40 minutes or less from Albany (Schenectady, Troy: apartment, rental, houses)

[deb1216]

My daughter is starting her Ph.D. at SUNY-Albany this fall and needs to get a place for herself and six-year-old daughter in August. Her dream is to live in a rural area or small town that is 30 minutes or less from Albany. She can't spend more than $600 per month. Should she give up that idea? Any suggestions?

I have been doing searches for her using different cities and towns in the vicinity. Some that seem like prospects from a financial standpoint are Amsterdam (she likes the diversity since her daughter is of mixed race), Duanesburg (schools look great), and Cohoes. Amsterdam looked too good to be true rent-wise. Watervliet looked like a possibility. Any other suggestions or cautions?

Schenectady and Albany are not out of the question either if a nice, safe neighborhood can be found with affordable rent.

Any suggestions would be deeply appreciated.

[mangelb1975]

Hi, I have lived upstate ny off an on for years. I moved from Schenectady about almost two yrs ago. My children attended school there, I lived about a block from a shooting and 2 houses away from a home invasion, yeah I moved! I would recommend Watervliet, Latham, or Cohoes as safer than, Schenectady, Albany, Troy. Although, the three towns also have there ghetto to, just have to go and check it out and see for yourself the nicer parts. I lived in a three bedroom apartment for about a thousand, so it's not impossible for your daughter to find a $600 dollar a month rental apartment. I live on Longisland, which is expensive and there are 600 dollar studios. Anywhere I lived upstate was cheap, I had a 2 bedroom apartment in Saugerties, upstate and was paying $800. Anyway, hope this helped, happy hunting!

[aquaecny]

Other nice smaller rural towns north of Albany may be a nice bet. Malta is nice, right up the northway from Albany. Look at some towns in Saratoga County!

www.saratoga.org