Pearl River in Rockland County (Ossining, New City: city hall, houses, transfer to)

[destiny826]

My family (wife and one year old) and I are thinking about moving to Pearl River from Queens, NY. We are not familiar with this area, do you think is a great place to raise a family (we are Asian). Since my wife and I both work in Manhattan, is the commute worth it? Thank you for your help and suggestions.

[havoc315]

My mother-in-law used to be the high school principal in Pearl River. It's a nice area with a decent school system. But the commute from anywhere in Rockland can be a pretty tough commute. Since I don't know where in Manhattan you both commute, I can't give more precise information. There are buses that go into the Port Authority and into midtown (and some buses that even go to downtown). There is the TZ-Express-- Buses that take you to Tarrytown, and then train to Grand Central. There is the railroad directly from Pearl River, that goes down to Hoboken, and then PATH service into Manhattan.
And of course, some Rockland commuters choose to simply drive into Manhattan, due to the lack of highly efficient mass transit.

[destiny826]

Thank you havoc for your help. I work in lower Manhattan (City Hall area)and my wife works midtown east. Is the commute really that bad? Do you like Pearl River's school and neighborhood over Nauet, New City and Tappan?

[Viralmd]

Many people in Rockland go across the bridge to Tarrytown and get the train from there, but it's not a painless commute. Being in NY (rather than NJ) on the west side of the Hudson makes it a more prolonged trip.

[ghguy]

I always thought that the reason that area was so much cheaper than Westchester was because it 's a really difficult commute to Manhattan....

[rusty78]

Originally Posted by destiny826

My family (wife and one year old) and I are thinking about moving to Pearl River from Queens, NY. We are not familiar with this area, do you think is a great place to raise a family (we are Asian). Since my wife and I both work in Manhattan, is the commute worth it? Thank you for your help and suggestions.

Pearl River is one of the most sought after areas in Rockland County......and it is not uncommon to pay 20% more than you would for a similar house in other parts of Rockland...at one time...Pearl River was mostly Irish...and some say still is......made up of cops/firemen/sanitation workers/blue collar workers...there is more of a mix now...but houses still seem to sell for more than other sought after areas in Rockland...

[havoc315]

As stated above, Pearl River has the reputation if being more working class than those other parts of Rockland you mentioned. The schools are definitely alright, but the other areas you mentioned are a bit better regarded.

Going downtown, the main options are the train from Pearl River or Nanuet, then transfer to PATH, or simply driving to work. From Tappan, you are only 20 miles from the GW bridge, not sure about distance to the Lincoln or Holland Tunnel. Driving is expensive, with parking and tolls. But the time wouldn't be that horrible most days.

Another possible option that could work for you and your wife --- Northern New City or Congers. Excellent schools, short drive to the Haverstaw ferry. There is a ferry that connects with metro north is Ossining, for a total of 70 minutes to Grand Central. There is also a ferry that goes all the way downtown, in about 90 minutes.

[destiny826]

I was told by others that Pearl River school system is better than Clarkstown and Tappan. Is that true? Also, on average how long would it take to drive into the city during rush hour in the morning and evening?

[havoc315]

Pearl River is much improved in recent years, but consensus opinion would rank it below Clarkstown and South Orangetown.

I cannot reliably give you a driving time. On a really good day, I can imagine it taking 45 minutes. On a typical day, I would guess 60 to 90 minutes. On a really bad day, 2 hours or more.

But perhaps others who have regularly done that commute could give you a better idea.

[Forest_Hills_Daddy]

Originally Posted by destiny826

My family (wife and one year old) and I are thinking about moving to Pearl River from Queens, NY. We are not familiar with this area, do you think is a great place to raise a family (we are Asian). Since my wife and I both work in Manhattan, is the commute worth it? Thank you for your help and suggestions.

I am in the same situation as you. Wife works in midtown and I, downtown a few blocks for city hall. We are also looking to move to Rockland (Pearl River or Nanuet) or some other suburb from Queens and have studied the commute carefully. We even took a couple of train rides to see how it would feel.

There will be some inconvenience commuting from Manhattan, but at least you'll have comfortable seats and access to a restroom in the train for most of the way. I noticed that the subways from Queens seem to be travelling at slower speends lately and the rush hour trains are filled to capacity as far back as Forest Hills. With that, the commute from Rockland doesn't seem to be such a long distance anymore.

Some parts of Westchester are a much easier commute (in all aspects aside from just to and from work) compared to Rockland, but the home prices are also more expensive. If you can shell out another $150K, consider Pleasantville. It's a town where you can "walk to everything" just like in Queens but with a good public school system. We find the home prices in Pleasantville a bit too expensive though.