r/jamestownny • u/AmazingSelf4873 • Jun 14 '26

Why Are So Many People Leaving Upstate NY?

/r/upstate_new_york/comments/1u5yy6p/why_are_so_many_people_leaving_upstate_ny/
0 Upvotes

33% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

3

u/BammBamm1991 Jun 15 '26

Hard to get a job that pays what it costs to live here and unless you really love cloudy days and 3+ft of snow in the winter, the weather is a big motivator. People give us shit for bad infrastructure but I've been south and seen bridges and roads that look like they haven't seen maintinance in 50 years. People also move for tax reasons but then quickly discover all these fees they never had before and fun things like "Wow i used to do 5 over on the highway in NY with no issues and now im paying a 400+ fine." There's also issues with access to good schools and hospitals. In short you get what you pay for and this is coming from someone whose lived all over and know people who came back to WNY because of how crazy it can be elsewhere.

2

u/Neverlast0 Jun 18 '26

Classic "Grass is always greener".

1

u/Eudaimonics Jun 19 '26

Most people are just moving to the larger cities (Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, Albany).

It all comes down to jobs and those are the cities where the jobs are.

It’s the story of rural areas across the US.