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I'm thinking of applying for a job in Rensselear, but before I do I was wondering what kind of city this is (crime, cost of living, walkability/transportation). I'm young and single so I don't care about schools or any of that stuff, nor do I care about night life.
Do you mean Rensselaer Polynechnic Institute (RPI)? If so that school is in Troy, which is different than the City of Rensselaer. That is where the Amrak station is and is very close to Downtown Albany. Troy is ok, as long as you stay near the school and up on the hill near Union College and Emma Willard girls boarding school. Downtown Troy near Russell Sage College isn't the safest location, so be careful.
Rensselaer is really really small. It's also not considered a particularly nice place to live. If you say, "Rensselaer" to most people who live in the Capital Region, they'll say, "oh, the train station." That's really the only reason a person would go there.
But if your job is in Rensselaer you could easily live somewhere else and just commute there. It's right off of I-787, which is convenient.
Renss. is an old city and rund downl. Crime is low but you can walk around the lower end of the city I have done it for years I lived there most of my life. I would not walk after dark in the upper end it is much worse up there. There is public transportation and taxi service.I dont think you'll have a problem. There is really no night life it is a small city a couple rest. to eat that is all. Most people go to Albany much to do there, just across the river. Cost of living is like every where. about the same, not to much shopping there you have to travel a bit to do shoppine in East greenbush or defreastville, to far to walk. There is only one drug store and one small market in the lower end. Well I wish you luck I think you'll do OK ccryder98
Rensselaer is like a watered down Jekyll & Hyde. It's got a beat up, gritty tinge to part of it; but it also has a pretty tight-knit community structure as well. I worked with a girl who grew up there & ended up marrying a boy from her street. Then they bought a house on that same street! Lots of Irish Catholic & Italian-Catholic families.
I think it's going to be one of those areas like Cohoes or Green Island: for years they had the "dump town" reputation. But one by one, young couples realize they can get some beautiful architecture at an unbelievably low price; relatively close to some pretty cool areas. These couples pave the way for future residents like yourself, and an upward, positive trend starts.
Rensselaer is like a watered down Jekyll & Hyde. It's got a beat up, gritty tinge to part of it; but it also has a pretty tight-knit community structure as well. I worked with a girl who grew up there & ended up marrying a boy from her street. Then they bought a house on that same street! Lots of Irish Catholic & Italian-Catholic families.
I think it's going to be one of those areas like Cohoes or Green Island: for years they had the "dump town" reputation. But one by one, young couples realize they can get some beautiful architecture at an unbelievably low price; relatively close to some pretty cool areas. These couples pave the way for future residents like yourself, and an upward, positive trend starts.
Would Watervliet also be a similar type of community as well?
Would Watervliet also be a similar type of community as well?
Well, yes - a bit. There is a strong Ukrainian & Armenian community there that spills over into Troy; that combined with some lifelong Watervliet residents makes it similar to Renss. But I don't get as much of a "neighborhood" feel there as I do in Rensselaer. Watervliet seems more "transient".
My husband & I had some rental income property in Watervliet for a number of years. It was in a very quiet, well-kept neighborhood with mostly elderly neighbors. Bit by bit, with every new tenant we got in there, things got bad. I was constantly apologizing to the neighbors for something our tenants did. The last 2 renters we had to evict - no small feat. So we just threw our hands up & said enough and sold the property.
So, sorry, ckhthankgod; I'm basing my opinions of both Rensselaer & Watervliet on my own limited experience ...
I am on the road t/o the capital district every day tho...I notice just about every bad section in any town/city is contained fairly well to several blocks.
I have yet to drive through any city or town in this region and say it's all bad or all good. Probably true just about anywhere, huh?
Well, yes - a bit. There is a strong Ukrainian & Armenian community there that spills over into Troy; that combined with some lifelong Watervliet residents makes it similar to Renss. But I don't get as much of a "neighborhood" feel there as I do in Rensselaer. Watervliet seems more "transient".
My husband & I had some rental income property in Watervliet for a number of years. It was in a very quiet, well-kept neighborhood with mostly elderly neighbors. Bit by bit, with every new tenant we got in there, things got bad. I was constantly apologizing to the neighbors for something our tenants did. The last 2 renters we had to evict - no small feat. So we just threw our hands up & said enough and sold the property.
So, sorry, ckhthankgod; I'm basing my opinions of both Rensselaer & Watervliet on my own limited experience ...
I am on the road t/o the capital district every day tho...I notice just about every bad section in any town/city is contained fairly well to several blocks.
I have yet to drive through any city or town in this region and say it's all bad or all good. Probably true just about anywhere, huh?
True...Hopefully, people can keep it in proper perspective when it comes to cities, villages and towns in that regard.
"Why not change the world?" is a Service Mark of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York. I think it is a great slogan and they do good things there.
In 2000 I bought a t-shirt at the RPI bookstore that had "Why Not Change the World?" printed on it. At the time I was working in Troy providing computer tech support for Verizon. They had a central office on Fourth Street that was just down the hill from RPI. I visited their bookstore, saw the slogan on a t-shirt, liked the sound of it, and bought one. I wore it a lot and it became unwearable after several years. I went back to the bookstore to get another one at least five years ago and there were none available.
I would still like to get another one, but they don't sell them anymore. I've called and emailed the bookstore on several occasions over a couple of years, but the answer is always, "we just don't sell them anymore" or something like that.
They do sell a glass mug with the slogan, but I already have a favorite Barnes and Noble coffee cup with a picture of James Michener on it. You can't buy them anymore either. Barnes and Noble stopped selling them years ago. I never see the cups anywhere else. You would think that one would show up on ebay or at a yard sale. I keep looking for one, but so far nothing. Am I the only person to buy and own a coffee cup with a picture of James Michener on it?
So, I think that if the slogan "why not change the world?" is at the top right hand corner of their home page and they have an interesting video on the home page called, "Why Not Change The World?", they should bring back the t-shirt with the slogan on it. (I'm an XXL in case anyone is interested, hoping to go back to being an XL in the near future.)
Am I asking too much? Are there any RPI students or alumni out there that would like to have a "why not change the world?" t-shirt? If enough people called or emailed the RPI bookstore perhaps they would change their mind and have a few t-shirts printed. You can find the phone number and email address on the RPI webpage.
What do you think? Did you ever own a t-shirt from RPI with, "why not change the world?" on it?
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"Why not change the world?" t-shirt
