Former Austin residents - how do you like the Albany area? (New York: fit in, renting)

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by roamingveg

That sounds fantastic!

Here's a general question - if you could choose anywhere in the general area to live, where would that be? Live in Schenectady and work in Albany? Live in Saratoga Springs? You know, if you weren't tied down by any restrictions. We certainly have limitations in terms of money and schools and stuff, but I think it's interesting to see what people's "ideal" location would be and why.

I've also noticed on sperlings that the violent crime rate in Albany and Schenectady are both much higher than Austin's, but the property crime is lower. This surprised me. Does it feel safer or less safe in any particular cities or towns?

Thanks again for the responses. This has been great.

With Albany and Schenectady, both are more dense than Austin and have had the same city limits for a long time. Austin sprawls out more as a city and its outer city neighborhoods are more like first and maybe second suburbs/communities in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro.

As for personal preference, I'd probably go with one of the nicer Troy neighborhoods, Saratoga Springs, the South Colonie area or the older part of Niskayuna next to the Union Street area of Schenectady. This is with a family, but if it is me individually, I'd go with a nice urban neighborhood. I'd maybe go with a nice urban neighborhood when the kids are young, then consider options after 6th grade.

[cshells72]

There are some REALLY nice parts of the city of Albany such as the area around New Scottland Ave. If you don't care about schools that is a great option. The problem compared to Colonie and Clifton Park is that the taxes in the city of Albany and the city of Schenectady if you own your house are very high. If you rent it probably won't be as much of an issue.

[jblake78728]

I'm not in Albany but my family & I moved from Austin to Plattsburgh & then to the Buffalo area, we haven't regretted it for 1 second. Absolutely love living somewhere that has a winter & doesn't have oppressive summer heat.

[roamingveg]

This is so helpful. Yeah, if we didn't have a family, we'd definitely prefer to live more urban. So we'll check out the Albany city area, I saw some nice brownstones for sale in that New Scotland Ave. area. But we're definitely concerned about schools in the next few years. Right now our kids are only 3 and 6 months. We will definitely have to rent at first, though, no matter what.

jblake78728, are you originally from Texas or the northeast? Glad to see another Austinite who can admit they're tired of the heat. Usually when I meet other people who don't like the weather here, they're not originally from Texas. Natives usually aren't bothered by the heat as much. I guess that's why I can't stand Texas for more than half of the year, considering I'm originally from Pennsylvania.

[roamingveg]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

As for personal preference, I'd probably go with one of the nicer Troy neighborhoods, Saratoga Springs, the South Colonie area or the older part of Niskayuna next to the Union Street area of Schenectady. This is with a family, but if it is me individually, I'd go with a nice urban neighborhood. I'd maybe go with a nice urban neighborhood when the kids are young, then consider options after 6th grade.

I haven't heard much about Troy, Saratoga Springs or Schenectady yet. Why is it that you like these areas for families? Is it because they're cheaper, better schools, less traffic? Stuff like that? What would the commute times be like from these places if jobs were in Albany?

[jblake78728]

I grew up in Baltimore.

[sarchivist98]

Of Troy, Saratoga Springs & Schenectady, Saratoga Springs schools have the best reputation. Housing is also, by far, the highest of the three, but property taxes are the lowest. Commute from Troy is fairly easy if you are working in downtown Albany. However, our infrastructure is old around here, and Troy is on the other side of the Hudson, so their may be times when the commute gets more difficult due to bridge work.

Saratoga is about 45 minutes from Albany without traffic and probably the highest traffic commute, but if you work odd hours, it shouldn't be a problem. This isn't like Washington DC where some roads have traffic all the time. In off-hours most commutes are easy.

Schenectady's housing is cheapest, but the taxes are the highest. It has gone through some really troubled times in recent decades due to the downsizing of one of its major employers, GE. It is coming back, but I would still be wary of buying there. Renting would be fine. I know the city very recently started a campaign with some incentive to get people to buy there. There's some info here , but according to the stories in the papers, I think there is even more going on under the new mayor.

Troy seems to have more of an arts community than Schenectady and more of an urban feel - brownstones, row houses, etc., while Schenectady is mostly detached houses.

