When most people think of New York State, they immediately think of New York City, the largest and most culturally diverse city in the world. However, located just 2.5 hours north of New York City, is Albany, which is the capital of New York State. Albany has close ties with the nearby cities of Troy and Schenectady, which together form the Capital Region of New York. In 2006, the Capital Region had an estimated population of 850,000 people.
Many of us feel that the Capital Region has the best of everything. The region contains upscale urban culture with numerous entertainment and recreational options as well as down-home rural attractions, all within short drives along convenient highways. Albany has a humid continental climate, with cold, snowy winters and hot, wet summers. The average temperature ranges from 25 degrees in the winter to 70 degrees in the summer. Throughout the year, the changing seasons present opportunities for breath-taking scenery and diverse indoor and outdoor activities. Albany is also in close proximity to New York City, Boston, and Montreal.
For many years, downtown Albany has been largely dominated by the Empire State Plaza. This $2 billion project, constructed between 1965 and 1978, sits on 98 acres. The plaza interconnects 11 buildings including the Corning Tower (the tallest building in New York outside of New York City) and The Egg, which is a performance arts center that forms one of the most recognizable buildings in the Albany skyline. Empire State Plaza is the focal point of downtown Albany and is often the site of trade, business, and home shows, farmers markets, and craft shows. The art collection in the concourse of the Plaza is the greatest collection of modern American art in any single public site that is not a museum.
Today, Albany is considered the center of New York State’s Tech Valley. Tech Valley encompasses 18 counties along the eastern edge of New York State and extends for more than 150 miles along the Hudson River. It is the home of hundreds of tech firms, including IBM, General Electric, Tokyo Electron, Vistec Semiconductor Systems, and MapInfo. Recently, AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) has selected Tech Valley as the location for its newest semiconductor chip fabrication facility. In addition, the University at Albany is home to the College of Science and Engineering, which is the world’s first college devoted to nanotechnology. Since 2001, more than $3 billion in public and private money has been invested in the Albany NanoTech complex located at the University at Albany, which has accelerated the growth of this tech industry in this area. All of this has led to a significant amount of new construction in downtown Albany including new office buildings and plans for a new convention center.
Education
Albany and its surrounding areas are home to more than a dozen colleges, attracting more than 50,000 students every year. In addition to Albany Medical College, the schools in the area include the Albany College of Pharmacy, Albany Law School, The College of Saint Rose, Excelsior College, Hudson Valley Community College, Maria College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Russell Sage College, Siena College, Union College, and the University at Albany. Recently, the University at Albany has become known for its success in basketball at the Division I level, earning a place in the NCAA tournament in both 2006 and 2007. The hockey programs at RPI and Union College have also enjoyed success through the years.
Transportation 
Driving to Albany is easy as it is located at the Crossroads of the New York State Thruway (I-87S and I-90W), the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90E) and the Adirondack Northway (I-87N). The Albany International Airport is the major airport serving the Capital District, Northeastern New York, and Western New England. The airport services the following commercial airlines: Air Canada, Continental, Delta, Northwest, Southwest, United, and US Airways. Recently, the airport has undergone an extensive expansion and renovation, bringing it into the 21st century. In addition, the AMTRAK station at Rensselaer, which serves the Albany area, has been recently renovated as well and provides regular service to New York, Montreal, Buffalo, Chicago, and Boston.
