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I posted a thread similar to this one in Rochester and came to the conclusion that Albany may be better suited for my situation,
I wanted to ask honest opinions from residents or people who know a lot about Albany to chime in whether or not my wife and I would like/fit in this city. We are in Long Beach, CA right now, but we don't like anything about it.
I would describe our personality as a mix of green, tree loving, authentic people with a laid back attitude, but with a Christian twist. We take our faith very seriously. We are positive people who love people and want to serve our community.
I am a mechanical engineer with ~2-3 year of experience and a MS in Mechanical Engineering. I work in the piping engineering field for refinery projects (yes, I know that isn't that "green"), but I have past experience with fuel cell research and field engineering. I would describe my resume as "eclectic". I am open minded with work, but R&D is my edge.
My wife will finish her Masters of Social Work in May 2016 from USC and wants to work in non-profit enterprise and potentially help the homeless. She is very driven and many compliment her honesty and integrity.
We like rain and snow. I went to college in Colorado and worked in North Dakota, so I know what true cold is. We like a lush terrain with proximity to mountains (Adirondacks seem nice).
In terms of community, we need a good church (of any major denomination) and would like a happening downtown with music and coffee. We don't care about the bar scene.
Our biggest goal with our move is paying off student loans and potentially starting a family afterwards. This makes home affordability a major major priority.
You'd fit right in! We're selling our house to an ME from RPI. He works at Knolls Atomic Research. I've rented to a pastor from a envangelicer church. There's a big one on Oakwood Ave. (Troy). A neighbor is pretty big into that kind of religion, too.
There are also plenty of mainline churches especially Methodist and Lutheran.
Being from CA, you're used to high taxes. You'll find them here, too. Saratoga County is generally lower for property and sales taxes than other counties around here. It also has a very lively downtown in Saratoga Springs. Artsy, restaurants, and, yes, bars. Troy does, too.
Any house you buy will be a bargain compared to what they go for in Long Beach.
Being born in Troy and having lived right next to it most of my life, I wish I could recommend it. But my own experiences in it, what I've read and heard from others, the reputation of its schools prevents. Same for Albany and Schenectady. Which is sad. But there are many areas (Saratoga County, North Colonie, North Greenbush to name a few) where you'd fit right in and would be glad to have you.
"Our biggest goal with our move is paying off student loans and potentially starting a family afterwards. This makes home affordability a major major priority."
What's your housing budget?
I don't think you'd have any problem fitting in here, I think you're going to run into more of a challenge finding your ideal spot. The city centers of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy all have pockets of somewhat "happening downtowns", but the housing that sits within proximity isn't always as desirable.
Once you get out in the suburbs, you have good schools and lush terrain, but you're further away from your "music and coffee".
Saratoga Springs has the region's most desirable downtown scene and is closer to the Adirondacks - it's also the most expensive.
We want our first home to be in $200k to $300k range. I am eligible for a VA loan, but I likely wouldn't make a move until we are debt free and have a 20% down payment because a conventional loan with 20% beats out a VA loan in the long run.
You might look right outside Saratoga Springs, in Saratoga County. Housing can be had for less than $300K, area is more rural but town is only a 10 mile drive. Quite a few churches in the area and you still have the convenience of Saratoga Springs and the downtown. Here is an example of one area: Schuylerville NY Real Estate for Sale : Weichert.com
Should you find work in Albany the commute is roughly 45 minutes. Some will say there is heavy traffic but not in my opinion, coming from a congested area. Other areas you might check out are: Colonie, Latham,.
Figure about 7 to 8 thou in property taxes. Maybe more.
What do you get in return for these property taxes? Are schools amazing? Police and fire departments well funded? ...or is it just another tax leech that ends up in the pockets of an apathetic government? I don't mind paying taxes if the money is used to effectively.
What do you get in return for these property taxes? Are schools amazing? Police and fire departments well funded? ...or is it just another tax leech that ends up in the pockets of an apathetic government? I don't mind paying taxes if the money is used to effectively.
It may depend on the community and price as well.
With the taxes, it could be due to the layers of government, but school taxes tend to make up the biggest chunk in terms of plurality. There are many school districts across the state or within a county and many school teachers and administrators have at least Master's Degrees due to a state requirement. So, these things play a part in this.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 11-15-2015 at 01:20 PM..
You'd probably enjoy the area. Lots of tree huggers in Albany, Troy, and Saratoga. The fact that you like rain and snow is a plus too because that's about all you get here when it's not summer. Lots of cloudy days. Good places for coffee in downtown Albany and midtown (not sure if this is even the right name of the neighborhood) Albany, off Madison Ave.
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