Saratoga is very different from Schenectady, Troy & Albany. It depends what you are looking for - some people much prefer Saratoga, others hate it. Saratoga is more suburban, has a nice, walkable downtown, more upscale and soccer mom feel than funky. Saratoga has more fine dining (although Albany's dining scene has come a long way since I moved here a decade ago), the others have more ethnic restaurants. Saratoga has the racing season, and much of the culture there is funded by/geared towards these summer tourists, some of whom are wealthy. Some people love the excitement of racing season, and others can't wait until everyone leaves.

Saratoga and Schenectady have very good public libraries. Troy not so much because of library funding issues. However, Troy is part of a library system that includes all the libraries in Albany & Rennselaer Counties, so Troy residents can use any of those libraries and request materials from them.

If you are working in Albany and want someplace with an urban feel, why not look at Albany? There are many different types of neighborhoods within the city of Albany. Several elementary schools have good reputations - New Scotland Elementary, Eagle Point Elementary, Montessori Magnet School (requires lottery), Albany School of the Humanites (requires lottery), Dual-Language program at Delaware Community School (requires lottery). I know someone who works for the school district, and she said she would feel comfortable sending her kids to any of our elementary schools.

I moved to Albany when my oldest was 2 because I hated my car-centric lifestyle living in Guilderland, a suburb of Albany. I figured that even if I moved again when she got to be school age, that would have been at least 4 years of that suburban h*ll that I avoided. Well, here I still am with my oldest having done fine in our "bad" middle school and ready to move on to Albany High School next year. So I guess my advice is not to base your decision TOO much on what you will want in the future.

As for crime, I allow my 13 yo to take the city buses alone and ride her bike in any neighborhood she would want to go. There is no neighborhood that I avoid walking in during daylight hours. There is definitely some gang activity in the city, but that is mainly in specific neighborhoods that you would have little reason to visit if you didn't live there. Of course, I am always aware of my surroundings and use caution - there IS crime in the city, but violent crime is almost always criminal on criminal, such as drug deals gone bad.

[cshells72]

Make sure to avoid the bad parts of town. In Albany the worst part is Arbor Hill and in Schenectady it is Hamilton Heights.

[ja1myn]

Originally Posted by cshells72

Make sure to avoid the bad parts of town. In Albany the worst part is Arbor Hill and in Schenectady it is Hamilton Heights.

Amen to that. Witnessed a shooting a few years back in Hamilton Hill.

[roamingveg]

sarchivist98, thank you so much for your always detailed, awesome answers! Btw, where did you move to Albany from? Have you always lived in that general region? Just interested in your perspective. We will definitely consider Albany itself, especially after hearing more positive info about the schools. I love the idea of walkability. That's something we can't afford in Austin. Individual neighborhoods often have sidewalks, and there are playgrounds and community amenities to walk to sometimes.. but I would love to walk to shops, grocers, etc.. I guess this is basically what you get by living more urban, either in Albany.. or Saratoga (if you live in, or close to their downtown?). It's just really way too expensive to live in the more central "happenin'" parts of Austin. If we can afford to live more "central" up there, that would be great. We shall see.

Anyway, since we haven't visited yet (but we definitely will), we're just not sure what we're looking for. I mean, we have had a lot of experience living in a pretty big variety of housing situations over the years. So we know what we don't want. I know I wouldn't want a 45 minute commute myself, but my husband might not mind. Not worrying about that too much yet, since we're not sure where the main job will be. I might be able to work from home, so not as big of a deal for me... hopefully.

In any case, I just want to be sure to see each city and check out (or avoid) specific neighborhoods when we visit. Good to know most of the crime is more "criminal on criminal", as you put it.

Ok, since my kids are still little, I'm really new at this whole school thing.. what does it mean to have a lottery? Does it mean you don't necessarily have to live in a certain neighborhood, but you've got to get on a list and see how it goes? Once your kid is in, are they in for good, or is there a risk that the next year's lottery will make them move schools?

To clarify, Saratoga Springs is the most expensive place to buy a house, but it has the cheapest taxes? Sorry for this next really dumb question, but Saratoga and Saratoga Springs are the same thing, right? :P