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Saratoga Springs, Albany, Amsterdam

K

KingpinSVT

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
May 21, 2003
Messages
2,634
Location
Ocala, FL
What can you tell me about these places? I may move to the area very soon. Would be working in Amsterdam, but am looking at Albany and Saratoga as a place to live. Thoughts, comments, suggestions? Leaning towards Saratoga (my wife works in the horse industry) but they're all fairly close to one another. Looking for info on housing, good areas to live, etc. I just found out today so no info is too basic.

Thanks!
 
Ya man, i currently live in Saratoga Springs. Shoot me a PM with any specifics or whatever.

Funny thing is i actually moved up here from Gainseville, FL. which is what, like 25 minutes from Ocala?
 
Yeah it's right up the road from Ocala. I guess we won't be visiting the area until the formal offer is accepted so I won't really have any specific questions until then. If we make the move we're hoping we can end up in the Springs area but we'll see what that will cost. Of course we have a house to sell here too, hopefully that can be done quickly b/c I like owning. I hear the market up there hasn't really come down much, is that true?

What are the better areas? Or is it all a relatively safe/good area? We're just trying to look stuff up on the internet now but it doesn't do us much good if we don't know where we should be looking. Out of the 3 places we prefer Saratoga because my wife is in the horse industry and we think it would be the most fun.
 
Out of the three place you listed, I would say that Saratoga would be the best place to live. Im only 20, so im not to sure of the housing market, but there are plenty of towns around the area that are nice and have much less taxes than being in the city. Places such as Wilton, Greenfield Center, Milton, Malta. I live in Wilton, really nice area and were in between the mall and downtown Saratoga. Each about a 5-10 minute drive.

But pretty much, the Saratoga Springs area is safe. If you have kids or plan on it, you will want to be sure to be in the Saratoga Springs school district. I think Malta and Milton are Ballston Spa district. Greenfield, Wilton, and such are Saratoga.
 
what would you be looking for in terms of housing? saratoga tends to have a higher priced market for housing, whereas amsterdam will be cheaper. however, location is a factor, as amsterdam...is, well, amsterdam. saratoga is nice, but good luck driving around town in the summer.

The upside to this area is the amount of places within a relatively short distance. I enjoy where I live in sch'dy county. its a 15min drive to albany, 30min(roughly) depending on route to saratoga, and 45 to lake george.
 
RustyRodder said:
saratoga is nice, but good luck driving around town in the summer.
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HAHA.... its started... damn track people are back. i was going NOWHERE tonight on Broadway. I knew i shouldnt have gone that way. I was at the same light for 3 cycles, TWICE.

The drunk people do always entertain me tho. Actually, since im only 20 and cant drink.. its kinda of a hobby of me and some friends to go on Caroline St and hang out with the drunk people, Never gets old AHAHA
 
CRGkart44 said:
HAHA.... its started... damn track people are back. i was going NOWHERE tonight on Broadway. I knew i shouldnt have gone that way. I was at the same light for 3 cycles, TWICE.

The drunk people do always entertain me tho. Actually, since im only 20 and cant drink.. its kinda of a hobby of me and some friends to go on Caroline St and hang out with the drunk people, Never gets old AHAHA
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Can't drink... legally :rolleyes:. If you lived up in Canada, you would've already been drinking for a year!
 
aha. i actually my cousin and i are trying to get some plans going for labor day. He lives in Michigan so Ill be headed out there most likely since he came here last. I believe its on the 6th this year and my girlfriends birthday is on the 3rd. So she is trying to get the days off work, i know im good. Were planning on driving through Canada to get wasted for the night then to Michigan for some more wasted fun and playing with his dune buggy. and of course if we leave early enough, another wasted night in Canada on the way back. Should be an awesome time!
 
RustyRodder said:
what would you be looking for in terms of housing? saratoga tends to have a higher priced market for housing, whereas amsterdam will be cheaper. however, location is a factor, as amsterdam...is, well, amsterdam. saratoga is nice, but good luck driving around town in the summer.

The upside to this area is the amount of places within a relatively short distance. I enjoy where I live in sch'dy county. its a 15min drive to albany, 30min(roughly) depending on route to saratoga, and 45 to lake george.
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Location is definitely important. We made a great choice on the house we own now which gives me some hope that we'll be able to sell it quickly. My wife is in the horse industry so Saratoga makes obvious sense there, and we're young and would enjoy a more "exciting" atmosphere. After looking at some stuff online we may end up just outside of Saratoga instead of the city itself due to our budget. We'd be looking for a 3/2 with a 2 car garage for 225 or less. Ideally under 200 but that seems to be tough to find.

I just wish I'd get the formal offer already so we can start reviewing and planning. Thanks for telling me about it on a Friday and letting me sit all weekend with that on the mind!
 
What about Schenectady?

EDIT: Wilton is a bit far away. I don't really want to commute more than 30-40 minutes. I live a whopping 3-4 miles from work now so I'm already looking at a commute that's 10x longer, lol.
 
Schenectady would be much closer to Amsterdam. Just seemed like you wanted something closer to Saratoga.

I never go to Schenectady, so i cant comment or tell you anythign about the place.
 
CRGkart44 said:
Schenectady would be much closer to Amsterdam. Just seemed like you wanted something closer to Saratoga.

I never go to Schenectady, so i cant comment or tell you anythign about the place.
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I don't know anything about it, I'm just asking about places that look populated outside of Amsterdam. I don't know much about the area but I hear enough that I probably don't want to live in Amsterdam :crazy:

Klasse Act said:
Hey Chris, two words buddy...SNOW TIRES! MAY I SUGGEST HANKOOK ICE BEARS!!!
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Definitely. Also considering attaching AWD to those tires (as in Subaru). I'm no stranger to snow (from my stint in Colorado) but on the front range it goes away rather quickly so a good set of all seasons usually fit the bill. I'm mentally prepping for a long cold winter + I expect more warm/dry performance now so I'm going with two sets. My wife and I are both in need of tires within the next year so I think this fall I'll be buying 2 sets of snows and then 1 set of general passenger tires for the Volvo and a good set of summer tires for me (plus some sub 18lbs wheels!) in the spring. Bummer its going to happen at the same time for both cars!
 
Stay away from Schenectady. Total dump, it's where the majority of the crime is in the area. Amsterdam is even worse. Try looking at the Saratoga Lake area, closer to Schylerville. It's close to the track. Just stay away from the immediate Saratoga Lake area, because property prices are insanely high there. PM sent.
 
KingpinSVT said:
What about Schenectady?

EDIT: Wilton is a bit far away. I don't really want to commute more than 30-40 minutes. I live a whopping 3-4 miles from work now so I'm already looking at a commute that's 10x longer, lol.
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Id stay out of the city-smaller houses, or the larger ones are quite pricey- some of the smaller areas might interest you. Scotia, Burnt hills, niskyuana(spelling?), clifton park. commute to saratoga wouldnt be bad(hell of a lot better then amsterdam), property prices are still decent. also not right in the city, but a 15-20min drive to most of the fun areas.

Matt R said:
Stay away from Schenectady. Total dump, it's where the majority of the crime is in the area. Amsterdam is even worse. Try looking at the Saratoga Lake area, closer to Schylerville. It's close to the track. Just stay away from the immediate Saratoga Lake area, because property prices are insanely high there. PM sent.
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depending where you go- theyve cleaned up as of late, some areas are nice. granted if you live in east bumble, it will seem a lot worse.

that said, i still prefer living outside of the city.
 
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