moving to Albany Area from Boston (New York, Colonie: power lines, crime rates, house prices)
Albany areaAlbany - Schenectady - Troy - Saratoga Springs metro area
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We are currently live Boston. because housing market is so hot here we are planning to move to upstate New York (closer to Albany)- Clifton Park, Halfmoon, Ballston and Saratoga Springs. there are few cities near Albany with great schools and and house prices are cheaper compared to Boston suburbs. we know that when comparing Boston suburbs and upstate NY the property tax is little hight in NY and health care in better in Massachusetts. we are ok with the weather I think it mostly the same. Other than the above two issues is there anything else we should be worried about moving to update NY and buying a house. Thank You!
We are currently live Boston. because housing market is so hot here we are planning to move to upstate New York (closer to Albany)- Clifton Park, Halfmoon, Ballston and Saratoga Springs. there are few cities near Albany with great schools and and house prices are cheaper compared to Boston suburbs. we know that when comparing Boston suburbs and upstate NY the property tax is little hight in NY and health care in better in Massachusetts. we are ok with the weather I think it mostly the same. Other than the above two issues is there anything else we should be worried about moving to update NY and buying a house. Thank You!
A friend made that move about a decade ago. She grew up in Walpole and moved to Averill Park, NY. I moved from Boston to Westchester NY. I am a born and raised New Yorker so it was no big deal.
The biggest difference is baseball teams! It's Yankee Country. Although New Yorkers don't care as much as Boston.
Other than that - Albany is a little more snowier, not too much of a difference. Albany does have good healthcare - no worries about that. My friend's children made good friends in the Averill Park public schools. They commuted to SUNY Albany and got a fine education for very little money.
The big difference is utilities. It seems like more of suburban Boston has underground power lines. In MA, we never lost electricity. Albany is more rural. The power line are overhead so there is a bigger chance a storm will knock out power. Again, because Albany is more rural, more homes have wells. My friend brought a house with well water that went dry. It cost over $30,000 (about eight years ago) to fix. However, I imagine there are rural homes with well water in MA too.
My friend's Averill Park school taxes have gone up every single year! There are no property tax cap like in MA - no override elections or protections.
What I missed most about Boston was being an hour away from Cape Cod and Craigsville Beach. It such a pretty area!
My MA home sold in 2007 for half a million and now it's worth a million dollars. It's a little cape cod house - nothing special. Crazy, isn't it? I say - go for it!
To the OP, I would also look into Niskayuna, Bethlehem(Delmar), Colonie(North Colonie has a little bit better rep, but South Colonie is also good. Loudonville in the North Colonie SD is a high end area), Guilderland, the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake SD/area(Rexford is a high end area in that SD) and even East Greenbush, among some other area communities. All are good SD’s and personally, Colonie puts you in between all 3 of the main cities. In the case of North Colonie, you are closer to Saratoga Springs, as it is the district below Clifton Park’s Shenendehowa SD(I believe Halfmoon is also primarily in that SD). All of these places have their more affluent areas or are some of the more affluent towns/SD’s in the area.
Is there anything that you prefer in regards to a community/neighborhood?
There is a property tax cap, yet "there are a limited number of specific exemptions to the tax cap that school districts may take. They include growth in “brick and mortar” development that increases the value of a school district’s full taxable property, contributions toward employee pensions above a certain amount, expenditures for some court orders, and the local portion of capital expenditures." https://www.nyssba.org/clientuploads...ax-Cap-Q&A.pdf
Whereas in MA, the school taxes are considered part of the property taxes. In MA, a brick and mortar development increases property taxes. In Norwood, the new high school building was on the tax cap ballot for years before it passed.
In NY, the school and property taxes are separate. A school tax increase for new school buildings is not controlled by the tax cap. In some cases, the NY school tax is as much as the property tax.
There is a property tax cap, yet "there are a limited number of specific exemptions to the tax cap that school districts may take. They include growth in “brick and mortar” development that increases the value of a school district’s full taxable property, contributions toward employee pensions above a certain amount, expenditures for some court orders, and the local portion of capital expenditures." https://www.nyssba.org/clientuploads...ax-Cap-Q&A.pdf
Whereas in MA, the school taxes are considered part of the property taxes. In MA, a brick and mortar development increases property taxes. In Norwood, the new high school building was on the tax cap ballot for years before it passed.
In NY, the school and property taxes are separate. A school tax increase for new school buildings is not controlled by the tax cap. In some cases, the NY school tax is as much as the property tax.
It's a tiny difference, but it's good to know.
Yes, I didn't want the OP to think that there wasn't anything comparable. Like you said, it is something, but there are loopholes around it.
School taxes are a part of or included in the property taxes in NY when viewing listings, but are paid separately, a you know(but the OP may not know). So OP, when you see this rate for Saratoga County: https://smartasset.com/taxes/new-yor...tax-calculator that includes the school tax. This may explain the population growth in Saratoga County and it doesn't hurt that there is enough industry to help keep the rate relatively lower.
1) Family friendly and safety
2) Good public schools
4) Diversity
I would actually look into Niskayuna, Colonie(North and South) and Guilderland. I actually posted prom/dance pictures from Niskayuna and Guilderland in the Upstate diverse places thread that illustrates that there is some degree of diversity in those school districts and that both are highly regarded academically. Niskayuna is one of the more affluent and highly regarded school districts in Upstate NY as well. Both of the big Colonie school districts are as well and are in between the main cities of the metro area. South Colonie historically has been more diverse in terms of degree, but North Colonie has been up there relative to other area suburban school districts.
East Greenbush(south of Troy/east of Albany), the Rotterdam based SD’s(Schalmont and Mohonasen), Shenendehowa(Clifton Park), Scotia-Glenville and Bethlehem are other suburban districts that have become more diverse and fit the other criteria as well.
Saratoga Springs historically on its West and outer SE sides of town is where there has been some cultural diversity and it fits the other criteria. I’d say for school district that is a “city” SD, along with Ithaca City SD, it is one of the better ones in Upstate NY. It(and Ithaca) are really small “cities” that have districts that cover suburban and some rural areas around it like enlarged city school districts you may see in PA.
So, I hope that gives some idea of communities that fit what you are looking for or have those characteristics that appeal to you.
Troy has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes - from the smallest towns to the very largest cities.
It still has its good and bad areas. Not that it is being suggested to the OP, as it looks like they are looking for suburbs, but just to be fair.
Also, what is interesting about Troy is that Troy City SD out of the bigger city urban school districts in the area, it usually performs the best out of the bigger city centers in the area. Lansingburgh SD also covers most of the northern portion of the city, with both SD's also covering areas just outside of the city. Not saying it is great, but it appears to be at least above average in some measures.
The city also has 2 private high school options(LaSalle Institute(becoming co-ed) and Emma Willard(all female)had 3, but Catholic Central is combining with an elementary Catholic school on a campus in Colonie). There is also the Doane Stuart School in nearby Rensselaer.
It also has charter school options for grades K-12 as well.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 06-21-2022 at 08:58 PM..
1) Family friendly and safety
2) Good public schools
4) Diversity
You won’t find all 3 together. Not in the capital region.
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