Report: Younger people needed in Adirondack area (New York, Amherst: home builders, college)

[VA Yankee]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

No...I just said that the thread is about the Adirondacks and that it isn't synonymous with Upstate NY, which varies. I also mentioned that Upstate NY isn't just like the Poconos. That's all...

What you said was "What you mentioned is a totally different subject and would vary within Upstate NY"

The poster is from the city, they view anything north of the Bronx as upstate they don't distinguish that upstate & The Adirondacks are different things as the locals would. As he mentions Saratoga he's on the mark and his reference to the Poconos means its a vacation place not a tech corridor accept that.

[NotEnufMinerals]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

No...I just said that the thread is about the Adirondacks and that it isn't synonymous with Upstate NY, which varies. I also mentioned that Upstate NY isn't just like the Poconos. That's all...

I've enjoyed reading a lot of your past posts ckh, and it's apparent that you're a genuinely helpful and optimistic person. But there are just simply too many factors working against upstate (Adirondacks or otherwise). You and others in the booster club may have good intentions for the region, but some aphorism or other about how the roads to hell are paved come to mind... I can't see any well-intentioned parents actually encouraging their children to stay there if those kids had the ability and skillset to leave.

Originally Posted by VA Yankee

The poster presented a clear perspective as to why the ADK would not be attractive to young people and you tend to paint with broad brush strokes and always in a positive light. Unless the kids is really into the rural lifestyle there really is no careers with any growth and upward mobility its just a fact. You can inundate these boards with all the news clips of this start-up and that potential growth and when the day is done the growth goes elsewhere and the start-up is 4 college buddies with a budget that qualifies them for food stamps.

It is what it is and those that are living there like their lives but any major changes beyond a new hotel or restaurant are pretty nil. Besides NY State is so draconian with their regulations & taxes any business looking to enter manufacturing would start up elsewhere.

Yep. And in addition to the lack of growth and upward mobility, my generation is most likely to hop between jobs (and knows that this is the best way to optimize salary growth). If you lose a job at the ONLY tech company in Lake Placid, let's say, it's not like you can go down the block and apply at another. You need those clusters to really secure your employment opportunities.

Originally Posted by hotkarl

Personally, I want upstate to thrive, I want people to be happy and live a decent life.
But...not at the expense of it becoming like downstate.
Or other other areas for that matter, like what has happened in NC, SC, TX, etc for example.
You start attracting big business, you get big business types.

I’ve lived it. Big city investors came in because they saw dollar signs. Bought up all the prime real estate, ran local businesses into the ground, and hired very few “locals”, almost every last one brought in their own help from the city or wherever, and they would put them up in homes the company purchased. All under the guise of “buy local” bs.
The only money kicked back into the local economy was the property taxes they pay.
Bastards. And they just disrupt and turn life upside down for the locals. Buying ad space, lining the pockets of the media and politicians to pimp this hip and trendy tourism destination crap. It’s a horror show now. Myself and MANY locals have left. There just may be more transplants than locals at this point. So, be careful what you wish for.

This is precisely what has been going down in many Hudson Valley towns since a few years ago (and accelerated by the Covid pandemic). Rhinebeck, Hudson, New Paltz, Beacon, Cold Spring, and many others were quaint sleepy little touristy towns with a lot of homegrown charm albeit no real industry. But they've since been inundated by fleeing Brooklyn-ites, modern-day carpetbaggers taking what were once communities and turning them into investable commodities. Now, the natives are being priced out by all the new money coming in and raising the cost of living but without producing much in the way of jobs or having that money re-invested back into the local economy. Their HQs are still based in NYC, and they don't hire locally. Modern day carpet bagging.

Communities are becoming Commodities now, and that's a very sad thing.

