Saratoga Springs vs. Concord (living, best, cost, state)

[Green Guy]

Which city best meets my criteria?

Outdoor activities
Beautiful nature
Lower cost of living and taxes
Health/organic food and restaurants
Low crime
Friendly folks
Prosperous economy
Clean air, very low pollution
A swimable, boatable, clean body of water

[NOLA101]

Definitely Saratoga, which is one of the best small towns in the U.S. Concord is kind of "meh" compared to other similarly sized New England cities.

[isis297]

I live just outside of Saratoga Springs. There's lots of outdoor activities and beautiful nature whether you are around Saratoga/Ballston Spa or you go farther south to the lake or farther north to all of the lakes and parks up that way. Farther north you have the Adirondacks.

It depends on where you go how clear the water is. Lake Moreau is GORGEOUS and the water is so clear close to the beach that you can see the minnows. On the flip side, someone once told me to go to Million Dollar Beach at Lake George before I learned about Lake Moreau and I was horribly disappointed. It was crowded, the water was disgusting, and the scenery wasn't all that.

All in all, Saratoga meets a lot of your requirements except cost of living in my opinion (though it may be less than Concord since NH in general has high property taxes plus you have the personal property tax which can cost you a lot on your car every year, plus there's the eating out tax). Saratoga County is one of the highest taxed counties in our area though. Our property taxes are high in our opinion and we get hit with NYS fees on top of pretty much everything. We are actually trying to figure out where to move to away from the Capital District, especially since the jobs for my husband at the pay we need just aren't here. Something we didn't realize we needed to check coming from MD where there was a plethora of jobs that would fit what we need.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by isis297

I live just outside of Saratoga Springs. There's lots of outdoor activities and beautiful nature whether you are around Saratoga/Ballston Spa or you go farther south to the lake or farther north to all of the lakes and parks up that way. Farther north you have the Adirondacks.

It depends on where you go how clear the water is. Lake Moreau is GORGEOUS and the water is so clear close to the beach that you can see the minnows. On the flip side, someone once told me to go to Million Dollar Beach at Lake George before I learned about Lake Moreau and I was horribly disappointed. It was crowded, the water was disgusting, and the scenery wasn't all that.

All in all, Saratoga meets a lot of your requirements except cost of living in my opinion (though it may be less than Concord since NH in general has high property taxes plus you have the personal property tax which can cost you a lot on your car every year, plus there's the eating out tax). Saratoga County is one of the highest taxed counties in our area though. Our property taxes are high in our opinion and we get hit with NYS fees on top of pretty much everything. We are actually trying to figure out where to move to away from the Capital District, especially since the jobs for my husband at the pay we need just aren't here. Something we didn't realize we needed to check coming from MD where there was a plethora of jobs that would fit what we need.

What fees on top of everything? I get the taxes, but I'm curious about all of these fees.

Saratoga County is the most affluent county in Upstate NY. It is/has been the fastest growing county in NY State and has had positive job growth.

Also OP, if you are open to other NY areas, I'd consider Plattsburgh due to its little below average COL, its proximity to the Adirondacks and the Green Mountains of Vermont, it is on Lake Champlain and Burlington VT, as well as Montreal are within close proximity.