Stress-free Albany

[GeogPlanner]

Yup...that's right...Albany has made it to the top of the stress-free city list...no lie...

Sperling's BestPlaces

...y'all know you want to live here

...at least the keeps cold.

[SGB]

Ah, the old "Smallbany" gripes. The lousy weather. The Northway traffic.

Yup, these certainly would've helped cinch the nomination for me!

Glens Falls was named the 69th most-stressful small metro area out of 117 studied.

I'd place the blame on this one squarely on Queensbury (a "sprawling" suburb of GF that surrounds it on 3 sides).

[tsc]

Albany causes me stress......

[Seabishop]

There is no stress here. . . Just let the towers sooth you . . . let the plaza calm your troubled soul . . . you are at one with your government . . . you are fitter, happier, more productive . . .

[tsc]

is it me... or could anyone believe that was the picture was the product of some communist country...that has collapsed

[Rumpy Tunanator]

Originally posted by tsc
is it me... or could anyone believe that was the picture was the product of some communist country...that has collapsed

Close, it was the product of the Rockefellar era, good old moderism.

#86 or #14 least stressful

[biscuit]

Originally posted by tsc
is it me... or could anyone believe that was the picture was the product of some communist country...that has collapsed

Indeed.
All that plaza needs is one of these bad boys. Something like this would really set the place off.

[GeogPlanner]

one of our free weekly's once compared the plaza to a architectural "dark side" a la star wars...

thefour small towers as storm troopers, the museum (the shorter building in the back) as Darth Vader. i forget what the Egg (egg-shaped bldg in the foreground for those who are scratching thier heads) and the large corning tower were...maybe the death star post skywalker and the emperor respectively?

but...albany is a nice place. here's my old hood:


Typical 2 family flats


Neighborhood school (PS #18)


Local meat market and Italian imports, fresh veggies section


Old barn building at the Normanskill Farm (yes, we have a farm in the City...and it is still operating albeit at a smaller size)

I've got more at home...

[BKM]

I remember the Washington Square (Lark Street) neighborhood being rather pleasant in an urban yuppie sort of way. do you have any photographs?

[NHPlanner]

Originally posted by SGB
I'd place the blame on this one squarely on Queensbury (a "sprawling" suburb of GF that surrounds it on 3 sides).

Hey....that's where my brother lives!

But. yeah, I agree with you SGB....I do not like visiting him there....what a PITA to get anywhere!

[bocian]

Regardless of fascist state offices architecture and a terrible urban renewal downtown plaza,I actually think that Albany is a very nice and seriously underrated city. And so is Troy. There are plenty of old brick buildings in both of those cities, the mountains are nearby (Vermont is like 20 miles away!), and so is NYC, Montreal, and Boston. I'm surprised that Albany was included on that list as a "large" metro area, since the city in itself has only about 90,000 residents.

[Cardinal]

Commie planners take note - Portland also comes in near the top of the list - of high stress cities! What? It isn't the most perfect place on earth in every imaginable way? I guess all that high density development may have a down side.

[UpstateNYRox]

Originally posted by bocian
I'm surprised that Albany was included on that list as a "large" metro area, since the city in itself has only about 90,000 residents.

The "large" metro areas in this study are 500,000+ which Albany easily qualifies for.

[UpstateNYRox]

America's Most and Least Stressful Cities

The cities listed here are 100 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Generally, MSAs are defined as a central city and its county, and possibly surrounding counties, if a significant portion of the area's population commutes between the counties on a regular basis.

