Life-Long Southerner Possibly Relocating to New York? Help! (Albany, Poughkeepsie: for sale, real estate)

[Rotterholt]

Hello!

Brief back-history, I was born in Phoenix, AZ, raised in South Florida and currently live in Texas. My spouse was born and partially raised in Italy, and the rest in Texas (military brat). We have two children, obviously raised in Texas.

I might be relocating to the Dutchess county, NY area within the next serveral months for my current employer. My questions are - does anyone have any kind of advice on cheaper areas to live, what to look for in schools, how much it costs to bring a car into the state, what can I expect tax-wise.... how the hell do you all heat your homes? Whats up with the baseboard heating? Do you have to keep your furniture away from the walls? Is there such a thing (or need for) air conditioning up there? Does every house have a basement? Why - what do they use them for? We are anticipating renting for a few years while we muster up another down payment on homes that seem to be twice as much as there are here - what is expected with rentals (houses) there? Likelihood of finding a house with a decent yard for our dog? Do rentals usually include appliances, like refrigerators? How is the local job market (for my spouse, clerical stuff...)

I know these questions my seem silly, but really - we don't have any friends that live up north. We are very excited about the prospect of this move though, as we feel that we are true Northerners that happened to be born/moved to the wrong part of the US!

So - feel free to give me all the tips you can produce, as we are currently in the process of getting our current home ready for sale (just in case).

Thanks,

R

[nikki78]

Originally Posted by Rotterholt

Hello!

Brief back-history, I was born in Phoenix, AZ, raised in South Florida and currently live in Texas. My spouse was born and partially raised in Italy, and the rest in Texas (military brat). We have two children, obviously raised in Texas.

I might be relocating to the Dutchess county, NY area within the next serveral months for my current employer. My questions are - does anyone have any kind of advice on cheaper areas to live, what to look for in schools, how much it costs to bring a car into the state, what can I expect tax-wise.... how the hell do you all heat your homes? Whats up with the baseboard heating? Do you have to keep your furniture away from the walls? Is there such a thing (or need for) air conditioning up there? Does every house have a basement? Why - what do they use them for? We are anticipating renting for a few years while we muster up another down payment on homes that seem to be twice as much as there are here - what is expected with rentals (houses) there? Likelihood of finding a house with a decent yard for our dog? Do rentals usually include appliances, like refrigerators? How is the local job market (for my spouse, clerical stuff...)

I know these questions my seem silly, but really - we don't have any friends that live up north. We are very excited about the prospect of this move though, as we feel that we are true Northerners that happened to be born/moved to the wrong part of the US!

So - feel free to give me all the tips you can produce, as we are currently in the process of getting our current home ready for sale (just in case).

Thanks,

R

Get a good real estate do your own neighborhood evaluations and be patient.

[eileen824]

Hi I live in Westchester County, which is south of Dutchess County, so I can only answer some of your questions. If you look in the area of East Fishkill / Fishkill, you will find shopping, jobs, traffic, etc. In terms of "New Englander" lifestyle, I don't know what your expectations are, so I can't recommend a town that would match.

Rentals usually include appliances.
Taxes are high - with a higher salary for a transfer, you will definitely incur higher costs of living to match!
Baseboard heating - you do not have to have all furniture away from it, but if you want air to circulate and heat, you shouldn't block it all with couches, dressers, etc.
It definitely gets hot and humid enough here for air conditioning!
Basements are for the kids I think! - toys, work out stuff, storage etc!
You will find some more affordable family neighborhoods in Wappingers Falls - check it out on Realtor.com
Good Luck!

[wanderlost]

Hey...we moved from upstate NY (Albany) to Virginia.
I'll try to answer a few for you. Southerners are very well accepted in upstate NY...much more so than NYers are accepted in the south.
I personally don't care for the Poughkeepsie area...very congested, and some areas are kind of slummy in my opinion. The farther north you go from Poughkeepsie, the nicer it gets...or west of Poughkeepsie to places like New Paltz....which is kind of artsy, and cheaper.

Yes, baseboard heating makes it hard to arrange your furniture, but usually the heaters are on one wall in each room. I never felt safe putting furniture close to the heaters. Most apartments come with stove and refridge, but it's rare to find something with a washer/dryer. Dishwashers are pretty common.

I would say it was cheaper to own a car upstate than it is here in Virginia...not sure why. Virginia hits you with personal property tax bills twice a year for your car...plus insurance is the same here.

In Albany we paid $750 for a 2 bdrm apt (a nice one), and by comparison we're paying $935 here in Richmond for a similar but much smaller apartment.

We researched that whole area around Poughkeepsie pretty well before we moved here so if I can answer any other questions I'll try....of course I've never lived there specifically..so others might have more info.

[Rotterholt]

Thanks for your comments - anyone else have some good thoughts or suggestions? How difficult is it to find rentals that are ok with pets?

What are the worst school districts to avoid?