Commuting to NYC from Orange County (Beacon, Salisbury: train, parking, schedule)

[Jason_Els]

Indeed. Do an MLS search and you'll discover that the houses at $200,000 are far away from the highways or in Newburgh, Middletown, or Port Jervis. Anything else is a small prefab modular or a former summer home/bungalow that needs to be winterized.

[winnie]

NFA is NOT a good school district. This district (along with Middletown and PJ) are in "needs improvement" status. Those of us who have lived in the HV know all too well what has gone on at NFA in the past and how it compares to other districts. And other districts are "diverse" too without being unsafe and subpar.
I don't think you can even get a gutted out house in most areas anywhere near commuting range for under 200K anymore, maybe up in Accord, Kerhonkson or Rock Hill area you can get an OK house for that price. Even Ellenville is getting up there. Then it'd be a commute just to get to the NYS thruway...

[Jason_Els]

Agree with Winnie:

2006 Orange County School Report Card

[mom2gurls]

Well realtors always have to put in their plugs with the hopes of getting some leads.. LOL....again..the days of buying anything is livable shape under 200k ended over 10 years ago. Why do people think that orange county is boonieville and therefore must be affordable? Cracks me up. Yes in relation to westchester its affordable...but I think..and this is just me...for the average 4 bedroom 2.5 bath home..in a good school district will run you 500 and change..goshen and monroe being higher. But 200k..come on get real.

I have even seen monticello selling new homes in the high 300's now..and who is going to commute from up there?

[Jason_Els]

If there are great houses around 200k in Orange, I don't know where they are. I haven't seen them. Condos, maybe. Free-standing houses without issues, no.

Nearly everyone I know in the city has no clue that Orange exists. Unless they're looking to move out, their knowledge of the immediate area ends at Rockland. You have to mention West Point and even then you get a glassy-eyed look of, "Of course I've heard of it but never bothered to see where it is." Or you mention Middletown in hopes they had a childhood that involved passing through Orange on the way to Sullivan for summer vacation. Either way, we're still, "somewhere up there," and yet it just keeps growing as the city itself does. It's remarkable.

[ler0719]

I do not really know the area except for when I visit them but my friends mom lives in Port Jervis, NY and her dad takes the train to Penn every day from Port Jervis and I think that is Orange County. It looks like a ncie area to me...their house is gorgeous. I know they are near Matamoras, PA too because that is where their daughter lives.

[Jason_Els]

Parts of PJ are ok, but there are a lot of sad areas and drug problems plague the city. It's not sharing as much as it should in Orange county's latest round of prosperity though it has been slowly getting better. PJ is well-located. Nice spot right on the Delaware (yes, across from Matamoras), and the mountains right there. The schools, as with Orange county's other two cities, lag behind the rest of the county.

There are some beautiful houses though and that's because PJ was quite prosperous for a long time as it was where river boats on the Delaware & Hudson Canal met New York & Lake Erie railroad to take goods up to Lake Erie or down to the city. It was even a stop on the US's first 100 mile road. Of course, all that went bust and PJ never really recovered.

An elderly bride of Port Jervis
Was quite understandably nervous
Since her apple-cheeked groom
With three wives in the tomb
Kept insuring her during the service.
-Ogden Nash

From a 19th century newspaper clipping:

A not uncommon trick in Port Jervis is for a person with a bad cigar to stop a gentleman who is so fortunate as to have a good one, to solicit permission to light, and then step to one side pretending to be answering a call for one "just outside, you know," or else on handing back the "borrowed" cigar manage to substitute the inferior weed. We have seen this dodge played frequently at a prominent hotel not a hundred miles from the depot at that place.

[winnie]

PJ floods and the schools are underperforming. There are some OK spots but still the housing is higher than across the Delaware into PA.
We tried to find a home within 50 miles of Stewart 2 years ago for under 200K and could not find anything that I would consider suitable, even the condos in Maybrook are soaring in price and with taxes included were out of our price range. We even looked into eastern Greene and Ulster counties! We could barely even find a liveable home for under 250K - had to go to PA to do it. Now I even have had people in the past on the PA forum ask me about commuting from Milford/Pike county to the city. It is getting nuts IMHO. I recommend many parts of "upstate" but as soon as I get DH transferred to one of our previous states we are getting the heck out of here for a second and final time. The Orange County I knew and loved from the 80's is gone..has been for a long time. What is here now is great for many people who can afford it but it seems like the old timers are leaving in droves!

[tpoh]

Too many of you are not being practical. The days of being able to live on a wage that pays 30,000 a year are what's long gone. Those who've lived here only to be priced out are no different than those of us who grew up in Rockland or Jersey wishing for the good ole days and are priced out there. I'm from Jersey and on my salary you can spend 220,000 on a home in Greenwood Lake or you could spend 350,000 on a place in Warwick and still have to replace the roof, the furnance, the spetic, the electical and repave the driveway. Ask any real estate agent. Do you want to live in a place that looks bland and boring like many condos or do you want a place to make it you're own? Maybe add an addition, build out, build up it's all yours. All I can say is I haven't found a split level worth it's price, at any price, because they're all the same, boring! By the way that's what 350,000 to 400,000 is getting you a split level, congratulations! The scourge in all of architecture. Not a unique home in the bunch, just an overpriced box. Spend under 300,000 or over 400,000 you'll most likely find something unique. Greenwood Lake or Port Jervis could be that place for you if looking even under 250,000 even 200,000. There are even other hidden gems in the rough in other towns up here.

[NYerinTX2]

Back to the commuting issue... About how much will it cost? I'm moving back from TX to Cornwall (used to live in Queens until a few years ago). I know the commute from Cornwall to NYC will be long - but how much will it cost? I figure I will either take the train from Salisbury Mills - or a bus from Monroe - or maybe even drive to Suffren or Ridgewood in NJ and then to a bus since they probably have a lot more times available (I could be wrong, but I'm guessing the trains to Salisbury Mills aren't all that frequent).

Thanks for your help.