100 Largest Metro Areas
(Ranked in order from most stressful to least stressful)

Rank Metro Area
1 Tacoma, WA
2 Miami, FL
3 New Orleans, LA
4 Las Vegas, NV-AZ
5 New York, NY
6 Portland-Vancouver, OR-WA
7 Mobile, AL
8 Stockton-Lodi, CA
9 Detroit, MI
10 Dallas, TX
11 Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA
12 West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL
13 Houston, TX
14 Fort Lauderdale, FL
15 Riverside-San Bernardino, CA
16 St. Louis, MO-IL
17 Denver, CO
18 Jacksonville, FL
19 Jersey City, NJ
20 Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
21 Orlando, FL
22 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC
23 Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
24 Oakland, CA
25 Kansas City, MO-KS
26 Chicago, IL
27 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
28 San Antonio, TX
29 Albuquerque, NM
30 Tucson, AZ
31 Gary, IN
32 Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA
33 Baton Rouge, LA
34 Bakersfield, CA
35 Baltimore, MD
36 Sacramento, CA
37 Tulsa, OK
38 Memphis, TN-AR-MS
39 Nashville, TN
40 Birmingham, AL
41 Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC
42 San Francisco, CA
43 Atlanta, GA
44 Colorado Springs, CO
45 Fresno, CA
46 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
47 Toledo, OH
48 Indianapolis, IN
49 Philadelphia, PA-NJ
50 Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria, OH
51 Youngstown-Warren, OH
52 Wilmington-Newark, DE-MD
53 Dayton-Springfield, OH
54 Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR
55 Newark, NJ
56 San Jose, CA
57 Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, NC
58 Wichita, KS
59 El Paso, TX
60 Austin-San Marcos, TX
61 Oklahoma City, OK
62 Louisville, KY-IN
63 Springfield, MA
64 Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT
65 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN
66 Grand Rapids-Muskegon-Holland, MI
67 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
68 Sarasota-Bradenton, FL
69 Richmond-Petersburg, VA
70 Bergen-Passaic, NJ
71 Charleston-North Charleston, SC
72 Monmouth-Ocean, NJ
73 Akron, OH
74 Pittsburgh, PA
75 San Diego, CA
76 Knoxville, TN
77 Boston, MA-NH-ME
78 Hartford, CT
79 Columbia, SC
80 Ventura, CA
81 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA
82 Columbus, OH
83 Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV
84 Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ
85 Providence-Fall River-Warwick, RI-MA
86 Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY
87 Syracuse, NY
88 New Haven-Meriden, CT
89 Rochester, NY
90 Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton, PA
91 Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC
92 Honolulu, HI
93 Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, VA-NC
94 Omaha, NE-IA
95 Ann Arbor, MI
96 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI
97 Nassau-Suffolk, NY
98 Orange County, CA
99 Harrisburg-Lebanon-Carlisle, PA
100 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY


The cities listed here are the 114 Mid-sized Metropolitan Statistical Areas, ranging in population from approximately 500,000 to 200,000.

114 Mid-size Metro Areas
(Ranked in order from most stressful to least stressful)

Rank Metro Area
1 Galveston-Texas City, TX
2 Flint, MI
3 Fort Pierce-Port St. Lucie, FL
4 Bremerton, WA
5 Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX
6 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL
7 Daytona Beach, FL
8 Modesto, CA
9 Brazoria, TX
10 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
11 Salem, OR
12 Spokane, WA
13 Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA
14 Olympia, WA
15 Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, FL
16 Rockford, IL
17 Eugene-Springfield, OR
18 Lafayette, LA
19 Montgomery, AL
20 Ocala, FL
21 Merced, CA
22 Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH
23 Corpus Christi, TX
24 Longview-Marshall, TX
25 Chico-Paradise, CA
26 Columbus, GA-AL
27 Saginaw-Bay City-Midland, MI
28 Fort Myers-Cape Coral, FL
29 Hickory-Morganton, NC
30 Charleston, WV
31 Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, MI
32 Anchorage, AK
33 Naples, FL
34 Yakima, WA
35 Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA
36 Biloxi-Gulfport-Pascagoula, MS
37 Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, WA
38 Pensacola, FL
39 Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, CA
40 Myrtle Beach, SC
41 Lawrence, MA-NH
42 Atlantic-Cape May, NJ
43 Greeley, CO
44 Savannah, GA
45 Vallejo-Fairfield-Napa, CA
46 Wilmington, NC
47 Chattanooga, TN-GA
48 Fort Smith, AR-OK
49 Santa Rosa, CA
50 Worcester, MA-CT
51 Macon, GA
52 Salinas, CA
53 Lowell, MA-NH
54 Augusta-Aiken, GA-SC
55 Springfield, IL
56 Brockton, MA
57 Killeen-Temple, TX
58 Laredo, TX
59 Waterbury, CT
60 Boise City, ID
61 Odessa-Midland, TX
62 Bridgeport, CT
63 Boulder-Longmont, CO
64 Reno, NV
65 Canton-Massillon, OH
66 Jackson, MS
67 Fayetteville, NC
68 Springfield, MO
69 Reading, PA
70 Johnstown, PA
71 Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL
72 Clarksville-Hopkinsville, TN-KY
73 Trenton, NJ
74 Tallahassee, FL
75 Waco, TX
76 Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito, TX
77 Erie, PA
78 Amarillo, TX
79 Huntsville, AL
80 Lansing-East Lansing, MI
81 Evansville-Henderson, IN-KY
82 Roanoke, VA
83 Gainesville, FL
84 Manchester, NH
85 Newburgh, NY-PA
86 South Bend, IN
87 York, PA
88 Fort Collins-Loveland, CO
89 Duluth-Superior, MN-WI
90 Hamilton-Middletown, OH
91 Asheville, NC
92 Peoria-Pekin, IL
93 Lexington, KY
94 Lynchburg, VA
95 Portland, ME
96 Lubbock, TX
97 Fort Wayne, IN
98 Portsmouth-Rochester, NH-ME
99 New London-Norwich, CT-RI
100 Dutchess County, NY
101 Green Bay, WI
102 Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah, WI
103 San Luis Obispo-Atascadero-Paso Robles, CA
104 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR
105 Des Moines, IA
106 Binghamton, NY
107 Lincoln, NE
108 Stamford-Norwalk, CT
109 Danbury, CT
110 Lancaster, PA
111 Madison, WI
112 Utica-Rome, NY
113 Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc, CA
114 Provo-Orem, UT


The cities listed here are the 117 Smallest Metropolitan Statistical Areas, ranging in population from approximately 200,000 to 55,000.

