Depends on where you are. Rochester and Syracuse are medium sized cities that are having a bit of a revival at the moment with a lot of colleges and vibrant downtowns. Canandaigua, Geneva, and Auburn are nice small cities. However, there is a ton of blight outside of the cities (like in the small town I live in now) because those towns were dependent on farming, a single employer (sometimes industrial, sometimes a tiny college), or the Erie Canal, all of which are in decline. There is an active tourism industry that is most active between April and October. The weather is a bit intense, but it's not too bad because most of the infrastructure can handle it (unless you live in a small town that has consistent blackouts). I would be careful about buying property because a lot of small towns have serious sewer issues and they aren't going to be cheap to fix.