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My husband and I are moving to the Albany area over the summer.
We are looking to live in neighborhood that is diverse, has low crime, good accessibility to amenities such as parks, has a great school district and a strong community-minded feel.
I'll be working in Albany so a 45 minute commute or less is ideal.
Our daughter is two and we are looking to either put her in a great early childhood education program or a private school. So education suggestions are sought as well.
My husband and I are moving to the Albany area over the summer.
We are looking to live in neighborhood that is diverse, has low crime, good accessibility to amenities such as parks, has a great school district and a strong community-minded feel.
I'll be working in Albany so a 45 minute commute or less is ideal.
Our daughter is two and we are looking to either put her in a great early childhood education program or a private school. So education suggestions are sought as well.
Thanks in advance!
The Albany City school district is not very good, although if you were thinking of private school that wouldn't really matter. If that's the case, the areas around Washington Park (more urban, walkable), the area around New Scotland Ave (more suburban), and Western Ave could be potential places for you inside the city itself.
Outside of the city, you might like a place like Delmar or Guilderland. Both are suburbs but are very close to Albany (10 minutes) and have a selection of shopping, restaurants and great school districts. Guildarland especially is close many amenities including the two biggest malls in the area, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, a library, family friendly restaurants, etc.
The Albany City school district is not very good, although if you were thinking of private school that wouldn't really matter. If that's the case, the areas around Washington Park (more urban, walkable), the area around New Scotland Ave (more suburban), and Western Ave could be potential places for you inside the city itself.
Outside of the city, you might like a place like Delmar or Guilderland. Both are suburbs but are very close to Albany (10 minutes) and have a selection of shopping, restaurants and great school districts. Guildarland especially is close many amenities including the two biggest malls in the area, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, a library, family friendly restaurants, etc.
Both of the Colonie school districts come to mind in terms of suburban school districts with notable diversity and of high quality as well. South Colonie Central Schools - Colonie, NY
Clifton park is gorgeous. A bit north but it's nice to be out of the city. Great schools and completely community driven. Multiple parks and an overall clean city. Strong economy and growing rapidly.
When we moved here, we were completely new to the area. Thank God we had a real estate agent who knew the areas so well and was just a wonderful advocate. (Unfortunately she retired to FL or I'd have sent you her name!)
You do not want Albany. She told us to focus on Clifton Park, Ballston Spa, and Saratoga. We ended up in Ballston Spa and are very thankful. We have been mostly happy with the schools. It's a small town, yet everything you need is right here. You have major shopping either 15 mins north in Saratoga or 20 mins south in Clifton Park which is where our pediatrician is whom we love! (We were referred to them by a mom at a playground when we came up house hunting from MD and they are wonderful.)
There are multiple parks and community pool where the kids can take swim lessons in the summer and it isn't very expensive. We are close to a nature preserve as well as Saratoga State Park which has an AMAZING swimming pool itself. SPAC is nearby if you like going to concerts. There is a rec center here that when your little one is older offers AWESOME programs!! They offer t-ball, softball/baseball, basketball, soccer, theatre, etc. all at reasonable costs and then they offer enrichment classes for the kids in school 3 times a year where they can sign up for gymnastics, cooking, drawing, tai kwon do, and more for free. There are multiple parades throughout the year...my kids LOVE the Christmas Parade. In middle school, our kids can sign up for modified sports which my one son has been anxiously waiting to do. In Clifton Park, because the district is so big, kids have to actually try out and many don't get on the teams.
If you have any questions about the area, don't hesitate to message me. Good luck with your move. Sadly, we are looking to leave the area because of the real estate costs and property taxes, but I love this area so much, it makes me sad.
My wife and I are millennials as well and we bought a house in Albany off of New Scotland (nice compromise between suburbs and city living). Didn't want to admit the death of our youth and move to the suburbs to spend our weekends tending to a lawn so we could have the privilege of spending over an hour a day driving to and from our jobs in Albany...No thanks! Smaller commute means more time for you to do what you want to do.
Clifton Park has no diversity at all and is full of cookie cutter housing developments and strip malls that are filled with all the major brands. The school district there is so large that they have two high schools (89% white, less than 2% black).
Certain areas of Albany are completely fine (off of New Scotland Ave South Manning and the Buckingham Pond neighborhood) and you will be near things to do like attending events, plays etc. If your idea of a good Friday is meeting at Chilli's and then grabbing a pizza hut pizza, then, again, Clifton Park is the one for you. Delmar is close to Albany and has a nice community vibe, with some good non-chain restaurants but it is 89% white. Same goes for Ballston Spa but it is also 92% white.
I would say Colonie has good diversity and amenities but the only problem is there is no main drag at all (it almost feel like New Jersey).
We would have no problem sending our kids (if & when) to New Scotland Elementary in Albany. Middle school and High School might be a different story but since you are looking at private schools as a possibility already, no problem there. Check out the Robert C Parker School for a private school option or Albany Academy.
I will put in a plug for Colonie since I lived there for most of my time in the Albany area. It's an easy commute into Albany and Schnectady. It has homes in all price ranges, from modest bungalows and ranches in West Albany to high-end homes in Loudonville to both town homes and McMansions out in the newer parts of the town (western and northern parts). There's a town golf course, and parks are scattered throughout the town, especially the little neighborhood "pocket parks".
It is convenient to just about every kind of shopping/dining/entertainment the Capital District has to offer. It has a couple of malls and numerous shopping centers (life style centers I think they're being called now). What is not actually located in the town is nearby like Stuyvesant Plaza or the Pine Bush Preserve. I-90 and I-787 as well as Route 7 make getting around easy, too.
There are two school districts in the town, South Colonie and North Colonie. I think North Colonie probably has a better reputation, but both are decent suburban school districts.
Colonie is easily the most ethnically and racially diverse of Albany's suburbs. I lived in West Albany, and my neighborhood had African Americans, Latinos, and Indians (from Asians) as well as whites of various ethnicities (at one time West Albany was apparently predominantly Italian-American and was considered Albany's "Little Italy").
My husband and I are moving to the Albany area over the summer.
We are looking to live in neighborhood that is diverse, has low crime, good accessibility to amenities such as parks, has a great school district and a strong community-minded feel.
I'll be working in Albany so a 45 minute commute or less is ideal.
Our daughter is two and we are looking to either put her in a great early childhood education program or a private school. So education suggestions are sought as well.
Everything else is pretty much a drop off....although, I know I am missing a few.
C. Park is over-rated, but still very nice.
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since I lived there for most of my time in the Albany area. It's an easy commute into Albany and Schnectady. It has homes in all price ranges, from modest bungalows and ranches in West Albany to high-end homes in Loudonville to both town homes and McMansions out in the newer parts of the town (western and northern parts). There's a town golf course, and parks are scattered throughout the town, especially the little neighborhood "pocket parks". 
