Live VT, Commute to Albany?

[DesmoTull]

Hey Gang,

I've been given a relocation opportunity within my company to move out of the Boston area, and work out of the Albany, NY office. I'd rather not live in New York State with crazy nanny state (somehow worse then Massachusetts), but Vermont seems doable! I'd love to be able to move and get out of MA.

Question for all you guys is, does anyone here do the commute from southern Vermont to Albany? Looks like it could be 45 min to 1 hr when the weather is clear, obviously worse during the winter months... but, I think I could deal with it. Right now I have a 1.5 - 2 hour commute door-to-door, each way, from Maynard to downtown Boston.

As for towns.... Looking to live in Arlington, Pownal, N. Bennington or Manchester.

Any input??

Thanks!

[South of Heaven]

Wow, 1 1/2 to 2 hours from Maynard to Beantown ONE WAY?? That's brutal.......

[TheIglu]

Traffic going through Troy can be a bitch....

[RandyO]

I know someone that use to commute from Fair Haven to Schenectady, about 1½ hrs total

[DesmoTull]

Wow, 1 1/2 to 2 hours from Maynard to Beantown ONE WAY?? That's brutal.......

Yup.

Drive to Alewife, Red Line to South Station, Walk.

[curiouser]

Middle of Bennington -> Troy is about 40 min, excluding traffic if you hit it at the wrong time. Depending upon where your office is in located in Albany, you could easily tack on another 30-45 min to get there from Troy. IIRC, getting from Troy to the Albany Airport is approx 20, min. However, if you're downtown, you could have another 20 min on top of that.

I've only done the Rt 9 - Rt 7 thing, so I can't offer much insight besides Bennington. It has been a long time since doing that route regularly, so I can't comment much on the Rt. 7 traffic, which I heard has become worse since my time living in that area.

Much as I'm not a fan of NY politics / taxes, if I were taking a job in the Albany area, I'd probably get something on the northern end of the metro area, like Clifton Park.

[Rada]

Bennington will be your best bet. Are you looking to get into down town Albany or the outskirts?

[DesmoTull]

The office is on the SUNY Albany Campus, so right off of 90, on Fuller Road. I should also add that I'm an early riser. I'd probably get into the office around 7:30am.

[Rada]

That will help you miss most of the bullshit. Aside from being the closest Bennington has the most to offer. Decent bike scene and beautiful landscape.

[curiouser]

If you end up making the move, check out this little tavern right along Rt 7 between the VT border and Albany. Nice place to stop and have a beer or some food long the way.
Man of Kent - Man of Kent Tavern

[Stromper]

NY sucks like these other blue states but

Commuting is the worst waste of time and money LOse Lose LOse

NY state and metropolitan NYC are world apart

Just find an attractive place North of town like 20 minutes away

[zgr]

saratoga springs, ny check it out

[TrackRat]

saratoga springs, ny check it out

That's a ridiculous commute to where his office is located. I had a friend that commuted from Western Mass to Schenectady for a while. You might want to consider this. I left Albany, due to all the issues with living in NY. I'd look for a job in a different state.

[markbvt]

That will help you miss most of the bullshit. Aside from being the closest Bennington has the most to offer. Decent bike scene and beautiful landscape.

+1. Bennington is a cool little town, with some good restaurants and some great riding close by.

--mark

[Stoneman]

If your potential new commute will bring you by this in your travels, do it. My wife & I used to regularly ride from Manchester (NH) to Latham just to have lunch there..

Latham 76 Diner- "Where good friends meet to eat well"

That's really all I've got for ya...

[Kitt]

SUNY Albany is an easy spot to drop into... You will get traffic after 7/730 in the AM and after 3 in the afternoon, just because of the 90/87 interchange. It's manageable, and would only be something you need to avoid on summer fridays. As for the VT vs NY vs MA... I Grew up in NY (NYC commuter radius), bought a place in MA, then came to VT... hopefully never leaving.

[SRTie4k]

Only thing I'll add is that you're going to be paying pretty much the same in taxes living in VT. Tax burden in VT is arguably one of the highest in the nation, believe it or not.

Living in VT is nice if you're a gun nut though, or if you simply like small town living.

[Nny]

I live and work in the Albany area. The spots where it can get bad is between exits 2 and 7 on 87 heading north as there is typically a heavy exchange of traffic at exit 7. Particularly if there is an accident, you could be at a stop on the highway as early as exit 2. Another potentially bad stretch is on 7 heading to Vermont, immediately after the bridge over Hudson up until the 7 and 278 intersection.

If your reasons to stay out of New York are what I think they are then I would say dealing with the traffic is totally worth it. Try and avoid the 8AM and 5PM rush hour traffic if you can.

That being said, route 7 - once you get out of the Troy/Brunswick area is nice. If you are on the bike, there are a couple of nice detours you could make so the commute back to your house is a bit more enjoyable.

[DesmoTull]

Thanks for all the input guys!

+1. Bennington is a cool little town, with some good restaurants and some great riding close by.

--mark

Yeah, I've been to Bennington many times on the bike, actually stopped in North Bennington at Kevin's on my way home from NY earlier this week. Friendly people and a seems like a great place.

