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Thanks Junie Moon & Always wondering,
I love... Delmar; it is so far my favorite neighborhood in the Cap Dist. However, we found ourselves out of luck there as the homes were either too small or too expensive. I also love Manning Blvd. but there really isn't anything for sale--well, just one and too small again. We need the space for extended fam. I will look into the other choices mentioned. But we are running out of time. We need to close by early March!!!
Is there anything possibly in Troy or one of the smaller cities like Cohoes, Rensselaer or Watervliet, which might have better schools?
Also, when you have a bigger school district, you might have some public schools that are better than others at a lower level. Then, you have certain programs within the high schools of those districts.
I'm no economist, but I think GE was the Whole Ball o' Wax in Schenectady back in the day. When GE died, the whole city went downhill. I'd never heard of the GE Realty Plot, but I've looked at a map...generally, "people say" that near Union College is on the high-crime side. But, you know, "people say" a lot of things about a lot of places. It looks as if the GE Plot's sort of insulated in itself.
Personally I wouldn't live in Schenectady on a bet. Niskayuna, maybe...
I'm coming back to say:
I'm looking at real estate listings in the area you're looking at and MAN! there are some gorgeous houses there...well kept...so long as there's a burglar alarm installed, I might like one of them!
I'm no economist, but I think GE was the Whole Ball o' Wax in Schenectady back in the day. When GE died, the whole city went downhill. I'd never heard of the GE Realty Plot, but I've looked at a map...generally, "people say" that near Union College is on the high-crime side. But, you know, "people say" a lot of things about a lot of places. It looks as if the GE Plot's sort of insulated in itself.
Personally I wouldn't live in Schenectady on a bet. Niskayuna, maybe...
I thought that Vale and Hamilton Hill were the rougher neighborhoods in Schenectady?
Near any college or university there are a lot of old houses broken into student apartments. Landlords might or might not take care of the properties....people who rent to students collect rent by the semester and take the money and run, quite often.
Hamilton Hill and Vale are absolutely beyond the pale, you're right.
If you look at that map, though....the whole city isn't all that big, and the "bad parts" aren't far from anywhere.
We have friends who lived in the Stockade area....gorgeous buildings and beautiful interiors....and drunks taking up residence on their front steps.
Near any college or university there are a lot of old houses broken into student apartments. Landlords might or might not take care of the properties....people who rent to students collect rent by the semester and take the money and run, quite often.
Hamilton Hill and Vale are absolutely beyond the pale, you're right.
If you look at that map, though....the whole city isn't all that big, and the "bad parts" aren't far from anywhere.
We have friends who lived in the Stockade area....gorgeous buildings and beautiful interiors....and drunks taking up residence on their front steps.
Granted the city isn't that big, but I would think that things vary by section or neighborhood too.
Hi,
Here are some things I would take into consideration:
- The crime rate in Albany is quite high. In some neighborhoods it's VERY high. The crime rates in some of the surrounding suburbs are very low, particularly Colonie. Here's a link United States cities by crime rate (60,000-100,000) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Most of neighborhoods away from the downtown area to the NW are pretty safe, but I would still get an alarm system. Here's a link to a house that fits your description in Albany, so you can get an idea of the prices Homes.com - Real Estate and Homes For Sale. (the one at 684 Western Ave)
- The public school district in Albany is your typical poor performing upstate city school district. Some of the surrounding suburban school districts are world class. The ones you could get to Albany in 30 minutes from(depending on where you bought your house) are the Bethlehem School District and North Colonie School District. The Menands school district is also very good, but last I knew only went up to 8th grade. A house comparable to the one I linked to earlier is going to cost you at least $100,000 more in most of the suburbs. Actually
I was just looking at Menands and here's a nice one for the same price as the albany house http://www.homes.com/For-Sale/NY/MEN...axprice=500000
(on w kenmar rd) It's a short walk from the school and reasonably near a variety of places to shop and the bus line to downtown if your car ever breaks down.
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Update(didn't notice the other 2 pages of post)
Schenectady has very high taxes because the tax base is gone, and very low real estate prices because the taxes are high and the schools are terrible. The crime and schools are even worse than Albany. If you are willing to drive that far why don't you check out Scotia, across the river from Schenectady. If you can be flexible about when you leave in the morning you can get to parts of downtown Albany in a little over 1/2 hr, but not if you have to leave during rush hour (7:00am - 9:00am). The school district is an ok suburban district(not world class) but the "downtown" area sounds like something you'd like. There is a diner, a gourmet restaurant, coffee house, movie theater, drug store, grocery store, park with a pond and beach, library, and a lot of other interesting things all within walking distance of each other and much of the residential areas.
Last edited by radamus; 01-21-2010 at 09:50 PM..
Reason: forgot link - didn't notice 2nd 2 pages of posts
Hi,
Here are some things I would take into consideration:
- The crime rate in Albany is quite high. In some neighborhoods it's VERY high. The crime rates in some of the surrounding suburbs are very low, particularly Colonie. Here's a link United States cities by crime rate (60,000-100,000) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Most of neighborhoods away from the downtown area to the NW are pretty safe, but I would still get an alarm system. Here's a link to a house that fits your description in Albany, so you can get an idea of the prices Homes.com - Real Estate and Homes For Sale. (the one at 684 Western Ave)
- The public school district in Albany is your typical poor performing upstate city school district. Some of the surrounding suburban school districts are world class. The ones you could get to Albany in 30 minutes from(depending on where you bought your house) are the Bethlehem School District and North Colonie School District. The Menands school district is also very good, but last I knew only went up to 8th grade. A house comparable to the one I linked to earlier is going to cost you at least $100,000 more in most of the suburbs. Actually
I was just looking at Menands and here's a nice one for the same price as the albany house Homes.com - Real Estate and Homes For Sale.
(on w kenmar rd) It's a short walk from the school and reasonably near a variety of places to shop and the bus line to downtown if your car ever breaks down.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Update(didn't notice the other 2 pages of post)
Schenectady has very high taxes because the tax base is gone, and very low real estate prices because the taxes are high and the schools are terrible. The crime and schools are even worse than Albany. If you are willing to drive that far why don't you check out Scotia, across the river from Schenectady. If you can be flexible about when you leave in the morning you can get to parts of downtown Albany in a little over 1/2 hr, but not if you have to leave during rush hour (7:00am - 9:00am). The school district is an ok suburban district(not world class) but the "downtown" area sounds like something you'd like. There is a diner, a gourmet restaurant, coffee house, movie theater, drug store, grocery store, park with a pond and beach, library, and a lot of other interesting things all within walking distance of each other and much of the residential areas.
Keep in mind that when you read that list, you are comparing a city center like Albany to most of those communities that are really suburbs of bigger city centers. So, to compare Albany to most of those cities is an apples to oranges comparison in most of those cases.
Okay, I'm back and I've changed my mind. There's an eight-bedroom house in the GE Plot (listed on the RealtyUSA site) that takes my breath away! I would live there!
I thought that Vale and Hamilton Hill were the rougher neighborhoods in Schenectady?
You are right, not great areas of Sch'dy. GE plot is beautiful. I live in N. Sch'dy and haven't had problems w/crime. As in any city, we lock our doors. Great neighbors, very walkable.
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