Move to Area- 2 young kids- schools, neighborhoods, things to do, CSAs?, etc (Albany: coop)

[KT Girl]

Hi- I've read a lot of good posts on here and think I will be looking into the Delmar and Niskayuna areas. My husband and I (both went to college near Albany but that was a while ago- didn't think about school districts at the time!) are considering a move to the area. We are down in Dutchess county and our school district is not great. We have a son that will be 3 this summer, and a wee one on the way! The Bethlehem School District gets great ratings, looks like there is a nice mix of older homes in Delmar and parks; close to downtown Albany for stuff to do.

Looking for any thoughts:
Would love to join a Community Supported Agriculture (there are listings on localharvest.org?) or to know there are good Farmer's Markets?
Would love an older neighborhood (mature trees, etc) that is walking distance to a library, corner store, and/or shops?
Any other places of interest to point out such as Children's Museums, play centers for kids, little tips that you don't typically see on-line anywhere? We are pretty nerdy and love hands-on things to do and I do love home-grown foods and great grocery stores (no, you guys don't have a Wegmans but I'll get over it)

Thanks for letting me pick your brains for "insider" tips!

[OrangeSunset]

There's a lot on CSA at local harvest. We do Denison Farms and love them! There are two big farmers markets in the area (Troy waterfront and Schenectady green maket). They are both open year-round. Check out the Honest Weight food coop in Albany too.

Delmar is you place if you want old charm and a place to walk to stores. Check out places near the 4 corners. It is lovely! There's the large library (they're always doing stuff for young children) and a nice park nearby too.

There are several moms groups (Guilderland Moms group, meet-up.com) around and I suggest you contact them to know what's going on in town. There's no childrens museum in the area, only in Saratoga and Boston. The NYS museum has a childrens area. There's also the Albany Pine Bush Discovery Center, small but a cute place to take the little kids. The Indian Ladder Farm is a good outging for the warmer months. There's Hoffmans playland too if you want a place with rides. There are lots of local parks and that's usually where the moms meet up during the summer. The Crossings in Colonie is a good park to go to.

[OrangeSunset]

One thing I forgot to mention, be careful with Niskayuna. The taxes are incredibly high. If you want another place to look into check out Guilderland or North Colonie. Great schools and reasonable taxes.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by OrangeSunset

One thing I forgot to mention, be careful with Niskayuna. The taxes are incredibly high. If you want another place to look into check out Guilderland or North Colonie. Great schools and reasonable taxes.

What about South Colonie or even East Greenbush?

[coffeebean330]

I really like Loudonville. I work near there and the houses are beautiful. I have friends who when to Shaker High School and felt it was a great school. Guilderland is nice, but I've heard several people complain about the school system. There's always private school as well, although the prices are ridiculous.

The grocery stores are so so. I would love it if we had Wegman's, but there's an agreement with Price Chopper that they can't build in the capital region.

[OrangeSunset]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

What about South Colonie or even East Greenbush?

South Colonie has lower taxes and good schools. I like the South Colonie area, it is near Wolf Rd which has some decent shopping & restaurants. East Greenbush has good schools and higher taxes but it is more rural. There's not much out there.

Guilderland is a good area too with excellent shools. Check out the area around Stuyvensat Plaza. There are some very affordable homes there. I haven't heard anything bad about the Guilderland school district, except that it is big (for middle & high school anyway) and a lot of people like smaller districts.

[KT Girl]

Many, many thanks for the responses. We just got back last night from touring around Albany. We ran right into a fun parade in Delmar. Very cute towns and homes in all the areas. We drove through Guilderland, Loudonville, and Colonie too. Didn't make it out to East Greenbush. We need another trip back. With a toddler in tow it was a little choppy- I'm surprised he made it as many hours as he did (many stops to parks and ice cream stands!) Thank you all again.