117 Smallest Metro Areas
(Ranked in order from most stressful to least stressful)

Rank Metro Area
1 Yuba City, CA
2 Gadsden, AL
3 Sherman-Denison, TX
4 Anniston, AL
5 Pueblo, CO
6 Jackson, MI
7 Pine Bluff, AR
8 Redding, CA
9 Kenosha, WI
10 Danville, VA
11 Panama City, FL
12 Florence, AL
13 Racine, WI
14 Kankakee, IL
15 Rocky Mount, NC
16 Lake Charles, LA
17 Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, NJ
18 Las Cruces, NM
19 Florence, SC
20 Medford-Ashland, OR
21 Alexandria, LA
22 Decatur, IL
23 Decatur, AL
24 Sumter, SC
25 Flagstaff, AZ-UT
26 Terre Haute, IN
27 Janesville-Beloit, WI
28 Joplin, MO
29 Dover, DE
30 Bellingham, WA
31 Topeka, KS
32 Monroe, LA
33 Fitchburg-Leominster, MA-NH
34 New Bedford, MA
35 Steubenville-Weirton, OH-WV
36 St. Joseph, MO
37 Parkersburg-Marietta, WV-OH
38 Mansfield, OH
39 Texarkana-Texarkana, TX-AR
40 Benton Harbor, MI
41 Cumberland, MD-WV
42 Santa Fe, NM
43 Wheeling, WV-OH
44 Grand Junction, CO
45 Muncie, IN
46 Greenville, NC
47 Wichita Falls, TX
48 Tyler, TX
49 Houma, LA
50 Goldsboro, NC
51 Victoria, TX
52 Lewiston-Auburn, ME
53 Hattiesburg, MS
54 Elmira, NY
55 Nashua, NH
56 Yuma, AZ
57 Punta Gorda, FL
58 Jackson, TN
59 Auburn-Opelika, AL
60 Yolo, CA
61 Albany, GA
62 Casper, WY
63 Kokomo, IN
64 Tuscaloosa, AL
65 Charlottesville, VA
66 Pocatello, ID
67 Great Falls, MT
68 Hagerstown, MD
69 Glens Falls, NY
70 Altoona, PA
71 Lima, OH
72 Dothan, AL
73 Owensboro, KY
74 Bangor, ME
75 Lawton, OK
76 Sioux City, IA-NE
77 Fort Walton Beach, FL
78 San Angelo, TX
79 Missoula, MT
80 Jonesboro, AR
81 Pittsfield, MA
82 Eau Claire, WI
83 Jacksonville, NC
84 Barnstable-Yarmouth, MA
85 Abilene, TX
86 Jamestown, NY
87 Cedar Rapids, IA
88 Williamsport, PA
89 Athens, GA
90 Enid, OK
91 Elkhart-Goshen, IN
92 Cheyenne, WY
93 Billings, MT
94 Wausau, WI
95 Burlington, VT
96 Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA
97 Lawrence, KS
98 Bloomington, IN
99 Sharon, PA
100 Rapid City, SD
101 Lafayette, IN
102 Sheboygan, WI
103 Columbia, MO
104 Sioux Falls, SD
105 St. Cloud, MN
106 Corvallis, OR
107 Iowa City, IA
108 Grand Forks, ND-MN
109 Champaign-Urbana, IL
110 La Crosse, WI-MN
111 Bloomington-Normal, IL
112 Dubuque, IA
113 Rochester, MN
114 Bryan-College Station, TX
115 State College, PA
116 Fargo-Moorhead, ND-MN
117 Bismarck, ND

from: http://www.bestplaces.net

[Downtown]

Damn. I completely missed this whole story! But I would have to agree that this really is a good place to live. And while I haven't spent significant time in Schenectady aside from the very occasional trip to Proctor's theater or the VanDyke, Troy really is a lovely little city - we visit the Farmer's Market every weekend we're here in the summer.

*for more information - see "Why am I here"*

[H]

I am so proud th live in the 2nd most stressful city

actually, I think we got jipped, we're number 1 baby!!!!