Retirement in Saratoga (Albany, Union, Wilton: to rent, new home, employment)

[TunnellRatt]

Anyone who can help me on these questions, I say thank you so much in advance. I will be retiring in a few years from a NYC Law Enforcement Job after 20 years of service. Pension is about $72,000 per year, no taxes except federal. I also hold my degree in Nursing( 3 years experience part time), going for Masters to get position as Nurse Admin. Wife works for NYS Court system, as staff developer and makes about $70,000, per year. My questions are as 1) Will we live comfortable in a very good area on our incomes? Will I be able to find work in the healthcare field as a Nurse? How is the cost of living compared to NYC, in eating out, rent, etc? How is the Saratoga Area different (pros & cons) from NYC? What school districts should we check out? Average Property taxes on houses with about 1+ acre of land? Want to rent for one year before purchasing, what areas would you recommend to rent and buy? Thank you all for reading this long novel(LOL).

[Ellwood]

Originally Posted by TunnellRatt

Anyone who can help me on these questions, I say thank you so much in advance. I will be retiring in a few years from a NYC Law Enforcement Job after 20 years of service. Pension is about $72,000 per year, no taxes except federal. I also hold my degree in Nursing( 3 years experience part time), going for Masters to get position as Nurse Admin. Wife works for NYS Court system, as staff developer and makes about $70,000, per year. My questions are as 1) Will we live comfortable in a very good area on our incomes? Will I be able to find work in the healthcare field as a Nurse? How is the cost of living compared to NYC, in eating out, rent, etc? How is the Saratoga Area different (pros & cons) from NYC? What school districts should we check out? Average Property taxes on houses with about 1+ acre of land? Want to rent for one year before purchasing, what areas would you recommend to rent and buy? Thank you all for reading this long novel(LOL).

We retired to Saratoga and have found the cost of living quite lower than living in the metro area. I suggest you look into one of the cost of living calculators which will give you an idea of NYC versus upstate. To maintain the same standard of living, our costs are approximately 30% lower. Our house is on 3.5 acres, with a new workshop and 2300 sq ft. house. Taxes (school and Saratoga) are $8,000 per year. There is a web site where you can check out the taxes in Saratoga.

Housing costs are very reasonable. In Northunderland you can have a brand new home built beginning about $250K with 1-2 acres (Brampton Woods). You might go on line to Weichert, as they carry most all listings. I suggest you looking into: Northunderland, Schuylerville, Moreau, Wilton. These emcompass the Schuylerville School District which is very good.

I am not familar with employment opportunities in the area, but suggest you check the newspapers (Times-Union and Post Star). There is Saratoga Hospital and another in Glen Falls. There are quite a few medical facilities (Wilton Medical Arts, which is really good; Greenwich Family Medical Practice (brand new); Glen Falls group. We haven't been very lucky finding physicians in the area, or Albany for that matter. The nursing staff at Wilton are excellent. Unfortunately physicians in this area are not on par with what you might be used to coming from NYC. We travel 3 hours to our previous doctors.

Hope some of this information helps you. If you have any questions, you can send me a direct message and I'll try to help.

[TunnellRatt]

Thank you Ellwood so much for the information. My biggest concern is that my wife and I live comfortable. And from what you write I say thank you very much.