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I'm a single, white, male, professional (white collar) in my early 30s who is both a city person and outdoor fanatic (snowboarding, rock climbing, surfing, etc) and looking for something that allows me to be both when I need to be.
What's you priority? City or outdoors? If you're really a fanatic your outdoor destinations will likely be New England and the Adirondacks. so, for the sports it really doesn't matter except surfing cause you'll be traveling for everything. Your outdoor life will be severely restricted living in NYC vs farther north simply cause you'll add travel time and without a car you're pretty much hosed - or at least at the mercy of friends and ridesharing.The specifics:
Snowboarding: 2-6 hour drive from pretty much anywhere in the region unless you get on an airplane. Still, anyplace on Long island would be much worse than NYC or Westchester.
Surfing: The opposite of snowboarding. Lots of surfing on LI, even in NYC (Rockaways). Surfing favors NYC.
Rock climbing: Similar to snowboarding. Closest and best is the Gunks about 100 min from NYC, but Gunks is 100% trad. If you do sport you need to go to Rumney in New Hampshire.
Finally, skip Larchmont and the towns on the LI sound. There's nothing for you there.
Wow!! You guys and girls are amazing and full of great info. WP definitely sounds like a great place, but my only worry is that it's pretty far from Manhattan, where most of my friends reside. with this in mind, my goal needs to be somewhere where the train is consistent (sounds like Inwood or White Plains).
Speaking of this, is this the best place to find info about train times? mta.info | MTA Schedules
Justabitoff, mdm, sulfurdog and ehmom, thank you so much for the wealth of info.
This is where I'm torn: is that I want the "city life" environment AND be close to the outdoors but not be subject to the extremely high cost of living in the boroughs. For example, I calculated that between the extra city tax and paying for parking, it would cost me upwards near $10K/year to live in the city, not to mention (as others have) the extra cost of the commute, tolls, gas and time.
Kletter: Yes, I've seen the surf in LI, specifically, Long Beach is where I need to be, have been to the gunks before (amazing, even though I'm a sport climber and boulderer) and of course the east coast snowboarding is what it is (I was spoiled after spending two seasons in Whistler).
This info you gave is great, because it lets me know what is where
Any more thoughts on White Plains and how to determine/gather more info?
with this in mind, my goal needs to be somewhere where the train is consistent (sounds like Inwood or White Plains).
If you're working in Dobss Ferry why not stick to the "River Towns"? All are EZ-in, EZ-out from NYC.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMJury
This is where I'm torn: is that I want the "city life" environment AND be close to the outdoors but not be subject to the extremely high cost of living in the boroughs........
Kletter: Yes, I've seen the surf in LI, specifically, Long Beach is where I need to be, have been to the gunks before (amazing, even though I'm a sport climber and boulderer) and of course the east coast snowboarding is what it is (I was spoiled after spending two seasons in Whistler). This info you gave is great, because it lets me know what is where
River Towns would have an edge over WP because of proximity to Tappen Zee Br via Rt 9 (Broadway). You want that for anything related to upstate NY. From White Plains you'd still have downtown Friday traffic to contend with, followed by I287 congestion &/or navigating secondary roads to the bridge (which is usually congested as well). Both have similar access to I-684 and north. The key point, which has been repeated several times, is to avoid anything on the LI sound.
There are small bouldering spots all over the place, though many aren't widely known. You need to get plugged into the local climbing community. If you climb sport you'll absolutely need to head to NH, NY is a wasteland. Biggest gym in the area, by far, is in New Rochelle. Anyway, if you decide to learn trad being on the river side (vs White Plains) will save you some time getting to the gunks.
If you've been spoiled by seasons out west you can erase any thoughts of day trip areas in NY area (Hunter, etc.). Again, you'll be headed to VT on weekends. Access to I-684 (or Saw Mill parkway to I-684) is all that matters.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMJury
Any more thoughts on White Plains and how to determine/gather more info?
Much has been posted here on WP, just start searching. BTW, do you actually need train service to NYC or would you be doing a lot of driving? You'll certainly be driving to work. There's a strong train bias on this board towards towns with easy train access and parking permits cause everybody most people are commuting to NYC.
Wow!! You guys and girls are amazing and full of great info. WP definitely sounds like a great place, but my only worry is that it's pretty far from Manhattan, where most of my friends reside. with this in mind, my goal needs to be somewhere where the train is consistent (sounds like Inwood or White Plains).
Speaking of this, is this the best place to find info about train times? mta.info | MTA Schedules
Justabitoff, mdm, sulfurdog and ehmom, thank you so much for the wealth of info.
This is where I'm torn: is that I want the "city life" environment AND be close to the outdoors but not be subject to the extremely high cost of living in the boroughs. For example, I calculated that between the extra city tax and paying for parking, it would cost me upwards near $10K/year to live in the city, not to mention (as others have) the extra cost of the commute, tolls, gas and time.
Kletter: Yes, I've seen the surf in LI, specifically, Long Beach is where I need to be, have been to the gunks before (amazing, even though I'm a sport climber and boulderer) and of course the east coast snowboarding is what it is (I was spoiled after spending two seasons in Whistler).
This info you gave is great, because it lets me know what is where
Any more thoughts on White Plains and how to determine/gather more info?
