Moving to Albany from Tennessee (New York, Coeymans: for sale, real estate, townhouse)

[ckhthankgod]

People Upstate don't have the accent that people from NYC or Downstate have. Some say that we really don't have an accent up here.

[Bo Fung]

Colonie, Latham area good choice of schools and housing. Check realtor.com for houses.

[Rumblebelly]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

People Upstate don't have the accent that people from NYC or Downstate have. Some say that we really don't have an accent up here.

As much as you don't wanna hear it, there is still a very noticable accent up here. I recently moved here from Nebraska/Colorado, where it's supposedly "accent neutral".

The folks I work with, all natives from this area, have very noticable accents. Their "a's" sound like "aw", the long "o" sounds cut off, and the "r's" are diminished. However, I think it's still different from the NYC...like it's almost mixed in with a New England Accent.

It seems to get much fainter as you travel north and west from the Capital area. It also seems fainter in rural areas. A few folks have hardly any accent at all and sound like they are from South Dakota.

[Miker]

Originally Posted by movingtoalbany

I'm coming from Chattanooga. I'm already expecting a higher cost of living so nothing I see will surprise me. It may just hurt the pocket a bit more. Did you mean do not get electric anything and that natural gas is the way to go? We're actually looking forward to the winter and my wife is definitely excited about a whole new wardrobe of winter clothing. With satellite tv I won't be missing any college football! I've already been told I will never be mistaken for a native New Yorker based on my accent so I'm fully prepared.

Obviously I can't speak for the poster that advised to avoid natural gas, but I am pretty confident he/she inadvertently made an erroneous statement in this regard. You definetely want to avoid electric heating systems (obviously you cannot avoid electric altogether (lighting, A/C etc.). Natural gas heating is the most cost efficient up here.

To the poster that added that comment, please correct me if I am wrong.

[Miker]

Originally Posted by Rumblebelly

As much as you don't wanna hear it, there is still a very noticable accent up here. I recently moved here from Nebraska/Colorado, where it's supposedly "accent neutral".

The folks I work with, all natives from this area, have very noticable accents. Their "a's" sound like "aw", the long "o" sounds cut off, and the "r's" are diminished. However, I think it's still different from the NYC...like it's almost mixed in with a New England Accent.

It seems to get much fainter as you travel north and west from the Capital area. It also seems fainter in rural areas. A few folks have hardly any accent at all and sound like they are from South Dakota.

Rumblebelly, can you elaborate? I am a native and do not notice that we any accent...but I suppose every area of the country feels that way.

I am very interested though. When you say our "a's" sound like "aw", can you provide a specific word to help clarify this. If you could, also provide some examples of the cut off long "O's" and dimished "r's".

I have been told I/we have an accent, but just don't hear it. One thing I was called on once jokingly by an out of towner, I pronounced milk as melk. Is that another example of an Albany area accent, or is that just me:-) Chocolate MILK just sounds funny to me...it's chocolate melk.

Please don't take this as an argumentative post. I am just really curious about my "accent"

To the original poster....sorry to be taking this way of topic. If you have any more questions please post them.

[Miker]

movingtoalbany...I'll add another post to get you back on track to make up for my disruption.

I bought a three bedroom, two full bath approx. 1300sf home with NO garage in the City of Albany just under three years ago. I paid 174k for it. I think prices have been more or less stagnant since I bought it. Also, although it is technically in the City of Albany (I think you said you would prefer the suburbs) it is in a suburban like, family oriented, safe, friendly neighborhood. So by no means am I in the ghetto. It is an older home (built in 1945) with small bedrooms by todays standards and needs a little work but nothing too major.

My point is, given this info, your $250k mark should get you the house you are looking for in the "official" suburbs (including a garage).

[plattsburgher]

When I mentioned electric rates vs gas rates for energy, I didn't realize that there was such a huge variance in areas that aren't that far apart on the map. We happen to have one of the lowest electric rates in the country (due to some agreement with the hydroelectric company?) I am sure there are many people who can help sort out the answer to the energy question. Where I am, propane and oil heating is ultra-expensive, gas is very expensive and electricity is the cheapest.

Do rates differ for various areas in Albany or are they fairly consistent and which is the cheapest source of energy where he is moving??????

[Miker]

Thanks for the clarification plattsburgher...I had no idea about the huge variance either. It does seem very unusual almost suspicious (on the part of the energy companies, government etc.)

To those in the know...why can't we in Albany tap into this cheap cost for electricity given, as plattsburgher mentioned, the areas are pretty close together.

[Rumblebelly]

Originally Posted by Miker

Rumblebelly, can you elaborate? I am a native and do not notice that we any accent...but I suppose every area of the country feels that way.

I am very interested though. When you say our "a's" sound like "aw", can you provide a specific word to help clarify this. If you could, also provide some examples of the cut off long "O's" and dimished "r's".

I have been told I/we have an accent, but just don't hear it. One thing I was called on once jokingly by an out of towner, I pronounced milk as melk. Is that another example of an Albany area accent, or is that just me:-) Chocolate MILK just sounds funny to me...it's chocolate melk.

Please don't take this as an argumentative post. I am just really curious about my "accent"

To the original poster....sorry to be taking this way of topic. If you have any more questions please post them.

I told a couple of folks I work with that they have accents and they were a little shocked. A fellow from Stillwater that my wife works with, who btw has almost no accent, says the only folks with accents are downstaters that migrated up. That's not true at all because I know a lot of natives to this area that speak with a strong accent.

It's hard to describe it so I'll try: a lot of folks pronounce Albany like "Awlbany", this a really exaggerated "w" sound. Words such as "too" and "do" sound more like "tou" or "dou", with the consonant exaggerated and the vowel diminished. Regard "r", park sounds like "paowk" and car sounds like "ca". You probably don't hear it because it's what you've heard most of your life.

Like I said earlier, it's very similar to NYC but a little fainter and I think combined with New England. This makes sense because this area is still in close proximity to both areas. 3 hours drive isn't that far at all. I also noticed that it's dependant on social class and proximity to rural areas.

[Miker]

Originally Posted by Rumblebelly

I told a couple of folks I work with that they have accents and they were a little shocked. A fellow from Stillwater that my wife works with, who btw has almost no accent, says the only folks with accents are downstaters that migrated up. That's not true at all because I know a lot of natives to this area that speak with a strong accent.

It's hard to describe it so I'll try: a lot of folks pronounce Albany like "Awlbany", this a really exaggerated "w" sound. Words such as "too" and "do" sound more like "tou" or "dou", with the consonant exaggerated and the vowel diminished. Regard "r", park sounds like "paowk" and car sounds like "ca". You probably don't hear it because it's what you've heard most of your life.

Like I said earlier, it's very similar to NYC but a little fainter and I think combined with New England. This makes sense because this area is still in close proximity to both areas. 3 hours drive isn't that far at all. I also noticed that it's dependant on social class and proximity to rural areas.

Thanks Rumblebelly, I am definetely guilty of pronouncing Albany as Awbnee(even worse than you pointed out because I think, at least in casual conversation, I usually exclude the "L" and second "A" altogether). As for the rest, I just don't notice it so much...as you stated, I probably don't hear it because I'm used to it.