are crappy, but they have a great Mall (if you like that sort of thing), and some of the best snowmobiling, snowshoeing, etc in the east is a short drive away on the Tug Hill plateau (if you like that sort of thing).  The area south of the city (toward Cortland) is beautiful, and the Thousand Island region is also pretty spectacular.  Parts of downtown are getting cleaned up, so there may be a pleasant urban culture in five-ten years (when you get tenure and have money to spend on culture).

[minor_t]

The reality is that there is no perfect job in the perfect city. You usually get one or the other, not both!

Ah, but sometimes there IS the perfect job in the perfect city.  You won't know until you try.  That's the allure of the search.  I hope you find the kind of job that makes you productive and energetic and happy and inspired.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

mt

[topdog_underdog]

Mega Bump! 

Anyone heard anything new?  Has the area/campus changed much?  What are the campus climate and students like?  Has anyone taught there before?  What's the faculty retention like?

[oldfullprof]

I'd be very willing to work at SU.  Good reputation, and the city is not THAT bad.  I hung out in the area for about six years, and never experienced street crime-- of course, I never walked down South Salina at midnight either.  You could drive in from Baldwinsville, go right to the campus, have coffee on Marshall Street, drive home.  No problem.