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Old 04-25-2016, 05:54 PM
 
3 posts, read 3,477 times
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Hi everyone,

Just a little background info on my search. I am looking to build a second home in Upstate NY (preferably places a little further than Woodbury) for my parents any family. I don't know which towns are good up there since we won't be there 365 days a year. I'm born and raised in Brooklyn so any locations outside of the "city" is unknown territory. (And I'm Asian... if that makes any difference).

I know there are threads with this information but I can only find the ones from... 2011 (?)

I'm looking at Newburgh and Poughkeepsie but any suggestions and insights would be good. Thanks in advance!


-E
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Old 04-25-2016, 06:16 PM
 
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That's it? Anything else? How much further Upstate will you go?

I'll throw out a suburb of Binghamton in Vestal. It has good schools, shopping, is home to Binghamton University, it has a relatively decent Asian population, is relatively affluent and is safe. Just be aware of flooding closer to the Susquehanna River, but the Vestal Hills area has some nice homes.

Last edited by ckhthankgod; 04-25-2016 at 07:11 PM..
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Old 04-27-2016, 06:57 AM
 
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What are your plans for this home? How far do you want to drive and how often do you plan to be there? Is access to the train a priority?

The traditional weekender locations are in Dutchess, Ulster, Columbia, Greene, Delaware, Sullivan counties so you certainly have options. Dutchess and Columbia are most convenient to train lines.

Beacon is a gentrifying town that is gaining in popularity. Hudson is very trendy but is 120ish miles from NYC. Kingston and surrounding communities are nice, historic and surprisingly affordable. It is a beautiful area in general so there are plenty of options.
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Old 04-27-2016, 05:12 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ckhthankgod View Post
That's it? Anything else? How much further Upstate will you go?

I'll throw out a suburb of Binghamton in Vestal. It has good schools, shopping, is home to Binghamton University, it has a relatively decent Asian population, is relatively affluent and is safe. Just be aware of flooding closer to the Susquehanna River, but the Vestal Hills area has some nice homes.
Well those are what my co-workers suggested. But I definitely don't mind going further up.
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Old 04-27-2016, 05:15 PM
 
3 posts, read 3,477 times
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Originally Posted by hvexpatinct View Post
What are your plans for this home? How far do you want to drive and how often do you plan to be there? Is access to the train a priority?

The traditional weekender locations are in Dutchess, Ulster, Columbia, Greene, Delaware, Sullivan counties so you certainly have options. Dutchess and Columbia are most convenient to train lines.

Beacon is a gentrifying town that is gaining in popularity. Hudson is very trendy but is 120ish miles from NYC. Kingston and surrounding communities are nice, historic and surprisingly affordable. It is a beautiful area in general so there are plenty of options.
Well it's just a 2nd home for us, just weekend/holiday use. Ideally we would love to have it built from the ground up (by a contractor of course). Driving time doesn't matter since everyone loves the ride up. Train is NOT a priority.

My concern is safety (since we won't be there all the time).
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Old 04-27-2016, 07:14 PM
 
1,403 posts, read 1,531,765 times
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Originally Posted by Hpgirl1890 View Post
Well it's just a 2nd home for us, just weekend/holiday use. Ideally we would love to have it built from the ground up (by a contractor of course). Driving time doesn't matter since everyone loves the ride up. Train is NOT a priority.

My concern is safety (since we won't be there all the time).

More info... there is a tremendous variety of towns/counties/areas in NY. It really depends on what you want.

I built a summer/weekend home in the catskills a few years back. I wanted completely rural and had some other "must haves" on my checklist. Took a while but I found exactly what I wanted.

Building from scratch is a great thing. There are some pitfalls. It is not as simple as some might believe, even with a great contractor. This wasn't my first time around for new construction and my previous experiences paid off, especially since it was in a location that I couldn't get to every day.

You also have to be in it for the long haul... what you pay to build new will be more than you can sell the home for in the short term (and possibly long-term with the housing market in some NY areas). Also, you need to budget more than you think - new construction always has some costs you didn't figure in at the beginning.


Driving time... everyone loves the drive up NOW. In a few years, that gets very old. Give that some deep thought. For most people 2-2.5 hours is the max they can put up with over time. If you can keep it to 1.5 hours or less, you will likely get more use out of the place in the future. Fortunately, you have plenty of options in a 1.5 hour radius.

Consider Pennsylvania. I looked there, but it just wasn't for me. Some people love it. There may be advantages to you now or at some point in the future by being able to change your address to another state. It's something to consider.

Depending on what exactly you are looking for, Sullivan County and Delaware County may be an option. Sullivan has many "lake communities" if that's your kind of thing. Delaware tends to be more rural, but has some beautiful scenery (and plenty of inexpensive land for sale).

In general, I would avoid Newburgh (unless you really know the areas to avoid). Also, it really isn't a "weekend/holiday" kind of place.

Depending on how far you are willing to go, there are some great buys up in the Cooperstown area and off Interstate 88.

Again, it really depends on what you are looking for in a weekend/holiday place. Seclusion? Nearby activities? Suburban? Rural? City-like? Water activities? Hunting? Fishing?
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Old 04-27-2016, 07:33 PM
 
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Originally Posted by Hpgirl1890 View Post
My concern is safety (since we won't be there all the time).
Just to add...

Most of the "country" areas upstate are very safe. That, however, is a very general statement.

In the rural areas, word travels FAST. Before my home was built, I was amazed to learn how many "neighbors" (the few within a 1 mile radius) knew so much about me (some true, some embellished, some false).

In practical terms, that means everyone will know your place is a second home that is empty most of the time. On the plus side, people are generally very friendly and look out for each other. The first time I met my closest neighbor he offered to exchange phone numbers so we could watch out for each other's place.

On the downside - there can always be that one bad apple. Kids with too much free time or that one guy who wants to steal your TV. Rare, but it can happen anywhere. Remember that locks only keep out honest people.

Best advice is to find a place with internet access. Hook up an alarm system and some cameras. That will deter the casual trouble maker. For the ones an alarm won't deter - don't leave anything overly valuable behind and get a good insurance policy.
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Old 04-28-2016, 04:18 AM
 
Location: Tioga County
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I've mentioned previously......A number of L.I. , Njer's , NYC er's have bought/built places in our county(Tioga)...or Broome, or Chenango..They feel it's about the furthest they like to drive for a weekend place.
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Old 04-28-2016, 06:35 AM
 
Location: North Raleigh x North Sacramento
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Ithaca has the largest Asian population upstate, if that matters. Its vibrant and much cheaper than living in Brooklyn, but it is a little off the beaten path, and maybe too far for you...
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Old 04-28-2016, 07:30 AM
 
92,624 posts, read 122,930,315 times
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Originally Posted by murksiderock View Post
Ithaca has the largest Asian population upstate, if that matters. Its vibrant and much cheaper than living in Brooklyn, but it is a little off the beaten path, and maybe too far for you...
Good one as it is about 16-17% Asian and it actually has suburbs with even higher percentages. In the village of Lansing, it is slightly under 30% Asian and Northeast Ithaca(CDP) is a little over 27% Asian. I believe that Tompkins County is around 10% Asian. Cornell has a lot to do with that, but there are public schools in the area with substantial to high Asian percentages.

Also, I believe that the previously mentioned Vestal is 10% Asian in terms those that live within its school district boundaries. Binghamton University has a lot to do with this, but just like the Ithaca area, you have schools in the district with pretty high Asian percentages.

Last edited by ckhthankgod; 04-28-2016 at 07:59 AM..
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