tell me about it.
moving there this summer

5/23/2011 11:48:15 AM

it's the capital of NY.

i've never been to albany but i had some cousins who lived in the outskirts. the rural parts outside of the city is nice.

5/23/2011 11:57:14 AM

Enjoy the lake effect snow when winter comes.

5/23/2011 12:15:20 PM

I live about 35 minutes away and go there pretty much weekly.

As a general rule, the interstate/road system is pretty confusing, so get a GPS if you don't have one. Raleigh is pretty simple from what I remember.... the beltline wraps around in a big circle, and a bunch of main roads kind of jut out from the center like a spider web. Albany is confusing as fuck, between the 15 different iterations of Highway 9, to the confusing interstate pattern.

Sizewise, it is comparable to Raleigh, although to me the areas that are populated seem more dense (I don't know if actual land area statistics support this, that is just from my observation). It's pretty racially diverse, and the crime doesn't seem that bad (granted I don't live there, once again just an observation).

I am not much on nightlife, so if that's your thing you're on your own there. NYC and Boston are both pretty close, which is cool.

If you have any specific questions, I can more than likely answer them.

5/23/2011 12:15:54 PM

Having spent some time there for work, I can honestly say... Albany sucks.

5/23/2011 12:23:26 PM

^ thanks.
My husband's company is opening a office there and we wanted to move north to be closer to family. I grew up in CT but have lived in NC for over ten years. I know it's going to be an adjustment getting used to the weather (and culture) again. I love Raleigh, I love living in the south and am sad to leave. But having a child made us realize how much we miss our families. My family will be 1.5 hrs away and my husbands 3.5 hrs.

I'm starting to job hunt now that we have a move date. No teaching positions have been posted yet. Need to start thinking about what else I'd enjoy doing.

I've never spent any time in Albany and have heard good and bad things about the area.
We're looking at the Glenville, Scotia, Latham, Colonie area. We have a three year old so need to consider the public schools and I was told these districts are good. We'll probably end up renting first - need suggestions there.

I have a GPS so that should make getting around easier.
Is there a lot to do in/around Albany? I love Raleigh in that there is always something going on

5/23/2011 12:27:30 PM

If you like nature, the summers are amazing. There are tons of nature trails, hiking spots, rivers, lakes, caves, etc. For about 2 months during the summer, there is a horse-racing season in Saratoga Springs, which is awesome. Thousands of super rich people come and live here for the summer. Places that normally rent for $1,500 a month go for over $10,000 a month. The atmosphere is really cool, and even if you aren't a gambler, I highly encourage going once for the experience. There are several casinos nearby as well. Lake George is a touristy type town nearby with lots of fun stuff including an indoor waterpark.

I would highly recommend getting your car sprayed with that tar stuff underneath to protect it from rust. The snow removal here is really awesome but they put down incredible amounts of salt that will eat through your car in no time if unprotected. Along those lines, if you rent a house with a driveway of any decent size, a snowblower is a must. It snows here all the time and the snow just doesn't melt, it continues to pile up and gets unmanageable.

5/23/2011 2:13:06 PM

If you don't have a passport, get the secure drivers license that will let you cross the canadian border so you can visit montreal... only about 2.5 hrs away

5/23/2011 2:25:59 PM

cool thanks. we have passports and visit my husbands grandfather in Ontario every summer.

I never did the tar thing but thats a good idea. I went to Lake George once as a kid and LOVE being outside. New England summers are perfect but I'm not looking forward to the never ending winter and snow. I grew up riding horses and would love to score a summer job working at the racetrack.

5/23/2011 2:53:14 PM

Wow. Never thought I'd ever see someone talking about Scotia on TWW. I was born and raised in Scotia for about 10 years. It's a great place to live and the schools there are really good (went to Lincoln Elementary). Not much to do in the town (really small) but at least Albany and Schenectady are close. If you have any other questions about the Scotia-Glenville area you can PM me or ask in here. Haven't been back there in a while but I know a few people still up there.

5/23/2011 3:02:45 PM

cool. find me a job

know anyone with a house for rent?? must be cool with 4 extremely well behaved dogs (3 are seniors (lazy) and the 4th is a retired seeing eye dog). I fear we won't find a rental due to them.

5/23/2011 3:24:50 PM

We're now residents of Schenectady NY. House is on Rotterdam/Schenectady line. Not my first pick for a place to live but the rental house is in a nice safe neighborhood and it's convenient to my hubbys job.

Anyone from Schenectady?
recommendations for a bar/restaurant to work at?
things to do in the area?

disappointed there isn't a Wegmens in town

7/5/2011 9:17:48 AM

If you're willing to drive an hour go to downtown Saratoga. They have tons of bars with lots of people. Definitely the best place in the area (IMO).

Also, on your way, stop and mow my yard.

7/5/2011 10:28:15 AM

Quote :

"Anyone from Schenectady? recommendations for a bar/restaurant to work at? things to do in the area? "

Not from Schenectady, but Niskayuna, the town just outside.

