Thinking of moving to albany, please help me get out of georgia lol!!!! (Rochester: to rent, condo)

[Pimpy the Pooh]

Hi everyone,

I am originally from New Orleans but I relocated to NYC a few years back. My fiancee is from NYC. Although I loved it, the cost of living was killing me, and I didn't like the fact that we had to park our vehicles sometimes a half of mile from our house due to a lack of parking. I found a job in Rome Georgia ( near the Tennessee border) so my fiancee and I relocated here.

Although the cost of living is low, it is hard for us to deal with the closed mindedness of the residents here. We have heard the "N" word on numerous occasions. My fiancee is half Latino and constantly has to hear how Mexicans ( all Latinos are Mexicans down here) are ruining the country. Now I knew it was conservative down here but we had no idea it was this bad. I am from Louisiana and it is NOTHING like this.

So we want to move back to the NY area but not NYC. Albany seems like a nice place. I am in hotel management and my fiancee is in nursing. I guess my questions are:

1) Would you guys consider Albany a pretty liberal and tolerant place?

2) Are there plenty of things to do for a fairly young upper twenties aged couple?

3) How good are the colleges and universities there?

4) I know this is a dumb one but I just want to make sure: is the cost of living significantly less than NYC?

5) Are most jobs union based?

Thank you all in advance for your responses and thank you for reading my book of a post. My fiancee and I are looking forward to departing Mulletville as soon as possible lol.

[Pimpy the Pooh]

Also if there are unions, does anyone know which ones are active there? I am a member of 32bj.

Thanks again.

[ckhthankgod]

You should be fine in terms of people commenting on your relationship or other groups. I'm going to say it is perfect, but it isn't blatant or anything like that up here.

You have areas like Lark St., which has some things going on. There are some very good colleges like SUNY-Albany, Siena, St. Rose, RPI and Union among others.

It is a bit more affordable in the Albany area than NYC. It's still a bit higher than other parts of Upstate NY though.

There are unions in the area, but I'm not sure which ones are very active.

[Pimpy the Pooh]

Yeah I saw it was a little more expensive than other areas upstate but it is still vastly cheaper than NYC from what I have seen thus far.

I also saw some of the surrounding suburbs were decently priced. That is definitely a possibility. I was also thinking Syracuse because it is beautiful but I hear the snow is brutal. That and it is a tad farther to NYC and my fiancee's family.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by Pimpy the Pooh

Yeah I saw it was a little more expensive than other areas upstate but it is still vastly cheaper than NYC from what I have seen thus far.

I also saw some of the surrounding suburbs were decently priced. That is definitely a possibility. I was also thinking Syracuse because it is beautiful but I hear the snow is brutal. That and it is a tad farther to NYC and my fiancee's family.

Syracuse does get a lot of snow, but it gets taken care of quickly. It's cheaper than albany and it takes about 3 and a half to 4 hours to get to NYC.

[Vaedur]

I say this alot of the forum..

When you think "albany" instead you should think "Capital region" Albany is more expensive, More crime then a lot of areas in the capital region. Think Suburbia..
in albany county.. Colonie, Latham, nyskyuna..
Schenectady county .. Rotterdam, Scotia (bit of nyskyuna too) You can find a really nice place to rent for a good price, rent a whole home with an actual lot, have a good school district, not be around crime (bullets do fly in albany, they don't fly in suburbia..) While on vacation i tell everyone "i'm from albany" the places you wanna live around here are not in albany...

just my 2cents...

[notasmoker]

I am also from New Orleans & moved from Louisiana to Rochester, NY in the eighties and have never looked back. Have you considered the Rochester area? Compared to some places in south Louisiana (not to mention Georgia!), this place is a hotbed of liberalism, relatively speaking. Cost of living is very manageable. There are likely union jobs in hotel management and are definitely nursing jobs here. We have some highly respected colleges & universities here, both private & public. Best of luck to you.

[HomerBrink]

Pimpy - I'll just add my thoughts. Overall I think Albany is a tolerant place. It's the capital of NYS so it attracts people from all over. In the Albany area there are several good colleges: RPI, & Union, Albany Law School, Albany Medical School as well as the state university at Abany. You have good access by car and/or train to NYC, Montreal and Boston. There are a lot of things going on in the area especially in the summer. I don't know much about unions. Economically, it's job market is pretty good (considering how bad it is in so many other places). Just be careful in distinguishing the city of Albany proper from the Albany area. Good luck and hope you decide to move to Albany.
(Syracuse and Rochester are fine places but farther from NYC).

[j12308]

1. I think it's pretty liberal and tolerant. It's all a matter of who you hang out with too. If you are looking for a liberal bunch of people take a look at the Unitarian Univeralist Church in Albany, Schenectady, or Saratoga.
2. I think there are lots of colleges that keep the bars going in Albany. Also a lot of outdoor activities, hiking, biking, etc.
3. The schools in this area are really good. Besides the others mentioned which are great St. Rose, Siena, Russell Sage, Union are right up there.
4. The cost of living I'd have to imagine is less, especially if you factor in buying a condo or house. It was a lot less when I came from Boston. A house was 1/2 the cost but the salary stayed the same.
5. Sorry I know nothing about unions, call the local chapter I'm sure they could help.

I'd also say try to appreciate each season and find a winter sport that you like. I hate being cold, but love to cross country ski and snowshoe. I find myself always wishing for one more snow fall.

[soucha]

Oh, I can very much attest to the closed mindedness in the south. I now live in AL and the people are as nice as can be most of the time but have the mentality from the 1950s! I hear about "the mexicans" much more often than I'd like. And they are VERY stubborn. My husband is from Washington State (were this isn't an issue) and we are tired of the attitude and the heat. I am trying to plan a move to new england late next year. I have a friend in Binghamton- does anyone have any advice or input for a young couple needing some acreage and lots of beautiful hiking?