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Old 10-05-2017, 09:51 AM
 
Location: Watervliet, NY
6,916 posts, read 3,889,799 times
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Originally Posted by Mr. Pineapple View Post
The safest cities in the Capital Region are Saratoga and Glens Falls, they sometimes have problems like with drunks/bar fights on Caroline St in Saratoga or panhandlers along Broadway in Saratoga, but there are not gang ridden neighborhoods like the tri-cities. I feel safe walking around Saratoga or Glens Falls at night, anywhere in both cities, I would say.
I must put in a good word for my current city, Watervliet. I've lived there for 13 months, and am very happy with my surroundings. Nice, quiet street (7th Ave just north of 19th St) with no riff-raff, loud parties with booming bass noise, fights that bring on phone calls to the WPD... none of that.

My only headache so far is making left turns onto or crossing 19th St during rush hours. Unlike when I lived in Mont Pleasant in Sch'dy for 15 months recently, I can have my windows open at any time day or night and all I hear is the occasional car going by. It reminds me of how Mont Pleasant USED to be back in the 1980s when the neighborhood was filled with people who worked for a living and respected their neighbors' right to peace and quiet.
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Old 10-05-2017, 10:55 AM
 
1,541 posts, read 1,654,279 times
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Originally Posted by ContraPagan View Post
I must put in a good word for my current city, Watervliet. I've lived there for 13 months, and am very happy with my surroundings. Nice, quiet street (7th Ave just north of 19th St) with no riff-raff, loud parties with booming bass noise, fights that bring on phone calls to the WPD... none of that.

My only headache so far is making left turns onto or crossing 19th St during rush hours. Unlike when I lived in Mont Pleasant in Sch'dy for 15 months recently, I can have my windows open at any time day or night and all I hear is the occasional car going by. It reminds me of how Mont Pleasant USED to be back in the 1980s when the neighborhood was filled with people who worked for a living and respected their neighbors' right to peace and quiet.
Yup. I think Watervliet will be the next Cohoes in the coming years. There's been some buzz recently about how the Cohoes population is growing and how more businesses are popping up in its downtown section. I've always wondered why Watervliet wasn't talked about more than it is. You've got decently planned streets, convenience to Albany, Troy, Cohoes, and Waterford. 787 isn't a toll road so you won't need to pay tolls if you work in the previously mentioned cities. And overall it's a safe place to be.

I have a friend who lives in Mont Pleasant. Seems like every few months her car is broken into. I've only ever driven through there myself.
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Old 10-07-2017, 07:18 AM
 
Location: Watervliet, NY
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Originally Posted by MrJones17 View Post
I have a friend who lives in Mont Pleasant. Seems like every few months her car is broken into. I've only ever driven through there myself.
I was born and raised in MP. My parents still live on Oakwood, and I lived there for a little over a year until moving to 'Vliet 14 months ago after getting burned out of the place I was in in Troy for 14 years. It definitely is not the same neighborhood I grew up in back in the 1970s and '80's. Too few people with respect and consideration for their neighbors and too many loud, after-midnight house parties.
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Old 10-07-2017, 03:54 PM
 
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Originally Posted by ContraPagan View Post
I was born and raised in MP. My parents still live on Oakwood, and I lived there for a little over a year until moving to 'Vliet 14 months ago after getting burned out of the place I was in in Troy for 14 years. It definitely is not the same neighborhood I grew up in back in the 1970s and '80's. Too few people with respect and consideration for their neighbors and too many loud, after-midnight house parties.
Yeah, it's really unfortunate. I think Schenectady as a whole could be a decent city if the residents cared about it a little more. Seems like the number of die-hard residents who actually want to see the city be a prosperous place is shrinking every day.
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Old 10-07-2017, 07:21 PM
 
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Originally Posted by MrJones17 View Post
Yeah, it's really unfortunate. I think Schenectady as a whole could be a decent city if the residents cared about it a little more. Seems like the number of die-hard residents who actually want to see the city be a prosperous place is shrinking every day.
Do people think that this plays a part in this general sentiment?: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2002/07/2...rdworking.html

It looks like outer neighborhoods are decent to very nice and the city actually grew in population 6.85% from 2000-2014: Schenectady, NY Population and Races - USA.com™

Last edited by ckhthankgod; 10-07-2017 at 08:03 PM..
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Old 10-07-2017, 10:06 PM
 
1,541 posts, read 1,654,279 times
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Originally Posted by ckhthankgod View Post
Do people think that this plays a part in this general sentiment?: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2002/07/2...rdworking.html

It looks like outer neighborhoods are decent to very nice and the city actually grew in population 6.85% from 2000-2014: Schenectady, NY Population and Races - USA.comâ„¢
That NY Times article is interesting. It's pretty old (published in 2002) but the Guyanese population in Schenectady is definitely visible. I wonder if the mayor still does that program.

