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Hello all,
I am thinking of taking a job offer in Albany, NY.
Currently I live in Buffalo, NY making $15.61 per hour. The job I can apply for is starting off at $19.00 per hour in Albany. I am 25 and single, willing to relocate. Can anybody tell me the cost of living difference between the two cities...rent costs, utilities cost, food and gas prices..etc??
I would greatly appreciate any information, as I have never been to Albany in my life. For me I am getting excited already about a possible change and new direction in life.
I'm on this site trying to do some homework in researching the differences in the areas.
Thank you for your information!
Somebody told me Buffalo is the cheapest housing in the country right now. I have lived in the capital district my whole life, just moved to Troy 5 years ago. From what I have seen over the last 5 years in this area, the jobs and cost of living pre 2000 (.com era) , was very good. The area took a nose dive after that, and I think is still recovering. The housing, cost of living in the last 5 years has skyrocked and salaries have not kept up with the inflation. Otherwise it is a great area, jobs are still a pretty abundant and for $19.00 hr you should be able to live comfortably here as a single person.
From my own research the Capital District seems to have a higher overall cost-of-living than Western Upstate New York, likely due to its proximity to New York City. Generally any community within a three-hour or so radius of Manhattan has been noticing their cost-of-living climbing upwards in recent years.
The median home price in Albany is roughly double that in Buffalo. I don't know how that correlates to rental prices but I think other costs (energy, food etc.) are slightly higher in Buffalo than Albany (not sure about that). On $19 per hour you should be okay..but I would hold out for $21 per hour:-)
Google "Sperlings Best Places". The website compares communities in more depth than this one. It has a place (you may have to hunt a while) where you can put in the town and your income here and where you are going and it will tell you what you need to live equivalently.
Having lived in both cities, I found that Albany is quite a bit more expensive than Buffalo, presumably since it is only a couple of hours' drive from NYC but also because state government workers are generally well-paid and they make up a large proportion of the Capital District workforce. Food and the like is pretty similar in price to Buffalo, but rent is at least 30% higher.
I heard that most things here cost more than Buffalo but that real estate taxes in Buffalo may be more. I think if it is a long term job you will definitely be able to get by on that income here if you budget reasonably well.
Albany is more expensive to live in than Buffalo. I just checked a salary calculator. See the attachment.
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