Albany a possiblity.. have questions (Rochester, Colonie: rent, crime, house)

[jr2020]

Let me tell you, dont do it. Do not do it. Seriously, dont.

Albany may have nice areas, maybe a nice downtown area, but for your family, Albany is NOT the place. I was happy to move away from the area into a quieter one. You will find alot more crime than you are used to. It is not all that great, the schools are also serious problems, including violence, drugs and the like - and yes I know you said home schooled, but your children will be interacting and exposed to those who take part in such things , unless your going to be sheltering them (and then I say again, just dont bother with Albany).

If you MUST be in NY, go western NY - there are Towns and Cities around Buffalo NY (Buffalo is not a good place either). Places by the name of East Aurora (Where Fisher Price HQ is located and people safely leave their door unlocked (That is not a joke, I lived there for some time)) to Orchard Park NY (The home of the Bills and Ralph Wilson Stadium, founded by Quakers way back, the area is absolutely filthy rich, not that you have to be rich as there are those who aren't wealthy living there , but the homes and the buildings are nice and kept up and things are always being built and opened there (Orchard Park being next to East Aurora). Your close to Niagra Falls and probabally Toronto up there but its one of the best in NY, and top rated schools (some suburb schools are not bad outside of albany as well, but you have to be careful).

If you have ANY other choice, do NOT pick NY. Your not from NY and you've indicated you have more right-wing leanings than the state of NY as a whole. You will find a more hostile environment to your beliefs in NY than you will in Denver (there's a reason none of the national politicians spend money here, it makes no difference).

There is also a reason that people are leaving NY in droves, and its TAXES, TAXES, TAXES and some other things ontop. Do not be fooled, NY is a state that is simply spiraling down hill as time goes on, broken promises, corrupt government officials and a corrupt state police force (and I am truly hesitant to say that, but look up "TrooperGate New York State")

NY is a place where you will be taxes to death, dont ever consider owning a home here, its a place where every single year they want more and more of your money, a place where if a school budget tax increase is voted down (which means keep things as they are, dont spend any more money! - dont cut, just dont add anything right now!) the districts can just choose their alternate plan and raise your taxes without a vote.

You want diversity? Thats great, but dont do it in NY.

Heck - once I finish my Masters Degree I am going to be looking for work outside of the state - in a place where I can bring my family, it wont ever be NY and I have lived here my whole life.

Try looking at Texas, or a state that doesnt have a state income tax, you'll be happier keeping more of your money.

Also, you'll be warmer and spend less on heat in the winter.

So let me say again, stay away from albany (which is the corrupt heart of NYS, and tied to NYC (where I was born) by chains of evil)

See? Dramatic and horrible, thats why I registered here, just to warn you because no one else seems to want to do it. I know there will be apologists and those who say its not that horrible, and im sure some areas are nicer than others, but NY is not the place to go if you have a choice , and you can ask all the people who are leaving the state the same question ([url=http://www.empirecenter.org/pb/2007/01/migrating_new_y.cfm]Migrating New York Residents Still Heading for the Exits[/url])
and that trend hasnt suddenly changed overnight.

Take the advice, do yourself a favor and stay away. One day the rotten apple of NY will collapse in on itself and then people who are left here will have to rebuild, till then dont get trapped.

[URL]//www.city-data.com/forum/new-york/375406-declining-population-upstate-cities.html[/URL]

[piperspal]

...then I want to throw in my 2 cents. I was born & raised in Denver, worked for an airline & saw a bit of the country on extended stays; and have lived in NY for the past 25 years. If you've narrowed it down to NY or Colorado (or Albany or Denver) - then pass on CO & stick w/ NY. I agree with the taxes complaint - it has me looking out of state also. But even with the rediculously high taxes - the Capital District of NYS is WAY MORE affordable than just about anywhere in Colorado.

You will have essentially 2 seasons in CO: winter & summer with about 2 weeks of spring & 2 weeks of fall. Not nec. a bad thing - just depends on what you are looking for. The Albany area is a bit more 4-seasonal, tho the winters here are much harsher than CO. Too much freezing rain, wind, ice and crud compared to Denver's nice, light, dry powdery snow.

The Albany area is 3-4 hours in any direction from a more cosmopolitan slice of life; Montreal, Boston, NYC, Rochester. In CO you will have to go a ways before you're out of Metro Denver ( a conglomerate of about a dozen cities that used to be the burbs). Beautiful country to be sure, but you have to wade thru a lot of people & a lot of traffic to get to your own patch of earth.

Not to generalize too much, but there is a greater concentration of Italian & European descendents in NY than in CO; thus the Catholic lifestyle is more noticable than in CO. Over the years CO has been garnering more & more of the Bible Belt religous lifestyle; I'm amazed every time I'm home to visit. Nothing wrong w/ either demographic IMO, just mentioning this per your Catholic leanings.

The towns that surround Albany are close enough that you won't really note a difference commuting-wise & you could probably find a home in any of those communities & still consider yourself "in Albany" (at least the Post Office does with the Zipcodes LOL).

One of the best things about this area is the entire Hudson Valley. Originally considered to be just north of NYC up to Columbia & Ulster Counties, the Hudson Valley now includes (rightly so) areas all the way up the Hudson past Saratoga/Rensselaer Counties. There is a wealth of culture and natural sights thru this corridor. The autumns are spectacular. Some of the mansions & buildings rival those in Europe.

Again - my only real problem with NY is the TAXES - everything else rocks - even the spirited political sparring!!!

[momzrocker]

Hi,

I am on the same path, I live in CA, so I am interested also. I also Homeschool my last 2 (of 5). I would love to know of any replies.

Lord willing, we will move. Lord willing.

Momzrocker!

