Where are the best towns in Albany? (Colonie, Schenectady: homes, new construction)

[catdy_ny]

I am looking to move to Albany, NY, from Long Island. I have the following requests...

400 ft above sea level
200 miles from the coast
60 miles from a fault line
20-45 minutes away from a hospital
20 minutes or so from a shopping center/ possible Wholesale club
city water
Good schools/ or private schools

Does anyone know areas of Albany, or upstate NY that have any of these conditions, or where I can find this information. Also, if you have a Realtor to recommend I'd appreciate that too. Thank you!!

[j12308]

Honestly my head is spinning...I don't know the answers to your questions. I guess if you looked at any map you could measure the distance from the coast. Look at a topographical map for the elevation. I'm not sure about the fault lines...we have had minor earthquakes in the area. Nothing I've ever felt, and I haven't heard of any damage. The requests about being a certain distance from stores or hospitals, I'm confused, do you want to be in a rural area, as in further from stores or hospitals or do you not want to be too far away??? If you live in a rural area than you probably wouldn't be on city water, you'd probably have well water.

Burnt Hills comes to mind, it's got good schools, it's a little further out from the center of town, but not too far from hospitals or shopping.

[CraneStBlues]

Originally Posted by catdy_ny

I am looking to move to Albany, NY, from Long Island. I have the following requests...

400 ft above sea level
200 miles from the coast
60 miles from a fault line
20-45 minutes away from a hospital
20 minutes or so from a shopping center/ possible Wholesale club
city water
Good schools/ or private schools

Does anyone know areas of Albany, or upstate NY that have any of these conditions, or where I can find this information. Also, if you have a Realtor to recommend I'd appreciate that too. Thank you!!

good water?
Its the best water in the world! That is the truth!

Anyway, I would say Guilderland is the best area in Albany. Also, Latham is good. Colonie is fair, and the cost is very good, its the best value (Colonie).

But, I would go for something in Guilderland.

[kbjr]

If your from the area of Bill O'Reilly's long Island than I would say 1st Guilderland than Latham or maybe skip on up to Saratoga,ny,but if from around hicksville long Island than I would move into Colonie,ny area,but don't forget still in high tax's ny state

[averagenyjoe]

* There are areas all around Albany that will get you above 400 ft.
* Schools in Guilderland, Rotterdam, Colonie, Clifton Park are said to be among the better ones but there are many more. Some in Schenectady and Albany are hit or miss.
* You are roughly 200 miles from the coast most places around Albany
* The Hudson River running through Albany is said to be a fault line. I dont know of any quakes reported there. There are some faults in the Adirondacks that have been active over the last 20 years. Nothing too major at all, though.
* If you are coming from the city side of Long Island, you probably will want to be very close to Albany if not right in it. Most from that part of the state thinks the metro area around Albany is pretty hick. I would suggest Delmar or Guilderland. Or maybe Altamont which is close but is a pretty small village and feels waaay out.

[Roland 544]

Originally Posted by CraneStBlues

good water?
Its the best water in the world! That is the truth!

Anyway, I would say Guilderland is the best area in Albany. Also, Latham is good. Colonie is fair, and the cost is very good, its the best value (Colonie).

But, I would go for something in Guilderland.

These are all your requests? Cant really recomend any Agents I know....

[NanciDru]

Originally Posted by catdy_ny

I am looking to move to Albany, NY, from Long Island. I have the following requests...

400 ft above sea level
200 miles from the coast
60 miles from a fault line
20-45 minutes away from a hospital
20 minutes or so from a shopping center/ possible Wholesale club
city water
Good schools/ or private schools

Not sure about the sea level or fault lines, but having lived in other areas prone to hurricanes and flooding, the only downfall about Albany weather is the snow and long winters. I suppose that pretty much of the entire Capital District is within 200 miles of the coast, but I can't say that it's desirable coast. Depends on what you mean by coast. You can get to Boston in 2 1/2 hours and back to Long Island, and parts of NJ beaches. But I'm kind of picky with beaches and couldn't really recommend Albany in terms of being close to nice coastal living.

All of Albany is within 45 minutes of a hospital. In Albany itself, you have Albany Medical Center and St. Peter's, which are the big hospitals. There are smaller ones in the suburbs. Albany Med and St. Peter's are pretty good, compared to other hospitals nationally. Not great but certainly not bad and you can get good care at both. I've heard and seen bad things at the smaller hospitals. Albany Med is a level 1 trauma center and teaching hospital. St. Peter's is a Catholic hospital and I've heard is the best place in the area to deliver a baby.

