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I am not that familiar with the capital region or upstate NY in general. I have been reading a lot more about it lately and seems like an interesting area.
However it seems like especially the Albany region is hated by people on here. Most threads comparing the capital region with other upstate cities such as Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester will place Albany dead last.
As an outsider Albany seems like one of the most interesting cities in the north east. All the tri cities are more dense and urban than the other upstate metros. There are some very grand places in Albany which reminds me of Boston
I haven't seen what you are referring to. What you may be seeing is that Albany is being used as code for the state government versus an attack on the city itself.
All of the bigger and even relatively mid sized Upstate cities have areas that look like the area shown in those street views. However, the prevalence of row houses sets it apart from the other Upstate cities.
It may also be that it is 4th in population/size out of the Upstate cities and 3rd in terms of metros. So, the perception for some may be a matter of size as well. Some of this is due to having multiple city centers within the metro area too.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 01-24-2019 at 08:24 AM..
Yeah, out of all the upstate cities, in my opinion the Albany area has the most to offer. It's just a little more boring than other major cities down south and out west.
The biggest problem for me is winter up here, but that goes for every city in upstate NY here to Buffalo. Some people might partake in winter sports, but the grand majority just end up staying inside for 4 months straight getting hammered. What a waste of time.
If I were coming from downstate NY or NJ or CT or any other area of the country that has insanely high property taxes and I wasn't afraid of a fixer upper, I'd move to upstate NY in a heartbeat. The region offers a clean slate for anyone looking to build their dream property. That's the only real benefit to decades of decay lol.
Albany in particular is great though because you have urban centers like downtown Troy and Center City, Albany. You also have small towns with charm like Cooperstown. If you want something Burlington, VT feeling just go to Saratoga Springs. Want lake activities, you have Lake George and Sacandaga Lake. It's just a very diverse region, provided you can handle the winters and don't mind the overwhelming gritty, negative attitudes of most of the people here lol. But that's true of most of the northeast in general.
I like the Capital Region as well. But there is some truth to the negativity in the people there. I have also found it to be an area where the people in general are a little more grumpy, or grouchy or whatever you want to call it. However, it is true that a lot of the Northeast tends to be this way. Mainers are well known for being gruff and gritty. I think the weather has a lot to do with it. Plenty of grouchy people here in PA too. All you can do is try and be positive within yourself, and avoid toxic people whenever possible.
Yeah, out of all the upstate cities, in my opinion the Albany area has the most to offer. It's just a little more boring than other major cities down south and out west.
The biggest problem for me is winter up here, but that goes for every city in upstate NY here to Buffalo. Some people might partake in winter sports, but the grand majority just end up staying inside for 4 months straight getting hammered. What a waste of time.
If I were coming from downstate NY or NJ or CT or any other area of the country that has insanely high property taxes and I wasn't afraid of a fixer upper, I'd move to upstate NY in a heartbeat. The region offers a clean slate for anyone looking to build their dream property. That's the only real benefit to decades of decay lol.
Albany in particular is great though because you have urban centers like downtown Troy and Center City, Albany. You also have small towns with charm like Cooperstown. If you want something Burlington, VT feeling just go to Saratoga Springs. Want lake activities, you have Lake George and Sacandaga Lake. It's just a very diverse region, provided you can handle the winters and don't mind the overwhelming gritty, negative attitudes of most of the people here lol. But that's true of most of the northeast in general.
Just curious, but in terms of the first segment, in terms of what are you referring to?
I like the Capital Region as well. But there is some truth to the negativity in the people there. I have also found it to be an area where the people in general are a little more grumpy, or grouchy or whatever you want to call it. However, it is true that a lot of the Northeast tends to be this way. Mainers are well known for being gruff and gritty. I think the weather has a lot to do with it. Plenty of grouchy people here in PA too. All you can do is try and be positive within yourself, and avoid toxic people whenever possible.
Yup so true. Just the thing for me is being surrounded by people like that for so long is just difficult for me to deal with. If it weren't for the weather and the people I probably would have stayed in the Capital Region for life.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckhthankgod
Just curious, but in terms of the first segment, in terms of what are you referring to?
In terms of how upstate NY is more boring than cities in the south and midwest? I'm mainly referring to the newer south/midwest "boomtowns". Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta (especially Atlanta), Nashville, Austin, San Antonio, Columbus, Indianapolis are way more fun than Albany/Buffalo/Rochester. Probably in part due to their size, but you also just don't have the miserable grouchy people element in these places either. More economic prosperity and more white collar opportunities too.
Yup so true. Just the thing for me is being surrounded by people like that for so long is just difficult for me to deal with. If it weren't for the weather and the people I probably would have stayed in the Capital Region for life.
In terms of how upstate NY is more boring than cities in the south and midwest? I'm mainly referring to the newer south/midwest "boomtowns". Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta (especially Atlanta), Nashville, Austin, San Antonio, Columbus, Indianapolis are way more fun than Albany/Buffalo/Rochester. Probably in part due to their size, but you also just don't have the miserable grouchy people element in these places either. More economic prosperity and more white collar opportunities too.
I was referring to Albany in comparison to the other Upstate cities in terms of having the most to offer.
