Ok. I've certainly got more information to add on the nightlife end, despite the fact that Easter weekend skewed things since many students weren't here. Daygame was basically nonexistent since the UAlbany campus was a ghost town and there are hardly any townies that aren't fat, tattooed, or unattractive. I made one approach at the campus but my target didn't go for any of my bait.
Pearl Street Pub-I mentioned this place in an earlier post and it's where you'll find the most volume of people. This a multiroom bar and restaurant that turns into a nightclub on the weekends. It's your typical club scene where you'll have crowds of people so close together that it's tough to move, as well as your bitch shields. Expect to get some dismissals here, but there are plenty of girls anyway. Saturday seems to be the night for this place.
The City Beer Hall-This place is a block away from the arena and is smaller than Pearl Street Pub. The first floor has tables and the main bar, while the second floor has a smaller bar and a dance floor. The 2nd floor has a 90's night on Saturday that brings a decent amount of people. There was a decent turnout here on both nights that I was here but it wasn't at full strength. Slightly more breathing room to do conversational approaches here.
Cafe Hollywood-This is one of the places on Lark Street. It's worth a stop if you're around that area but one could avoid this place altogether quite honestly.
Lark Tavern-Near the Lark/Madison intersection and has a decent turnout. The bar is at the front and the back has a dance floor. There's certainly more of a..."ratchet" crowd here. Again, there weren't many students around, so my impression is affected by that.
Lionheart Pub-Across the street from Lark Tavern, this is your standard dive bar. Not many people here when I went on Friday.
Last call in Albany is 4 AM, but most places start to close at 3. Definitely stay out the whole night if you can. There seemed to be a lot of taxis around so I don't think that would be too much of an issue. Some people don't recommend walking places during the night but it seemed more empty than dangerous to me. Obviously exercise caution.
Coming from New York, Albany is definitely a bit of a more relaxed experience. That being said, I didn't get any lays or even makeouts despite some very good approaches. Girls are more approachable here, although you still have to run somewhat of a clown game to keep their attention. Soloing like I did can be tricky because many of the girls were in tight groups and whenever I'd be building good comfort with someone, the friend would pull them away either sooner or later. There were also a lot of mixed groups for whatever reason although the ratios weren't totally horrible. I'd recommend staying somewhere close to the action downtown if you don't have student friends. That being said, Albany is definitely a much better place for people in their 20's, preferably early 20's.
Pearl Street Pub-I mentioned this place in an earlier post and it's where you'll find the most volume of people. This a multiroom bar and restaurant that turns into a nightclub on the weekends. It's your typical club scene where you'll have crowds of people so close together that it's tough to move, as well as your bitch shields. Expect to get some dismissals here, but there are plenty of girls anyway. Saturday seems to be the night for this place.
The City Beer Hall-This place is a block away from the arena and is smaller than Pearl Street Pub. The first floor has tables and the main bar, while the second floor has a smaller bar and a dance floor. The 2nd floor has a 90's night on Saturday that brings a decent amount of people. There was a decent turnout here on both nights that I was here but it wasn't at full strength. Slightly more breathing room to do conversational approaches here.
Cafe Hollywood-This is one of the places on Lark Street. It's worth a stop if you're around that area but one could avoid this place altogether quite honestly.
Lark Tavern-Near the Lark/Madison intersection and has a decent turnout. The bar is at the front and the back has a dance floor. There's certainly more of a..."ratchet" crowd here. Again, there weren't many students around, so my impression is affected by that.
Lionheart Pub-Across the street from Lark Tavern, this is your standard dive bar. Not many people here when I went on Friday.
Last call in Albany is 4 AM, but most places start to close at 3. Definitely stay out the whole night if you can. There seemed to be a lot of taxis around so I don't think that would be too much of an issue. Some people don't recommend walking places during the night but it seemed more empty than dangerous to me. Obviously exercise caution.
Coming from New York, Albany is definitely a bit of a more relaxed experience. That being said, I didn't get any lays or even makeouts despite some very good approaches. Girls are more approachable here, although you still have to run somewhat of a clown game to keep their attention. Soloing like I did can be tricky because many of the girls were in tight groups and whenever I'd be building good comfort with someone, the friend would pull them away either sooner or later. There were also a lot of mixed groups for whatever reason although the ratios weren't totally horrible. I'd recommend staying somewhere close to the action downtown if you don't have student friends. That being said, Albany is definitely a much better place for people in their 20's, preferably early 20's.