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My husband and I are relocating to the Albany area and are having a hard time figuring out exactly where we want to love. We're relocating from city life and are looking for something a little less fast-paced and a bit more country (although, not quite rural!). Something kind of in between Albany and Saratoga would be ideal. I'll be working part-time in Albany, and wouldn't mind a commute of a half hour each way. My husband will be working from home so that's not an issue.
We're kind of drawn to Clifton Park - can anyone tell me what it's like there? We've found so many apartments in that area and it seems really nice. I read a few comments about it being "just strip malls," which doesn't really bother me too much, so long as it's a nice place to live with decent shopping and such so that I don't have to go far to pick up milk or something
We also found some places in Niskayuna, and I was wondering what you guys think of that area. From what I found, it didn't have a lot of easily accessible stores.
But most importantly, we just want to live in a nice area that's somewhat quiet but not TOO far from things. I know that's really vague, but I'm going to visit the area and look at apartments next week, and I'm just trying to figure out which areas are worth our time. Any help would be very much appreciated!
Oh, we also don't have kids, so school districts are not really a concern for us Thanks!
Clifton Park has no real center of town or downtown area. It has shopping- several strip malls and grocery stores between Route 9 and Route 146. The shopping area gets busy but there are many sub-divisions in the area.
If you have school-aged children I would pick Niskayuna myself. It's a very nice district. Shenendahowa schools in Clifton Park are quite large- split high schools and a fairly large campus for all of the schools.
Halfmoon is a nice area- in the Clifton Park vicinity.
We have local shops called Stewarts that are plentiful and have milk, etc. if you can't reach a larger grocery store like Price Chopper or Hannaford. You'll find those in the Niskayuna area as well as shopping on Balltown Road.
I spent a little over twenty years living in Saratoga County (the last ten or so just north of Clifton Park in Malta) and commuting to Albany. If your work hours are between 8:00 and 5:00, the commute can be very frustrating to say the least. My hours were 7:00 to 3:00 for the most part so it wasn't too bad. The main reason for the commuting problem is that to get from Saratoga County to Albany you have to cross the Mohawk River and there are a limited number of ways to do that so if the main route (I87) has a problem, it doesn't take long for the alternate routes (there are really only two of them) to get messy too.
If you want the most restaurants and shopping than the Village of Colonie--in addition to what you have I recommend Bethlehem , Voorheesville, and Guilderland.
Like I said, we don't have kids, but Niskayuna sounds really nice, too Thank you so much again! If any others want to add their two cents, I'd appreciate it.
As mentioned above, Clifton Park is very dispersed and has no town center. Most of it was built post World War II, so it has a very suburban feel - mostly subdivisions, strip malls, big box stores. However, there are parts that are more country in feel. There is lots of chain store shopping in Clifton Park - a lot more than in Niskayuna. You may get frustrated by the traffic flow, though (or it may not bother you at all coming from a bigger city). Like any area with lots of big box stores and strip malls, it can be slow with lots of headaches with turning, etc. Since you can walk or bike ride virtually nowhere in Clifton Park, there are a lot of cars on the road. Clifton Park also has a very strange school set-up. Most of their schools, including multiple elementary schools, are located on one giant campus not far from many stores and municipal buildings. This means that getting around the area during certain times can be slow because of the hundreds of school buses and cars coming in and out of the campus.
It is easier to get to the highway from Clifton Park than from Niskayuna - I think that's why a lot of people move to Clifton Park - but there is also a lot of traffic heading towards Albany during rush hour. I know several people who take a comfortable bus from Saratoga to Albany and are very happy with it, but I don't know if there is such a thing to Clifton Park.
Niskayuna has an older, more settled feeling, although there are plenty of newer subdivisions and McMansions too. There is Mohawk Commons nearby which has a Target, Barnes & Noble, etc. There are grocery stores, pharmacies and convenience stores in Niskayuna, along with a handful of restaurants, so you can easily pick up necessities, but residents need to go to Crossgates Mall in Guilderland, Wolf Road in Colonie, and Clifton Park to get access to a large array of chain stores. Since Crossgates and Wolf Road are not far out of the way during a Niskayuna-Albany commute, many people visit these areas to and from work.
Clifton Park has a beautiful, large library. Niskayuna's library is very small for the size of its population, but it is part of the Schenectady County Library, so patrons have access to lots of material. Niskayuna is near Schenectady's Central Park, a large, pretty park with tennis, playgrounds, a outdoor amphitheater, and even pedal boats. I'm not familiar with the park areas in Clifton Park.
Clifton Park has a beautiful, large library. Niskayuna's library is very small for the size of its population, but it is part of the Schenectady County Library, so patrons have access to lots of material. Niskayuna is near Schenectady's Central Park, a large, pretty park with tennis, playgrounds, a outdoor amphitheater, and even pedal boats. I'm not familiar with the park areas in Clifton Park.
CP's library is HUGE! It was built a few years ago and is a certified LEED green building. It's a GREAT library!
CP also has lots of parks. You know all those school kids need them too and they play soccer like crazy. Clifton Commons is where this happens. Halfmoon also has a large park. A few actually.
Clifton Park is a mistake IMO. You are gonna be stranded in traffic no matter where you go ever. I would have to be desperate to live in Saratoga County with a commute. If you live AND work in Saratoga County, it is fine though.
Overall I think you get more bang for your buck with Niskayuna over Clifton Park. To me, Clifton Park is more hyped/trendy/modern. But Niskayuna is closer to things you will want to do, has better schools, and is cheaper for what you will get.
The main difference is Clifton Park is an 80s/90s exurb. Niskayuna is a 50s/60s suburb. You can get a good McMansion in Clifton Park if that's what you're in to, while you can have a sturdy, beautiful postwar home in Niskayuna with fewer traffic headaches. And it's not necessarily an income difference as both are affluent communities, or a political difference as both are rather liberal (Clifton Park is a just a bit more conservative), they are more culturally different.
One thing I don't like about Niskayuna is the awful taxes. Colonie is much lower taxes. Clifton Park's taxes are comparable to Colonie but much worse commute in Clifton Park if you work in Albany. Clifton Park and Colonie both have restaurants and shopping. North Colonie's schools are comparable to Clifton Park's schools.
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