Most of those other areas are bigger(inc. in terms of land) and in many cases the biggest metro in their state. So, I can see how someone can view them differently in that regard.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 01-24-2019 at 09:01 PM..
I was referring to Albany in comparison to the other Upstate cities in terms of having the most to offer.
Well for one you have the majority of the state government jobs right in Albany since it's the capital.
There's a lot of higher end retail and residential going up in the area.
I guess from my personal experience I just don't get a sense of wealth/opportunity in Buffalo, Syracuse, or Rochester. Especially Rochester. These cities just seem like they fell on hard times and are struggling to boom again.
The location of these cities are so isolated as well, whereas in Albany you can get to NYC and Boston relatively quickly.
Might also be due to all the colleges over in the Albany region as well. Whereas Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo seem to be dominated by one or maybe a couple universities. Especially the first two (Syracuse U and RIT).
This is all based on my personal feeling and opinion, so if the numbers don't match my view of things then I'm ok with that lol.
Well for one you have the majority of the state government jobs right in Albany since it's the capital.
There's a lot of higher end retail and residential going up in the area.
I guess from my personal experience I just don't get a sense of wealth/opportunity in Buffalo, Syracuse, or Rochester. Especially Rochester. These cities just seem like they fell on hard times and are struggling to boom again.
The location of these cities are so isolated as well, whereas in Albany you can get to NYC and Boston relatively quickly.
Might also be due to all the colleges over in the Albany region as well. Whereas Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo seem to be dominated by one or maybe a couple universities. Especially the first two (Syracuse U and RIT).
This is all based on my personal feeling and opinion, so if the numbers don't match my view of things then I'm ok with that lol.
Yeah...No big deal, but there is more to those areas than this. For instance, the most affluent "community" in Upstate is actually Pittsford in the Rochester area. That area also has a visible/substantial upper middle class presence in its Eastern suburbs(Brighton, Penfield, Perinton, etc.) and even parts of its Western suburbs. Same goes for the Buffalo suburbs along Main Street(Amherst/Williamsville/East Amherst and Clarence) and parts of the Southtowns. Same with the Eastern suburbs of Syracuse, along with other communities in that area such as Skaneateles, Cazenovia and parts of the Western and Northern suburbs. Each of the city propers have their solid to very nice areas as well.
All actually have a pretty big government employment presence that may come in terms of state institutions or even some federal government employment.
Rochester(metro) has never lost people in an official census, while Syracuse has been relatively steady(give or take) and Buffalo slipped, but is steadily inching back up.
Buffalo is next to Canada's most populated concentration(the Golden Horseshoe with about 9 million people) and Syracuse to Buffalo is only 150 or so miles away, about the same as Albany to those 2 major areas mentioned above. To put this into perspective, the Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse metro areas combined in terms of land area is about the same or slightly smaller than the Nashville metro area in that regard.
Syracuse University isn't even the only institution of higher learning on University Hill, which includes SUNY-ESF and SUNY Upstate Medical Center. Le Moyne College is on the eastern end of the city and OCC is in adjacent Onondaga Hill. This doesn't include other metro area colleges/universities such as Colgate, Cazenovia College, SUNY-Oswego, and SUNY-Morrisville. About 20% of the city's population comprises of college students, which is pretty high for a city that isn't really a quintessential college town.
I don't know if Rochester has a dominant college/university, as University of Rochester is also relatively prominent, with its own medical college and the Eastman School of Music. There is also SUNY-Brockport, SUNY-Geneseo, Roberts Wesleyan, Nazareth College, St. John Fisher, Keuka College and Hobart in the metro area in terms of 4 year schools and a couple of community colleges in MCC and FLCC.
Buffalo has a bunch of colleges and universities as well(UB, Buff State, Canisius, Niagara, Medaille, D'Youville, Daemen, Villa Maria, Hilbert, 2 CC's, etc.).
Rochester's educational attainment is actually on par with Albany's, with the other 2 not too far behind in that regard.
Albany's Average Annual Wage is higher than the others, but the COL is a little bit lower in those areas as well. Ithaca actually has the highest Average Annual Wage for Upstate metro areas. Same goes in terms of median household income between the 4 bigger areas.
This doesn't get into things like events as well. Shopping is likely similar, but just depends on where you go within each area.
So, while I get and respect what you are saying, a lot of this will depend on many factors.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 01-25-2019 at 03:23 PM..
Well for one you have the majority of the state government jobs right in Albany since it's the capital.
There's a lot of higher end retail and residential going up in the area.
I guess from my personal experience I just don't get a sense of wealth/opportunity in Buffalo, Syracuse, or Rochester. Especially Rochester. These cities just seem like they fell on hard times and are struggling to boom again.
The location of these cities are so isolated as well, whereas in Albany you can get to NYC and Boston relatively quickly.
Might also be due to all the colleges over in the Albany region as well. Whereas Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo seem to be dominated by one or maybe a couple universities. Especially the first two (Syracuse U and RIT).
This is all based on my personal feeling and opinion, so if the numbers don't match my view of things then I'm ok with that lol.
That's funny, as Rochester is probably my favorite of the Upstate cities, and I think probably has the most potential. Albany is a close second for me.
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