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I am in search of somewhere to move. I currently live on the north shore of L.I.. The cost of living is too high here and the culture is not healthy. My husband and I have 3 small children. I do not like the busy and overbooked lifestyle here. I want something more laid back and less keeping up with the Joneses. I am fed up with the traffic and over development.
I admit, I am probably considered a "city girl" by most standards. I could never live in NYC but I am not comfortable without people near me. I could never live in the woods, surrounded by darkness with the nearest neighbor miles away. I want neighbors, just not on top of me like L.I.. I want somewhere with a real sense of community. Somewhere that has mainstreet parades, movies in the park, Easter Egg hunts etc. My husband and I are active in our church. A community with a thriving Lutheran church would be a big plus!
I am thinking Upstate or New England areas although I've heard parts of New Jersey (gasp) are actually quite nice.
Criteria:
within a 4 hour radius from NYC (so friends can drive and visit)
2,000+ sq ft house
4+ bed 2+ bath
2+acres (I want neighbors but some privacy)
reasonable taxes (below 7k)
looking to spend around 300k
Need a distinct mainstreet/downtown area
not too touristy
distinct seasons
educated population (high rate of college education and professionals)
Farm stands
A good school system is VERY important to me. I prefer smaller and more personal schools as opposed to large districts. The current school my children attend is rated a 10 from Great Schools and is a NY Blue Ribbon school. The graduating size is around 215.
Within 20 to 30 minutes:
movie theater
Target
Trader Joes or similar store
mall
an L.L. Bean would be great
Employment:
I am a NYS certified science teacher and hold a master's degree. I have been home with my kids. I am not sure if I want to teach FT or just sub and tutor. I like being a very involved mom. My children come first and I would like to move somewhere that 2 incomes isn't necessary.
My husband is a network admin. He needs good connectivity
Cazenovia east of Syracuse came to mind immediately and its village even has that "New England" look and feel. Skaneateles, which is SW of Syracuse, is another community that may work. Both are very similar and even play each other in regards to sports teams. Clinton, SW of Utica, may also work. Cazenovia and Clinton both have small private colleges too.
Homer, Trumansburg, Dryden, Owego, Schuylerville, Chittenango, New Hartford and Marcellus may also fit what you are looking for.
Chittenango/town of Sullivan is just north of Cazenovia. While it may not be as affluent as Cazenovia and the schools aren't as highly regarded, it is more affordable and the schools are still good. It is a straight shot down Route 5 from shopping in Fayetteville, an eastern suburb of Syracuse, which has the Towne Center at Fayetteville: Towne Center at Fayetteville |
For those in Cazenovia to get to that shopping center, they would take Route 92 into the village of Manlius. Then turn right, then veer right onto Route 257 and take that into the village of Fayetteville. Once there, take a left onto Route 5 to the shopping center.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 12-14-2015 at 01:15 PM..
Based on what you are suggesting, you need to be completely outside the NY Metro Area, as well as the metro areas of Philly and Boston. So that excludes almost all of NJ. But NW NJ (mainly Sussex County and possibly parts of Warren and Hunterdon) may fit your bill, and you will not be as far from Manhattan as you think you need to be. But this area, even if you hit all your marks, may be outside your stated housing budget, mostly due to its approximately to NYC.
When you combine good schools, the house you want being under $300K and taxes under $7K you are pretty much crossing off downstate NY, downstate CT and most of NJ as the previous poster mentioned. By the way, the size of a school district doesn't really matter if the schools are zoned. LI has an excessive amount for its geography.
Upstate is probably your best option, or moving out of the area entirely. The 4 hour drive aside you could get what you want in either Charlotte or the Research Triangle areas of NC.
Given your husband's profession I agree that you don't want to be too rural, and depending on the location you might want to line up 2 internet providers (the second one can be cheap and a backup) just in case.
I attended the dutchess County Fair and overheard this family telling a friend that they moved to the Rhinebeck area from long island, and that her brother's family did the same 4 years prior. She said her experience was positive.
When you combine good schools, the house you want being under $300K and taxes under $7K you are pretty much crossing off downstate NY, downstate CT and most of NJ as the previous poster mentioned. By the way, the size of a school district doesn't really matter if the schools are zoned. LI has an excessive amount for its geography.
Upstate is probably your best option, or moving out of the area entirely. The 4 hour drive aside you could get what you want in either Charlotte or the Research Triangle areas of NC.
Given your husband's profession I agree that you don't want to be too rural, and depending on the location you might want to line up 2 internet providers (the second one can be cheap and a backup) just in case.
People forget about Delaware, which may be a sleeper in this regard.
OP, I also just read it again and seeing that you wanted something more built up, I would put New Hartford higher up on the list. It is one of the "best" school districts in Upstate NY, has a nice quaint village that has a shopping plaza and more big box shopping on Commercial Drive in the town of NH. It is viewed as affluent for the Utica-Rome area, but has home within your price range. It has a 3 grade high school(10-12) with about 650 students. It is adjacent to South and SE Utica, which is a nice area of that city. Clinton is on the other side of the town/SD.
Also, a development in the Chittenango area that came to mind is the Poolsbrooke development just inside of the town of Sullivan at the Onondaga/Madison county line off of Route 5. It is an Oot Bros development. https://goo.gl/maps/XmvTY6Dm6U62
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 12-14-2015 at 06:13 PM..
The budget is flexible, depending on taxes. The home I would want on Long Island would be around 350-375k and have 10-12k taxes. The taxes here are killer. If the taxes are low I am willing to go up to like 350k but it would certainly have to stay within the below 7k tax budget. I don't mind paying more for the house if the taxes are low. At least with a more expensive house you build equity. A large tax bill gets you nothing!!!
hmmm.....Vestal, NY sounds like a possibility for you. What you need to remember is that up in this area...you might live in Vestal....but go to connecting communities for various needs. What is different from down on L.I. is the travel time between communities.....A LOT LESS. The Binghamton to Owego corridor of communities can pretty much answer all your needs. Heck..we have people here in Owego who work at Cornell/Ithaca(very light traffic makes the drive quick). We also fall within the 4hr to NY window(that's another reason why many downstate kids go to SUNY Binghamton - away from their parents- but just a 3-5 hr trip home as needed).
..and $350K will buy you a nice suburban home in the Vestal area w/lower taxes.
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