Well the good news is that the bouldering situation is better than the roped climbing scene in the immediate area. The bad news is that you can kiss sport climbing goodbye unless you want to spend your time trespassing to get to short medium quality stuff in low abundance or climb on greasy rock next to train tracks at west point. There are some places in CT that I've heard are OK for sport, or will be until someone chops them.
On a more general note, NYC Metro is a pretty bad place to be for mixing city living and outdoor adventure given the general car unfriendliness (don't forget your car insurance will probably be more expensive in NYC due to property crime) and the sprawl that has eaten up a lot of the wild spaces. Better cities for that kind of thing are much smaller, like SLC, Las Vegas, Boulder, Tuscon, etc.
Basically I'd break it down like this:
River Towns:
More families and less single people
Less frequent trains to NYC
Closer to your job
Easier to escape across the river to upstate
Car oriented for shopping, dining etc, unless you live in the immediate downtown area (not lots of great housing options usually)
Safe and quiet
WP:
More single people, bars, etc
More frequent trains, but not 24/7
Possible to walk to most things if you live downtown (which has plenty of nice housing)
Dealing with 287 traffic
Marginally closer to beaches/surfing
Less safe and quiet, but still more so than most parts of NYC
Parts of NYC that you'd move to:
More people of all types
24/7 transportation, plus slightly shorter to your friends depending on where they are and how close you are to subway
Way more expensive to keep car and live in general
Less space to store your pads, surfboard, snowboard, etc. for the same money elsewhere
Walkable
Harder to get to the outdoors in a timely fashion
Reverse commute will be fine traffic wise
Bouldering in Inwood Park!
The subway in NYC? Consistent? Are we talking about the same subway system? Honestly, I find the MetroNorth to be more reliable than the subway ever is. At least with the MTA you don't have to get to the train station until right when you know the train is leaving. And from Inwood, it would take you just as long to get to Midtown Manhattan as it would from White Plains, and it's half the distance. So take your pick... Especially if you're mostly seeing your friends on the weekend, when subways have construction and the MetroNorth runs local, I'd say you're pretty much awash when it comes to convenience.
I would look at your lifestyle needs and what makes the most sense. Plus, if you're renting... you can always move! Try something out for a year and that will teach you what you can put up with and what you can't. That's really the only way to know for sure. Most people can survive anything for a year.
We live in Washington Heights (just below Inwood) and the area is great. I'm an outdoor-type person myself and this neighborhood (with access to Ft. Tryon park and views of the Hudson River) have been great for me personally. There's a lot of cyclists and runners in this area and you are right by the Henry Hudson parkway so you can get out of town quickly if need be. Plenty of apartments for rent in your price range as well...on street parking can be a bit of a hassle; however, I found a reasonable deal at a nearby garage and I'm sure you could too. I just sent you a direct message with more information, but definitely check out northern Manhattan.
Guys and gals
This is great information and so precise to what my needs are and what I'm looking for, now it just comes down to a decision on where and what's it's like (I have to wait until I get there to see the lay of the land).
Living in Yonkers, Inwood (though the taxes and parking are higher) and WP seem to be the front runners.
My newest question is the travel time to/from the city from these places.
Is this the best site to use from trip planning and schedules?
I've heard people quoting express trains from Yonkers and White Plains only taking 25 minutes to mid-town (Grand Central), but I find the express takes 35 minutes and local 50. Where are these 25 minute quotes coming from?
Also, trains (Metro North) doesn't run past 2am-ish on the weekends which limits my abilities getting back to Yonkers/White Plains area. Anything after this time, you have to wait until 5-6am for a train.
Are there buses to take and if so, where can I find them? I've heard of some "express" buses, but they don't show up on the MTA.info site.
The subway in NYC? Consistent? Are we talking about the same subway system? Honestly, I find the MetroNorth to be more reliable than the subway ever is. At least with the MTA you don't have to get to the train station until right when you know the train is leaving. And from Inwood, it would take you just as long to get to Midtown Manhattan as it would from White Plains, and it's half the distance. So take your pick... Especially if you're mostly seeing your friends on the weekend, when subways have construction and the MetroNorth runs local, I'd say you're pretty much awash when it comes to convenience.
I would look at your lifestyle needs and what makes the most sense. Plus, if you're renting... you can always move! Try something out for a year and that will teach you what you can put up with and what you can't. That's really the only way to know for sure. Most people can survive anything for a year.
This is partly what I'm thinking, "I can do anything for a year and will have a better idea of what I can and cannot handle."
People who say it's a 25 minute trip are lying, or they live in Yonkers. And even then... So no, it's not 25 minutes and you should definitely ignore them.
As far as late nights... one thing to keep in mind is driving down and parking on the street. After a certain time, it is easier to park on the street, especially if you're not doing it a lot. Of course, if you're a heavy drinker that won't be safe, but it's an option. Otherwise, yeah, I think most people just don't stay out so late when they live in Westchester. I guess it depends on how often this ends up happening. 24/7 subway *is* a benefit, even if it does take 50 minutes to get home.
Thanks, Just, getting wrapped up in everything else, I completely forgot about driving!
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Most people can survive anything for a year.