If you haven't been yet, Perecca's bakery is absolutely fantastic (http://www.yelp.com/biz/more-perrecas-schenectady), best Italian bread this side of the Atlantic, just make sure you get there early.

And then be sure to walk down the block to the Italian desert place for some home made Italian ice. Can't remember the name of the place, but if you ask around, someone will know it.

The Stewarts convenience stores are awesome. Learn to love them.

August / Sept there's usually a giant Italian festival at central park (not the NYC one), check it out. Lots of good food.

The bike trail that runs through there, while not the prettiest is definitely a convenient way to get around.

If you like fish, check out Ankers (http://www.menuism.com/restaurants/ankers-fish-house-schenectady-358709)

If you like to boat, the Mohawk is a nice easy river

7/5/2011 1:27:11 PM

thanks!

we're renting a 800 sq foot house. soooo small but it's in a nice neighborhood and near people we know. Has a little yard and will allow the dogs.
hoping to buy next spring/summer

[Edited on July 5, 2011 at 1:42 PM. Reason : f]

7/5/2011 1:40:33 PM

Niskayuna is definitely a nice town with a fairly high income population and a (generally) very good school system (if you're looking for that) and depending on where you're both working, fairly convenient to most areas. The older more established parts are actually on the borders of niskayuna and schenectady (up and down Union Street / Route 7 and down Grand Boulevard to Nott Street, also back along River Road), the newer developments (and all the HOA evilness that entails) are towards the center of town behind the high school.

Schenectady has good and bad areas to live, but I never knew enough about them to tell you where they were.

7/5/2011 2:13:39 PM

When do they decide to retire a seeing eye dog?

[Edited on July 5, 2011 at 6:03 PM. Reason : w]

7/5/2011 6:02:35 PM

get a drivers license plus so you can easily cross the border and go to montreal

7/5/2011 6:06:16 PM

I lived a couple hours south until about a year ago. I can say with pretty good faith that:

-Upstate NY sucks in general. It's crappy city/town connected to crappy city/town by a stretch of farmland and bad roads.

-Albany is fairly centrally located. You're not far from Boston, syracuse, NYC

-Weather sucks. Get ready for 6 months of winter

-The people suck, in general

-Some decent shows come through Albany, at The Armory

-Hopefully you won't be dealing with landlords up in NY. NY has a really bad problem with terrible/corrupt landlords. Luckily, the courts in NY are aware of this

-Taxes in upstate NY are pretty bad. All of that tax money gets funneled down into NYC too, instead of improving the actual city in which you live

-Most of upstate NY is very poor.

-Albany was "decent" the times that I went there

7/5/2011 6:34:23 PM

^agree with just about all of that. (I don't have any experience with landlords and such there though)

[Edited on July 6, 2011 at 9:35 AM. Reason : .]

7/6/2011 9:29:05 AM

I just got back from S. Glens Falls a few hours ago, it is about 45 miles North of Albany. For the most part the area isn't very nice. The couple redeeming factors are the Saratoga Springs Horse tracks (there is a casino there too if you are into that) and Lake George. Lake George will be about an hour north of Albany and has good camping, fishing, swimming (but the water is really cold for a southerner like me). There is also an amusement park called The Great Escape just south of Lake George that your kid will enjoy. It is a little more run down than it was 12 years ago when I first went but the kids still have a good time.

Since you are from the north, you can probably find more stuff to do in the cold months but I find our Winter trips to be absolutely miserable.

7/6/2011 9:39:32 AM

^^^thanks. nothing I haven't heard or wasn't already aware of.

As for everyone else - thank you for the suggestions. I grew up dealing with Connecticut winters so I'm bracing myself for the cold & snow. My sister lives in Burlington and my brother is near Boston. We have friends and family in NYC and the rest of the family is in CT and Rochester. They're the reason we're moving... If it wasn't for them I'd never want to leave NC.
Still hoping a teaching job will open up. In the meantime I'm applying to other jobs. I can always bartend in the meantime.

I'm going to need to buy a fryer so I can make hushpuppies and fried chicken

roddy - our dog was retired because she wasn't motivated to do her job (lazy/too friendly). Her owner was a student at the school I worked at. She's a great family dog.




We already have passports - my husbands grandfather owns property (with cabins and campsites) up in Ontario - 1000 Islands. http://www.cottageportal.com/Detail.cfm?RecordID=2027


[Edited on July 6, 2011 at 10:30 AM. Reason : pics]

7/6/2011 10:20:58 AM

Jeez, who pissed in your cornflakes?

I was just telling you about the area....like you asked in the OP

7/6/2011 1:53:29 PM

^ sorry. I guess I'm just sick of hearing "the people suck, the weather sucks".
I do appreciate the input though.
I was shocked by how high the taxes are
We'll probably end up buying in Saratoga county as taxes seem a little more reasonable. All depends on where I end up working.

Our landlord seems ok. He was trying to sell the house but had no luck, I called and asked about renting (my friends inlaws live a block away and told us it was a cute little house)
We have the option to buy during the lease term if we want. Unlikely but nice to have.

7/6/2011 8:03:18 PM