any help on amsterdam? (Albany, Schenectady: city hall, how much, cheap home)

[BBOBCAT]

My family just moved out of Amsterdam last year. While we miss our friends we dont miss Amsterdam at all. The houses are cheap because the taxes are sky high. 4000 dollars per year for a house worth 70,000! There are no jobs and the schools are a nightmare. My child's school was closed due to budget problems. The textbooks are old, the classrooms overcrowded and there are daily fights. Combine this with a clueless superintendent and school board and you have a recipe for disaster. Oh wait on the other hand they do have a brand new football field! Anybody considering moving to Amsterdam please take my advice and stay away. The houses are cheap but you will pay in many other ways, Do not be fooled like I was. Good luck to all

[rug city]

Just a quick update on Amsterdam. As most of you know from this thread Amsterdam is a small faded industrial city that is trying to transform itself into a bedroom community in the capital district. Like many old capital area cities we have a rich past, old historical buildings and houses and also the negatives that go along with them. However, it is my opinion that we are on the rise quickly. We have redeveloped our waterfront, we are about to embark on a $15 million project on the south side of the waterfront, and just today they announced a $45 Million retail project in Amsterdam which includes Target and other stores and restaurants.
It is easy to focus on all the negatives of an old industrial city, but those of us who truly know Amsterdam know its potential as the most affordable, safe, and historic capital area city.

[woofenstein]

I don't want to negate what the poster before me just wrote, but I had strange memories of Amsterdam and felt I had to comment.

My friends and I got off the thruway there because a sign said there was food, and we proceeded to drive around for a while finding nothing but a rundown pizza joint that we were too sketched out to enter. I think what we were driving through was "downtown" Amsterdam, which seemed to be composed of empty-looking buildings and a hypnotically decrepit landscape. It really felt like a ghost town, as there was almost no one on the street and nothing seemed open. At one point, a scary looking guy covered in tattoos and smoking a cigarette glared at us as we drove past and we decided it was time to get back onto the highway.

[mzfields]

Originally Posted by upstate bound

i know i wanna move upstate, i have 3 children and found a nice rental up there, but dont know much about the area was looking for some helpful advice. do the schools suck? lol people?jobs? thanks

Albany area is where you want to raise your three children, i haven't live there in a few years, but my family does.

MY children are in college, but great area.

Just stay away from Arbor Hill and the South End. West Hill, Pine Hills areas are great.

Amsterdam, might not be the best place for school age children 7th up to high school grades, there really isn't much there. It's really a ghost town, sort of a portal to some unknow place. I'd think twice.

[BBOBCAT]

Sorry to sound so negative but Amsterdam has no future. Its main problems are High property taxes, low paying jobs, and horrible schools. The city government leaders and school district officials are careless and clueless with the exception of a few. The existing and planned businesses are in the Town of Amsterdam not the city of Amsterdam. This means the town of Amsterdam gets the tax revenue. Property taxes in the city just keep going up with no end in sight. Anyone considering this area must understand the difference between the town and city of Amsterdam, with the town being the more desireable. With that being said they should both be avoided, especially by families with children, since both places share the same run down and mismanaged schools. The reason our family got out of Amsterdam is because of the poor school system. There are many great teachers unfortunately they do not have the resources they need and the class sizes are too large.

[fritzgerald]

Most of these posters are clueless. I moved to amsterdam 5 years ago, and love it here. The city is old, like most upstate cities, but the Town of Amsterdam, to the north is thriving. As far as the schools go, I came here from a suburban district outside of Albany, and I am happier with the education my kids are getting here. The only group of students who are not meeting the standards on the state exams are the special ed. kids. The high school has one of the best marching bands in the state, and a state championship football team. There is very little crime, and there are some beautiful areas. Recreationally, the golf course is great, and there are great little league, and high school baseball facilities. I get more for my money here than I did in my previous town.

[fritzgerald]

Sour grapes because they closed your school. If Bacon was still open, you would still be in Amsterdam.

[Rumblebelly]

Originally Posted by fritzgerald

Most of these posters are clueless. I moved to amsterdam 5 years ago, and love it here. The city is old, like most upstate cities, but the Town of Amsterdam, to the north is thriving. As far as the schools go, I came here from a suburban district outside of Albany, and I am happier with the education my kids are getting here. The only group of students who are not meeting the standards on the state exams are the special ed. kids. The high school has one of the best marching bands in the state, and a state championship football team. There is very little crime, and there are some beautiful areas. Recreationally, the golf course is great, and there are great little league, and high school baseball facilities. I get more for my money here than I did in my previous town.

What is the Town of Amsterdam like? Does it have a "downtown" or is it burbs?

[rug city]

Originally Posted by Rumblebelly

What is the Town of Amsterdam like? Does it have a "downtown" or is it burbs?

Town of Amsterdam does not have a downtown, route 30 commercial corridor is where most people go to shop, etc. Most homes in the town of Amsterdam have beautiful views of the Mohawk Valley and peace and quiet. I prefer to live in the heart of the city, though I am definitely in the minority. Town of Amsterdam is very convenient to the lakes of the Adirondacks, Saratoga, etc. You would be hard pressed to find a city/town commutable to Albany/Saratoga with such a cost of living and still not have to worry about crime and whatnot. The only comparable areas are far too isolated, small & whitebread.

[Trella]

Twenty-one years ago we were looking for a nice place to raise children. We didn't know much about Amsterdam, NY, but thought a small community would be a nice place to raise children. Our children went to a private school thru 6th grade. The public middle and high schools were chaiotic, major disappointments !!! I can't think of anything good to tell you about my experiences with them. Drugs are plentiful in the city inspite of all the "drug raids", the problem is ongoing. If you don't have children to raise, there are alot of old historic homes and beautiful views of the area. The YMCA has moved out of the city into Hagaman, and the new Y only has 1/2 a basketball court and NO pool. That's about it !!!!! Property taxes are very high and there are few jobs.