[hotkarl]

Originally Posted by NotEnufMinerals

I've enjoyed reading a lot of your past posts ckh, and it's apparent that you're a genuinely helpful and optimistic person. But there are just simply too many factors working against upstate (Adirondacks or otherwise). You and others in the booster club may have good intentions for the region, but some aphorism or other about how the roads to hell are paved come to mind... I can't see any well-intentioned parents actually encouraging their children to stay there if those kids had the ability and skillset to leave.



Yep. And in addition to the lack of growth and upward mobility, my generation is most likely to hop between jobs (and knows that this is the best way to optimize salary growth). If you lose a job at the ONLY tech company in Lake Placid, let's say, it's not like you can go down the block and apply at another. You need those clusters to really secure your employment opportunities.



This is precisely what has been going down in many Hudson Valley towns since a few years ago (and accelerated by the Covid pandemic). Rhinebeck, Hudson, New Paltz, Beacon, Cold Spring, and many others were quaint sleepy little touristy towns with a lot of homegrown charm albeit no real industry. But they've since been inundated by fleeing Brooklyn-ites, modern-day carpetbaggers taking what were once communities and turning them into investable commodities. Now, the natives are being priced out by all the new money coming in and raising the cost of living but without producing much in the way of jobs or having that money re-invested back into the local economy. Their HQs are still based in NYC, and they don't hire locally. Modern day carpet bagging.

Communities are becoming Commodities now, and that's a very sad thing.

Thanks for “getting it”.

[ContraPagan]

Originally Posted by VintageSunlight

Only the most pioneering of people will want to live where you can literally be snowed in for a week, several weeks a year, few to no hospitals nearby, spotty internet, etc. I've tried satellite internet, its too slow to Zoom (very choppy, lots of lag time) and if you're working remotely you'll definitely need videoconferencing ability (as I'm finding out myself).

My oldest brother has lived in the Adirondacks (Bloomingdale) for over 20 years, and he's never experienced anything like you mention. Snowed in for a week???? Are you kidding me??? He works for the DEC in Ray Brook, he's never had an issue getting to work. They plow the roads a hell of a lot better than the cities down here in the Capital District!

[hotkarl]

Haha! Snowed in for a week.
Baloney. Unless he lives on a private or seasonal road and doesn’t hire someone to plow it.
Did he ever get trapped in the house and have to saw off and eat his own foot? Now that would be epic.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by VA Yankee

What you said was "What you mentioned is a totally different subject and would vary within Upstate NY"

The poster is from the city, they view anything north of the Bronx as upstate they don't distinguish that upstate & The Adirondacks are different things as the locals would. As he mentions Saratoga he's on the mark and his reference to the Poconos means its a vacation place not a tech corridor accept that.

Again, I’m just saying that the Adirondacks and Upstate NY aren’t the same. That’s all. I didn’t get into all of the other stuff you brought into the thread. I was strictly asking the poster questions and was stating a difference. Not that hard to comprehend.

To tie in their post, Saratoga would actually put one closer to the tech industry that is in the Albany area by way of not only startups, but in regards to Global Foundries, a video game industry cluster and other tech companies in the area. So, actually it isn’t about “boosterism”(like I get something out of this), but more about showing/informing/educating others that are interested about what is actually in Upstate NY besides the stereotypical “nothing is there due to my 4 years in college”, from some media outlets or whatever else is stated.

Ironically, a lot of the people that complain on here don’t even live in the state and/or really are just checking in on the old area type of posters. Luckily, there are people that view and don’t post, but use the information posted or there are other forums that offer the actual inquiries this forum used to have.

[ContraPagan]

Originally Posted by NotEnufMinerals

Young person here. From NYC, but went to college in upstate NY, graduated 3 yrs ago.

I would never live there. It's not just about a job. I'd prefer a career with at least some promise of upward mobility and everything about upstate NY just screams dead-end. We also prefer companies willing to invest, and by that I mean offering summer internships, providing mentors and supervisors who can oversee our personal and professional growths so we know we're on the right track, etc... and companies in upstate just don't do that. Everybody i knew at school did their internships away from upstate, in Boston, NYC, DC, etc... and ended up there after graduation. Companies in upstate are either unable or unwilling, so even if there are job openings, it smacks of "this is just a job" rather than "we care about your career and want to see you succeed." It's not a minor difference to us.

