Warwick NY (Union, Monroe, Middletown: ski resort, home, to buy)

[Jason_Els]

The parks are about it unless you count doing errands in the village. There is no gathering place other than these. There is a community center but I don't know anyone other than adults that use it though I know they have programs for kids.

There are two town beaches, one that just opened on Greenwood Lake and another at Waywayanda State Partk. Lot of people go there to swim if they, or friends, don't have swimming pools.

Your kids will make friends through school though they may also do so through after-school sports clubs and scouting. The vast size of the town itself makes such instant get-togethers difficult unless you're doing the mom's taxi routine. Living in a village makes things easier, but school and sports are pretty much the only social venue your kids will have unless you make an effort to setup play dates (I loathe that term).

Most parents don't have much time to get involved with the lives of their young children. The commute times to the city are so long that you leave home early and arrive home late. If you have a stay-at-home parent, great. If you don't, then the kids are left to nannies and childcare services.

It's not easy growing-up in Warwick. My friends all lived miles away and the remoteness of our house, relative to other houses with kids my age, meant I watched a lot of TV and read many books. This pretty much made me a geek and it wasn't until I left for boarding school (which I eagerly wanted to do), that I could interact independently with my peers. This was before the big housing boom, so you may find things easier, but there's no getting around that Warwick is a big town and making time to shuttle your kid around or making social activities for your kids isn't easy.

Warwick has a sense of community and it does have a living downtown which is rare these days, but it does tend to be a bit insular. If you've lived here a long time you'll see the same faces at various social events as it seems most people just don't have the time or want to make the effort or they feel as though they don't feel welcome by what passes for the town's society. There are places which are far worse. Warwickians do tend to make a better effort than most bedroom communities but again, many are pressured by career needs or, for whatever reason, don't always feel as community events are things they want to do. I know many are just plain tired after a long day of work and prefer to spend quiet weekends at home recuperating.

[Timmo]

I lived in Warwick for about two years. It's a nice town, and I used to hang out at the Tuscan Cafe and Caffe a la Mode a lot. The town is very insular, and for a single guy very lonely. It'll be different for you considering you have a family, BIG difference.
Do they still have a Philo Cafe in town?

[Jason_Els]

Originally Posted by Timmo

I lived in Warwick for about two years. It's a nice town, and I used to hang out at the Tuscan Cafe and Caffe a la Mode a lot. The town is very insular, and for a single guy very lonely. It'll be different for you considering you have a family, BIG difference.
Do they still have a Philo Cafe in town?

It's very lonely for anyone single. I agree with that as I too am single.

When did Warwick ever have a philo cafe? Do you mean Alice's? I mostly find it filled with crunchy rich kids and retired hippie poseurs trying to get back their self respect after being yuppies in the 80s and 90s. a la Mode is a big teen hangout.

[Songbird42]

Thinking of Warwick........back in the day, alot of kids drove up to Warwick from Vernon, NJ just over the boarder, it was the 60's, we used to hang out at the bowling alley across from Lloyds Supermarket( now shoprite I think) anyway, we never bowled, but the owner would let us sit there all night all as long as the glasses were full. The place would be full every Fri/Sat night. Several couples from there got married. An old boyfriend Drew ran for alderman back in the 70's. We'd hit the bars up near the railroad tracks and across from the depot.........I remember one night three cars heading back to NJ I was third car and decided to pass to get the lead, just before deadman's turn, into the turn I went, G*d was with me that night as I sled into the lead, the two cars slammed on there brakes thinking I wasn't going to make it around the turn. We stopped on Route 94 and sat to gain our composure. Of course, I wouldn't advise anyone to do such a stupid thing, but I was a youngster then.

[Jason_Els]

Oh the stories of indescretion! Frontier Lanes is still a popular hang-out as is the drive-in. Have to watch it though, a cop shot and killed a guy who tried to escape them in a car chase. The same cop assaulted his girl friend and yes, he's still miraculously on the police force.

[Timmo]

Jason,

The Philo (Philosophy) Cafe was a philosophical forum at Alice's Tuscan Cafe. Rich Bennett himself was at many sessions. lol "Retired hippie poseurs" sounds like the right place!

