Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I live in Malta, which is 6 miles south of Saratoga Springs. We too moved here from Colorado looking for a similar small town charming feel as the towns in Colorado. Malta is a bedroom community of Saratoga that is growing but very progressive when it comes to creating parks, open space, and preserving nature as best it can. We are anticipating a big "tech park" in the next 10 years which may make the area grow rapidly, but the town has done a good job putting in the infrastructure. I have been on this board because I was thinking about moving to FL. to be closer to family. Reading through the Fl posts made me realize what a special place I live. In the winter my husband 2 girls and I strap on the snow shoes and go out our back door. In the summer we ride our bikes to the park from our home and continue on the bike path to Stewarts for ice cream. My children play with the neighbor kids, and I'm not concerned about safety. If you're looking for anything reminicient of how we grew up, this area is wonderful. This is a nice place to be.
Any advice on where to live that has a good public high school? I'll be working at a location slightly northwest of Albany and the intersection of I 90 and I 87.
To losandjenn: Saratoga looks like a nice place. Can you tell me what the real estate taxes would be on a $200,000 house. would that be the average price there for a nice house?
I love the area between NYS and New England. Thanks.
First off, Capital District or Capital Region? either depends on your income level, lifestyle desires etc...
Capital District -- Nicely between, Boston, Buffalo, NYC & Montreal. Adirondacks, catskill, New England and finger lakes.
* The big 3 -- Albany, Schenectady & Troy. In that order for size. Troy & Schenectady close to same size but spread out differently. Each has phenominal history and architecture and each has some very nice sections that are well preserved and areas that are seriously run down. Troy is built on the side of a hill. Troy is the most run down but is slowly making a good comeback. Schools are touch & go. Do your research with that one. Schenectady has a very contriversial police department that is about to be shut down and many NYC druggies have found their way into town but the idea of a wild crime ridden, cant walk the streets safely idea is a bit over-rated. They are also working hard at a city revival. Progress with these cities is very slow but is happening. (my pick -- Schenectady)
* Clifton Park, Malta, Guilderland, Delmar, Niskayuna - If you have the money and address matters to you, emphasis on "the money", these are all "the places to be". Good highway access and very comfortable living. Great schools and good shopping and eateries. However, they are not the best for walking or riding bikes much outside your particular development. Niskayuna has no central business district but nice older established developments and the most central to the whole Capital District there are a few short trails nearby but it is mostly "get in your car and drive to the big box" kind of places. (my pick -- Clifton Park)
* Voorheesville & Altamont. -- getting quite pricey, these are just outside of albany but are nice quaint and walkable with their own little downtown. The boarders of town are defined and once you are out of town it doesnt sprawl. At least with retail sprawl. Voorheesville is slightly larger and more pricey but both have that real small town feel. (my pick -- Voorheesville)
* Cohoes, Waterford, Watervliet, Scotia, Latham -- Watervliet is the lower end. Dont suspect the schools are the best. Long grid like streets and most of the houses are semi run down. Real city looking in appearance.Good hearty lower-middle class people just making a living and a good handful of less desirable's mixed in. Latham is like the busy "big-box central". About everything is there and there are some very nice little neighborhoods sprinkled in and around. Fairly affordable by most standards. Very central to everything. Good to average schools and really quite safe. Waterford is a very small canal village at the junction of the Mohawk & Hudson. Very charming with an almost perfect little downtown. Has a couple very nice canal festivles each year and definately worth a visit. The housing in Waterford proper is tightly packed and semi run down. What an ideal little village this could be with a little touch-up. Housing & tax is not too bad and schools are fair to good. Cohoes gets a bad rap. Among the least desirable addresses (and I think its a shame). Is a nice little city with a somewhat village feel. Is a "has-been" mill town but most of the mills burned down and cleaned out, though there is still a bit of a mill feel to the near downtown area, it has its own downtown in need of some good occupants but it is happening, albeit, very slowely. the immediate downtown neighborhoods are tightly packed and definately run down and needs sprucing up. Awesome histroy to the city. If you can get past the downtown and immediate blocks you have a very nice community. Very walkable with a few very nice neighborhood parks. Again, outside the immediate downtown area the city is quite clean and very good middle class citizens but even there along with the rest of the city, people are friendly, open and just themselves. Sort of a close-knit community. Used to have a good amount of quaint Irish pubs with an "old-world" feel. Still a few around. Schools are said to be poor but they really arent all that bad. Scotia is across the bridge from Schenectady but a whole different world. Very clean, close neighbors and many fine older homes. has a wonderful small but very usable downtown. Has the most perfect park along the river with many nice festivels and free concerts. Only one BIG problem. Very expensive for what you get. Taxes are horrible. I guess the price you pay for a small clean village feel and neighborly. A slight bit difficult if you want to get anywhere else in the Capital District in a hurry. Sort of tucked away on the western edge but well, well worth it. (my pick -- Scotia but parts of Cohoes are not far behind)
I have a great bit of knowlege of region and would love to help with anything more specific.
