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Sour grapes because they closed your school. If Bacon was still open, you would still be in Amsterdam.
Your right we probably would still be there. Actually it was the only reason we stayed as long as we did. Face it Amsterdam is a run down city with lousy jobs, pathetic schools and property taxes are sky high. Just look at what other people have said. If Amsterdam is so great why does the population decline year after year? When kids grow up most of them can't wait to leave because they have no future there. No jobs, high taxes, lousy schools, drugs and an aging population that has been duped into thinking closing schools is the answer to the city's problems. That is not the future I want for my children. When the school was closed finally forced my family and many others to leave like we should have before. So to anyone that supported closing my child's school I say thank you for helping me to realize more than I allready did that Amsterdam is a bad place to raise a family. If people are going to mislead others into thinking Amsterdam is a good place for kids, I will respond with the truth that it is not. Sometimes the truth hurts.
Even those of us who still call Amsterdam home would readily admit that our small city is afflicted w/ many of the problems facing upstate cities. But here is the main issue: Faced with a limited budget, which areas in the capital region are in play when deciding where to buy a home? I argue that Amsterdam is now squarely in play- especially for those who would rather live in or near a city and not in the middle of nowhere, whitebreadsville (read: Scotia, glenville, burnt hills, galway, fonda, Malta, etc., etc.). We are in the league with cities Troy, Albany, Schenectady. We have historic, old bones- houses, main street, riverfront, championship football in the heart of the city, and diversity.
And best of all, after years of decline we are beginning to turn the old neighborhoods and factories into something special.
Amsterdam, unlike the 3 cities I just mentioned, has not crossed into the ghetto abyss that would make it unliveable for young families. Crime is not an issue here. So, yes, buy elsewhere if you are interested in a 1970s split level w/vinyl siding on a dead end street off of a highway and pile the kids into the minivan to get to civilization. But know that you could have had an historic old home in a walkable neighborhood and been part of an actual community. Taxes are high, but with an extra $100,000 in your bank account, that's a no-brainer.
If all you care about is finding a cheap home then by all means consider moving to Amsterdam. I suppose if you dont care about schools, high taxes and having to drive 40 min to Albany for a decent paying job, it might not be so bad. MY main point is that Amsterdam is not a good place to raise children. The schools are mismanaged and the school budget is defeated every year. The class sizes are going through the roof, the textbooks are old, test scores below average and major discipline problems. Most students who overcome these obstacles just move away when they graduate so they can find a job and have a future. Scotia, Glenville, burnt hills and Galway all have much better schools and a population that supports them. If you want your kids to learn how to play high school football and cause trouble then move to Amsterdam. If you want them to get a decent education and have a future when they graduate, pick another place. Greatschools.Net is a great resource for information about schools including test scores. Do not be fooled!
Sour grapes because they closed your school. If Bacon was still open, you would still be in Amsterdam.
You are probably right, but thats the point. You talk about Amsterdam being affordable. That it is, but let me ask you how many of the surrounding communities are closing their schools? I have met some of the nicest people I know in that city, I miss my friends. But my children come first. When I first moved to Amsterdam my husband and I saw potenial, we saw a city that with the right managment could grow. Unfortunately that has yet to happen. My heart will always miss Amsterdam, but when taxes increase at an alarming rate it's scares me and many others, right out of the community. The population has been declining steadily, even with cheap housing. As been stated before the majority of the business and tax revunue are in the TOWN of Amsterdam. Which does not share it's revunue with the CITY of Amsterdam. This leaves the tax burden solely on the citizens. Also, a large majority of the citizens are elderly who pay very little if any school taxes. Leaving blue collar-working families bearing the brunt of the city largely increasing school buget. Leaving YOUR kids behind. If you have no children or yours are grown, then Amsterdam isnt that bad of a choice. But if you want your child to have a quality education then Amsterdam is not the place you want to be. Believe me, I had to learn the hard way.
There is absolutely nothing in Amsterdam. If you blink your eyes, you might miss it as you drive on the Thruway. I could only imagine that the highest paying job there isn't too high. Not to bash the place, but it's not the most delightful place to be. I'd look elsewhere.
Amsterdam is a slum with high taxes & the worst school district. There's nothing here. You have to drive to at least Rotterdam Mall to buy clothing (20 minutes). The H.S. is violent and disrespectful. The school district raises taxes, cuts services to disabled children to save money, bus drivers are horribly inappropriate without accountability, and it's now going to graduate the disabled early to avoid costs of services to them. Police Department is good & EMS is excellent... I wouldn't bring a dead dog to the hospital here. You have to travel to Albany (St Peter's) for quality medical attention (about 40 minutes driving 80 MPH).
I've been telling all of you it was just a matter of time before our small city was rediscovered, well here is another major announcement on the heels of Target retail commons announcement: Beech Nut has decided to build a $125 million facility and move its headquarters from St. Louis, MO. to our area. As I mentioned before, we are a 25 mile straight shot to the only stable area of upstate NY- the capitol. We are also still an incredible bargain when compared to any of the capital region cities, and when you live here you are in the middle of wide open, valley views.
