Looking for information on Rockland County (Ramapo, New City: best town, condos, crime)

[DarlaD]

hi! i'm new here. just found this board today
anyway, i have been house hunting almost a year in nj and i can't seem to find anything (either small house or no yard). trying to keep our commute to under an hour and 15 minutes. we both work in midtown manhattan.
we decide that perhaps rockland county may be the way to go. we don't know anything about it but someone recommended monroe. we have 2 kids, 3 and 5 years old, so good schools are very important.
your thoughts and feedback would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

[hjlacey]

Actually, Monroe is in Orange county. We have excellent schools and the area is beautiful.

[Nancy-NJ-NY-ME?]

Darla -- Monroe is nice. As the prior posted said, though, it's in Orange County. Therefore the commute is longer than you're looking for.

There's tons of info on these boards. I'd also suggest you get an area map and use that to correlate the region to NYC-bound transportation. (Yes, lots of maps are available for viewing online, but there are times, I think, that an old fashioned paper version is useful.)

Rockland County is nice also. It's very densely populated, but does have good shopping, chools, transportation and road network.

Have fun hunting!

[DarlaD]

thank you both!

can someone recommend somewhere in rockland county?

[ali26]

I think New City is a nice area and slightly more affordable than some surrounding towns- it is Clarkstown School District which is supposed to be good. Also, maybe Stony Point- its the furthest north town in Rockland so it is probably more affordable. You may want to check Congers too.

[SuburbanDweller]

New City is probably one of the more expensive areas in Rockland. Depending on your budget, it'd be a super place.

Clarkstown schools are awesome - the district serves the towns/hamlets of New City, West Nyack, Bardonia, Congers, parts of Nanuet (very very small area of condos served by Clarkstown Schools, otherwise it's Nanuet Schools). There are two high schools and many elementary schools & one middle school.

Other areas in Rockland that are worth looking into are Nanuet (they have their own school district) & Pearl River.

Clarkstown is probably the most expensive area in Rockland, so that may hinder but there are gems out there.

The only districts I'd stay away from in Rockland would be in the East Ramapo (Spring Valley HS).

[Born in Nanuet]

Having been born in Nanuet I have a fondness for the town and schools. Nanuet schools are the best - taught by teachers who mostly live in the county. High School principal is a former graduate. It is still small town America. West Nyack is nice, too as are Pearl River and Piermont. New City and Nyack may be expensive and I'd stay toward the southern part of Rockland. Mount Ivy is a little too far for your needs. Spring Valley, Monsey and Ramapo area are very crowded. Take a drive up and see. GW to Palisades Parkway North. Get off anywhere from Orangeburg Road to Route 59 and roam around. Or TZ to Palisades Parkway south.

[Marcus' Mom]

There some places that are nice such as Nyack and New City. Though Nanuet was in Money Magazine for being a good location because of schools, job growth, and location.

Someone else had mentioned Mount Ivy being to far, but depending where you live you will be close to the Palisades Parkway, which you could take straight to the city. Also another nice city is Thiells, quiet with nice houses and good schools.

STAY AWAY from Haverstraw and Spring Valley. I am moving soon out of Haverstraw, it's just not the place you want to raise small children.

[KalaJa235]

I live in Suffern/Airmont. The school district is great. ..and you get a lot of land for a great price. When we were house shopping we found that you didn't get much for your money in other town in Rockland county. Also, as far as NJ,,, you can look in Morris County or Bergen County. Bergen is a bit more expensive but a better commute. Try looking at towns like Maywood, Hackensack, Rochelle Park, Saddle Brook

[zobee]

Pearl River is not only the best town in Rockland County, it's the best town in the Universe!!

Okay, so I'm a little partial, having been raised there

Their motto is the Town of Friendly People, and they live up to it. The schools are excellent. There's a lot of community wide festivals (and the second largest St. Patrick's Day parade in NYS, second only to NYC!).

Lots of pretty houses and lovely little yards -- and the cutest little train station to make your commute easier (which is only about 40 mins by car). Very diverse, with tons of little stores up and down the main drag. Little to no crime -- I would move back in a heart beat if I could afford it. PR was the perfect town to grow up in.

I posted a link around here somewhere to their newspaper, The Journal News, which had a picture tour of A Day In The Life of Pearl River. It's such a sweet little, innocent town. I love it!

Ah crumbs. Now I'm homesick

If you have any questions, email me and I'll be happy to answer them for you, to the best of my ability.