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I am possibly looking in a move to this area soon and since I most likely can not visit within the time of my decision I am trying to find out as much as I can online. This might sound silly to some of you, but I make my money working for Whole Foods. They are opening up a new store in Albany in about 3 months and they want me to go out there to work for a while (since no one wants to go up). I am getting offered a decent raise and I know it is cheaper to live there then over here (I live in the hudson county area of NJ right now, but spend a lot of my time in the city). The problem is I have never been to Albany. The move would only be for a year or so and they are giving me money to relocate as well. I weighed out the pro's and con's and it seems like the pro's are outweighing the cons at this moment in my life.
- It is only 2 hours away from home so I can easily return here for a weekend or just a day.
- My girlfriend and her son will be coming with me, my girlfriends father makes a ton of money and since her babies father is not in the picture at all, her father gives her 1,000$ a month to help out with the baby (which will either completely pay our rent, or completely pay the babies daycare so her and I can both work, we haven't figured this out yet. She might be able to stay at home with the baby and I will work to pay bills/food/the car....
-Change for a year or so wouldn't be bad, I already found an apartment about 1 minute away from where the Whole Foods is located, a 2 bedroom in this beautiful building is about 1000$. That is amazing consider I am paying 900$ for a studio where I live now. The apartment is located next to Colonie Center
So my question to you guys is... How do you feel about Albany? Is there anything I should know about Albany or more specifically the area I would be moving too (Colonie Center). How easy would it be to adjust to life with no family or friends nearby? Since I've settled down with my girl (she currently doesn't live with me) I really don't care to much about the night life, but in case we have a weekend alone, how is the nightlife up there? Are there a lot of basketball courts and stuff to play outdoors over there? How is crime in this area? Are there a lot of daycare's around?
Oh, and this is urgent because I have to decide by tomorrow night. Once I decide there is no turning back. This means I don't have time to visit until after I decide.
Thank You
PS: After a year in the Albany area my plan is to move to California, so if any of you guys have tips on that it'd be great.
Colonie Center is at Wolf Road and Central Avenue. Look it up on Google Maps or something, but it's basically a shopping center. Across Central from it is a Target and more shopping. Across Wolf from it is Starbucks, shopping, restaurants, and hotels. Behind the mall is like, Albany Shaker Rd. or Sand Creek, can't remember which. It's suburbs and apartments and pretty quiet. Traffic is heavy in the entire area. Behind the mall is where I am assuming you will be living.
The interstate is right there (87). Very close to the airport, too. I personally think it's a great location to be in. The movie theater in Colonie Center is great, I still miss it.
There are plenty of buses around because there are major stops on Central right at Colonie Center. Convenient.
Colonie is a desirable area. I really wouldn't worry about it too much....you know what kind of neighborhoods Whole Foods enters! Same for Starbucks. I think you'll like it. The area is really safe. I liked it anyway, and I was a single woman in my late 20s when I lived in the area.
If you want nightlife, you could arguably never leave the Colonie Center. But if you want city nightlife you can just get on Central Ave and take it right into downtown Albany. There is a place there called Van's....great pho and summer rolls. However, Central Ave can be kind of sketchy, specifically at night. You can hop a major street or two over, and the area improves (should be Washington Ave and then Western Ave).
You know Albany sits at the foot of the Adirondacks. Lots of outdoorsy stuff to do all around. There are parks in Albany, but I'm not that familiar with most of them. Anyway, here are some links to Albany Parks and Rec and Colonie Parks and Rec.
So did you decide? I came late to the discussion, but if it's only for a year and you'll be making more in a place where it costs less to live, then sounds like a go to me! As long as the kid isn't school age, which it sounds like s/he isn't - uprooting older kids is a bear, don't do it if you don't have to. The Whole Foods here is in a mall/strip mall/driving area, like the one in Madison WI. Not in a downtown, walkable area, like the ones in Alexandria, VA and New Orleans. (These are the ones I am familiar with), but if you want a walkable neighborhood, you can get one not far away. Traffic is pretty light around here, so getting around is not much of a problem if you have a car. And there are lots and lots of free and cheap things for families with toddlers and preschoolers to do. There is a good park near Wolf Road - The Crossings. It has a big playground, jogging trails, a pavilion, a maze and more. There is also a rec center - The Cicchoti Center (spelling?) adjacent to the park that has pools, gym equipment, classes, etc. These are both 5-10 minutes from Colonie Center. If you decided to come, let us know what kind of info you need.
We did a similar move almost a year ago- lived in southern NY on NJ border and my husband worked in teterboro Nj. We were also offered more money and a lot of incentives to move so we did it. I live right near where you are referring to- I love the area. My only complaints are that while everything is close and there are sidewalks the roads are so busy that it's not really pedestrian friendly. You could walk to work if you wanted to but depending on your gf's child's age it's probably better to drive everywhere. There are some seedy areas along central ave and I've heard of some home break ins but overall no more crime than any typical suburb.
There are a ton of nice parks, off the top of my head I can't think if any have bball courts but those apartments are next door to the high school and down the road from the middle school so there may even be some there.
My kids are 3 and 10 months and there is do much for them to do locally. The library in town has great story times and between that and all of the parks it was easy to meet people when we moved this past summer. Good luck if you decided to do it!
Just picked up a flyer about basketball leagues at the YMCA. There's lots of street ball around here, if that's more what you are looking for. Someone even made an award-winning documentary about it!
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