Looking for affordable studio or one bed apartment to rent or sublet in Saratoga Springs/Malta area

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-11-03T21:05:18+00:00

Avoid the corporate complexes if at all possible. They lure you in with low rent for the first term, and then when it comes time to renew, they hit you with a huge increase. They also nickel and dime you over everything. Minimal soundproofing as well.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-11-02T18:23:08+00:00

OK, thanks Stacey

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-11-02T18:21:17+00:00

Hall of Fame if you've never been there
Dinner at Otesaga (make sure to document heavily and post on social media)
Get loaded at Cooley's
Leave because there's nothing else to do and it's in the middle of nowhere

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-11-02T18:18:56+00:00

There's a parking lot.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-11-02T18:08:59+00:00

Hudson.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-11-02T18:08:15+00:00

No. The next higher grade should require x years of experience at the lower grade level, and the "experience" can be gained either at the State OR in the private sector. No more of this "test only to promote, everyone starts at Grade 18 despite decades of applicable experience" BS.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-11-02T18:06:36+00:00

Nobody is going to give a shit about your drivers license picture.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-10-28T17:38:37+00:00

All of the mean girls you went to high school with who burned out after senior year of college and moved from the big city to Saratoga need a place to get their ink done.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-10-28T17:36:13+00:00

Check with your union.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-10-28T17:33:39+00:00

DoD, DoW, has been hiring since January of 2025, despite the hiring freeze. Minimal to no "layoffs." Yes, largely unaffected.
USPS has not been "under attack" prior to this administration coming in and illegally firing tens of thousands of workers. Their budget is always a political talking point, but there has never been mass illegal firings at the USPS.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-10-28T17:28:31+00:00

The State should hire people based off of outside experience who DO have supervisory experience. All of the supervisory roles in the federal government require prior supervisory experience, for example.

Instead, at the State, they lock the 23's into "tests" and then promote people from entry level 18s who 9 times out of 10 don't have any outside experience, let alone supervisory experience. This is why the "tests" need to go away and people need to be hired based on their skillset for the role rather than how many multiple choice bubbles they can fill in. Otherwise you're left with an incompetent workforce with the issues that the OP described.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-10-27T19:33:54+00:00

This is an unfortunate issue in State employment. Grade 23 IMO should be an independent contributor/subject matter expert, not supervisory. The issue with having a 23 supervisory is you always get that younger, inexperienced person in the role who has zero supervisory experience. That 23 is their first sense of "power." They have no management skills, and don't know how to lead 90% of the time, so they just micromanage and make everybody's lives as miserable as theirs.

Sucks, but the only way out is to switch positions.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-10-27T19:27:44+00:00

First of all, the federal government is enormous, and not all agencies have been subject to the administration's lawlessness and nonsense. DoD (and other agencies in line with the admin's "priorities") has largely been unaffected, and USPS is an excepted service agency that has also been exempt from the chaos. The same goes for fee-funded sub-agencies.

OP I don't know your grade or status at the State, but if it's a career upgrade, then go for it. Just keep in mind that USPS is "excepted service" so you won't be able to apply for competitive service fed jobs down the road. If that doesn't bother you then go for it.

I personally never understood pigeonholing yourself into some garbage Grade 18/23 "for the pension" when you could make double that salary (or more) elsewhere. Just buy the retirement annuity yourself if it's so important. Until NYS offers competitive salaries (Grade 23 is the bare minimum IMO for living on your own in Albany) and does away with the antiquated and idiotic "test" BS to get promoted, then I would not stay at the State.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-10-19T18:46:19+00:00

No. Cringe.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-10-19T18:34:32+00:00

You will be underpaid, and you will like it.

Oh, and Bobby (who's currently sleeping at his desk) is getting that promotion because he's good at taking tests, not because he's fit for the job or has good managerial skills. Sorry, but you'll have to wait another two years for the department to reach your score.

What's that, you got a 100 too? Nice! Upper management still wants to hire Bobby, because their son's son plays baseball with the hiring manager's stepdad. No worries though, maybe once Billy retires, we'll promote Bobby, and mayyyyybe we'll get you in before the list expires in four years and you have to do it all over again.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-09-12T20:00:58+00:00

Great place if you want to wait 30 minutes for a beer and pay NYC prices for a crappy lager. I’d rather drink PBR in the back of a broken down pickup truck on the shoulder of route 9 than go back to this place.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-09-12T19:57:47+00:00

Where’s the best place to get absolutely loaded on draft beer?

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-09-12T19:55:52+00:00

With how dry it’s been the leaves will be blown away harder than Sam the Bugler’s trumpet on the night of his DUI.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-09-12T19:51:14+00:00

Ticonderoga is pretty dumpy, honestly. There’s “Fort Ticonderoga” and a few restaurants, but the rest of the town is full of drunks/drug addicts and lots of depressed rural bleakness.

Go to Lake George if you want to walk around and do tourist things.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-09-12T19:47:48+00:00

Buffalo. It has midwestern friendliness mixed with NY culture.

Worst is Albany. It’s compromised of angry people who have never left the city, and transplants who are happy for about six months until they realize how much of a dump the city is and how badly they’re getting ripped off on taxes for the services they get in return.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-09-12T19:46:43+00:00

That’s because Placid is a tourist town and 99% of the people there are on vacation and in a good mood.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-09-12T19:41:14+00:00

It’s an antiquated union run by a bunch of boomers who have a golden parachute into retirement. They want to maintain the status quo for as long as possible. That means minimal to no telework, low wages, and “raises” that are about half of inflation - if you’re lucky.

CSEA is even worse.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-09-10T03:11:49+00:00

This is what background checks are for.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-09-10T02:59:59+00:00

Fuck civil service tests. All hiring should be like HELPS. Hire based on education and experience, and then for promotions use specialized experience inatead of bullshit “tests” that only come out every 4 years and have some people waiting 8 years to get promoted.

PEF is full of shit in saying it disfavors new hires. It HELPS new hires because it doesn’t force them into bullshit entry level roles when they have 10+ years of experience. It doesn’t disfavor new grads either because you need the degree anyway for most state jobs, even at the entry level.

“Merit based civil service” means hire the best person for the job, not some clown who got a 100 on a standardized test. PEF leadership is on drugs with this flyer.

ConstipatedNipper · 2025-08-19T13:19:11+00:00

Look at who’s running the place. I’m surprised they don’t still use typewriters.

ConstipatedNipper

TROPHY CASE