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Skateboarding => Travel Guide => Topic started by: concreteonly on August 12, 2021, 07:26:28 PM
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PALS,
I'll be moving to Albany from California in Nov for work. I'm 32 and was looking for some new skate pals to link up with. Also, is the winter really as bad as everyone says? Is my new life skating in parking decks for 7 months out of the year? Any info is appreciated.
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Seasons is the shop to go to and it’s around the corner from blue banks skatepark
Lots of people in their 30s skating in Albany and troy
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Coming from California, the winter in upstate NY will be a brutal wake up call. It’s usually generally at least 5-10 degrees colder upstate than the NYC area in the winter, really all year round actually, so winter is worse upstate. Some winters there isn’t a great deal of snow, others, like last winter, there is. Albany is a cool city and blue banks are definitely a sick spot especially in recent times but expect a rough period with the cold from December to April. Not sure about indoor spots in Albany. Albany is pretty hood too from what I can recall, haven’t been there in like 5 years.
Sorry I don’t mean to discourage you or hate on Albany, just speaking from experience being there + being a lifelong New Yorker skating for 20 years. I’m sure you’ll find ways to enjoy it. Definitely get a car and explore surrounding upstate areas, upstate NY is beautiful and there are a fair amount of small towns with parks and spots to be skated that more often than not will probably be empty when you go. Try to make it out to Saranac, there is a rad little park there. Ithaca is a must, definitely go to Ithaca. And Syracuse to pay tribute to Fat Bill’s hometown.
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I’m in Ithaca, and the winters up here are definitely rough. Upstate NY is great tho and there are so many fun and weird places to skate in the cities and small towns here. If you ever come over to Ithaca and are looking for someone to skate with, feel free to message me!
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I grew up in Troy/Albany then moved to CA but have been visiting upstate for the past 20-25 years. Skating is downtown Albany is rad. Skated Blue banks before it was a skatepark and it was super fun then, I can only imagine how much better it is now. There are a ton of spots in downtown Albany skating distance from each other. The ledges at the Egg have been getting a lot of attention lately.
There used to be an indoor park out there called the Shelter, I think? Was super fun and I skated there during the winter a few times.
I went to downtown Troy a few years ago and it was pretty cool, a lot different than how it was when I was there as a kid.
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Also, go to Ted’s Fish Fry for a fish fry and a coffee milkshake
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I love the scene in Albany. 2nd or 3rd home but it took me time to know the shop and friends and have never lived there. I've lived in Syracuse and Burlington so I'd stop in Albany half way every time. There's a pretty good sized talent pool there and some great support from Seasons, Banks, and having the plaza accessible most of the time. It's nice being in the Lark Street area, able to get around everywhere you'd need to be with everyone else around.
Watch Naima by Eammon McBride
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOTd3lw13OE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOTd3lw13OE)
Watch Seasons 2.5 by tommy G
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h75mdW0sGg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h75mdW0sGg)
Shop at Seasons
https://www.instagram.com/seasonsskateshop/?hl=en (https://www.instagram.com/seasonsskateshop/?hl=en)
and buy this shirt I designed for them (shit they sold out of the other designs but this is prob my favorite)
https://seasonsskateshop.com/collections/seasons-stuff/products/seasons-ryde-or-die-tee-white?variant=40038752190616 (https://seasonsskateshop.com/collections/seasons-stuff/products/seasons-ryde-or-die-tee-white?variant=40038752190616)
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I grew up in Troy/Albany then moved to CA but have been visiting upstate for the past 20-25 years. Skating is downtown Albany is rad. Skated Blue banks before it was a skatepark and it was super fun then, I can only imagine how much better it is now. There are a ton of spots in downtown Albany skating distance from each other. The ledges at the Egg have been getting a lot of attention lately.
There used to be an indoor park out there called the Shelter, I think? Was super fun and I skated there during the winter a few times.
I went to downtown Troy a few years ago and it was pretty cool, a lot different than how it was when I was there as a kid.
The Shelter is long gone, but it was a great indoor park at the time, yeah.
Shoutout to Troy.
Genuinely curious what work would have someone move from California to Albany
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Expand Quote
I grew up in Troy/Albany then moved to CA but have been visiting upstate for the past 20-25 years. Skating is downtown Albany is rad. Skated Blue banks before it was a skatepark and it was super fun then, I can only imagine how much better it is now. There are a ton of spots in downtown Albany skating distance from each other. The ledges at the Egg have been getting a lot of attention lately.
There used to be an indoor park out there called the Shelter, I think? Was super fun and I skated there during the winter a few times.
I went to downtown Troy a few years ago and it was pretty cool, a lot different than how it was when I was there as a kid.
The Shelter is long gone, but it was a great indoor park at the time, yeah.
Shoutout to Troy.
Genuinely curious what work would have someone move from California to Albany
I'm getting out of the Marines and took a job with GE.
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Good luck in Albany.
I did a few years in the region. As everyone has said Seasons is a great shop, blue banks are a fun place to have a session, but life is hard there.
Winters are tough, the region is in the edge of the rust belt (if it wasn't the capital of NY I feel it'd be completely fucked).
For indoor parks you can drive 1.5 hours south to a roller skating rink/skatepark that is fun (but expensive) or up to Syracuse for Black Mamba (I think it's in Syracuse I can't remember).
Upstate NY was is a hard place to live. The economy is weak, the population is falling, many of the buildings and neighboring towns are decaying, and as soon as you leave Albany proper it isn't hard to find Confederate flags in front of houses or in people's trucks.
Ithaca and Saratoga Springs are good places to take a break as they seem somewhat immune from the rust belt economy if upstate/western NY.
Also, heat is expensive. Make sure to budget for huge heat bills Jan to March.
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Strongest skate scene going. I moved to nyc from albany 6 years ago and nothing will ever change my opinion on Albany skateboarding. Winters are manageable once you get your thick skin for it