Albany vs Rochester (New York, Buffalo, Pittsford: neighborhood, place to live, restaurant)

[garmin239]

I was offered a position in Albany last year. The pay would have been more but the cost of living is a little bit higher there. Personally I don't think it would be worth it. If I were to move from Rochester, I'd want to move to a bigger place with more going on. Not a smaller place with less. The taxes would still be high in Albany. Though they are high here, I have no problems paying my mortage with money left over. Albany is a cool place and if I were moving from a smaller area, or from a different part of the country I'd settle there. I wouldn't move a place that is basically a smaller version of the place I live in now. That is just me.
What is your field of work? I know of several people moving back into the area because of job opportunities that they have found.

[rug city]

double your salary? that's a no-brainer, you have to move. Albany may be a bit smaller than Rochester, but they're both basically old, upstate cities which have trade-offs. For me, Albany is more connected to more of civilization (NYC, Boston, points south). Albany has made great strides recently in restoring much of its downtown, and now the capitol area has a nice clean, historic feel to it.

It is tricky figuring out where to live since the city itself has fewer ideal areas to settle, but the outlying cities/towns are very commutable. Admittedly, I don't know much about Rochester, but Albany's job market is much more solid due to state capitol- it is expanding at a breakneck pace. Just open civil service website to find out.

[jkc1970]

During my phone interview, the guy interviewing me said that Albany was set to double in population over the next 5 to 10 years due to the relocation of Sematech's (sp?) headquarters from Texas to the Capital Region. Also, a large company will be moving to Malta soon. It sounds like Albany's economy and population base is really set to grow. If you are getting a significant raise to move to Albany you should probably consider it.

[acnemaster]

This guy hit the nail on the head with his analysis. Western NY is mid-western in terms of culture. Eastern NY is more New England.

[ManAboutTown]

I don't know any young people that have moved from Rochester to Albany, but I know plenty who moved to Rochester from Albany. That's a damning indictment of the Albany nightlife. Having spent time in ALB on business though, I can say that I enjoyed it. It has a much more urban feel than the Rochester area, likely b/c most of the people there are downstate transplants working for NYS government. That being said, Rochester is a great place to live and I wouldn't choose anywhere else.

If you enjoy spectator sports, I will say this: Albany has quite possibly the WORST sports fans on Earth. They have a Single-A baseball team out on a Community College campus in Troy, a poorly-supported AHL hockey team, an AF2 arena football team, a CBA basketball team, and the NY Giants training camp. Rochester on the other hand is home to a AAA baseball team in a beautiful downtown stadium, an NLL indoor lacrosse team (league champions), a well-supported AHL hockey team, a PBL (ex-ABA champion) basketball team, the top USL minor league soccer team in the country (expected to become MLS in near future), an MLL outdoor lacrosse team, and a CIFL indoor football team. Rochester also is an annual tour stop for the LPGA and PGA Nationwide Tour and is home to Oak Hill which has hosted the Ryder Cup, US Open, PGA Championship, and will host the Senior PGA next year. We are also home to the Buffalo Bills Training Camp and a new USTA Pro Circuit tour stop. Rochester definitely deserves the moniker of Best Minor League Sports City. Of course, if you don't like sports, all that is completely meaningless to you and I apologize for wasting your time.

[garmin239]

I wouldn't say that the Albany nightlife is "damned". I have fun when I visit there. You pretty much have the same type of nightspots that you have in Rochester or any upstate city. When I did go out in Albany many of the places did seem to have more of a college bar type feel. Maybe it was just the places we went.
Albany doesnt have much for sports but the area does have the race track in Saratoga. I'll take that over the Finger Lakes race track in Canandaigua.
Both places have their tradeoffs.

[stc123]

rochester downtown is not that nice but the towns around it are nice. (like geneseo NY. you can see there web site here Geneseo, New York

albany is the other way around nice city some bad small towns. hope this helps shane.

[JiminCT]

Most people I know who were NOT from Rochester didnt care for it. Most people I know FROM Rochester are always hyping it..i.e.how great Wegmans is and how its such an awsome city. Spent more than my fair share of time in Rochester for work. It's a minor league city that is sandwiched between two dying rush belt cities. Look at the metro population..stagnant. It's because Rochester is emptying out and people are moving to the suburbs. It does have a great music school and an increidble guitar shop tho. Albany is much more like to thrive in the future. There is a mindset in Rochester that seems stuck in the 1950s. Weird saying this because I live in Connecticut!

[rochacha]

25% of the workforce employed by state and local government plus an unknown number of people whose sole purpose are service industries to the government and government workers do not make for a promising future. Especially in a state that is overtaxed, running a large budget deficit, and on the cusp of a revolt.

This says it all
Largest employers (2003, Albany County) Number of employees
State of New York 30,762
General Electric Co. 9,000
United States Government 8,092
Albany Medical Center 5,269
St. Peter's Health Care Service 3,388
Northeast Health 3,059
Verizon Communications Inc. 3,000
County of Albany 2,995
Stewart's Ice Cream Co. 2,840
Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory Inc. 2,650

[rug city]

Having the State Capitol here ensures long term stability. As you know upstate communities based on old industries have been hit hard in recent decades and need any form of stability they can get to build off of. Having the state gov't here is often the only thing that keeps many of the nearby cities and towns viable bedroom communities. In addition it creates a synergy when high-tech industries such as AMD and Sematech decide to target the area as the new tech valley.
No offense to Rochester, but Albany is far more connected to major metropolitan areas to the south and east and high speed rail will make it even closer in the future. I do understand the negative connotations of state government, but if they announced they were moving the capital to Rochester tomorrow somehow I think it would be quite welcome there.