areas upstate?

ok so DH and i are starting to look for houses. we love upstate but know nothing of the neighborhoods. can anyone tell me.... i want an area with a good school district, but fairly reasonable in price. does anyone know of any good areas up there?

Re: areas upstate?

How far upstate?

My parents live in New Paltz. Still close enough to the city yet far enough away that the prices are great.

Really cute town.

Re: areas upstate?

I used to Live in Hopewell Jct, my parents still do. The area is "booming" and you get so much house & land for your money. It's in Dutchess county which with no traffic is about an hour & 45 min from Massapequa. If you are interested in that area look for Hopewell Jct., East Fishkill, Fishkill, & Wappingers.

Re: areas upstate?

Are you thinking Hudson Valley and commutable to NYC/LI? Or really Upstate and commutable to Albany or another city?

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Re: areas upstate?

I can comment on Rockland, but real rocklanders don't consider that upstate

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well originally we wanted to go as far as orange but we can go further. any information no matter how far is greatly appreciated.

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Hope this helps: http://newpaltz.com/

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i went to high school in dutchess county and hated it. what is quaint to visit gets old really fast living there full time--spend a lot of time in the area before committing to move.

Re: areas upstate?

Posted by nov04libride

i went to high school in dutchess county and hated it. what is quaint to visit gets old really fast living there full time--spend a lot of time in the area before committing to move.

Re: areas upstate?

there are quite a few girls that own or are looking in Orange County.

we bought there last year, and while we don't live there full time yet (we also have an apt in Brooklyn) we really love it.

the commute IS long from where we are (Middletown Train station) but it's very easy. dh takes NJ transit directly into Penn, and I take the Path from Hoboken (Metro North turns in to NJ transit west of the hudson)

homes and taxes are less expensive generally speaking in Orange than they are in Rockland and/or Dutchess (we weren't set on any one area so we looked on both sides of the hudson...westchester, putnam, dutchess, rockland, and orange).

our house is fairly far into Orange, we are about 10-15 minutes from Sullivan Couny...we also looked at homes closer...in Monroe, Goshen, Greenwood Lake, Warwick, Florida.

there are still some deals to be had there.

as far as commuting is concerned, it's about equidistant from NYC and from another "big" city like Albany, so if your occupation involves working in a big city environment you'll need to see if making the commute every day is worth it to you.

we probably won't move up there full time unless I get a job closer to our home (not ready to leave the city yet though..so we'll see)

you can easily look up OC schools online. they seem to be pretty good. maybe not up to some LI schools..but what do I know, I am a product of the NYC public school system (oh, the horror )

I do agree with REALLY spending time up there. we'd been going up for years and years before finally making the plunge.

good luck! and happy hunting.

Message edited 9/23/2009 5:18:39 PM.

Re: areas upstate?

Posted by Ophelia

there are quite a few girls that own or are looking in Orange County.

we bought there last year, and while we don't live there full time yet (we also have an apt in Brooklyn) we really love it.

the commute IS long from where we are (Middletown Train station) but it's very easy. dh takes NJ transit directly into Penn, and I take the Path from Hoboken (Metro North turns in to NJ transit west of the hudson)

homes and taxes are less expensive generally speaking in Orange than they are in Rockland and/or Dutchess (we weren't set on any one area so we looked on both sides of the hudson...westchester, putnam, dutchess, rockland, and orange).

our house is fairly far into Orange, we are about 10-15 minutes from Sullivan Couny...we also looked at homes closer...in Monroe, Goshen, Greenwood Lake, Warwick, Florida.

there are still some deals to be had there.

as far as commuting is concerned, it's about equidistant from NYC and from another "big" city like Albany, so if your occupation involves working in a big city environment you'll need to see if making the commute every day is worth it to you.

we probably won't move up there full time unless I get a job closer to our home (not ready to leave the city yet though..so we'll see)

you can easily look up OC schools online. they seem to be pretty good. maybe not up to some LI schools..but what do I know, I am a product of the NYC public school system (oh, the horror )

I do agree with REALLY spending time up there. we'd been going up for years and years before finally making the plunge.

good luck! and happy hunting.

Re: areas upstate?

I am originally from LI. My DH and I currently live in Albany County and work in Schenectady County. If you would like more information on either of those or Saratoga County, fm me.

ETA: My DH is originally from Hopewell Junction in Duchess County.

Message edited 9/23/2009 6:46:08 PM.

Re: areas upstate?

In orange county,some good school districts are monroe-woodbury, goshen, warwick, and cornwall schools
In Rockland county- clarkstown, ramapo (not east ramapo though), nanuet, and pearl river are very good

Re: areas upstate?

My brother is in the process of buying a house in Hopewell Jct

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wow what a response!!!! thanks so much!!! you all have been such a help to me!!! thanks for all the info again. i really don't want to leave the island but i just don't think we can afford it. we have two kids and one on the way so i just want a quaint little house. something we can make memories in.
like i said thank you again. i love being on here everyone is so helpful!!!!

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We were up in Fishkill yesterday. It's so beautiful up there. Such a change from the congested life here on LI. I would love a home up there.

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I just wanted to add, my ILs live in Hopewell and just sold their house (due to job relocation) and I really do not think house prices are that much cheaper in that area. Their house sold for almost $500k, but I think their taxes might be more reasonable. I would say Orange County is when house prices start to become "reasonable."

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I grew up in Wappingers Falls, and I LOVE that area.

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My DH and I are currently trying to move off Long Island also.. we looked around upstate and Northern New Jersey and we totally fell in love with Saratoga Springs.. excellent schools, not far from Albany.. it's a great family area!

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Renee - my best friend lives in Monroe. She lives about 5 minutes from Woodbury Commons. Its nice where she is - although you have to watch the taxes. She pays more than I do!!!

But they looked in that area for a really long time so they're pretty knowlegeable. Email me with any questions and I'll send them over to her