Moving to Adirondacks from NYC (Albany, Plattsburgh: for rent, neighborhood, community college)

[linda1020]

Sorry I haven't checked posts in a while. Good thing about the Internet. I wouldn't mind cutting my usage down but I do rely on it for banking and bill paying. Not about to go back to checks and stamps.

Also some have asked if it's just the Adirondacks or anywhere upstate New York or even somewhere else. I certainly haven't ruled anything about but there are a couple of things I am looking for:

Cheap housing but still a day's drive from a major city (preferably New York)
Mountains - maybe they don't have to be 5,000 footers but hills won't do
Small town friendly - I have lived in NYC all my life and I am just tired of the anonymity. I live in a building with over 400 families (for 12 years now) and I know no one's name. That has its advantages but I am tired of it.

[linda1020]

Also I wanted to add that I just spent a few days up in the Keene area and it was fantastic. I took the train to Westport, a bus to Lake Placid and then rented a car to Keene. Although it was mostly a hiking trip and that's what I was focused on I did quietly observe and think about what it would be like to live in such a place. People overall are wonderful, I was friendly and they were just as friendly right back. I am sure I had city tourist written all over me and that was part of it but it felt genuine. People actually recognized me when I went back to a store or a restaurant. I never had that experience. The weather was the typical mountain rainy and windy one day and then nice the next but I expect that from the Adirondacks and it's certainly not the place to move for the weather. Not too many tourists yet so I didn't have that experience but I will go back in July and see how that goes. Right now it feels so right but as someone said I have to spend more significant time there. I should probably rent a house for a couple of weeks.

[lifetimeliguy]

Originally Posted by linda1020

I have spent all of my life working at high pressure jobs and living in NYC and I have had it. I have raised my child and we are considering an early retirement to the Adirondacks. Yes, I love cold and snow and the mountains and solitude. I want to see the seasons change and have a quiet, contemplative life. I am still quite young (49 yrs old) but in two years my husband will be at full retirement and we could probably live fine on his retirement, gains from an apartment sale and some annuities. I want a very simple life - a small cabin, a fire and a book in the winter, some gardening maybe in the summer and hiking, hiking, hiking all year long so our expenses should be low compared to NYC where it costs $8,000 to go to dinner and a movie.

I have two questions - where in the adirondacks? I don't want anything too touristy like Lake Placid or Lake George and I love the high peaks but I am a little bit afraid of a very small town. Will we be accepted? We are friendly but quiet people. Will help anyone in need. I would like to be able to go into town and see friendly faces. We are a mixed race couple. We have been together 25 years. What do you think?

I don't live up in the Adirondacks, but have visited extensively for over 50 years (all four seasons) .. as someone who lives in Metro NYC area, I can give you an "outsiders view" though:
- winters can be brutal -and I mean brutal. When it's 15 degrees in NYC, it can be -30 in Saranac. And that is without the wind chill. It gets darker earlier than NYC in the wintertime, actually starts around 3:30 pm in the mountains due to sunblock in some areas . It's tough on your car. Sometimes there is snow on the ground from November to May.
- people are uncommonly friendly up there. Nobody judges you by the car you drive, etc.
- you mentioned access to hospital care - many of the smaller towns have walk in clinics but major medical care can be far away from the isolated towns
- conveniences we take for granted in metro NY (24 hour CVS drugstore and supermarkets) do not exist in the smaller towns. Stewart Stops have arrived in the smaller towns - they are open until midnight (great ice cream) , but you cannot purchase meats, etc. there. Do not assume a small town has a supermarket - you may actually have to drive 15 miles each way to find one.
That being said, the Adirondacks are among the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Just be aware of what you are giving up. good luck

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by lifetimeliguy

I don't live up in the Adirondacks, but have visited extensively for over 50 years (all four seasons) .. as someone who lives in Metro NYC area, I can give you an "outsiders view" though:
- winters can be brutal -and I mean brutal. When it's 15 degrees in NYC, it can be -30 in Saranac. And that is without the wind chill. It gets darker earlier than NYC in the wintertime, actually starts around 3:30 pm in the mountains due to sunblock in some areas . It's tough on your car. Sometimes there is snow on the ground from November to May.
- people are uncommonly friendly up there. Nobody judges you by the car you drive, etc.
- you mentioned access to hospital care - many of the smaller towns have walk in clinics but major medical care can be far away from the isolated towns
- conveniences we take for granted in metro NY (24 hour CVS drugstore and supermarkets) do not exist in the smaller towns. Stewart Stops have arrived in the smaller towns - they are open until midnight (great ice cream) , but you cannot purchase meats, etc. there. Do not assume a small town has a supermarket - you may actually have to drive 15 miles each way to find one.
That being said, the Adirondacks are among the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Just be aware of what you are giving up. good luck

That is why knowing the kind of small town you want is key and why I suggested towns with stores, hospitals, etc. I wonder if places just outside of Adirondack Park would work. Potsdam, Canton, Plattsburgh, Malone, Boonville, Lowville, Glens Falls and Lake George, amongst others, come to mind.