Actually, I do understand not including it for folks who don't know much about capital district. If I didn't grow up in A'dam it would probably be too much of a learning curve to jump in.
But that said Averagejoe, I'm curious of your opinion of Amsterdam. You have an excellent feel for the region and the nuances of each distinct town.
Actually, I do understand not including it for folks who don't know much about capital district. If I didn't grow up in A'dam it would probably be too much of a learning curve to jump in.
But that said Averagejoe, I'm curious of your opinion of Amsterdam. You have an excellent feel for the region and the nuances of each distinct town.
Would love to go on about each of these places but dont want to take up too much space. I love demographics. I ride around alot studying social, political, cultural and geographical details. I would put Amsterdam in the Capital "region" as opposed to "district"
I just returned to NY from many years in NC but when I left, Amsterdam was on its way down fast. Crime and depression was on the increase. Coleco, Is that how you spell it? You know the company that made the "Atom" computer and then got into the "cabbage Patch dolls"? They shut down and as I remember, nearby Beechnut was not doing too well and those being two major economic engines made things miserable over there. I understand there was even some mafia activity going on then but that is mostly heresay. Couldnt verify if that is true. Anyway, I just rode through there several months ago and WOW! what a difference. Not saying it is a Rennesance mecca but certainly not what it used to be. I have heard alot of condemnation of this town even recently but it is just not fair. Beechnut was just given a high-five for their decision to advance in the area which will have a ripple affect on Amsterdam. the infrastructure in the city is not suited for good growth but the opporative word here is "YET" because there is plans for demolition of some of the existing "dead weight buildings" and for some of the clean-up effort I have already seen, I for one, want to give them the benefit of the doubt and cheer them on. there is a vibrant and growing retail corridor to the north which is encouraging. Just as anywhere else Upstate, growth and renewal isnt happening overnight and if even a fraction of Mr. Spitzers plan for Upstate renewal comes true than that is more than what we have seen in many generations. Summing up my thoughts? If I had money to invest and could tie it up for about 5-10 years I would be buying up houses right & left in the city. I mean beautiful Victorian homes for under 100,000. Yea Man! The city is on 3 very major arteries. I-90, the canal and rail. Land and housing in Montgomery county is perhaps the best in the state. Thriving and growing Amish communities nextdoor to the West and South. I know the Amish very very well and unless they locate to a seriously remote area, a growing economy almost always follows. Barring a Nationwide depression, Amsterdam will come back. Mark my words.
Anyone got any comments on Cohoes, Waterford, Guilderland, Colonie? Any decent neighborhoods at all in Albany?
Cohoes...Not the nicest town but dirt cheap and easy access to the interstate and Albany, NY. Waterford is very small and boarders Cohoes. It is much nicer on the "top of the hill" with a lot of developments. Easy access to clifton park, rte 9 and 787. Colonie and Guilderland are HUGE in comparison to Cohoes and Waterford. Both are great places to live and raise a family.
Amsterdam strikes me as more of a Mohawk Valley town than a Capital region town. If you work in Albany, it seems to me like it would be a bit of a haul for the commute.
Amsterdam is less than 1/2 hour to exit 24 in Albany with virtually no traffic delays to deal with. It is a shorter commute than almost any saratoga county town.
My god, I used to live exactly 15 miles from my office in Manhattan and my commute was a little over an hour which was considered short!
Though technically you are correct, we are in the Mohawk Valley. Check out some of the pics here for those interested in this area: Mohawk Valley Views Contest (broken link)
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Moving To Albany Area
