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The title really says it all. I'm starting RPI in August, and I own a vehicle. I'm considering Troy and Albany. I understand the dodgy parts of Troy are the central and south areas, but that was from another forum topic so it's unconfirmed. I will have a decent enough salary, but I'm obviously constrained where higher housing prices are concerned. I'm mainly considering apartments at the moment (in the $700/month range). I'm looking for a safe and easy going neighborhood. I've seen properties on Craigslist along the northern edge of the city where it borders the Hudson, and those look intriguing. Also, a look at the crime stats for Troy has me a bit worried that I should only look and the north and east areas:
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
I haven't really studied Albany in earnest, as none of my contacts up there really know anything about the city.
If there's any place/area/property/landlord you can recommend, or recommend to avoid, I'd greatly appreciate it!
The best part of Troy for you would probably be the River Street area of Troy. So basically the area of Troy between Congress Street in the south, 3rd Street in the east, and River Street in the north and west. It's a very walkable neighborhood (Troy Apartments and Rentals on Walk Score) with pretty good parking for your car. It has a bunch of art galleries, restaurants, bars and hip stores, the Troy Bank Music Hall and the Capital Region Art Center. This part of Troy is also very very close to RPI so you could easily walk to class.
There's also the river front park that has a great farmer's market on weekends. Apartments there, or at least around there, should be in your price range.
There's a very similar place in Albany, although with some differences, called the Center Square Neighborhood. It too has a lot of old brownstones, is a very walkable neighborhood (Center Square, Albany Apartments and Rentals on Walk Score) with pretty good parking, and is close to hip stores, a great park, a concert center (the egg), great restaurants etc.
The price range for a 1 BR in Center Square is pretty much the same as the River Street Neighborhood, about $750 for a 1 BR. Sometimes less.
Besides the similarities, and the fact that they are both safe neighborhoods, the differences I'd say is Center Square has a lot more places to live and is, in general, bigger.
So my suggestion for you would be to look around the Monument Square/River Street area of Troy for apartments first and then if you can't find anything you like, try Center Square in Albany.
The best part of Troy for you would probably be the River Street area of Troy. So basically the area of Troy between Congress Street in the south, 3rd Street in the east, and River Street in the north and west. It's a very walkable neighborhood (Troy Apartments and Rentals on Walk Score) with pretty good parking for your car. It has a bunch of art galleries, restaurants, bars and hip stores, the Troy Bank Music Hall and the Capital Region Art Center. This part of Troy is also very very close to RPI so you could easily walk to class.
There's also the river front park that has a great farmer's market on weekends. Apartments there, or at least around there, should be in your price range.
There's a very similar place in Albany, although with some differences, called the Center Square Neighborhood. It too has a lot of old brownstones, is a very walkable neighborhood (Center Square, Albany Apartments and Rentals on Walk Score) with pretty good parking, and is close to hip stores, a great park, a concert center (the egg), great restaurants etc.
The price range for a 1 BR in Center Square is pretty much the same as the River Street Neighborhood, about $750 for a 1 BR. Sometimes less.
Besides the similarities, and the fact that they are both safe neighborhoods, the differences I'd say is Center Square has a lot more places to live and is, in general, bigger.
So my suggestion for you would be to look around the Monument Square/River Street area of Troy for apartments first and then if you can't find anything you like, try Center Square in Albany.
Thanks a ton, Hock. I'm very interested in local culture, architecture, and things to see while walking around, so these suggestions are highly relevant. Where would you say is the cut-off when heading south along the river, where the crime starts getting real bad? I've been a bit creeped out by some of the crime stats, which portray Troy as an abnormally risky town to live in.
Real bad? I'd say below Canal Avenue. South Troy is probably the worst area of the city.
Now just in general, is Troy a bad (dangerous) city to live in? I'd say the simplest answer is..."in some ways."
There are a lot of problems with crime statistics that "almost" make them useless. For one, they compare the average crime rates of Troy with the crime rates of the entire State. Now that's not fair because of course a city will have more crime than the country or a town! There's more people!.
Another is that the crime of 1 or 2 bad areas, such as South Troy, reflects negatively on the entire city.
I'm not sure if you've ever lived in a city downtown, but I think as long as your vigilant and smart about what you do, you'll be fine. For example, don't decide to walk home, drunk, from a bar at 3 o'clock at night.
Real bad? I'd say below Canal Avenue. South Troy is probably the worst area of the city.
Now just in general, is Troy a bad (dangerous) city to live in? I'd say the simplest answer is..."in some ways."
There are a lot of problems with crime statistics that "almost" make them useless. For one, they compare the average crime rates of Troy with the crime rates of the entire State. Now that's not fair because of course a city will have more crime than the country or a town! There's more people!.
Another is that the crime of 1 or 2 bad areas, such as South Troy, reflects negatively on the entire city.
I'm not sure if you've ever lived in a city downtown, but I think as long as your vigilant and smart about what you do, you'll be fine. For example, don't decide to walk home, drunk, from a bar at 3 o'clock at night.
P.S. are you British?
Ok. I live in a small city right now, and just wanted to be sure that it's a similar situation. Namely, that there's places you just don't go, but overall things are fine.
I'm part Brit, yes.
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