[linda1020]

Originally Posted by lifetimeliguy

- winters can be brutal -and I mean brutal. When it's 15 degrees in NYC, it can be -30 in Saranac. And that is without the wind chill. It gets darker earlier than NYC in the wintertime, actually starts around 3:30 pm in the mountains due to sunblock in some areas . It's tough on your car. Sometimes there is snow on the ground from November to May.
- conveniences we take for granted in metro NY (24 hour CVS drugstore and supermarkets)

Yes, I certainly do have a lot of conveniences in Metro New York. And I am a little worried about the adjustment. And I guess it would just be an adjustment - plan and get what I need in that one weekly supermarket trip, or really learning that having everything instantly is not really necessary. I guess I will be looking for a town that at least has one grocery type store and then a weekly trip to a bigger town.

You're scaring me a bit about the cold. This winter was so mild but I know it was an anomaly. And I do love snow. But temps below zero seem very extreme. I bet most cars wouldn't even start then.

I did notice the early darkness around there. I guess I also have to spend some time in the winter up there and see how it affects me.

Thanks for the insight.

[linda1020]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

That is why knowing the kind of small town you want is key and why I suggested towns with stores, hospitals, etc. I wonder if places just outside of Adirondack Park would work. Potsdam, Canton, Plattsburgh, Malone, Boonville, Lowville, Glens Falls and Lake George, amongst others, come to mind.

Yes, thinking about some of those. I might make a trip to Plattsburgh this year.
Glens Falls - hmmm I met one young man on the train who lives in Glens Falls who was telling me about the Bloods and the Crips in Glens Falls. I imagine that there was some mythologizing in his talk and he was trying to impress me but I grew up in marginal neighborhoods in NYC back in the 70s and 80s when things were really tough and so no thank you to any town where people aspire to gang activity. I am done with that.

Lake George - It seems to me it would be like living in Coney Island, which of course some people do and love it but a bit too much for me.

I don't know much about the other places but I will look into them.

[Ellwood]

Originally Posted by VA Yankee

We want to retire part of the year in Queensbury, besides the weather we like the convienience of the Walmart & Lowes. All I need is a Costco to make like complete..

I've been waiting for a Costco for 4 years, but I doubt they will come up this way.

[daydreamin71]

Originally Posted by linda1020

You're scaring me a bit about the cold. This winter was so mild but I know it was an anomaly. And I do love snow. But temps below zero seem very extreme. I bet most cars wouldn't even start then.

Don't worry. If the car is well maintained (keep a full gas tank, newer battery, park so the radiator isn't facing right into the wind all night if possible, etc), it will normally start when it's below zero. Keep in mind, it gets cold, but it isn't "Alaskan cold" in the 'dacks

And remember to keep an emergency kit, including a heavy blanket, in the car during the winter.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by linda1020

Yes, thinking about some of those. I might make a trip to Plattsburgh this year.
Glens Falls - hmmm I met one young man on the train who lives in Glens Falls who was telling me about the Bloods and the Crips in Glens Falls. I imagine that there was some mythologizing in his talk and he was trying to impress me but I grew up in marginal neighborhoods in NYC back in the 70s and 80s when things were really tough and so no thank you to any town where people aspire to gang activity. I am done with that.

Lake George - It seems to me it would be like living in Coney Island, which of course some people do and love it but a bit too much for me.

I don't know much about the other places but I will look into them.

I wouldn't count out Glens Falls, as I don't see it as a city that has a bunch of people aspiring to join the life of a gang. If it is there, it must be minimal.

Potsdam may be a nice fit in terms of being a college town with some cultural amenities. The Orchestra of Northern New York Orchestral Music Instrumental Musicians.

Potsdam Public Museum - Welcome to Potsdam Public Museum, Potsdam, N.Y.

The Art Museum

Weaver Museum - SUNY Potsdam

Nearby Canton is similar.

[bmd1729]

I live in Keeseville and this village is great! It has beautiful, historic architecture, the Ausable River and Lake Champlain, and is near enough (but far enough) from Plattsburgh, and Walmarts, Sam's Club and Starbucks! We are working at renovating downtown, but from what you wrote you would really like some of the real estate just outside the village. Check out Highlands Road and the Port Douglas area for the opportunity be more rural.