Anyone from Saratoga Springs?

[3DisneyBuggs]

We were there for the weekend and it seemed like a nice area.I am looking for somewhere with affordable homes(not half a million affordable) nice schools nice people etc. Just wondering if anyone is form there and what they think of the area.

 

[honeybee213]

I grew up not too far from there. My friend moved to Wilton and ended up going to the same schools as the Saratoga Springs kids (don't remember the name of the school). It is a relatively large school district. There's great shopping, and there's always a ton to do in winter. I love the area, and plan on moving back someday. Wilton is a little more of a country setting, but is close to the action. I also recommend looking into Clifton Park, Ballston Spa, Ballston Lake, and Queesnbury. You'll love upstate NY!

 

[KarenAylwood]

Well, I grew up about 15 minutes from there. Was born in Albany, NY and grew up my entire life in Clifton Park/Ballston Lake until I left for college in VA and have since stayed in VA.

I loved growing up there and absolutely love Saratoga. I worked at the racetrack one summer (I DON'T recommend it ) and we would visit Saratoga all the time. Before we got a Starbucks in Clifton Park my friends and I would go up to Saratoga a few times a week.

I went through the Shenendehowa school district, IMO one of the better school districts if you've got kids higher up in the ranks in terms of grades or sports, but if you've got middle of the road kids it's not as great- it's easier for kids to get lost in the crowd and miss out on sports opportunities due to being "not good enough".

I've heard good things about the Saratoga school district- smaller than Shen. The area is nice, I think it may be a bit more expensive in terms of housing but it depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for a good selection of new but affordable homes, you probably won't find them close to downtown. There's a lot of development still going on in Clifton Park and my brother and his wife recently bought a reasonbly priced nice house in Rexford.

Also, it depends on where you end up working. It's probably a 40 minute commute from Albany, much more in the summer. The summer is incredibly busy there due to the track season. The place is buzzing in the summer, less so in the winter. It's a fun place and I'd like to end up close to it, but not directly in it. I wouldn't be able to stand the track traffic which runs from the end of July to beginning of September.

It definitely is a nice place though! I hope a real resident can give you a better opinion.

 

[mtemm]

we just moved from the Saratoga Springs area after having lived there for 2 years. We really loved it and could easily have settled there, but moved for dh's career. We were in the saratoga springs school district and had heard nothing but good things about it, although don't have first hand experience (my eldest will be 4 next month). We did have my son in a preschool that we loved so if you need a recommendation for that let me know.

We lived in Milton, which was a bit more affordable than actual saratoga springs. I'm not sure if all of Milton is part of the saratoga springs school district or if my neighborhood was different in this. I think part of Milton might have gone to Ballston Spa schools.

In general we found the area wonderful for families and very reasonable COL. Granted, we just moved to the boston area and are still reeling from sticker shock (even though we lived here before).

 

[KarenAylwood]

If you're looking into schools I found this great site: http://www.publicschoolreview.com/county_schools/stateid/NY/county/36091

It should be up for Saratoga County but you can look anywhere. It shows testing scores, rankings, sizes, etc. The graduating class at Shen is around 650 now (was a little over 610 when I graduated) and Saratoga Springs is 500. The others in the area are MUCH smaller. And if you didn't go to a big high school 650 may look daunting, but it really didn't feel that big. I at least knew everyone's face and easily found a group of friends.

Like I said, look into Rexford for newer, pretty affordable housing (although I don't know the price range you're looking into). It's a little more "countryish" than Clifton Park and Saratoga, but it's being built up quite fast. It's about exit 8A off of the northway (CP is 8-10 and Saratoga is 13-15).

Goodluck!

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

I live in Saratoga County, not city--the western side, which is much more rural. We absolutely love it here, but the rural life isn't for everyone (15 minutes to Wal-mart or grocery shopping, although there's a market closer for emergencies).

Although this year's been less, we average 7 feet of snow each winter. there's also generally a week where the temp drops to -10 or less at night. You might not realize that if you've only been here in the summer. Plenty of skiing and other winter sports to do, though.

I've heard good things about Saratoga's school district, but we're happy with the one we have. We graduate ~100 kids per year from a central school (all grades), but we also have access to gifted and other special programs that the kids go to. If your kids have need for more specialized schooling, you would want to be closer to the city than we are--we also have no football team. Personally, I find Clifton Park and so forth too suburban for my taste, but a lot of people sure seem to be content living in those towns. Saratoga is not a "city" in the sense that Manhattan is--if you wanted city living, Albany would be the place (for better or worse--again, people have different ideas of what they want).

 

[kaylajr]

HI
I also live in Saratoga County Not the CIty
but my Kids are in the Saratoga School System
We live in a little town outside of Saratoga

I have lived in this area All my Life and Most days I love it

 

[RadioFanatic]

I live in Saratoga County (Clifton Park) - love the area but hate the winters - other seasons are wonderful!

 

[dandelion]

Lifelong area resident. I grew up and spent most of my adult life in South Glens Falls (still slightly more affordable than Saratoga Springs and Wilton) and we moved to Wilton 6 years ago. The value of our house has almost doubled, but ... it looks like things are coming back down again. As others have said the areas to the west and north of Saratoga are more rural and possibly have lower housing costs.

Even though dh has a long commute to work in Niskayuna, we did not want to live in southern Saratoga county. We like it up here.

The city of Saratoga Springs just elected a new mayor and her campaign promises were to really keep an eye on development. Compared to even 3 years ago, it is getting busier downtown and not just in the summer. Still, dh and I wonder how many of these new hotels will really be able to make it through the slower winter season.

Buzznbelle'smom described the weather well, though we're having this strange global-warming kind of winter. My kids are actually anxious for snow to play in!

The city school system could be considered big, depending on what you're used to. Currently my kids are in the much smaller Catholic elementary school, and we'll have to make the decision about middle school for DD next year.

To answer the original question, yep, I think it's a nice area. And dh says we'll sell our house for $42 million.

 

[Mari annie]

Does that count?!!!

Ballston Springs, Saratoga, Lake George!
Beautiful areas!

 

[DVC-Don]

Right next door. I'm sure the above poster means "Ballston Spa" not Ballston Springs.