Westchester County vs Rockland County (Yonkers, Ramapo: apartment, how much, townhomes)
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We are still considering a move to NY state from a Philadelphia suburb. Spouse needs to commute to White Plains. We like White Plains and some surrounding towns but are not sure if it will be affordable with a budget of $600-700,000 + cost to make a home handicap accessible for our child. We must live in NY state for special needs services that we cannot get in CT. Should we consider Rockland County? Would commuting over the Tappan Zee be brutal? How does it compare to Westchester County? Any thoughts?
Commuting over the TZ Bridge won’t be that bad when then new one is fully finished. You will get more for your money in Rockland. You house shop in NY via school district. Rockland has only 8 districts. East Ramapo is horrific. North Rockland is mediocre - very large and may be majority Hispanic. Nyack is good if you are progressive/artsy and must have diversity of race and income in your district. The other 5 are highly regarded. Your budget will do you well in Rockland and Northern Westchester. Northern Westchester will have a longer commute mileage-wise than parts of Rockland - it’s just a matter of how much of that is negated by the bridge. Also what about NJ for services for your kid. If it’s better than NY than look at the many great towns within commuting distance from WP. Rockland and Bergen largely blend in with each other.
As someone who lives on the East side of the Bridge (Dobbs) I would move to Rockland in an instant if I had a job that didn't require a NYC commute. I love Nyack village, and from what little scouting I've done, the taxes and home prices are much more reasonable than the Westchester counterparts. That Metro North corridor access comes at a price!
Plus the new Tappan Zee bridge should go a long way (hopefully) towards relieving rush hr congestion.
If there is any chance of either of you having to commute to NYC regularly at any point, do NOT move to Rockland. Personally, I would look into Putnam County before Rockland if you have no need to be on the other side of the river.
For me I lived in Rockland for 3 years, working in midtown. One Friday before a major holiday it took me 4 hours to get home vi the bus. Moved to Westchester that year.
If there is any chance of either of you having to commute to NYC regularly at any point, do NOT move to Rockland. Personally, I would look into Putnam County before Rockland if you have no need to be on the other side of the river.
These generalizations are not true and are not helpful.
Putnam County is much father from Manhattan than most of Rockland County. You can commute from Rockland to Manhattan via train just like you can from Westchester/Putnam to Manhattan. Pearl River to Penn Station, inclusive of the transfer at Secaucus, is 53 minutes if you take an express train. Cold Spring to Grand Central is 75-80 minutes.
I would not recommend a bus or car commute from Rockland to Manhattan. A car commute during non-peek times would work though. An apples to apples comparison (Westchester vs Rockland) - Westchester will always have the better commute when distances are equal, and the housing prices reflect this.
But its just silly to say that if you ever have to commute to NYC you should not move to Rockland, and should choose Putnam instead.
What specifically about Nyack village do you like? I would mind a nice friendly town. We don't like to be too secluded from neighbors on large lots.
Before I visited the village, I had heard that Nyack has the reputation as being an 'artsy', kind of eclectic town; and my experience mostly aligned with this observation. The village has a lively feel to it and there are many shops and restaurants. It has a Main Street type layout with several smaller side streets, leading down to the waterfront. My favorite restaurant in Nyack is Art Cafe which is situated in a Victorian house and serves delightful coffee and a vegetarian, Israeli cuisine and has a nice patio garden you can enjoy in the warmer weather. There's a great knitting store which I occasionally visit, and a large number of shops selling imported knick knacks, clothing and home goods. I believe there's also a record store as well.
The crowd in Nyack seems to be younger on average, which could be a result of the more affordable home prices and more urban/lively feel of the place (typically preferable to the 20-40 age bracket). Most of the homes near to the Main St look like large, preserved Victorians with the occasionall smaller home and apartment thrown in (a few new Townhomes to the West of the Village). It definitely seems like a walkable town with approachable people. As mentioned, I live in Dobbs, which has much more of a bedroom community feel to it; from what I've seen Nyack seems to be much more lively during the day, whereas many of the Westchester towns' commuters are in NYC M-F 9-5. I often take the opportunity to visit Nyack, especially during the Summer months, because I find it to be a lot more interesting than the alternatives in Westchester, but that's just my own opinion.
That said, if you live in other parts of Nyack (outside of the immediate village area), it seems to have more of the 'large lot'/suburban feel to it. The massive, Palisades Park mall complex is nearby, and route 59 which runs behind the Mall has many of the typical shopping chains/restaurants you would expect. Nearby Nanuet and Spring Valley also have large shopping centers. On the Westchester side there are fewer such stores, so it all depends on what conveniences you like nearby. I personally prefer the Spring Valley Target to the one in Yonkers, and Mt Kisco is like a 20 mile drive, so I find myself on the other side of the bridge pretty often!
The commute from Rockland to White Plains is a real consideration. Especially, in the winter when traffic can be backed up for hours. Nyack Village IS a real gem though (in spite of the parking), so some the tradeoff is also real.
I've heard the general rule of thumb is, a good commute makes for better quality of life.
That said,
Something like 60 Newkirk Rd in Yonkers, NY 10710 looks like a commuting good fit. And at $459,000 you could do the build-out you need for accessibility and still come in under budget.
Hope that helps!
NM
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