Albany NY for a young 30 year old couple?

[j12308]

I'm a 30 something, originally from this area w/kids. I worked in Boston for a while but commuted in. While Albany is not Boston at all, I think you will find what you are looking for. I can't speak in specifics for Albany, because I don't know it that well. We go there on the weekends, for the State Museum or a festival, to go out to dinner on occasion. We looked at several multi-family houses in the area, but have settled in Sch'dy. I'd say since you don't have kids yet, rent in a nice area of Albany. I loved Center Square, it is expensive though. I also like S. Lake and nearby streets. After you have kids you'll probably want to move elsewhere. I don't know anything about the schools in Albany. You hear a lot of bad stuff on the news, but as w/Sch'dy that's not necessarily the whole story. You'll find that w/the cities here you mainly hear the bad stuff, giving the entire area a warped sense of what these cities are actually like. I never thought I'd be back in this area, but things change when you have kids. I like being in a small city w/large cities w/in a few hours. NYC, Boston, Montreal. I love the adirondacks, and other nearby mountains. I know there is a large farmers market in Troy, smaller ones all around. Good luck on your move to Albany.

[JPD620]

All cities in the NE have potholes in the spring. You cant avoid it. The ground underneath the roads is generally clay or sand with clay underneath it. on top of that it gets below freezing here in the winter causing freeze heaving. If you dont like potholes then move south.

Other than that Albany is a nice city. The Lark Street area is nice with a lot of pedestrian traffic in the evening. Generally speaking, when downtown try to stay on the southside of washington ave. If you plan on using public transportation you could move to Delmar, a suburb of Albany the bus runs from delmar to downtown all day and into the evening (930pm or so) Delmar was rated the 22nd best place to live in America by CNN/Money magazine. I live in Delmar and the roads arent potholed and they have great sidewalks. I also commute via bicycle from Delmar to Downtown everyday for work. Really a great place to live you just need to be aware of the places you should avoid, like the Arbor Hill area.

[troyliving]

Troy is a short commute from Albany, you could look over there as well. There are some decent affordable apartments, and if you want to live in the city, and want something really nice check out The Conservatory Apartments. Lots of stuff to walk to, including farmers markets and co-ops, music, art, bars, banks, churches, riverfront, etc. Saratoga is another great area to live, nice apts and condos -can be very pricey. About 1/2 hour commute, but you are going against traffic. - Depends on what you are looking for.

[contentedfool]

Jeez, some people really are one sided when it comes to describing Albany

I've been here 9 years now, moved from MN and yes, I agree in parts w/ MrBiggz. Many roads ARE absolute crap, especially Washington Ave near the Uptown SUNY campus/State Offices - It's just sad when the roads near such great institutions are in such disrepair.

And yes, there's crime. OMG, an American urban area with crime? Unbeleivable... Yes use common sense, don't walk at 2am alone through Arbor Hill for example. But, there's a lot Albany can offer and you don't need to go to the suburbs... ever....

In fact, with the cost of gas, it might actually save you money to be in Albany instead of the adjoining "suburbs". Plus, the bus routes are pretty good right here in the city.

Their are plenty of restaurants and bars and a nice scene on Lark Street. Stear clear of Pearl Street with it's drunken frat boys and overly made up chicks.....

Come to Albany and see for yourself what it's like!

[Tee11]

Hi JMS - Well, Albany is certainly NOT Boston, but you will find the cold winters and great outdoors (the Berkshires are close by and so is Vermont, there's plenty of hiking and skiing and lots of lakes also) and there are Farmer's Markets in the area, too, although I think only during the summer-fall seasons. You were asking about working at Albany Medical Center and living in an area where young families go - quite a lot of young health professional couples/families are in the Delmar area, and they really like it there. (further north, Clifton Park, Halfmoon and even further Saratoga Springs are very nice, but that's quite a drive every day - 40 min at least, often more). I would personally not like to live in downtown Albany with a young family if it could be avoided. (same for Troy -also that's too far to Albany Med for no good reason!) Yes, there are some nice coffee shops but overall downtown Albany still has that "rundown" feeling - at least that's what it feels like to me. And also the nice spots are too far apart anyhow that the "downtown" doesn't lend itself much to walking around - you need a car. If you really want a small town where you can completely walk around from the shops to the restaurant to the coffee place to the farmer's market to the library, you got to move to Saratoga Springs (but like I said that's about 30 miles north or so, might not be great driving home after a night shift). So overall, I'd recommend to check out Delmar, and drive around in Albany to get your own impression.