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John
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| re: Albany, NY - 10/28/2008 - 11/7/2008
The city of Albany old, poor and run down. The downtown is empty during the nights and weekends except for a couple of blocks where the bars are. The nightlife is populated with mostly poor and uneducated people. The college areas are run down and often referred to as the "student ghettos". Most people that work in Albany do not live in the city. Nearby suburban areas like Colonie actually have a larger population than Albany does. There is not much "city life", shopping is all in strip malls and large indoor malls. Other nearby cities like Troy and Schenectady are even more run down. The only good area near Albany is Saratoga which is about a 40 min drive north. The winters are long and tough - about 6 months out of the year you can get snowfall and we typically get about 2 or 3 large snowfalls a year (1/2-2ft of snow). It is cold and dry during the winter and summers last a blink of the eye and are typically humid. There is no where good to go during the summer, except for some hiking/biking trails and mountain climbing and a couple of lakes up north. One good thing - if you like taking weekend trips you have NYC to the south, Boston to the east, and Montreal to the north and other more nearby areas that are nice to visit. The hi-tech attraction is over rated and hyped by politicians. Most of the hi tech companies are not in the urban areas and most of them are "planning" to move here and are not actually here yet.
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Kevin
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| re: - 9/3/2009
Regarding John's post on 11/7/2008. Such blanket statements as listed in your post are uncalled for. No Albany does not have the nightlife or shopping of NYC or Boston, but that is because it is much smaller. The nightlife is not mostly poor or uneducated, maybe it was your choice of venue that led you to believe this but I regularly went out with many college educated professionals to the local establishments. I lived in Albany for 10 years and there are definitely positives and negatives. Winters are very long even compared to the NYC area where I grew up, but summers are very pleasant and much less humid then downstate. If you enjoy the outdoors the Catskills are just south of Albany and the Adirondacks a half hour north. The Lake George region just an hour away is a beautiful place to spend a weekend. The Saratoga race season which is very popular lasts half the summer. As you mentioned Albany is actually centrally located just a few hours away from three world class cities NYC, Boston, and Montreal. In regards to the student ghetto, yes I wish they would clean it up a bit or require the landlords to provide better upkeep (I lived in it for 3 years) but it is one small section of the city. Speaking of colleges there are many fine institutions in the region (UAlbany, St. Rose, Siena, Union, Albany law and Albany Med, Albany College of Pharmacy, RPI, etc...) I left the region several years ago and have lived in the south and southwest since then. Each city and region has had good and bad to talk about, so just listing the negatives is irresponsible. I would actually consider moving back to Albany if the right situation came up. So if your considering moving to Albany research all aspects before making your decision its really a pretty nice place to live.
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| A NYC type who likes Albany - 8/9/2007
Folks from NYC who take shots at Albany have never been there. Sure the State legislature is worthless but the people outside taht building are very nice, and yeas Ed Koch, there are some great[read more...]
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| LOVE it Here! - 7/22/2007
My husband and I both got our grad degrees at SUNY Albany, then left for the greener pastures of NYC. Twelve years later, we're back with our 2 year old and returning is the best decision we could[read more...]
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| Just OK - 6/11/2007
Albany is a mixed bag. While the cost of living isn't too high, the housing is very, very old and much of the city seems rundown compared to other places that I've lived. I live in a more refurbished[read more...]
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| The Crossings - 6/10/2007
Lovely new park at The Crossings in Colonie, great family place to BBQ, super playground and fun[read more...]
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| Something for Nearly Everyone -- Where the Midwest - 6/6/2007
If you are a NYC person, Albany will be a tough adjustment -- quiet, downscale, and low key. New Englanders might find it more to their liking, particularly east of the Hudson. Accents and[read more...]
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| Potential new economic center - 5/11/2007
Currently Albany is undergoing major renovations as it is becoming an epicenter for technology. With companies such as AMD and Sematech in addition to SUNY's Nanotechnology school all growing and[read more...]
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| all things considered, Albany is one of the best - 4/28/2007
Posts here sometimes talk about the high taxes and weather being bad. Yet, others talk about the schools being good. High taxes can sometimes = good schools. Other posts talk about the beauty of[read more...]
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| Hard Winter - 1/7/2007
Climate is a tough[read more...]
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| City of Albany - good place to live in your 20's a - 12/7/2006
City of Albany - good place to live in your 20's and[read more...]
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| Nanotechnology to the rescue!!! - 7/13/2006
Albany is booming with low unemployment and many new home starts. The nanotechnology industry has its roots here and it is growing. AMD is now planning a new factory right here to create thousands[read more...]
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| Guilderland - 7/11/2006
Hello - Sperling's is asking me to comment on where I live during my registration process, so here it goes :-)
Specifically, it's Guilderland where I'm located althought that option isn't available[read more...]
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| queeniezom - 5/29/2006
the area is beautiful, many things to do, but the winters are too long and cold and the taxes too high.that's why we're looking to retire in tn or sc or[read more...]
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| How Are Home Prices Doing? - 5/24/2006
I have an opportunity to invest in rentals in Albany. I'd appreciate any thoughts on the pros and cons of this. Most interestedin the current rents for 1br or 2br apartments, along with the[read more...]
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| Albany Area - 5/21/2006
Albany has a very cold winter and long. The gray clouds roll in at the end of october and stay for six months. Spring time is wonderfull with warm days and cool nights. The scenic view and rolling[read more...]
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| Cold winters & poor job growth - 5/14/2006
Sure Upstate NY is scenic but this is not the place to begin a career, the area is in a long-term depression due to lack of new jobs and general government policies/taxation that have crated a[read more...]
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| Nice Medium-size City - 4/21/2006
I have been living here since August 2005 and i think it has all the benefits of a city with the slower pace of a[read more...]
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| Peace and Quiet - 4/16/2006
Lots of culture and fresh[read more...]
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| My take on Albany - 4/5/2006
First let me state that I do not, as of yet, live in Albany. However, I went to college near Albany for years, and spent much time in the Capital District. And I can tell you, I am working as hard[read more...]
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| CANNOT WAIT TO MOVE OUT OF THIS HOLE! - 4/3/2006
Moving to Albany has been the biggest mistake of my life: no culture, ugly downtown, very unfriendly and uncultured natives, horrible long winters, cost of heating sky-high (many apartments have only[read more...]
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| How is the job market in Albany at the moment? Ca - 3/29/2006
My husband and I were forced to relocate out of the Capital District in 1995 after pataki cut all the state jobs. We're at a point right now when we have the chance to move again.
We are[read more...]
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