So, my daughter is going to school in Albany. What should a nervous dad be concerned with? Any places to avoid? Any safe, fun places to hang out? We come from a town of about 3000 peeps, this is her first time living in the city. I want her to have fun in her free time and not be in lock down, but don't want her venturing into trouble zones.
Albany is pretty much voted one if the top party schools in the U.S. every year so at least you'll know she'll be spending most of her time on campus. You really have to worry where there is nothing to do on campus so when they head off campus they can often get into trouble with townies. You don't want that in Albany, some crummy areas nearby. Having said that, trips to Saratoga and Lake George are a lot of fun. Actually a bunch of cool lakes up there. And tubing or rafting down the Hudson is a blast. Two of my kids are at Saratiga today for the races and a Zach Brown concert tonite. _
Other than the Palace Theater for some excellent concerts and the "touristy" places, museums and such, (if you can call it that) in Albany, it's safer to get out of Dodge. Concerts at SPAC (Saratoga Performing Arts Center) are an outdoors open theater concept and are for the most part family friendly. Lake George, as Mr. Stokes mentioned, is fun for everyone. If you're into the scenic or camping route, the Adirondacks are terrific, though a good hour or 2 from Albany. PS Best and safest bet: Don't party hardy in the Tri-City area. Albany, Schenectady and Troy
Oh boy. You guys were supposed to calm my nerves, not make it worse. LOL Maybe I'm watching too much Law & Order. I'm not concerned with her partying, she's pretty focused on school (medical field). Thanks for the info.
That's really a joke of a distinction. If it's a college, it's a party school. EVERY school has tons of parties and drinking.
Of course they all do but some schools have absolutely nothing going on on campus. Some schools just party better than others _
I went to saratoga for the first time over the weekend. Its beautiful there (and I'm talking both landscape and the young women)
The place is full of perverts, crooks, con artists, drunks, druggies and the mentally ill. Make sure she stays away from this place:
Yeah, schools like SUNY Albany and SUNY Buffalo literally have nothing cool going on the weekends other then fraternize with other kids and drink beer. Sounds like your daughter is motivated and focused in her education, is she dorming? or she have a place near campus? At least 1 semester of her dorming should help her make friends and experience a different setting (I never could do it), you can see how she after the semester based on her studies and if she is still frequently calling home.
Both my boys are at SUNY Binghamton. Let us know when she tells you she's too busy for your visit but needs money.
Albany is a nice city, just lousy weather. Close to everything, NYC, Boston, Saratoga, Lake George, Syracuse, Buffalo (4 hours), Niagara, Montreal. The battle of Saratoga is worthwhile to check out someday. I went this summer, thought the site was really well preserved. They have a path you can drive of the battlefield with smartphone app that tells you where you are on the battlefield and what happened. It was cool. I hear the SUNY ALB has added a huge nanotechnology facility for students and engineers. The medical program should be top notch. Amtrak > x100000 than bus (grey hound, trailways, peter pan, mega, etc....) pay the extra $20
