So I was at the campus for the accepted student day, and the campus blew it out of the water for me…the school of business was impressive, the activities, and the scenery. I have a friend of a friend who lives off campus on Quail St. and I want to know if anyone is familiar with that street and if it should be avoided or not…seeing that block and sleeping over night in one of those houses really made me rethink Ualbany and consider Cortland
Depends where on Quail Street. Parts of it are kind of run down (honestly, mostly students live on that end) and parts are quite nice. If you want quiet and safety, look for housing between Madison Ave and New Scotland Ave. The flip side of that is that more “regular people” live in that area, so if you are loud, throw your red cups on the ground, etc, you are much more likely to have someone call the police on you than if you live in the area adjacent the UAlbany Uptown campus.
I have lived in Albany for 15 years, and there are lots of nice neighborhoods and apartments. When you are looking, call the Albany Police Department and ask for the number of the Community Engagement Officer (beat officer) for the addresses you are looking at. They are usually quite upfront about the stats and crime in the neighborhoods they are responsible for. You might also want to join the email list for the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association to get a sense of what is going on in the neighborhood.
I believe students need to live in the dorm for the first year or two. That will give you enough time to explore Albany and find an apartment in an area you feel comfortable in. There is some crime in the area where students tend to live, but it is usually late at night with drunk victims. If you act sensibly, you should be fine.