Not familiar with Albany? Get to know why the capital of New York State and its surrounding cities and towns make upstate a great place to study, work, live and hang out. As told through a bunch of numbers.
- Looking at the job market (especially in tech and business) and high quality of life (including 21 parks in Albany County alone), Albany was ranked the 36th best place to live in the country by U.S. News & World Report.
- Out of 200 metropolitan areas, the Capital Region was placed as number 6 for best cities for music fans. With music festivals every season (like Lark Street's Lark Fest and Pearl Street's Pearlpalooza), a growing open mic circuit and small and large venues, live music is everywhere. Not to mention award-winning radio stations...
- The dining scene is top-notch. Peck's Arcade in Troy (just a 10-minute drive from our campus in Loudonville) and Yono's in Albany (about 15 minutes) are among the top 100 restaurants in the country, according to OpenTable.
- For the past 70 years, thousands have traveled near and far on Mother's Day Weekend for Tulip Festival, to see over 140 varieties of 211,000 tulips, arts and crafts, music and vendors.
- Albany is a great place to be if you're young and starting out your career. Citizen Bank named it one of the 5 Best Cities for Young Professionals in the Northeast for its affordability, parks and recreation, local festivals and entertainment venues.
- Into agriculture? Dig this: Saratoga County has 583 farms, Rensselaer County has 495 farms, Albany County has 494 farms, Schenectady County has 169 farms. That means our more than 30 farmers markets are pretty amazing.
- Lastly, we've got history: The New York State Capitol Building took 28 years, 5 architects, and over $25 million to build from 1867-1899. Composed of granite, the building has 5 floors, a Million Dollar Staircase (with 444 granite steps reaching 119 feet high), and 300 carved stone portraits of famous New Yorkers.
