Questions about Albany, NY

[AKA_Bait]

So, my location status will soon be changing from New York City to Albany, New York since I'll be moving up there this saturday because of my wifes recent hire at legal aid up there and my starting law school at Albany Law in the fall. I'm hoping my fellow playgrounders who may or may not live in the Albany area can help me out with a few things:

Is there a good gaming store/club/group looking for a player in Albany?

Is there a chess club with a friendly atmosphere?

What else up there is cool?

Thanks a bunch!

[Totally Guy]

I impressed the last New Yorker I met by knowing that Albany was the capital of New York State.

Don't see many Americans around here let alone New Yorkers.

[Helanna]

I impressed the last New Yorker I met by knowing that Albany was the capital of New York State.

You know what else some of my New Yorker friends complain about? Apparently whenever you tell someone "I'm from New York", they will automatically say "Wow, New York City is so cool! What's it like living there?" Shockingly enough, people do live in other areas of New York . . .

I actually have nothing else to contribute, I've never even been to Albany.

[Tirian]

True. In fact, there is a significant portion of the state that is actually closer to Toronto than NYC. It'd be easier for me to cross the border if I wanted to catch a major league baseball game or see a long-running mega-musical.

I've been to a gaming store in Albany -- my guess is that it was in Crossgates Mall -- but it was just on a quick trip nearly ten years ago, so I can't say much that is specific. However, I'm sure that if you chatted up a few folks in the geeky districts of SUNY Albany or RPI, you'd get hooked up pretty quickly with the RPG and chess communities.

[RandomLunatic]

Hey, welcome to the Capital Region!

For gaming, you cannot do better than Zombie Planet. Unfortunately, I think they hold the title of "Capital Region's largest gaming store" by default, as everybody else seems to have gone under.

For chess clubs, I have no idea.

For other stuff, well, that depends on your idea of fun. Also your definition of "area".

If you are a history buff, there is the USS Slater. Also a replica of Drake's Halfmoon. And the State Museum.

If the Sport of Kings takes your fancy, the Saratoga racetrack is about an hour away (well, actually, more like an hour and half at least once you factor in traffic. Locals avoid Union at all costs between the last week of June and Travers Day.). So is the harness track, and the Racino.

If you favor outdoor activities, the Adirondakcs will. Blow. You. Away. Really. It is 3-4 hours, but well worth it.

[Kroy]

You know what else some of my New Yorker friends complain about? Apparently whenever you tell someone "I'm from New York", they will automatically say "Wow, New York City is so cool! What's it like living there?" Shockingly enough, people do live in other areas of New York . . .

I actually have nothing else to contribute, I've never even been to Albany.

Hehe. We have that here in Washington. There are 10 times more people in the state than the city, and yet...

[Thajocoth]

Some people believe that the entire state is one huge city. I remember my mom telling me that when she was a kid, she moved from upstate New York to Ohio, and the teacher in Ohio taught that there was no grass in New York State. My aunt got in trouble for trying to correct the teacher. Now I live in Manhattan, and I can clearly see grass out my window. I might move soon though and, coincidently enough, the Albany area is one of the areas I'm looking at...

[Helanna]

Did your teacher REALLY teach that there's NO grass? That's insane, I visit New York quite often, and I'm pretty sure I remember seeing grass, even in Rochester.

I'll actually be heading out to NYC at the end of next month! It's a college program for high schoolers, so I'm not sure how much freedom I'll have there, but I'll try my hardest to look for grass there. I've been informed that, y'know, Central Park might have some . . .

[snoopy13a]

Some people believe that the entire state is one huge city. I remember my mom telling me that when she was a kid, she moved from upstate New York to Ohio, and the teacher in Ohio taught that there was no grass in New York State. My aunt got in trouble for trying to correct the teacher. Now I live in Manhattan, and I can clearly see grass out my window. I might move soon though and, coincidently enough, the Albany area is one of the areas I'm looking at...

That teacher shouldn't go to the Adirondacks. (S)he'd be shocked to see bears in the city

Many people from Upstate NY will answer "Upstate NY" when asked where they are from. This is avoid the inevitable followup question: "Which part of NYC are you from?". The westernmost parts of NY (like Buffalo) are about a seven hour drive from the City.

[Tirian]

Did your teacher REALLY teach that there's NO grass? That's insane, I visit New York quite often, and I'm pretty sure I remember seeing grass, even in Rochester.

Rochester has a small but dense downtown "neighborhood" that is as grass-free as any other major city's core (i.e. highly developed with a few mini-parks scattered around). Outside of downtown but still inside the city limits, there is quite a significant amount of lovely parkland; in fact, the world's largest collection of lilacs is located inside the City of Rochester.

I tend to flinch even at the term "Upstate" New York, because it would make you think that we think of ourselves in reference to NYC. Maybe Albany does, but Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo certainly don't. Historically and contemporaneously, we're defined by the Great Lakes and the Erie Canal. I think that we tend to define ourselves as "Western" New York, although I haven't seen any polling on the matter.

[Berserk Monk]

The only thing I know about Albany is that I haven't used Dark magics to explode it yet.*




*Key word in that sentence: yet

[AKA_Bait]

Thanks for the info RandomLunatic. Signed up for the boards over there and posted a 'looking for group' thing but I don't really expect a bite. That forum is pretty dead. I'm the only one of two people to post anything in the entire month of May it seems.

And yeah, I've been up to the Adirondacks before and they are totally gorgeous.

[Rutskarn]

Is there a good gaming store/club/group looking for a player in Albany?

Is there a chess club with a friendly atmosphere?

What else up there is cool?

Thanks a bunch!

1.) No, as most Albany-dweller are preoccupied by the local sport of Baby Tossing (also known as "The Sport of Kings").

2.) No, but there are chess clubs that involve sullen glares, muttered and derisive nicknames, and long, awkward silences.

3.) There is a booger the size of a puppy's head.

-Has never been to Albany-