The whole area has good city water. In some of the smaller towns, you will have a septic and well, which is a big drawback to me.

In terms of shopping, most of the larger suburbs (Guilderland, Colonie, East Greenbush, Saratoga, Clifton Park) have the big box stores and wholesale clubs. Colonie has the two major malls -- Crossgates and the slightly more upscale Colonie Center. There's also Stuyvesant Plaza, which is a slightly more upscale outdoor mall. Latham has a decrepit mall that is dying a slow and painful death. East Greenbush lacks major retail except for grocery and big box stores, in general, as well as a lot of restaurants. Clifton Park has the Clifton Park Center. Saratoga has good downtown shopping and is near the smallish Wilton Mall. Albany traffic is nil, so you can get to Crossgates or Colonie Center in 20 minutes without traffic from most suburbs.

The good schools are touted to be Bethlehem, Niskayuna (probably equal in my opinion), Guilderland (not quite as good), Colonie (a little worse), Clifton Park (good), and East Greenbush (pretty good). Again, it depends on what your standards are. Most people love Albany area schools. The worst schools are Albany, Troy, and Schenectady. These three have a more inner-city feel and generally people try to avoid them. That said, some students do fine there. There are also some smaller schools such as Burnt Hills and Averill Park that are OK. In terms of private schools, there are a lot of Catholic and some Jewish schools that generally don't go above 8th grade. The "prestigious" schools are Albany Academy and Emma Willard (for girls). Frankly, I haven't met any rocket scientists that went to either and it seems that many go there either for prestige or because they were getting in trouble at public school. Again, just based on the people I know who went there. I'm not sure that a student has a better shot at getting into an Ivy League school from Albany Academy or Emma Willard. The top students from any of these schools can get into the likes of Cornell, but most opt for UAlbany.

In terms of places to live, each place has a distinct flavor. Re: taxes, the taxes are largely going to support schools and Medicaid. Colonie has a large corporate tax base and thus lower taxes, which is appealing to many. Albany has ridiculous taxes, as they have the largest Medicaid population. East Greenbush also has hefty taxes. The other places are relatively equal. Grieving taxes is a possibility but people have mixed outcomes and it's best to hire a professional to grieve them.

Delmar has a quaint, cute feel. Slingerlands is very nice. Guilderland has good access to shopping and is very nice. A lot more newer construction there. Altamont is close in but has a country feel and you can get a lot of land there. Albany has some nice housing if you don't mind being scrunched in next to your neighbors. East Greenbush and much of Rensselaer County is somewhat rural. If you're looking for really rural on that side of the Hudson River, Nassau is nice. Saratoga is a bit yuppier. Clifton Park and Ballston Spa are also kind of yuppie with a lot of new construction. And I say yuppie relatively speaking, as none of the area is yuppie compared to other places I've lived. Berne is really rural but nice, as you are in the Helderberg mountains. Niskayuna has some older homes but is nice if you like mature trees. My favorite towns are Niskayuna and Slingerlands, as you're close to major arteries and shopping but they're a little quieter perhaps.

[sarchivist98]

Originally Posted by NanciDru

The "prestigious" schools are Albany Academy and Emma Willard (for girls). Frankly, I haven't met any rocket scientists that went to either and it seems that many go there either for prestige or because they were getting in trouble at public school. Again, just based on the people I know who went there. I'm not sure that a student has a better shot at getting into an Ivy League school from Albany Academy or Emma Willard.

For 10 years I have done college admissions interviews on a volunteer basis for my alma mater. I have been very impressed with the education at Emma Willard. The students have to do a lot of thinking on their own, projects, and analytical thinking. There is also an emphasis on the arts. My daughter won't be going there as it is super-expensive, but if you can afford it, it looks like a great experience. There are a lot of international students there due to the school intensive English program, so the girls are exposed to a lot of cultures, albeit from the point of view of wealthy executives' daughters. I understand from the students I interview that day students can sometimes feel left out because they do not get the full experience that the boarding students do.

[NYLooking]

If those are really your requests, I'd tell every Realtor I know to run.

[10-23]

How does Clifton Park compare to Colonie? It would seem that housing prices are lower in CP, and property taxes are reasonable.