Nice, quiet, safe towns 35-45 minutes from Albany? (Schenectady, Troy: houses, neighborhoods)

[mykalmac]

Hi. I have an opportunity to relocate to the Albany area with my company.
One problem....I know nothing about the area.
I'd be very interested in finding a home in a nice, quiet, SAFE, possibly rural town about 25 to 45 minutes outside of Albany.
I'm a single 38 yr old male, with no children and am looking to spend between 2 and 300,000.
I like older houses and quiet neighborhoods where the neighbors are not right next door to you , as they are in cities.

Does anybody have any suggestions for any towns that I could look into?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Rumblebelly]

Ballston Spa is nice, especially the neighborhoods south and east of downtown. However in bad traffic, it can be more than 45 min to Albany.

There are tons of other communities in the area you might want to check out (Burnt Hills, Guilderland, Altamont, Scotia, Rexford)....it just depends if you want a town center or not.

[convergent]

Take a look at the Van Patten neighborhoods in Clifton Park. That's a half hour drive to Albany, close to Saratoga as well... and those are well built older homes on larger lots. You should have no problem buying on in your price range.

[Pam& Bill]

Try Southern Columbia County. Although with the price of gas these days are you sure you want to be 45 minutes away from Albany?
Germantown is 45 minutes south of Albany and close to the Thruway too.
Best of luck,
Pam

[averillparkre]

I am a big fan of Rensselaer county - very quick to commute to any area in the capital district - no traffic build-up at rush hour like you get north of Albany, and lower median values then other counties.

[Phoenix lady]

Stuyvesant, Kinderhook (homes might be way more than 300), Chatham, Austerlitz (pretty rural, not sure how far from Albany) or across the river Saugerties.

[looking2moov]

Phoenix lady listed some places kind of far from Albany. Really, the only areas I would avoid would be: Cohoes, Troy, Schenectady, and Watervliet. Although they are really not bad cities, trying to find a place from afar could land you in a rougher neighborhood (although by rough, I don't necessarily mean "dangerous", just sketchy), and they are certainly NOT rural. For rural style town, that's quiet, and really has a small-town vibe, I'd definitely suggest Altamont/Guilderland, or going west towards Nassau, ect. Like I said, theres not really any place except some areas of Schenectady, and Albany that aren't safe.

[averillparkre]

I am agreeing with looking2moov - Saugerties is at least 45 minutes away on the thruway with no traffic. Please consider the area east of Albany - very gorgeous and very affordable.

[Kat1994]

How about Greene County?

Ravena, Athens - 30 - 40 min south and some great homes. Heck even Sleepy Hollow Lake (Coxsackie and Athens) is in your price range.

[coffeebean330]

I agree that Altamont is very nice. I live outside Schoharie, and that's a nice small town too. Loudonville is nice, but a little pricey from what I've heard.