You're not going to win over any talented youth with horse tracks in Saratoga or wine from the Finger Lakes when their options include the tech corridor in SF or doordash/ubereats-friendly Brooklyn. But then your only other option is trying to attract low-skilled youth, begging the question...why even?

It's 1000% all about the right incentives. But first you have to ask, is it even worth it? Maintaining the kind of city that attracts talent requires a LOT of upkeep...which materializes in the form of new taxes and higher costs of living.

For lack of a better term/phrase, what upstate NY needs to do is really just "stay in its lane." As others above have already stated, it's the Poconos. Not Silicon Valley.

Who cares. At least we can walk around in public without having to worry about some psycho shoving us under a subway train or shooting or knifing us. I can sit out on my front stoop in my small urban neighborhood without having to worry about being shot in a drive-by or having to listen to the damn ghetto blasters driving down my block. My neighbors keep themselves, and their noise, to themselves.

And I'm living large on a modest income. $34K. I have a 2nd floor flat that would cost several grand in NYC. I pay only $685, and this is in a city, not in the boonies.

[ContraPagan]

Originally Posted by hotkarl

Haha! Snowed in for a week.
Baloney. Unless he lives on a private or seasonal road and doesn’t hire someone to plow it.
Did he ever get trapped in the house and have to saw off and eat his own foot? Now that would be epic.

My bro is half-Scandinavian, if he ever got snowed in he'd just ski his way out!

His oldest son was one of the stand-out junior/high school-level Nordic skiers in the Lake Placid/Saranac Lake region several years ago.

[VA Yankee]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

Again, I’m just saying that the Adirondacks and Upstate NY aren’t the same. That’s all. I didn’t get into all of the other stuff you brought into the thread. I was strictly asking the poster questions and was stating a difference. Not that hard to comprehend.

To tie in their post, Saratoga would actually put one closer to the tech industry that is in the Albany area by way of not only startups, but in regards to Global Foundries, a video game industry cluster and other tech companies in the area. So, actually it isn’t about “boosterism”(like I get something out of this), but more about showing/informing/educating others that are interested about what is actually in Upstate NY besides the stereotypical “nothing is there due to my 4 years in college”, from some media outlets or whatever else is stated.

Ironically, a lot of the people that complain on here don’t even live in the state and/or really are just checking in on the old area type of posters. Luckily, there are people that view and don’t post, but use the information posted or there are other forums that offer the actual inquiries this forum used to have.

Keep living your dream and people will keep leaving because the opportunities don't exist but stop trying to talk over every poster who doesn't see things as you do. As NotEnufMinerals clarified in his/her last post they have a clear understanding of the realities and you picking apart that they have the regions crossed big deal and in the reality of the real world Albany is not considered a Tech Corridor.

Life up there is what it is and those living it choose that but as posting continually reflect kids go to school, kids graduate, kids leave and don't come back, you know the reason...

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by VA Yankee

Keep living your dream and people will keep leaving because the opportunities don't exist but stop trying to talk over every poster who doesn't see things as you do. As NotEnufMinerals clarified in his/her last post they have a clear understanding of the realities and you picking apart that they have the regions crossed big deal and in the reality of the real world Albany is not considered a Tech Corridor.

Life up there is what it is and those living it choose that but as posting continually reflect kids go to school, kids graduate, kids leave and don't come back, you know the reason...

What are you talking about? I asked a couple of questions and made a distinction.

Albany actually does have a tech sector. It doesn’t have anything to do with what I say. https://www.bizjournals.com/albany/n...find-tech.html

Some come, some go. Oh well, but I think there is a better battle to pick.