Life in Oneonta

by | Aug 5, 2019 | Explore the Region | 0 comments

Nestled in the hills of Central New York sits the small city of Oneonta. With a long and rich history, Oneonta has been a home to people for thousands of years. There is a reason this bustling small city has persisted for so long. Today, Oneonta is home to two colleges, a hospital, the Yellowjackets, a quaint Main Street, a mall, and many rolling hills (they don’t call it the ‘City of the Hills’ for nothing!). Cooperstown is only about a 30 minute drive and is the location of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Brewery Ommegang. The surrounding area of Oneonta is scenic and perfect for people who love nature and being outside. There are countless reasons to live here and if the promise of a scenic lifestyle isn’t enough to convince you, hopefully this article will help you decide in favor of this city of hills!

Can you spot Hartwick College?

Housing and schooling

Buying a house can be scary. There are a lot of little details to consider and steps to take to get the keys for a place to call home. According to Trulia, the median housing price in Oneonta is $139,900. The median price per square foot dropped from $89 to $42 in the last year. In addition to this, the city of Oneonta has created several housing programs that help families find, afford, and fix-up homes. For families with kids still in school, Oneonta is home to the Yellowjackets. This school district has three elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. From kindergarten to 12th grade, there are about 1,700 students and includes kids from surrounding towns and villages. The Oneonta School District has various sports clubs, a student run newspaper, drama club, robotics, and National Honors Society. 

In addition to Oneonta’s School District, Oneonta also has two colleges: Hartwick College and SUNY Oneonta. Other nearby colleges include SUNY Delhi and Colgate University. When Hartwick and SUNY Oneonta are in session, the population of Oneonta doubles. While SUNY Oneonta may have had nearly 6,000 students in undergraduate enrollment for 2016-17, Hartwick College had just under 1,500. Both colleges have embraced the hilly nature of Oneonta and are snugly nestled high in the hills overlooking the city. Ease of transportation is ensured in Oneonta with the running of at least one bus all year round. When the colleges are in session, a second bus also runs. You can look through the busing schedule on their website. 

Job outlook

This Corning facility is just off of I-88.

With the presence of A.O. Fox, Springbrook, the Arc Otsego, and Catskill Area Hospice and Palliative Care Center, Oneonta is a hotspot for jobs in healthcare. There are many opportunities for healthcare professionals, including RNs, dietary aides, secretaries, LPNs, CNAs, and more. There is room to advance up the ladder and opportunities for entry-level professionals, as well as professionals with years of experience. Outside of healthcare, Oneonta is still a great location in regards to job opportunities. Teachers have employment opportunities, either at Oneonta’s central schools or at the colleges. Corning Inc. is also located in Oneonta, and is currently hiring. Jobs at Corning range from IT to production operations, engineering to sales and marketing. You can learn more here! Other job opportunities include working at one of Oneonta’s many restaurants, admissions positions and research analysts at the colleges, and management and supervisory positions at various businesses like Hannafords and RJ Millworkers.

The fun stuff

When the people of Oneonta aren’t in school, at work, or hanging out at home, they can be found at one of Oneonta’s many popular locations. Oneonta and its surrounding area hosts many hotspots like hip restaurants, relaxed breweries, hiking trails, the Damaschke Field in Neahwa Park, tennis courts and a swimming pool at Millard Park, the Southside Mall, and, of course, a plethora of hills (ever heard of hillgazing?). 

The Yellow Deli
Fiesta Mexican Grill & Cantina

Some popular restaurants, cafes, and eateries include the Latte Lounge, The Depot Restaurant & Tavern, the Autumn Cafe, Bella Michael’s Restaurant, Brooks House of Bar-B-Q, Alfresco’s Italian Bistro, Sal’s Pizzeria, Fiesta Mexian Grill & Cantina, Sloan’s New York Grill, and the Yellow Deli, to name only a few. Within and beyond Oneonta, there are breweries, wineries, and orchards. Many of these establishments also serve food. This includes Brewery Ommegang, the Red Shed Brewery, Bear Pond Winery & Cafe, Middlefield Orchard, and Fly Creek Cider Mill and Orchard. 

The Latte Lounge (with a connecting doorway to the Green Toad Bookstore)

Annual events in Oneonta include the City of the Hills Art & Music Festival, an annual Susquehanna Balloon Festival, a golf tournament, a community softball game held in Neahwa Park, the Classical Guitar Fall Festival, and many more! It is plain to see that there is no shortage of things to do in Oneonta. 

Brewery Ommegang is only a 25 minute drive from Oneonta’s city center.

A unique, rural city

A huge draw for people living in Oneonta is that it has a great blend of both rural and city living. Both have advantages and qualities that speak to certain lifestyle preferences. In Oneonta, there is still the prominent presence of nature and the outdoors that many rural-dwellers are fond of. The city-like components show themselves through a higher population rate, even outside the numbers college students bring in. In addition to this, there is a mall, a bustling downtown and Main Street, city buses, and many opportunities like affordable apartments, events and festivals, and community outreach and engagement that blends both city and rural elements. There are many places to eat, multiple surrounding breweries and wineries, and interstate 88 goes right along Oneonta and multiple State Routes go through the city. Albany and Binghamton are both less than 100 miles away from the city, Syracuse is just over 100 miles away, and New York City is a 3.5 hour drive away. The easy access to all of these larger cities from Oneonta serves well for anyone looking for a break. At the end of the day, over 14,000 people call Oneonta home. It has so much to offer and yet still possesses a huge growth potential. If you love the outdoors and an active, engaged community then Oneonta is the place for you!

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