In 2004, the County of Onondaga, City of Syracuse, Metropolitan Development Association, and Syracuse Chamber of Commerce designated December as "Come Home to Syracuse" month.

Coming Home to Syracuse is Good for Business
Excerpt from
The Central New York Business Journal, December 24, 2004, by Charles McChesney

Here’s something to try at your next year-end party. Ask folks you meet if they ever moved away from our region, but came home. Don’t be surprised if you find that a quarter, maybe even a third, of the people tell you that they did leave, tried life elsewhere, and decided that – all things considered – the grass is greener here.

In the early 1990’s, Central New York looked like the top of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon circa 1975. Everyone was trying to leave. Why not? The local unemployment rate was high, job growth was non-existent, and policy makers were oblivious to the way taxes and regulations were strangling initiative and hope. Success meant having to leave.

But look at Central New York today. Unemployment is generally lower than it is for the state as a whole. Throughout the recent recession, unemployment in Onondaga County hovered between 4 and 5 percent, right around the sweet spot economists used to call "full employment". The local new these days is about jobs being created for engineers and other skilled professionals. Combine those gains with continued low costs for housing, short commutes, quality schools, and a plethora of recreational opportunities, and you have much of what a community needs to attract back some of those who left when things looked bleak.

They are coming back and more want to come home. We know this because "Come Home to Syracuse", a volunteer organization dedicated to helping professionals return to Central New York, is seeing a rising number of inquiries at our web site (www.comehometosyracuse.com). The Come Home organization’s work is your work. The professionals we help find their way home are the sort of people the economic-development experts say we need to keep our economy thriving.

Spread the word. Let people in your network know about Come Home to Syracuse. Share the web address with friends and family members who have moved away.

Why I came home to Syracuse
Excerpt from
The Central New York Business Journal, December 24, 2004, by Adam Rombel

I am home to Syracuse after about 11 years away. After growing up and going to school here, I left in 1992, following my graduation from Syracuse University. It was a time of high unemployment and constant bad news on the job front in Central New York. It also was a time when many of the region’s new graduates were moving away for job opportunities or graduate school. For me it was the latter.

Following graduate school and a couple years working in the government-policy arena, I built a career in business journalism on the east coast. In seven years as a business reporter, writer, and managing editor in Washington DC and New York City, I had the opportunity to cover many big stories and interview many important business and government leaders.

Still, with a vast array of friends and family remaining in Central New York, I often returned to the area over weekends and holidays or on vacation. I knew the quality life here was great. For example, the region’s vast array of lakes, rivers, mountains, and parks provide recreational opportunities that are virtually unmatched anywhere. I enjoyed spending time in the Adirondacks and in the Finger Lakes Region. I also knew housing prices, traffic, and commute times were much easier to bear in the Syracuse-area than in New York City or its suburbs.

But, I always wondered what it would be like to return to Central New York as an experienced journalist and business professional, and to work here. Where there opportunities for me here? Would I find work that is challenging and interesting? Could I further my career here?

I was excited to bring my skills and experiences to the Syracuse-area to cover its business scene as the economy transforms into one based on technology, information, services, and mid-sized businesses, instead of large, old-line, manufacturing plants. Where once I had two-hour commutes each way to my Manhattan office, I now travel less than 15 minutes each way to my office in Armory Square. I also like that I was able to buy a comparable house for only 40 percent of the price I paid in the New York City suburbs. Most importantly, I enjoy telling the stories of your businesses. Covering business in Central New York allows me to get closer to the story and to see the impact in more personal terms. And the region has a lot of interesting business stories to cover.

I’m glad to be back.

Syracuse Region is an Ideal Place to Live

Excerpt from
The Post-Standard, Wednesday, December 29, 2004, Reader’s Page

I believe my wife and I (name withheld for this web site) made a wise decision in moving to Syracuse. We feel Syracuse is an ideal place to live. It has a strengthening industrial base, numerous attractions and is situated in the Finger Lakes region, an envied area to say the least. It contains more than 9,000 square miles – larger than New Jersey – of the most beautiful lakes and scenery in the country.

The latest statistics show a low crime rate, first-rate medical centers, a great university, the Syracuse Symphony, excellent roads, the State Fair, fabulous shopping, and now, the high probability for the development of Destiny, a world-class attraction and shopping destination.

We have friends and relatives who live in Florida. Many were devastated by four brutal hurricanes as one-fifth of all houses and businesses in the state were either destroyed or damaged. My wife has friends who reside in San Diego. They had to evacuate last year due to wildfires. They also experience earthquakes, mudslides and drought. On top of all this, it is highly populated and very expensive to live out there. We’ll take this area any day, as the grass is certainly not greener on the other side. In fact, it’s brown in many areas and the ground is flat – ideal breeding ground for tornados.

Syracuse is a diamond in the rough, and almost everything any person could ask for. You don’t have to travel far to come to the sudden realization that "Hey! We’re already here!" I just can’t imagine living anywhere else.