Should I live in Tarrytown or Nyack? (New York, White Plains: to rent, buying)

[Ilsalmi]

Hi,

I am going to relocate to NY and work in Pearl River (I will have to drive, I finally accepted it), my husband will be commuting by public transport to Central Manhattan.
We are young couple without kids, after pleasant little town, restaurants, parks nearby and as easy and short commute for both of us as possible. We are looking into renting, not buying.

Nyack looks nicer to live in whereas Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow etc. looks less brutal for commute to Manhattan.

Ideas? Thank you for all your help and input so far.

[Viralmd]

You're right about the brutal commute to Manhattan from the other side of the river. It makes a huge difference.

[havoc315]

Putting aside commuting, they are both decent towns, but I personally find Nyack a bit more charming, and a bit more affordable. Some great restaurants, a little arts scene, fair nightlife (as far as suburban towns go).

Reality though, must consider the commute. The problem is the Tappan Zee Bridge, and the sub-par rail access from Rockland County. Commutingwise, it's easier to go against traffic -- commuting to Pearl River from Westchester, than going to Westchester/NYC from Rockland County.

Though it depends on the exact locations, and the chosen type of mass transit (probably the Tappan Zee Express from Nyack)---
From Nyack -- To Pearl River -- 15 minutes
From Nyack -- To Midtown Manhattan -- 70-90 minutes

From Tarrytown -- To Pearl River -- 30-40 minutes (depending on bridge traffic, could be more)
From Tarrytown -- To Midtown Manhattan -- 45-60 minutes.

[bkhakis]

correct

[outtaheer]

Originally Posted by havoc315

Putting aside commuting, they are both decent towns, but I personally find Nyack a bit more charming, and a bit more affordable. Some great restaurants, a little arts scene, fair nightlife (as far as suburban towns go).

Reality though, must consider the commute. The problem is the Tappan Zee Bridge, and the sub-par rail access from Rockland County. Commutingwise, it's easier to go against traffic -- commuting to Pearl River from Westchester, than going to Westchester/NYC from Rockland County.

Though it depends on the exact locations, and the chosen type of mass transit (probably the Tappan Zee Express from Nyack)---
From Nyack -- To Pearl River -- 15 minutes
From Nyack -- To Midtown Manhattan -- 70-90 minutes

From Tarrytown -- To Pearl River -- 30-40 minutes (depending on bridge traffic, could be more)
From Tarrytown -- To Midtown Manhattan -- 45-60 minutes.

I live in Tarrytown and love it. My wife commutes to Manhattan (Grand Central) and the express train is 38 minutes. Tarrytown has some great restaurants and the Tarrytown Music Hall (The Music Hall - Westchester's Best Music Venue) has some great shows for adults and kids alike. I've been to Nyack a few times and like it, but don't have much reason to go there on a regular basis b/c I have pretty much everything I want on this side of the Tappan Zee. When I need a gigantic mall, I go to Nyack... Feel free to DM me for more info.

[josephrand]

They're both good towns. You're right to focus on Nyack if you're moving to Rockland, insofar as you sound as if you're reluctantly adjusting to suburban life and Nyack provides a little bit of cultural living with some of the suburban conveniences. Tarrytown is also a great place to live (two of my brothers lived there for a while, and loved it). They're both charming towns with access to a lot of good stuff, and you're only renting so you're not locked into anything longer than a year. So you can't go wrong on the lifestyle site.

The commuting is an issue. Commuting is MUCH easier from Westchester, simply because of the directness of the MetroNorth trains. There are trains that run from Pearl River to the city, but they connect through Secaucus.

Essentially, with one of you working in the city and the other in Pearl River, you need to figure out who gets the short end of that. Commuting from Pearl River to the city is not the greatest, definitely better in Tarrytown. But commuting from Tarrytown to Pearl River is not great either -- basically, any time you have to cross a river to get from one place to another, anywhere in the New York City area, you're taking a risk. I've been backed up on the TZ Bridge as many times going against the commute as with it. So even commuting from Tarrytown to Pearl River every morning might catch you now and then.

I love both places. You might consider literally doing the commute one morning, both of you, to see what it's like.

[awregar]

My wife and I moved to Nyack approximately 1 year ago to see if we could tolerate the commute to the city. It's a lovely town, eclectic, artistic, socially progressive, yet retaining a true rivertown feel. We would absolutely stay here if the commute was easier. However, we take public transportation to the city (Walk to the Tappan Zee Express bus; take the bus across the bridge to Tarrytown or White Plains train station--hoping for no traffic; wait for the MetroNorth train; take the train into the city; take the subway; walk to work). Door to door, we spend about 1 hour, 45 minutes commuting in each direction, for a total of 3 hours, 30 minutes commuting every day. And that's without traffic. If there is construction on the Tappan Zee bridge, which there quite often is, the commutes can be worse. It's unfortunate. We love Nyack and will be sad to leave, but if you're bound to the city and will be taking public transportation, a "train town" in Westchester is certainly the better bet.