Moving to Wappinger Falls (Poughkeepsie, East Fishkill: apartment complexes, crime rates, houses)

[Charm91]

Hi. I am a young African American female moving to Wappinger Falls with my husband who by the way is caucasian. Will we be accepted? Are there any minorities in Wappinger Falls? And what is there to do. We are moving from Long Island where only 15 minutes away was one of the largest shopping malls in the country, Roosevelt Field. I would really love and appreciated any and all honest, good or bad feedback. Thanx

[mom2gurls]

You will be fine...south dutchess isnt the country. LOL And while our galleria isnt as big as Roosevelt fields (has everything in from banana republic, to abercrombie..etc etc etc) ..you have all the major shopping on route 9, the danbury, ct mall is 30 minutes away, the newburgh mall right over the bridge and woodbury commons super outdoors mall 40 minutes over the bridge as well.

Funny how people think south dutchess is the country.. SO NOT SO. LOL.

[Charm91]

Aww, thanx. I think I needed to hear some reassurance esp about the shopping. lol Thank you. Are there any minorities there though? And plz ans honestly.

[middle-of-nowhere]

The Palisades mall is also just about an hour from Wappingers. That mall is HUGE! Between the Galleria, Woodbury Commons, and Palisades... your shopping needs should be fine!

[mom2gurls]

Yes..there are minorities here..most areas of dutchess are middle to upper class and very desperate housewifish...we just have bigger lawns! If you want to HONEST specifics....

The Beacon is a very artsy area...very mixed, african american, white, and anyone who loves the artsy vibe and the train is a direct way into the city. Problem is the schools are BOO.

You can check the test scores....its not me just saying that. Wappingers and East Fishkill (east of route 9 by a couple of miles)...also part of hopewell as well...Are pretty middle upper class, toll brothers developments and other ones as well...Pretty white and asian ( the indian temples are there)..But when I say that...Please dont picture queens or anything...or jackson heights. its NOT NOT like that at all.

Hmm then you move up and you go a tad north into lagrange, beekman, pougquag..more subdivisions and regular established neighborhoods (when I say up..I mean like 9 -11 miles but still EAST of route 9), you hit arlington schools. Arlington is pretty upper class..and pretty white and with pockets of asians and south asians. Its a very very high rated school district as the principal won NY state principal of the year. We live in arlington and are south asian (indian)....

So its what you make of it...its not as diverse as I like..but the schools and test scores rock..lots of new libraries and stuff. It takes me 20 minutes to get to Route 9.

I dont know what you mean about minorities..if you are talking about what areas to avoide with regards to schools, I would say Beacon, parts of fishkill and poughkeepsie..

Beacon and poughkeepsie does have a certain "ghetto" element to it. But again, nothing like what you may be thinking of brooklyn or the city.

I am not sure if I answered your questions..but I have lived here for 10 years..and there isnt too much diversity..but the people are great..you will have no issues being a mixed couple..honestly. But if you are thinking that you WANT to live within the african american community..then beacon and poughkeepsie would be where you would head.

I am being brutally honest because you asked and no realtor will tell you that. So take it for what its worth.

BTW...beacon really does have a nice artsy vibe to it (and also has the million dollar mcmansion homes..and alot of hip professionals dig the area...its just the school system is not high rated.

[glakyba]

I have two kids age 7 and 9 Im moving from Brooklyn because i want a better environment for my kids. They are in the best charter in the state so I am looking for great schools for them as well as employment in a hospital for myself. I really don't want to move in the country AREA. I would love to be near transportation because Im not driving. Any suggestions??

[MinkeyM]

Originally Posted by glakyba

I have two kids age 7 and 9 Im moving from Brooklyn because i want a better environment for my kids. They are in the best charter in the state so I am looking for great schools for them as well as employment in a hospital for myself. I really don't want to move in the country AREA. I would love to be near transportation because Im not driving. Any suggestions??

You will need transportation. It's not Brooklyn. At. All. It doesn't want to be.
It would be considered a "country AREA" to... people from Brooklyn.
Have you taken a look around the area before making a commitment to move there??

[CampingMom]

Originally Posted by mom2gurls

Yes..there are minorities here..most areas of dutchess are middle to upper class and very desperate housewifish...we just have bigger lawns! If you want to HONEST specifics....

The Beacon is a very artsy area...very mixed, african american, white, and anyone who loves the artsy vibe and the train is a direct way into the city. Problem is the schools are BOO.

You can check the test scores....its not me just saying that. Wappingers and East Fishkill (east of route 9 by a couple of miles)...also part of hopewell as well...Are pretty middle upper class, toll brothers developments and other ones as well...Pretty white and asian ( the indian temples are there)..But when I say that...Please dont picture queens or anything...or jackson heights. its NOT NOT like that at all.

Hmm then you move up and you go a tad north into lagrange, beekman, pougquag..more subdivisions and regular established neighborhoods (when I say up..I mean like 9 -11 miles but still EAST of route 9), you hit arlington schools. Arlington is pretty upper class..and pretty white and with pockets of asians and south asians. Its a very very high rated school district as the principal won NY state principal of the year. We live in arlington and are south asian (indian)....

So its what you make of it...its not as diverse as I like..but the schools and test scores rock..lots of new libraries and stuff. It takes me 20 minutes to get to Route 9.

I dont know what you mean about minorities..if you are talking about what areas to avoide with regards to schools, I would say Beacon, parts of fishkill and poughkeepsie..

Beacon and poughkeepsie does have a certain "ghetto" element to it. But again, nothing like what you may be thinking of brooklyn or the city.

I am not sure if I answered your questions..but I have lived here for 10 years..and there isnt too much diversity..but the people are great..you will have no issues being a mixed couple..honestly. But if you are thinking that you WANT to live within the african american community..then beacon and poughkeepsie would be where you would head.

I am being brutally honest because you asked and no realtor will tell you that. So take it for what its worth.

BTW...beacon really does have a nice artsy vibe to it (and also has the million dollar mcmansion homes..and alot of hip professionals dig the area...its just the school system is not high rated.

Fishkill has NO bad parts to it. I've lived here 50 years. I wouldn't move into a home though that has Beacon School district through-that's the difference. Beacon has a huge issue with gangs down by South Ave & South Davies, Tompkins Terrace and Forrestal Heights. Stay far away from those areas. Drugs are what drives those apartment complexes. If you stay to the east side of Beacon or by the Mountain, you are fine. And diversity? You are a relatively newbie to this area. When I was in school here, we had two African Americans in my WHOLE elementary school-back early 70's. I never saw anyone who was from India until I was in 10th grade. Can't say that now, this area is totally diverse. The people that bought my late parents house from me are from China. My entire road is now diverse and there's just 13 houses here.

Fishkill is a good area, our elementary school can't be beat-they get to do tons of things, even if the school budget fails as they can do walking field trips here. Van Wyck and John Jay are good schools also. Wappingers School District covers 120 sq miles. While Arlington has a great reputation, I worked there for 20 + years, the taxes now are astronomical compared to what they once were.

Depends on what you are looking for in terms of housing too. Do you want apartment life? A home? Stay as far away from the City of Poughkeepsie as you can-it's got one of the highest crime rates in the USA. It's become a dump. Don't let ANY Realtor you meet show you anything there. You will regret it. Town of Wappingers, Fishkill, East Fishkill, Lagrange, Beekman, Pleasant Valley. Rhinebeck and Red Hook Schools also are ones to consider-Red Hook is the only one here that offers the IBP program for high school. It's second to none.

Diversity is alive and well here in Dutchess County. With about 300K living here now-it's bound to be. It's no big deal these days as most families/couples are diverse.