Newlyweds need help getting out of LI but staying in NY (Buffalo: rent, low crime)

[getmeouttaLI]

Hi everyone! My husband and I just recently got married a few weeks ago. We are looking to move out of Long Island as it's just too expensive for us to live here and we are currently staying at my mothers house but it's time for us to be on our own. We are young (23) and are still in college so we need to stay in NY so we won't have to pay out of state fees. We are currently going to a community college so we can pretty much move anywhere in NY that has a community college nearby.

Now, basically what we are worried about is moving somewhere where it might be affordable, but there's nothing to do and nowhere to work nearby. We also don't want to be too far from Long Island so we can regularly visit family maybe once a month. We'd ideally like to be no more than a 4 hour drive.

We've considered Binghamton, Albany, and Poughkeepsie but aren't familiar with the areas and would like some input before we invest in driving to each city to look at them. I also considered Tonawanda which is out of Buffalo but we don't like how far away it is from Long Island. Also most of our job experience is in the restaurant field so we'd need to be near restaurants.

Here are our requirements for where to move:
Max rent would be $800 a month (not including utilities)
SAFE, LOW CRIME AREA IS A MUST.
Fresh water fishing nearby for my husband.
Nearby community college.
Nearby shopping malls, restaurants, and grocery markets.
Not an extremely small town yet not directly in a big city (we prefer suburbs)

I've also been hearing that anywhere near Albany would not suit us because there's a lot of crime there. Is that true?

Thanks in advanced for any help you can offer.

[ckhthankgod]

I wouldn't say that the Albany area is high crime. There are parts of the city centers(Troy and Schenectady, along with Albany) that are rough, but even they have good areas as well.

If you want to be within 4 hours, areas like Ithaca, Utica-Rome and the Hudson Valley/Catskill Mtns area could be considered. What are you studying?

Also, you should find places to fish close to all of those locations and there quite a few restaurants in all of those areas. All of the areas mentioned on the thread have safe suburbs and some things to do. What do you like to do in terms of fun, by the way?

[juppiter]

800 rent in a low-crime area is doable in any one of the upstate cities on the thruway corridor.

[VA Yankee]

Look at Adirondack community college in Queensbury NY. You'll have the same suburban feel & shopping like you have on the island. Home | SUNY Adirondack