That's a ridiculous commute to where his office is located. I had a friend that commuted from Western Mass to Schenectady for a while. You might want to consider this. I left Albany, due to all the issues with living in NY. I'd look for a job in a different state.

I'm not looking into Saratoga based on the fact that, as far as I can tell, it would be impossible for me to get a pistol permit there.

SUNY Albany is an easy spot to drop into... You will get traffic after 7/730 in the AM and after 3 in the afternoon, just because of the 90/87 interchange. It's manageable, and would only be something you need to avoid on summer fridays. As for the VT vs NY vs MA... I Grew up in NY (NYC commuter radius), bought a place in MA, then came to VT... hopefully never leaving.

I'm on the fence right now as far as gun rights v. commuting cost & time v. having a social scene with young people and friends. I'm afraid of being too isolated in VT. But, for me, one of the most important issues is the babysitter government. I don't deal with someone telling me what I can and can't have well, hence wanting to leave MA.

I live and work in the Albany area. The spots where it can get bad is between exits 2 and 7 on 87 heading north as there is typically a heavy exchange of traffic at exit 7. Particularly if there is an accident, you could be at a stop on the highway as early as exit 2. Another potentially bad stretch is on 7 heading to Vermont, immediately after the bridge over Hudson up until the 7 and 278 intersection.

If your reasons to stay out of New York are what I think they are then I would say dealing with the traffic is totally worth it. Try and avoid the 8AM and 5PM rush hour traffic if you can.

That being said, route 7 - once you get out of the Troy/Brunswick area is nice. If you are on the bike, there are a couple of nice detours you could make so the commute back to your house is a bit more enjoyable.

Luckily, I can typically make my own work schedule a bit. As long as I'm in the office by 9:30 am, then it works. If I'm in earlier, I can take off at 3:30.

[nhbubba]

Only thing I'll add is that you're going to be paying pretty much the same in taxes living in VT. Tax burden in VT is arguably one of the highest in the nation, believe it or not.

You're not kidding. I looked it up.. not a really good tax situation. Arguably worse than MA.

Interesting comparo tool - albeit retiree focused: State-by-State Guide to Taxes on Retirees-Kiplinger

[DesmoTull]

You're not kidding. I looked it up.. not a really good tax situation. Arguably worse than MA.

Interesting comparo tool - albeit retiree focused: State-by-State Guide to Taxes on Retirees-Kiplinger

Unless I'm reading what I've seen wrong, I'd pay NY State income tax, not VT, seeing I'll be working in NY.

[nhbubba]

Double check that. I thought you paid all the tax all the time.

What I mean by that is that you'd pay NYS tax up to the NY limits.. then pay the VT tax above that, if the VT tax is higher (which it is). I think I could get an exemption for my NH income tax against my MA income.. except I don't pay any NH income tax.

Not that it really matters. Quality of life is worth more than being obsessively uptight about taxes. ... Although it should play into your thinking come time to negotiate pay.

[DesmoTull]

Double check that. I thought you paid all the tax all the time.

What I mean by that is that you'd pay NYS tax up to the NY limits.. then pay the VT tax above that, if the VT tax is higher (which it is). I think I could get an exemption for my NH income tax against my MA income.. except I don't pay any NH income tax.

Not that it really matters. Quality of life is worth more than being obsessively uptight about taxes. ... Although it should play into your thinking come time to negotiate pay.

Albany has a lower cost of living than Boston... Unless this new position has added responsibilities, which it *might*, the conversation about increasing my base loses it's ability to hold water.

Right, quality of life is paramount. I can't remember if I said on here, or Reddit, but a 45-min motorcycle ride to VT every day after work in the summer sounds like a dream to me compared to my usual 1.5-2hr jaunt with trying to battle my way out of the Alewife parking garage.

[Kitt]

I'm on the fence right now as far as gun rights v. commuting cost & time v. having a social scene with young people and friends. I'm afraid of being too isolated in VT. But, for me, one of the most important issues is the babysitter government. I don't deal with someone telling me what I can and can't have well, hence wanting to leave MA.

We went from nyc outskirts, to diverse suburb, to cow country! We've been pretty lucky in finding like-minded friends of all ages here in VT. It's a bit of a poke to get to a bar scene (but its at least weekly). For gun laws, we decided to get much less house in VT than we could have bought over in the adirondaks, but don't regret it. We have 30 acres and will build the house to suit if we can stay!

[RandyO]

Double check that. I thought you paid all the tax all the time.

What I mean by that is that you'd pay NYS tax up to the NY limits.. then pay the VT tax above that, if the VT tax is higher (which it is). I think I could get an exemption for my NH income tax against my MA income.. except I don't pay any NH income tax.
.

last I knew, Vermont income tax is based on Vermont income only and not on residency, a person living in Vermont and working in New York will only pay Fed & NY income tax. At least that was the way it was 40 years ago when I lived in VT and worked out of state.

NY also has outrageous sales tax, depending on where you are purchasing goods in NY, some counties have a county sales tax and some cities have a city sales tax as well, I have seen total sales tax as high as 15% (Syracuse) and it may be even higher in other cities