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I’m anticipating a move up to the Capital Region after living in the Catskills my entire life. I’ve spent a little bit of time in each of these cities (mostly Albany) so I don’t 100% know them that well. I was wondering what everyone here thought about them—how they would rank them against each other and why. The purpose for this is I’m trying to figure out which cities I’d like to be closest to. I do plan on spending more time in each city in the coming months since I’m only about an hour down 87—but this is just for fun!
I’d like to try to avoid factoring in things that are, for the most part, objectively true like Saratoga Springs is expensive or Troy has a high crime rate. Instead I’d like to focus on things like the food scene, things to do, overall put togetherness, the general surrounding area, schools, etc. Either way, I’d just like to hear some other people’s opinions!
With my limited experience in these cities, I’d rank them like this:
1. Saratoga Springs
It seems the most put together and overall nice looking. Very good night life and Congress Park is amazing. The closest of the four to the beautiful ADKs. Not the biggest fan of the uppity vibe and how crowded it gets in the summer but hey I’d say it’s worth it.
2. Troy
My brother used to live in Troy and I’d love going to visit him to walk around downtown and grab coffee. I have the most experience with the food scene here and it is really good from what I’ve experienced. It seems to be the most “hipster” of the four cities, so it has some cool places (like Bard and Baker). Definitely rough around the edges though—my dad didn’t call it Troylet for nothing.
3. Schenectady
I’ve actually spent the least amount of time here but I freaking love Jay St. It’s definitely rough around the edges but I feel like Schenectady is on the rise a little bit with the casino and everything. I will for sure be making plans to spend more time here.
4. Albany
I’ve spent most of my time in Albany visiting friends who went to college there, so unfortunately my experience is a little tainted (the college ghetto is rough). However, the area around State St. seems nice and Washington Park is beautiful. Not too far from the Catskills. Sadly, I don’t have much more to say.
Depends on what you are looking for. What would be your zen life scenario?
Out of those you listed, I’d say Saratoga is the odd man out. It’s just very different then the others you listed.
Depends on what you are looking for. What would be your zen life scenario?
Out of those you listed, I’d say Saratoga is the odd man out. It’s just very different then the others you listed.
I’m more looking for people’s opinions on how they would rate these cities. I agree that Saratoga Springs is different but the common denominator here is these are our four main cities in the capital district.
I’m anticipating a move up to the Capital Region after living in the Catskills my entire life. I’ve spent a little bit of time in each of these cities (mostly Albany) so I don’t 100% know them that well. I was wondering what everyone here thought about them—how they would rank them against each other and why. The purpose for this is I’m trying to figure out which cities I’d like to be closest to. I do plan on spending more time in each city in the coming months since I’m only about an hour down 87—but this is just for fun!
I’d like to try to avoid factoring in things that are, for the most part, objectively true like Saratoga Springs is expensive or Troy has a high crime rate. Instead I’d like to focus on things like the food scene, things to do, overall put togetherness, the general surrounding area, schools, etc. Either way, I’d just like to hear some other people’s opinions!
With my limited experience in these cities, I’d rank them like this:
1. Saratoga Springs
It seems the most put together and overall nice looking. Very good night life and Congress Park is amazing. The closest of the four to the beautiful ADKs. Not the biggest fan of the uppity vibe and how crowded it gets in the summer but hey I’d say it’s worth it.
2. Troy
My brother used to live in Troy and I’d love going to visit him to walk around downtown and grab coffee. I have the most experience with the food scene here and it is really good from what I’ve experienced. It seems to be the most “hipster” of the four cities, so it has some cool places (like Bard and Baker). Definitely rough around the edges though—my dad didn’t call it Troylet for nothing.
3. Schenectady
I’ve actually spent the least amount of time here but I freaking love Jay St. It’s definitely rough around the edges but I feel like Schenectady is on the rise a little bit with the casino and everything. I will for sure be making plans to spend more time here.
4. Albany
I’ve spent most of my time in Albany visiting friends who went to college there, so unfortunately my experience is a little tainted (the college ghetto is rough). However, the area around State St. seems nice and Washington Park is beautiful. Not too far from the Catskills. Sadly, I don’t have much more to say.
I probably would reverse the order due to size, as the reverse order would go from biggest to smallest.
Albany's SW portion of the city is nice and would be where I would look in that city(Helderberg, Pine Hills, Delaware Ave, New Scotland, etc.). There's also Center Square as well.
I like the Union Street corridor of Schenectady due to proximity to Union College, Ellis Hospital and the Upper Union area is quite walkable.
Troy does have some nice row home neighborhoods like Washington Park and around Downtown. Albia is a nice outer city neighborhood south/SE of RPI.
Saratoga is smaller, but does have a lot of activity for its size.
Cohoes is an even smaller area city, that has seen some revitalization in its Downtown. It is also in between all 4 of these cities and would allow for you to check out what is going on in those cities within a reasonable drive.
I’m anticipating a move up to the Capital Region after living in the Catskills my entire life. I’ve spent a little bit of time in each of these cities (mostly Albany) so I don’t 100% know them that well. I was wondering what everyone here thought about them—how they would rank them against each other and why. The purpose for this is I’m trying to figure out which cities I’d like to be closest to. I do plan on spending more time in each city in the coming months since I’m only about an hour down 87—but this is just for fun!
I’d like to try to avoid factoring in things that are, for the most part, objectively true like Saratoga Springs is expensive or Troy has a high crime rate. Instead I’d like to focus on things like the food scene, things to do, overall put togetherness, the general surrounding area, schools, etc. Either way, I’d just like to hear some other people’s opinions!
With my limited experience in these cities, I’d rank them like this:
1. Saratoga Springs
It seems the most put together and overall nice looking. Very good night life and Congress Park is amazing. The closest of the four to the beautiful ADKs. Not the biggest fan of the uppity vibe and how crowded it gets in the summer but hey I’d say it’s worth it.
2. Troy
My brother used to live in Troy and I’d love going to visit him to walk around downtown and grab coffee. I have the most experience with the food scene here and it is really good from what I’ve experienced. It seems to be the most “hipster” of the four cities, so it has some cool places (like Bard and Baker). Definitely rough around the edges though—my dad didn’t call it Troylet for nothing.
3. Schenectady
I’ve actually spent the least amount of time here but I freaking love Jay St. It’s definitely rough around the edges but I feel like Schenectady is on the rise a little bit with the casino and everything. I will for sure be making plans to spend more time here.
4. Albany
I’ve spent most of my time in Albany visiting friends who went to college there, so unfortunately my experience is a little tainted (the college ghetto is rough). However, the area around State St. seems nice and Washington Park is beautiful. Not too far from the Catskills. Sadly, I don’t have much more to say.
There's lots of things to like about downtown Saratoga, however I do hear you about the overall vibe though and it's one of the reason's I don't live there. Between the massive, after-10PM nightlife scene (which can get rowdy) and the somewhat clichè atmosphere, it just isn't as desirable to me.
Now Troy; that to me is a place that still has a lot of character. The downtown is somewhat booming with the Farmers Market, restaurants and the construction of new apartments. Troy sports maybe four of my personal top-five favorite restaurants in the area, and has unique, walkable offers with things like Franklin Alley, Bard and Baker and the Music Hall. What sets Troy apart really is just how dense the downtown is, compared to Schenectady and Albany
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