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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]For me, it would have to be a tie between Utica, New York, and Torrington, CT -- with the NY side of Niagara Falls being hot on both of their heels.

You?[/quote]

My cousins lived in Utica - all of them left as soon as they graduated HS.   Their HS had been taken over by the state of NY it was so academically terrible. Utica is interesting though depressed and dangerous are two words many would use to describe it if they weren’t from there.  They have some decent restaurants, good arts scene, and huge vibrant immigrant population.  It’s also CHEAP to live there.  Anywhere is what you make of it I guess.  [/quote]

I have met several people whose families came from Utica. None live there anymore, but I wonder why Utica was such a destination 100 years ago?[/quote]

I grew up in the rural area outside of Binghamton and know that the whole triple cities area in upstate NY used to be a thriving center of major businesses (IBM started there I believe, Endicott Johnson was an industry innovator, and there were even a few newspaper tycoons farther back), but they left one by one and the cities are really struggling. I'm old enough to remember lots of independent shops of all kinds including small grocery stores, local institution restaurants, and even heritage trades like cheesemakers, bulb nurseries, and maple syrup. Many of those are long gone following the arrival of walmart, target, etc. It's not hyperbole - I actually heard it from owners of shops as they put up going out of business signs. I'm not sure why IBM or some of the other tech companies left, but in the early to mid 90's there was a huge panic in that area because it was so sudden and there were engineers taking jobs in grocery stores and professionals moving away in droves.

They used to be thriving and local businesses were sustained, but now they're not. I'm not sure what that will mean for cities like Utica which I don't know as well - what happens when a city dies? I know Binghamton better - at least it has the university and there are still good cultural venues that breathe a little life into time there, but the airport is basically nonexistent now and they don't have train service despite once being a passenger rail hub.[/quote]

Have you been to Binghamton over the past couple of years? I've heard some examples of people moving back there from NYC since the start of the pandemic and sounds like it's getting a little better. And some public spaces getting fixed up.[/quote]

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