[piperspal]

You asked about hospitals...I also should've mentioned that Albany Medical Center is a teaching hospital; St. Peter's is right up the street & has a good rep for it's birthing center (& other depts. as well); Memorial has a good ER (in terms of getting seen relatively quickly compared to AMCH - dreadful waits); Ellis in Schenectady recently took over Bellevue Women's Hospital, which turned out to be not as bad as osme feared. Samaritan in Troy is decent as well.

Crime is here in the Capital District just as in any metro area of roughly 500,000 people (including Alb., Schen. Troy & surrounding towns). But it tends to be concentrated in a few distinct areas and crime stats show it's nowhere even close to the crime rates for larger single cities with same relative population.

I know a few people that home school their children & they plan activities w/ each other. Go to www.NYHEN.org for info.

[jaycol31]

Famlife - I grew up in Niskayuna NY - which is about a 15-25 minute drive to Albany. Both my folks worked in Albany - not a bad commute - I did it for years and it was about 25-30 mns. BUT, in Niskayuna you have one of the nicest towns in the whole area - very nice suburb of Schectady, which was TERRIBLE growing up, but they've done a lot with it. Nisky, is basically right in the middle of Alb., SChen., Troy, and only 35 mins from Saratoga. They build nuclear subs there, GE reasearch is there, and an atomic power plant, so there are tons of PHDs around. As a result, there is a relatively high amount of Asian and Indian kids (although hardly any blacks or latinos if that is important to you) I know you home school but Nisky school district is awsome. The taxes are high, but if you can afford it, to me it is the best place to live up there. Housing is great, VERY safe (have a sizable police force for a town of 20,000), great schools, diverse for a suburb, and centrally located for that area. Find it on the web.

[ckhthankgod]

Here's the student makeup of the Niskayuna SD:https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb-rc...0301060000.pdf

[hmtklein]

Denver beats Albany hands down... sorry NY. The property taxes in Colorado are about half what they are in NY. Ny has been taking a beating for years and you can tell in the people, the employers and the neighborhoods. There is an optimism in Colorado and a hope for a better life that got sucked out of NY a long time ago. I personally think NY is prettier (when you get away from the tri-cities) and Albany has easy access to NYC, Boston and the Adirondacks.

[Dahl]

Originally Posted by famlife

We have a large family (5 kids, one on the way)........
would you locals consider it a relatively safe and active city to raise kids in? they are homeschooled, so schools aren't a biggie, but we don't want to have to worry about them when they're riding their bikes around the neighborhood either.

The capital district has a thriving homeschooling network. I am considering this route for my son and I've been overwhelmed by the amount of support there is for homeschooling families here.

how is the health care in the area? we are sick of backwoods flunky doctors that we can't trust. plus, we're having a baby in a few months, how are the hospitals?

Healthcare is good, solid medical care. I personally would prefer some more doctors that were a little more open to alternative approaches, less inclined to prescribe strong medications and more open to a non-mainstream approach (I'd prefer a medical doctor who practiced from a holistic standpoint)

is it a cultural area? we'd like for our kids to grow up aware of other ethnicities than our own, which you'd never know it from where we live currently

This is a toughie. The areas that are more desirable tend to be less multicultural. This has been a hard thing for me to reconcile since moving to this area from lower NY three years ago.

are there plenty of things for kids to do? as i've said, i homeschool. we live for our extra-curriculars, and aside from church, that's usually how the kids make their friends. (children's theater, community sports, etc)

Oh for sure there are. I just took my son to a free theater performance at the local community college. THe state college is putting on a show mid-November and in December I am taking him with the homeschool group to see The Nutcracker. There are plenty of children's museums, the libraries are very appealing, the YMCA's have plenty to offer.....this is a very nice place to raise children regardless if they are or aren't homeschooled.

thanks in advance for any info! much appreciated!

Good luck and don't forget to come back to this thread to update us all!

[frogmed]

Hi, I may be taking a position at the Albany Medical Center. I have a daughter who will be coming with me. She will be starting her junior year in high school. She is a social butterfly, so I don't think there is any way home school will be an option. I saw the post on Niskayuna NY schools. Are the any other areas you recommend? I'd also like to be in a safe place.. :-)

I'm relocating from Norman, Ok. WE don't get alot of ice up there. I don't mind comuting to work but am concerned if it is too far, the ice will slow me down (maybe you guys get ice off the roads fast). I'll be a resident at the hospital so I'll be working long hours and traveling at odd times (early, early morning or late, late nights).

[piperspal]

frogmed, the Guilderland school district is very good as is Bethlehem's. North Colonie always had this great rep (undeserved IMO) while South Colonie schools always got a so-so to bad rap ( also a little undeserved). Those two are kind of evening out somewhat. I think South Colonie, Guiderland & Bethlehem districts are all roughly the same commute time to AMCH. I worked with a few kids while they were students @ Bethlehem & they said it was very divided between the haves & have-nots; the popular kids vs the wallflowers, etc. Yet I take that w/ a grain of salt because you could probably say that about any school.

My nieces & nephews are or were in Guilderland schools & loved them. My nieces were very involved in sports and something I always thought was very cool: they went to their proms & dances as one big group. Odd number of kids, mix of guys & girls, some with a date, some without. Four years straight they did that, and I was always so impressed at how they made sure to include the singles with the couples so everyone could have fun.

My next door neighbor children are very involved in South Colonie drama/theater dept. & believe me, LOTS of social butterflies in that group! I think any of the local schools in the 'burbs are great. Nisky has always rated very high though; I lived in that district for 18 years & think a lot of it stems from the fact that the Nisky population base has a lot of high tech jobs, engineers, Knolls Atomic, Union College, etc. They know the value of good education & are willing to pay for it in taxes.

But don't get me started on taxes.....