Moving from Boston area.

What can she look forward to (other than some dirt cheap real estate)?

Albany's average snowfall of 58" compares favorably to Bostons 65"

Got that goin for ya!

Albany, Georgia is below the gnat line, so there's no snow there usually. It is close to the Florida Panhandle, a reason to be cheerful.

Albany is close enough to Berkeley and San Francisco for day trips, yet far enough to be the country paradise. But don't count on real estate to be cheap anywhere in California.

You can probably find plenty of nickel Beer nights near the SUNY-Albany campus.

It's only 30min to Schenectady and 15min to Troy!!

If she ski's or snowboards, you can drive to a # of places in VT easily for a day trip! Or some small slopes on the MASS border as well.

d@mn- I was so so sure I put NY in there SOMEWHERE!!

Which one -
Albany, California
Albany,, Illinois
Albany, Indiana
Albany, Kentucky
Albany, Lousiana
Albany, Minnisota
Albany, Missouri
Albany, New York
Albany, Ohio
Albany, Oklahoma
Albany, Oregon
Albany, Texas
Albany, Wisconsin
Albany, Wyoming plus
Albany, Australia
Albany, New Zealand?????

Looks like my post crossed crosbie's clarification in cyberspace. Since it's Albany, NY I can't be too much help other than to say I have a cousin who's lived there for 30+ years and seems to like it.

LOL I thought it had to be Albany, OR with the cheap real estate!

Close to Lake George and Saratoga (for the races) in the summer. Near Cohoes for shopping. Near the Palace Theater for live theater in downtown Albany. I lived outside of Albany for a few years but that was years ago. I passed through last year and things have changed.

When I lived there, however, there was 100" of snow over the winter, not 58" as placeu2 indicated. The snow is cleared quickly and I recall thinking that it wasn't really that cold even with the snow outside. It has to do with the location in a valley. I have been known to bundle up in the winter with scarf, gloves, parka, hat etc. yet I recall walking the dogs in the middle of snowy Albany with just a sweater on and feeling comfortable. If you are not a skier or do not enjoy winter sports, however, it can be a LONG winter.

Great burgers at Sutters Mill on Western across from SUNY campus. Also at Jacks in Wynantskill.

Many colleges: SUNY, St Rose, Emma Willard, Siena, Union, RPI, Skidmore, Sage, Maria, and several community colleges. Albany Medical Hospital (and school), Pharmacy College.

Many museums: State Museum, Albany Institure of History & Art, Schuyler Mansion, Ft Crailo (home of "Yankee Doodle"), Schenectady Stockade, Saratoga Battlefield (turning point of the Revolutionary War). USS Slater, only remaining float WWII Destroyer Escort. Yaddo Gardens Artists' Retreat,

Transportation: Albany Airport, served by Southwest & Independence, and other major airlines. Amtrak (and one of the newest stations in the nation). Our local public transit (bus), "CDTA" has decent service

Entertainment: "The Egg" at Empire State Plaza, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Troy Music Hall, Cohoes Music Hall. Schenectady Light Opera, Linda Norris Performing Arts Center. Palace Theater and Proctors Theater, with Broadway shows. Cafe Lena in Saratoga where artists such as Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie and Don McLean performed before (and after) stardom. Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) with NY Ballet, Philadelphia Orchestra, nearby Dance Museum, and many concerts (rock, folk, jazz, etc). Both harnesss and flat tracks at Saratoga. Capital Repertory Theatre, Schen. Civic Players, Steamer #10 Theater. Park Playhouse for free outdoor theater in beautiful Washington Park. New York State Theatre Institute.

Near the convergence of the Mohawk & Hudson Rivers, lots of boating, fishing, and swimming: lots of small lakes and rivers, as this area was "scraped up" pretty good by glaciers.

Decent places for both on-road and off-road bicycling. An almost 40 mile network of "bike paths". Nearby downhill and cross-country skiing. Curling, hockey. Summer training camp of the NY Giants. Golf courses, both public and private, all over. Great Escape/6 Flags Amusement park. Howe Caverns, Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown

What else??

Pepsi Arena for concerts, trade shows, hockey, basketball, wrestling, tractor-pulls, and whatever else.

A gazillion apple orchards, pick-your-own strawberrys, and dozens of country stores, many with sandwich shops. Campgrounds a-plenty.

175 miles to NYC, 180 to Boston, 210 to Montreal. Just up the river from Hudson, a growing arts & antiques center, and Olana, Moorish style architecture home of Frederic Church. A little further south the homes of FDR and VanderBilt, as well as the CIA (Culinary Institute of America).

Cohoes is NO longer a place for shopping, but you can get a great meal at Smiths Tavern.

Funky Lark Street in Albany, Stockade in Schenectady, River Street in Troy, and Saratoga with Broadway, Phila, Putnam and others.

oh darn! I thought it was Albany, GA

My dh and I like to say that Albany is 3 hours or less from many great places, NYC, Boston, Montreal, Vermont, the Adirondacks (Old Forge, Lake Placid, Lake George), Saratoga, skiing etc. We love living here in the summer. You can go to the Saratoga National Park Pool for $6 a person a day and is like a resort pool with a great bar and outdoor cafe. For beaches, you could go to Lake George, Lake Moreau, Grafton Lake, etc. which are usually $7 a car. Good restaurants include Pallo Lombardi (italian), Ripe Tomato, Jack's Oyster House, Barnsider (great steaks), Lombardo's (italian), Chez Sophie (french), El Mariachi (mexican), Maguire's (very upscale). You can get to Manchester, Vt. in under 3 hours which has great outlet malls in a great village environment. Plenty of malls and shopping areas - Stuyvescent is great - any other particular questions?

Dumb=fun architecture, some of the ugliest and prettiest anywhere.
The rivers are gorgeous.
Beautiful rural views minutes out of town
The hill climbing city walks will be really good for her aerobic conditioning
Schyler mansion is very pretty. Ask about the dent in the decorative railing.
Easy train access to NYC
Lots of private schools

Free Mother's Day concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center next week - Maura O'Connell! Albany is at least a week ahead of Boston flower-wise!

We live in the suburbs of Albany and it is nothing like city-living, but we can have city in a 10 minute drive.

Best thing to cheer her up is to tell her:

"Don't move."

What a sweet "friend" thing to do!

It's not Buffalo!