So let's review the recent developments:
*Riverfront park pavilion expanded on the banks of the Mohawk downtown.
*Via Ponte project about to begin, demolishing old factories and clearing the way for redeveloped waterfront and cultural area. Bridge will be constructed to link downtown with South side.
*$45 million Target retail commons project announced for route 30 commercial corridor. Adds to their presence in their 1.4 million sq. ft facility they occupied in 2003 here.
*Number of new businesses/restaurants opened downtown including a Yoga studio, authentic Texas BBQ, antiques store, etc.
*$125 million Beech-Nut facility & headquarters on outskirts of city.
*Multimillion renovation of school facilities including state of the art theater, gym and commons area for students. Expansions at elementary schools.
I've been telling all of you it was just a matter of time before our small city was rediscovered, well here is another major announcement on the heels of Target retail commons announcement: Beech Nut has decided to build a $125 million facility and move its headquarters from St. Louis, MO. to our area. As I mentioned before, we are a 25 mile straight shot to the only stable area of upstate NY- the capitol. We are also still an incredible bargain when compared to any of the capital region cities, and when you live here you are in the middle of wide open, valley views.
So let's review the recent developments:
*Riverfront park pavilion expanded on the banks of the Mohawk downtown.
*Via Ponte project about to begin, demolishing old factories and clearing the way for redeveloped waterfront and cultural area. Bridge will be constructed to link downtown with South side.
*$45 million Target retail commons project announced for route 30 commercial corridor. Adds to their presence in their 1.4 million sq. ft facility they occupied in 2003 here.
*Number of new businesses/restaurants opened downtown including a Yoga studio, authentic Texas BBQ, antiques store, etc.
*$125 million Beech-Nut facility & headquarters on outskirts of city.
*Multimillion renovation of school facilities including state of the art theater, gym and commons area for students. Expansions at elementary schools.
{QUATE THE FACT}
BULL/S------ You know the facts but wont admit it:
Here are the facts, all of mentioned by you are not and will not, and others may not open business in Amsterdam City
These Company are opening around the City, one in the Town of Florida and the other in the Town of Amsterdam, not the City.
City taxes are to HIGH for any intelligent business to open at.
Property values are undercut by the City, and Realtors. They also are highly Taxed, thus the City will never have businesses move to it.
The school system is also a joke, city has no say as to what they do. It too is over taxing the citizens.
Amsterdam politics is what has destroyed Amsterdam, and whom do not let it grow.
City of PARTIME POLITICIANS, NO ONE of AUTHORITY EVER AT CITY HALL, and those there do not know anything, and or play DUM.
$535,000?? and the tee pee is decaying.
Monies for the water front park TWICE??
Monies for the Restoration of the Burnt Windmill,, our slogan, Symbol???
Monies for the street paving?? Urban renewal monies??
GREAT CITY, with BAD LEADERS / HIGHLY TAXED / and UNDER VALUED REAL STATE, to say the least of what is wrong here..
So how about telling the FACTS AS THEY ARE.
Would you invest here???? if not living here???
Schenectady is kicking Amsterdam's butt, go sit and wait some more, politicians"#2@%$*& {QUATE THE FACT}
i know i wanna move upstate, i have 3 children and found a nice rental up there, but dont know much about the area was looking for some helpful advice. do the schools suck? lol people?jobs? thanks
well I disagree w/everybody. I recently moved back to amsterdam after living in westchester county/nyc area for nearly 10 years. we bought an historic old queen anne victorian for what you would pay for a run-down '60s ranch on a cul-de-sac in Clifton Park. there are still very nice neighborhoods in amsterdam, and if you have any type of middle class job in Albany area, you live very comfortably in amsterdam. contrary to what some suggest amsterdam has a very healthy population of professional class families whose kids hang together. yes, you have your typical dirt-dog sections, but they're nowhere near as ghetto as schenec., albany, troy... I completely disagree w/the folks who obviously prefer to live in cookie-cutter suburbs in plastic mcmansions w/no sense of history. The city has excellent old bones, a revitalized waterfront, and excellent prospects for revitalization.
Wake up man.Or do your job as you should. stop the falls talk
I suppose basic literacy is not a qualification to post on this board.
Though it was difficult to decipher your half-witted, nigh-illiterate response to my previous posts, I did gather that you question my facts. How much more clearly could I state them? I gave exact dollar figures and current projects that are happening. Anyone who knows the area realizes that the Town of Amsterdam and Town of Florida are basically all part of the greater Amsterdam area: same jobs, schools, county tax and school tax revenue, and all sharing the same housing and shopping. A small example is that the city stands to realize over a million per year in water fees alone from the Beech nut project. The executives will buy houses in our city since it is the only city nearby.
And Schenectady, please, it is a dangerous crime-ridden ghetto that reminds me of my days working in the bronx.
I'd respond to your last post but have absolutely no clue what you are trying to say. Talk about D-U-M.
Last edited by rug city; 05-22-2007 at 11:25 AM..
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yet another reason to consider the rug city
