We're retired. Should we move to Troy (NY)? Why/not? (New York: crime, motels)

[Dan Icolari]

@exupstateny: I totally hear what you're saying.

Our current house is at the corner of a secondary intersection which is also a bus route and a well-traveled pedestrian route to the ferry (the Staten Island Ferry, that is). The property measures 72' wide by 122' deep, and the 122' deep is on the hill that leads down to the waterfront, a block away. That, as you can imagine, is a lot of shoveling. Sometimes I pay; sometimes I shovel. But never again will I (1) buy a corner house; (2) buy a frame house; (3) live on a bus route, convenient though it is; (4) have more than two tenants or (5) have a lot of sidewalk to shovel.

My wife is the driver in the family. Like many New York City natives, I learned to drive later in my life (late 20s) and stopped completely in my early 50s. I now walk or take the ferry, the bus and the train. My wife will drive me if necessary, but we made an agreement when I stopped driving that she would not become my chauffeur (chauffeuse?), and we've both honored that agreement pretty much. That's why being in a neighborhood rated 'Very Walkable' on the Zillow site is hugely important. Access to bus lines into nearby cities, particularly Albany, is obviously very important as well.

Your post reminded me to check out public transit, which I will do now. Thanks for your comment.

[Dan Icolari]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

Here's more information on Washington Park: Washington Park Association of Troy, NY

Washington Park Neighborhood Troy NY (http://troyny.gov/neighborhoods/washingtonpark.html - broken link)

Dan, maybe this is what you are looking for and it is close to the temple and Washington Park: Pottery District Troy NY (http://troyny.gov/neighborhoods/potterydistrict.html - broken link)

Here's a great neighborhood guide for Troy: Troy NY Neighborhoods (http://troyny.gov/neighborhoods.html - broken link)

Dear cdkhthankgod,

You're making this task so much easier, for which I offer my sincere thanks. Upstate has a knowledgeable emissary in you.

Dan Icolari

[sarchivist98]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

This neighborhood might work too: Osgood Neighborhood Troy NY (http://troyny.gov/neighborhoods/Osgood.html - broken link)

Well, what do you know - I never heard of this neighborhood before this week, and now it's on this forum and the Times-Union House of the Week is also in this neighborhood! Based on some of the comments on the Times Union blog entry, it sounds like it might be the sort of neighborhood you are looking for.

The one problem with Troy if you don't have a car is the lack of grocery stores. I'm not sure where one is on the bus line. Albany has grocery stores in its urban neighborhoods. They are made fun of for being "ghetto" or "student," but they are regular grocery stores, not bodegas, and I've never had any problems with them.

A neighborhood that definitely has the sort of community feel you talk about is Center Square in Albany. I know folks who have moved there from NYC and are flabbergasted at how quick their neighbors invite them over. (I live uptown, and there's not quite the same openness here.) Another thing that downstaters say is a plus to living here is that you really can see that you make a difference. You can get to know your City Councilman, School Board member or whoever, and can push for changes and actually see them happen. Most natives around here don't feel that way - they feel it's all a big machine - but I think there is truth to "one person can make a difference," in Albany, and I'm sure the same is true with Troy. Center Square is a fair bit more pricey than Troy.

An interesting venue in Troy that I visited for the first time this weekend is EMPAC (Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, I think)at RPI. Locals tend to forget about it because RPI isn't as integrated into the community as some of the other local colleges, but it looks like there are a lot of interesting things going on there.

[Dan Icolari]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

Here's more information on Washington Park: Washington Park Association of Troy, NY

Washington Park Neighborhood Troy NY (http://troyny.gov/neighborhoods/washingtonpark.html - broken link)

Dan, maybe this is what you are looking for and it is close to the temple and Washington Park: Pottery District Troy NY (http://troyny.gov/neighborhoods/potterydistrict.html - broken link)

Here's a great neighborhood guide for Troy: Troy NY Neighborhoods (http://troyny.gov/neighborhoods.html - broken link)

Thanks again for these suggestions, ckhthankgod.

As I suspected, Washington Park seems a bit pricey for us, and Osgood is rated only Somewhat Walkable on Zillow; whereas the Pottery District, both aesthetically and location-wise, seems like a good match. I liked the density, at least along Fourth Street (where, in the picture on Google Maps, I saw a bus!).

But what stands out in Troy, in every neighborhood, is the architectural diversity; everywhere you look (or everywhere I've looked), you see a crazy-quilt of styles and rooflines and surfacing materials and detail --- and so much of it intact!

All the signs (except maybe, in my wife's case, for the lower temperatures) are right. My research --- with your much appreciated assist --- continues.

[ckhthankgod]

Here's a great website for looking at walkability scores: Get Your Walk Score - A Walkability Score For Any Address

[Becca8377]

There is a Co-op right in downtown Troy that I've shopped at before, so groceries are available. Although looking at their website, it looks as if sales aren't doing too well and they may be forced to close

Member Message | Troy Community Food Coop

[sarchivist98]

Originally Posted by Becca8377

There is a Co-op right in downtown Troy that I've shopped at before, so groceries are available. Although looking at their website, it looks as if sales aren't doing too well and they may be forced to close

Member Message | Troy Community Food Coop

Unfortunately, it did close its doors last week.

[Becca8377]

Originally Posted by sarchivist98

Unfortunately, it did close its doors last week.

Oh no! That sucks!! It was a great store and very convenient being right in downtown. What a shame that it didn't last - it hadn't even been open for 2 years I don't think.

[Dan Icolari]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

Here's a great website for looking at walkability scores: Get Your Walk Score - A Walkability Score For Any Address

This is a great tool. Thanks.

[Dan Icolari]

Earlier this afternoon, I spoke to the rabbi of the local Reform congregation I wrote about earlier. What I learned is that not only is this a congregation of liberal (there, I said it) Jews, but increasingly it is a congregation of younger liberal Jews.

I asked the rabbi many of the same questions I've posed here. She drew her answers from her knowledge of her congregants.

She attributes a marked increase in the number of younger congregants to what she sees as a trend: Younger Jews, singles and couples, most but not all without children, are settling in Troy for many of the same reasons we're considering it: solid housing stock, higher education hub, an emerging arts and culture scene, walkability, lower housing and commuting costs, an architecturally distinctive environment. And they're getting involved in revitalizing their neighborhoods.

The big question is, What happens when these younger Jews have kids? Or when those kids reach school age? Will these families stick around and work to enrich local public schools, or create alternative ones; or will they retreat to the suburbs?

I guess we'll find out in due course. But in the meantime, this is another enthusiastic check-mark in the Troy! column.