What got you to locate to smAlbany?
I often hear that smAlbany aka Capital District aka Tech Valley is a good place to live. As a local resident I ask new residents why they moved here. Usually I am told: 1. We wanted to move away from New York City area (often due to the perception of the improved schools in the smAlbany area)
2. My spouse got a job on here 3. I wanted to be near my family
Everyone’s reasons are unique and personal, so I thought I’d share my reasons for relocating to smAlbany in 1977. These are not in any particular order, just in the order as I recalled them. 1. The lack of disco culture and music
2. The ready availability of good music locally (SPAC, The Palace, and various venues on campus, and off campus) 3. The commercialization of the fax machine made being in New York City unnecessary
4. The affordability of living in the Capital District — housing prices and other expenses had skyrocketed downstate and I was among a diaspora of college grads and others from NYC, Long Island and downstate areas who relocated here because of its greater affordability and value 5. Sky — you may not know it but Albany is one of the sunniest capital cities in the USA
6. Learning to drive allowed me to travel to NYC as needed
What’s your reason for relocating here?
March 4th, 2010 at 12:43 am
It was the fall of ‘08 when I arrived in Albany. I never ‘planned’ to move to Albany, in fact I hadn’t even planned to stop in Albany. I was zooming along 90 in my 1990 Toyota on my back home to Binghamton after a summer of living and working on Marthas vineyard when suddenly my entire exhaust (header, muffler the whole nine yards)fell off my car. Conveniently I was able to pull off 90 and into the parking lot of cross gates. I had a friend in town so I called upon him to retrieve me from parking lot by JCpenny. I went on to ‘crash’ on his couch while my car was repaired. I had past experiences with Albany and the Albany life from various trips to visit said friend. Its safe to say I had developed a fondness for the area. Seeing how Binghamton is a dull, bleak, hopeless town it is not hard to figure out how I could have fallen fond of Albany. The variety of nightlife scenes, the beauty and charm of Washington park and lark street. The diversity culture in both cuisine and the arts. Also lets not forget the music. Back home our last highlight of music events was Hootie and the blow fish. Sadly that was spring of ‘08 not some time forgotten moment from the ‘90. So a city with as many music venues and as much local and national bands to fill them, well being a music lover iI dare say this was as close to heaven as I was gonna get(out side of the Island of course). So bright eyed and hopeful I ventured fourth to see what I could make of my self here in Albany. Sure enough in short manner I had a job and a woman. Life was good. Life is still good mostly I’m still with the misses have moved on to the charm of the brownstones of troy. The job was a temp but one must not lose hope for other will be found. So Here I am, living happily ever after (or soon enough I hope) in the town you call smAlbany but i call a slice of heaven..