Yes, the city population may have grown but it's not like upper middle class residents are flooding into Schenectady looking to buy houses and settle down. All the money is out in Niskayuna and Scotia. Schenectady has some of the highest property taxes in the Capital Region. I'm sure Niskayuna isn't property tax haven either. If they want residents to buy property and increase homeownership rates, I really think they should figure out how to lower the taxes. That's the main thing that has prevented me from buying rental property in Schenectady. Certainly some fantastic multi-family opportunities near Ellis Hospital and even towards Union College, but jeesh the taxes are killer.
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Old 10-08-2017, 06:48 AM
 
91,982 posts, read 122,078,964 times
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Originally Posted by MrJones17 View Post
That NY Times article is interesting. It's pretty old (published in 2002) but the Guyanese population in Schenectady is definitely visible. I wonder if the mayor still does that program.

Yes, the city population may have grown but it's not like upper middle class residents are flooding into Schenectady looking to buy houses and settle down. All the money is out in Niskayuna and Scotia. Schenectady has some of the highest property taxes in the Capital Region. I'm sure Niskayuna isn't property tax haven either. If they want residents to buy property and increase homeownership rates, I really think they should figure out how to lower the taxes. That's the main thing that has prevented me from buying rental property in Schenectady. Certainly some fantastic multi-family opportunities near Ellis Hospital and even towards Union College, but jeesh the taxes are killer.
I’ve heard that the taxes were high there.

I have also read that some middle class people of color have moved in in the Woodlawn and Union Street neighborhoods: https://dailygazette.com/article/201.../0704_woodlawn (2nd and 3rd paragraphs of article) Some more information on those areas were mentioned earlier.
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Old 10-08-2017, 07:26 AM
 
Location: Watervliet, NY
6,916 posts, read 3,889,799 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ckhthankgod View Post
Do people think that this plays a part in this general sentiment?: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2002/07/2...rdworking.html

It looks like outer neighborhoods are decent to very nice and the city actually grew in population 6.85% from 2000-2014: Schenectady, NY Population and Races - USA.com™
Ironically, it was the Guyanese neighbors on my parents' street who made my life hell during the 15 months I lived there. One house 4 doors away loves to throw house parties well into the AM hours complete with music that can be heard a least 2 blocks away. Labor Day weekend 2015 they had the music going until 4 AM. Cops don't do squat when you call and report it. The family right next door has a couple older boys who have cars that they work on in the driveway, and they often have the music going, sometimes to the point where we couldn't hear when we were tr4uing to watch TV. And they don't seem to make the connection despite being hollered at numerous times by both my father and me (when I was living there) that WE DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR MUSIC AT ANY TIME.

We didn't have that problem when it was a working-class/retiree neighborhood. People respected the boundaries between themselves and their neighbors, noise was kept to a minimum, and everyone got a good night's sleep, even when the weather was warm and the nights clear. You want to act like classless riff raff, take it across I-890 to Hamilton Hill. My street in Watervliet is like MP used to be, people keep themselves and their business and noise to themselves.
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Old 10-08-2017, 08:21 AM
 
1,541 posts, read 1,654,279 times
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Originally Posted by ckhthankgod View Post
I’ve heard that the taxes were high there.
Last year I was seriously considering purchases a duplex in a very nice neighborhood a short walk from Ellis Hospital. The place grossed nearly $2K in monthly rent and the owner was asking $140K. Everything had been well-maintained and updated throughout the years. There were virtually no repairs to do in the immediate future. I eventually got his price down to $125K. It would have been a steal of a deal. However, the taxes were just short of $9K a year. That is absolutely ridiculous. Accounting for normal wear and tear and vacancies, I'd basically just have one of the units completely devoted to paying annual property taxes. That is insane.

Compare that to a duplex in Albany I toured last year in the Delaware Ave neighborhood that is on a safe, one-way street. Cost was $100K even. Needed about $10K in maintenance and updates. Really wasn't that bad. Rent for each unit was $1,100 (although I do believe the current owner now gets $1,250 for the top unit). Total taxes for that building were $5K.

What also sucks about Schenectady is that in order to get to the Albany area, you have to take the thruway, which is a toll road. Since that's where the majority of the jobs are in the region, you're basically stuck paying insane property taxes along with an annoying, costly commute every day.
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Old 10-08-2017, 08:40 AM
 
91,982 posts, read 122,078,964 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MrJones17 View Post
Last year I was seriously considering purchases a duplex in a very nice neighborhood a short walk from Ellis Hospital. The place grossed nearly $2K in monthly rent and the owner was asking $140K. Everything had been well-maintained and updated throughout the years. There were virtually no repairs to do in the immediate future. I eventually got his price down to $125K. It would have been a steal of a deal. However, the taxes were just short of $9K a year. That is absolutely ridiculous. Accounting for normal wear and tear and vacancies, I'd basically just have one of the units completely devoted to paying annual property taxes. That is insane.

Compare that to a duplex in Albany I toured last year in the Delaware Ave neighborhood that is on a safe, one-way street. Cost was $100K even. Needed about $10K in maintenance and updates. Really wasn't that bad. Rent for each unit was $1,100 (although I do believe the current owner now gets $1,250 for the top unit). Total taxes for that building were $5K.

What also sucks about Schenectady is that in order to get to the Albany area, you have to take the thruway, which is a toll road. Since that's where the majority of the jobs are in the region, you're basically stuck paying insane property taxes along with an annoying, costly commute every day.
What about taking Route 5 into Albany through the South Colonie area?
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