Binghamton, NY need info!

amother

Burgundy

Mon, Aug 15 2016, 1:04 pm

I lived there for awhile. There isn't much to do that is unique as there aren't major destinations people would deliberately visit.

There is nice outdoor stuff so if your boys are not used to the country, they could enjoy. BU has an interesting sanctuary which you can visit. It's not a super big deal but when I was a kid my cousins and I would make our own games if we were let loose in a country setting so it depends on your boys and whether they enjoy free form play.

Depending on how long you are staying, there are one day trips that the boys would enjoy. Watkins Glen is an easy day trip. It's been awhile but as I recall the ogre or "glen" was beautiful and a nice hike. I never saw the races but that is what it is really famous for.

Ithaca is a relatively short drive straight up north and there is more excitement there.

It's a dead industrial area which centers around the University so much of what people might do doesn't exist in the summer and would be of no interest to young boys. I used to love to go antiquing but obviously of no interest to your boys. Lots of old very quaint villages along the river so my friends and I would literally do a Sunday drive type of thing and always have an interesting time but again not something young boys would enjoy.

The old downtown area was revitalized somewhat and from a historical architectural viewpoint is a good example of the way the old river front towns were developed. Large mansions directly along the river for the very prosperous factory owners and smaller bourgeoisie housing for the middle class with a lot of factory housing for the mill workers.

The Tricity area was known for its shoe factory and there are examples of circulars distributed in the Eastern Europesn cities advertising for workers who would go straight up to Endicott and Johnson City and start working. These were Polish immigrants and not Jewish so in the older sections, there used to be a big Polish influence in terms of restaurants and foods.

mommy3b2c

Mon, Aug 15 2016, 1:14 pm

amother wrote:

Thanks for this. It was very helpful. Are there no zoos, parks, museums, amusement areas, beaches, boat rides?

amother

Burgundy

Mon, Aug 15 2016, 1:49 pm

mommy3b2c wrote:

Thanks for this. It was very helpful. Are there no zoos, parks, museums, amusement areas, beaches, boat rides?

No. It's just not that kind of place. Another poster sent the list of attractions and I can't think of anything else 😀 It is not a place that anyone would visit except as a pass through on the way to someplace else. It's not a terrible place to live mind you but it is the kind of place where you just live and make your own amusements or go to low key kinds of things like movies or bowling. You could probably rent horses for a trail ride. I never heard of anyone doing a boat ride as its not that kind of river.

There are parks. As I mentioned the university has a lovely large sanctuary. There is a museum but I never went as coming from NYC, it held little interest. There is a state fair but only for a limited time. But it really is a small town suburban kind of place so mist peole have backyards and don't need a park for their kids

As I wrote, not a bad place to live but we generally made our own amusements with cookouts etc. I don't think anyone would visit there unless for family or because of the university.

amother

Pumpkin

Sun, Aug 21 2016, 9:21 am

The discovery center is fun for kids. The zoo is right next door but is very hilly. There are six free antique carasouls.

Chabad has a pizza shop on Mondays and Thursday's starting this Thursday. And a deli on Tuesdays but I'm not sure if it starts next week or in two weeks. If you want to drive an hour there is more for kids in Syracuse and Ithaca. We just went to wonder works in Syracuse for example.