Amsterdam, NY (City Center)

Many things matter about a neighborhood, but the first thing most people notice is the way a neighborhood looks and its particular character. For example, one might notice whether the buildings all date from a certain time period or whether shop signs are in multiple languages. This particular neighborhood in Amsterdam, the City Center neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.

Real Estate

Corner bodegas, stores on the first floor and apartments above, former grand Victorian residences converted into apartments, three-deckers built shoulder-to-shoulder, duplexes. Such building types define the real estate of neighborhoods dominated by small 2, 3, and 4 unit apartment buildings. Many are in older core neighborhoods of Eastern and Midwestern cities, or historic town centers in their hinterlands. If you wax romantic about the look and feel of such neighborhoods, with fresh pizza, falafel and an independent florist at the corner, then you might find the Amsterdam City Center neighborhood worth a close look. This neighborhood is an absolutely outstanding example of the dominance of small 2, 3, and 4 unit apartment buildings compared to neighborhoods across the nation, as they make up a substantial portion of this neighborhood's real estate stock. In fact, no less than 70.7% of the real estate here is made up of such dwellings, which is higher than 99.7% of all U.S. neighborhoods.

In addition, despite all of the residential real estate here in the Amsterdam City Center neighborhood, NeighborhoodScout has discovered that much of it is vacant. In resort or second-home vacation areas, this naturally occurs because homes and apartments are seasonally occupied, and empty for a portion of the year. In non-vacation or resort areas, however, this can be an indicator of property abandonment or a weak real estate market. The vacancy rate here is 30.0%, which is higher than 95.4% of all U.S. neighborhoods.

Furthermore, do you watch 'This Old House' on Public Television? Do you love the idea of fixing up a Colonial or Victorian era home, complete with the charm of yesteryear? Do you like to stroll or drive streets lined with gracious older residences? If you found yourself nodding yes to any of these questions, you are going to be interested in this unique neighborhood. The Amsterdam City Center neighborhood stands out on a national scale for the sheer concentration of historic residences it contains: 79.1% of the residential real estate here was built from 1939 or earlier, some much earlier. This is a greater concentration of historic homes than 99.6% of the neighborhoods in the United States.

People

The first thing that you'll notice if you moved to this neighborhood is that an astounding 4.1% of the households are same sex couples. According to NeighborhoodScout's analysis, this is a higher proportion of same sex households than in 99.7% of the neighborhoods in America. This is one indicator that this neighborhood is likely a gay-friendly neighborhood. So if you are looking for such a neighborhood, the Amsterdam City Center neighborhood should definitely be on your list of places to consider.

In addition, the Amsterdam City Center neighborhood is unique for having just 7.3% of adults here having earned a bachelor's degree. This is a lower rate of college graduates than NeighborhoodScout found in 95.6% of America's neighborhoods.

Car Ownership

American households most often have a car, and regularly they have two or three. But households in the Amsterdam City Center neighborhood buck this trend. 19.8% of the households in this neighborhood don't own a car at all. This is more carless households than NeighborhoodScout found in 95.1% of U.S. neighborhoods.