United States / New York / 10580 / Albany County / Cities / Zip Codes

Review of Albany, New York


all things considered, Albany is one of the best
Star Rating - 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 upstate NY, but the stagnation of job markets. Often, high job growth = lots of growth including suburban sprawl than many other areas = bland, crowded and ugly places. I can understand people's frustration with Albany and upstate NY (while it's good to keep in mind other people find it absolutely great), but, I can imagine that when some of the people with negative things to say about Albany get out to experience some other places "with lots of sunshine", "lots of jobs", "lots of growth", they might also find they'll likely have to pay "lots of money", wait for "lots of hours in traffic", will see "lots of Walmarts, peppered with lots of HomeDepots, and lots of strip malls", there aren't "lots of schools that are really any good for their kids", and finally find out that they spent "lots of years trying to find something that's better, but there's really not much better out there - Albany and upstate NY are actually quite nice just like they are and, basically nicer than most places out there in this age of special emphasis on grow grow grow, profit profit profit". And as for the people in NY, after years of living all over the country and world, it is nice to find people so honest, relatively easy to get to know, and keeping friends and family in mind while many other places' people are can be very self absorbed and surface.

Just 1 more perspective.
michael | Denver, CO
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2 Replies


This post really sums up living in upstate NY. I have lived in the areas with "lots of sprawl" and all that blandness. You really do get tired of a new Walmart and Applebees opening everyday and having no mature tress anywhere. Sure, things aren't booming like in other areas, but they aren't bad and there will be no bust at the end. And guess what: While people in those booming areas are loosing their homes or watching the price of their house drop 10% per year, upstate NY continues to be stable and sustainable. Michael's post is very accurate in my humble opinion.
Derek | Rochester, NY | Report Abuse

Hi, Michael, I enjoyed reading your comments. I live in Tampa and just about everything you said about suburban sprawl, bad traffic, high prices and just plain ugliness reign true. Sure, the job market is decent, or at least it was, but the housing market has spiraled out of control. Anyway, my husband and I are seriously considering moving to Albany. We're both from upstate NY and severely miss it. But my biggest concern is finding a job. I'm in media and he's in insurance. How is the job market? I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks in advance for your help. -Suzanne
Suzanne | Tampa, FL | Report Abuse
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