[Jason_Els]

I like Rich. I went to the film discussion forum at Band Wagon a few times until I found two hours in a folding metal chair unbearable and put together my own home theater. That and there's only so much Bergman you can take before you want to hang yourself.

Walter was my mechanic for years back when Saabs were Saabs and not overpriced Chevys. Only in Warwick does your mechanic have a PhD and earn twice an hour what you do. I like Walter's humor. My favorite Walter quote, "Saabs are 90% genius and 10% WTF-were-they-thinking?"

For those who don't know, Warwick's strong Nixonian streak was grudgingly interrupted by the introduction of the Chardavoyne Group founded on the principles of G.I. Gurdjieff's The Work philosophy. Both Rich and Walter are brothers and sons of John Bennett. Warwick hosts an unusual number of artists and artisans in the community, ranging in talent from the self-deluded to the outstanding, because of the Chardavoyne Group's presence. Another small craft village nearby, Sugar Loaf, has some very interesting artists but also an endless number of incense-and-pewter-dragon shops. Makes a great place to shop for the left-leaning friends and family come Christmas. Sorry. I meant, "Yule."

[jackiehale]

Hi,
I just found this interesting blog. I'm a new transplant to Warwick, having moved into the town of Warwick 10 months ago, on 10/2/06 to be precise. We had an awful moving experience (of course this had nothing to do with Warwick itself). I love my neighborhood, I really like Warwick and the surrounding areas of Monroe, Harriman and Florida. Like previous posts, my husband and I have been so busy working and commuting back and fourth that we leave the house at 6:30am and do not return until 7:15pm and later if traffice on the Tappan Zee Bridge is at a stand still which is the case more often then not. Through it all, we still love it getting home and look forward to the weekends. Having moved to Warwick from the Bronx, NYC it was a big change but we adjusted fairly quickly. We made this move with our daughters in mind, we have a 3 yr old and a 10 month old. We don't think we'll live here forever as we would ideally like to move closer to NYC like maybe Rockland or Westchester Counties but the price of our home allowed us to get our foot in the door on the real estate market and at the same time have peace of mind. The only hard part is looking for a decent job that pays a good salary. Don't know what I will do once my elder daughter starts kindergarten. Well, I'll continue to read these posts and gather as much information as I can.PS Shoprite is very pricey compared to Walmart and Target. Best, Jackie

[dinomcg61]

I've lived in warwick 5 yr now and still don't feel like i live here. everyone commutes so you don't get to know people. I have 2 kids and always have to pick up or drop off others kids because they work in the city and are just too tired to make an effort for their kids to get together with friends. There is very little to do and I just can't imagine living the rest of my life here.

[RichCapeCod]

Originally Posted by bcain

Hey Jason, what's the commute to NYC like from Warwick? Bus or train? How much time does it take to get there?

Bcain:

I lived in Warwick from 1974 through 1990 and commuted into the city every working day. I was with the NYPD, and during this time I worked various hours (and was assigned to various locations). Here's what I found:

If you work a 9 to 5 job, Monday to Friday, in the middle of NYC, I think you’d be making a mistake living in Warwick. The commute would be brutal.

Bronx: Not a bad commute, especially if you can work hours where you are going against the traffic. I worked (at various times) in the north of that boro, which was an “easy” commute, and so long as I was working a 6 PM to 2 AM tour, getting to any precinct in the boro was no big deal.

Northern Manhattan: At the time of my commuting into the city I found that so long as I didn’t have to travel beyond 132nd Street, it wasn’t too bad. Past that point it was a serious problem (at one point I was working on John Street in lower Manhattan. Don’t ask…).

Brooklyn: Oh boy. I worked out of Floyd Bennett Field for awhile (helicopter pilot). On a Sunday morning, I’d make it in one hour and forty-five minutes. All other times, I’d have to give myself three hours (remember, it’d be Warwick to the Lincoln Tunnel, to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, around the Belt Parkway and down Flatbush Avenue. 77 miles one way.)

In general, from Warwick, and without driving during outrageous traffic conditions, it took me around one hour to get to the George Washington Bridge (43 miles from my home to the GW).

The rule of thumb which I learned from this 16 years of commuting from Warwick to the city; never put a tunnel or a bridge between where you live and where you work.

Hope this was helpful.


Rich