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i remember when i was living in albany i wanted to take my visiting family to a nice restaurant. i was in some japanese place and asked someone at the table if they would recommend a nice restaurant. i believe she said outback. so it isnt the mecca of fine dining but having fancy restaurants is a very small part of quality of life (i was able to find better than that in reality). having crossgates so close and colony center right near there was awesome. also, the attractiveness level in those malls is far higher than anything you will see in nj or nyc. there are major highways there that can easily take you down to nj or east to boston which came in handy. the areas are safe and everything you need is very convenient. if i didnt have better work opportunities here, i may have stayed there.
i remember when i was living in albany i wanted to take my visiting family to a nice restaurant. i was in some japanese place and asked someone at the table if they would recommend a nice restaurant. i believe she said outback. so it isnt the mecca of fine dining but having fancy restaurants is a very small part of quality of life (i was able to find better than that in reality). having crossgates so close and colony center right near there was awesome. also, the attractiveness level in those malls is far higher than anything you will see in nj or nyc. there are major highways there that can easily take you down to nj or east to boston which came in handy. the areas are safe and everything you need is very convenient. if i didnt have better work opportunities here, i may have stayed there.
Some areas of Albany are questionable. Because my daughter was a transfer student, she had to live in the housing that's about a ten-minute bus ride from the actual campus. The area is pretty seedy, and every week I got another email from campus security about students getting mugged, students getting beaten and robbed, and the last one, last week, was a rape, all of these within a block or two of her dorm. Most of the time, according to the warnings in the emails, these crimes happen in the early morning hours and the students are intoxicated. Doesn't make the crimes OK just because students are stupid and drunk, but the area IS rundown and impoverished and that goes hand-in-hand with crime. My daughter's a geek who doesn't drink and goes to bed early, so she had no problems, but fortunately, housing opened up after this semester on the campus itself, and she's moving there in January.
I agree, though, that most of the areas I've been to with her in Albany are decent, and she's gotten around just fine on their public transporation system.
Don't know about fine dining in Albany, but I LOVE Wings Over Albany and haven't gotten to try all the varieties yet!
i remember when i was living in albany i wanted to take my visiting family to a nice restaurant. i was in some japanese place and asked someone at the table if they would recommend a nice restaurant. i believe she said outback. so it isnt the mecca of fine dining but having fancy restaurants is a very small part of quality of life (i was able to find better than that in reality). having crossgates so close and colony center right near there was awesome. also, the attractiveness level in those malls is far higher than anything you will see in nj or nyc. there are major highways there that can easily take you down to nj or east to boston which came in handy. the areas are safe and everything you need is very convenient. if i didnt have better work opportunities here, i may have stayed there.
You are correct about everything you said, we do have a great mix of everything here and the location where I live could not be better, malls, restaurants, and access to all the major highways without all the traffic. I guess that is why I have been so torn...
From what it sounds though, I don't think I could afford what I want, as I don't want to sacrifice my vehicles and space. Mightqueen801, you are right, all those lines and people would be overwhelming to deal with ,considering it is nothing like that up here. I do enjoy my time down there when I go, but I am usually pretty happy to get back up here. There are tons of ways to get into NYC from here, bus, train, I just thougth it would be nice to be closer... I really appreciate everyones response, it has def helped me see things clearer..
You are correct about everything you said, we do have a great mix of everything here and the location where I live could not be better, malls, restaurants, and access to all the major highways without all the traffic. I guess that is why I have been so torn...
From what it sounds though, I don't think I could afford what I want, as I don't want to sacrifice my vehicles and space. Mightqueen801, you are right, all those lines and people would be overwhelming to deal with ,considering it is nothing like that up here. I do enjoy my time down there when I go, but I am usually pretty happy to get back up here. There are tons of ways to get into NYC from here, bus, train, I just thougth it would be nice to be closer... I really appreciate everyones response, it has def helped me see things clearer..
Well, I may come back to you with questions sometime! I will be eligible to retire within the next three to five years, and I am thinking of going upstate New York where there is more space and it's less expensive (not a Florida or southern-state type of person.) As I've been driving to Albany a few times now to visit or pick up my daughter, I've been scanning around as I go up the Thruway and wondering if that would be a good place to end up, with Albany near enough for a city fix yet still in that beautiful country you have up your way!
Won't mind the cold if I don't have to get out there at 6 a.m. and schlep in it.
Well, I may come back to you with questions sometime! I will be eligible to retire within the next three to five years, and I am thinking of going upstate New York where there is more space and it's less expensive (not a Florida or southern-state type of person.) As I've been driving to Albany a few times now to visit or pick up my daughter, I've been scanning around as I go up the Thruway and wondering if that would be a good place to end up, with Albany near enough for a city fix yet still in that beautiful country you have up your way!
Won't mind the cold if I don't have to get out there at 6 a.m. and schlep in it.
Mightyqueen801, do you want to swap living locations? hahahah, its not the ocean, but you would be about 10 min from your daughter and about 2 min from Wings over Albany which is the BEST!!!
As with any city there are high crime areas, and yes, there have been some crimes in the head lines as of late, but they have mostly been happen closer to down town.. You daughter is much safter on campus..
TONS of people retire up in this area from the NYC, Long Island area. I know this because as I mentioned, I am in insurance, and I write for the whole state.. Wonderful place to retire..
Mightyqueen801, do you want to swap living locations? hahahah, its not the ocean, but you would be about 10 min from your daughter and about 2 min from Wings over Albany which is the BEST!!!
As with any city there are high crime areas, and yes, there have been some crimes in the head lines as of late, but they have mostly been happen closer to down town.. You daughter is much safter on campus..
TONS of people retire up in this area from the NYC, Long Island area. I know this because as I mentioned, I am in insurance, and I write for the whole state.. Wonderful place to retire..
Well, can't quite go there yet, and I WOULD miss the ocean, that's a big tossup for me. I'll wait until I get to that point and see what my finances and the economy say.
Right now Albany-to-Manhattan would be too long a commute. Besides, one of the reasons my daughter transferred to U Albany is because they have a really good foreign languages program, and she's hoping to go to China next year and use what she's been learning.
I would move out of Albany to NJ in a second. There is no doubt, I would run from Albany and that whole upstate NY!!!! I am biased and absolutely would not LIVE in any area of NY State!! Its a long story but I would thank God I had the chance to leave. NJ is not a rust belt YET.
Upstate NY is ok , its not dangerous ....but its dead and stuck in the past.......You can commute down using Amtrak Empire Service or a Bus Service....about 14,000 upstate ppl do that daily...
If it's a financial decision to stay up there but you still want to visit the city, then you could plan a trip to stay in the city for a few days now and then. Sure, it's expensive to get a hotel in Manhattan, but allowing yourself that splurge once or twice a year would still be cheaper than the additional housing costs you'd spend year round in Jersey.
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Besides, one of the reasons my daughter transferred to U Albany is because they have a really good foreign languages program, and she's hoping to go to China next year and use what she's been learning.
