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thank you, coney...i believe you addressed just about every single "issue" i brought up. Just so i understand clearly, are you saying that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for us to find a new house in an up and coming neighborhood in the area(s) i mentioned? Most of the houses there were built in the 1970's and earlier? That is so much different than the way it is here. Granted, the housing market has slowed tremendously, so you don't find nearly as many new houses being constructed. However, we live in a sprawling neighborhood of about 3,000 homes...most of which were built since 2000. Do any of the houses or communities up there have pools?
Our daughter is a good student, but she's not currently taking any accelerated classes, which is fine with us. We're not ones to put excessive pressure on our kids. We want them to do their very best, of course, but we feel that kids these days have enough pressure to deal with and we don't want to add to it.
I can't imagine having to live without sweet tea! Are there no chick fil-a's up there? Heaven forbid! Oh, and don't take away my banana pudding! I take it that there are no cracker barrels up there, either? I can't wrap my head around christmas not being celebrated by some of my neighbors. It's a very big deal where we live. Lots of decorations on houses, christmas parties, church services...i love it! You get a hearty "merry christmas" just about everywhere you go! Yeah, i'd probably feel pretty uncomfortable about all of that.
No friday night football??? That's something all the high school kids do here for entertainment...and many of the adults, too. Not having that anymore would feel so weird to me. I just don't know if i have what it takes to make this all work when my heart is screaming, "stay!"
then stay already ! Everything is very different here.
then stay already ! Everything is very different here.
Dog, it's not that simple. Her hubs hasn't found work in a while, and if he gets a job offer in Orangeburg they may have to take it even if it's not where they want to be
Thank you, Coney...I believe you addressed just about every single "issue" I brought up. Just so I understand clearly, are you saying that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for us to find a new house in an up and coming neighborhood in the area(s) I mentioned? Most of the houses there were built in the 1970's and earlier? That is so much different than the way it is here. Granted, the housing market has slowed tremendously, so you don't find nearly as many new houses being constructed. However, we live in a sprawling neighborhood of about 3,000 homes...most of which were built since 2000. Do any of the houses or communities up there have pools?
Our daughter is a good student, but she's not currently taking any accelerated classes, which is fine with us. We're not ones to put excessive pressure on our kids. We want them to do their very best, of course, but we feel that kids these days have enough pressure to deal with and we don't want to add to it.
I can't imagine having to live without sweet tea! Are there no Chick Fil-A's up there? Heaven forbid! Oh, and don't take away my banana pudding! I take it that there are no Cracker Barrels up there, either? I can't wrap my head around Christmas not being celebrated by some of my neighbors. It's a very big deal where we live. Lots of decorations on houses, Christmas parties, church services...I LOVE IT! You get a hearty "Merry Christmas" just about everywhere you go! Yeah, I'd probably feel pretty uncomfortable about all of that.
No Friday night football??? That's something all the high school kids do here for entertainment...and many of the adults, too. Not having that anymore would feel so weird to me. I just don't know if I have what it takes to make this all work when my heart is screaming, "Stay!"
That's the catch. You have to bring the food!
I LOVE Cracker Barrel. There aren't as many up here as in the south, but they can be found. We stopped at one just above Albany on the way home from Vermont this summer.
By the way, as someone mentioned, the SUNY (State University of New York) system is pretty good, with some schools considered better than others. My daughter goes to SUNY Albany because she's a linguistics major and they have a good language school. That would be less than two hours from where you'd be living.
And don't worry, there's plenty of Christmas in New York, too.
People are people wherever you go. You'll find folks with whom you fit in, I'm sure.
Dog, it's not that simple. Her hubs hasn't found work in a while, and if he gets a job offer in Orangeburg they may have to take it even if it's not where they want to be
I don't think the OP would ever be happy here.She sounds too set in her ways and not very adventurous.I have read this whole thread and I think she would be miserable.Since I think she would be miserable here I can't encourage her to do anything but stay where she is. .
I can't imagine having to live without sweet tea! Are there no Chick Fil-A's up there? Heaven forbid! Oh, and don't take away my banana pudding! I take it that there are no Cracker Barrels up there, either? I can't wrap my head around Christmas not being celebrated by some of my neighbors. It's a very big deal where we live. Lots of decorations on houses, Christmas parties, church services...I LOVE IT! You get a hearty "Merry Christmas" just about everywhere you go! Yeah, I'd probably feel pretty uncomfortable about all of that.
And this is just one of the many reasons I do not miss living in the South
NY (even if it is the burbs) will be vastly different than the little world you are now living in...tell hubby to reconsider the job offer or learn to adjust.
I don't think the OP would ever be happy here.She sounds too set in her ways and not very adventurous.I have read this whole thread and I think she would be miserable.Since I think she would be miserable here I can't encourage her to do anything but stay where she is. .
I think she'd be happier in Atlanta too, but it's not about that anymore. Her hubs needs to move to where the work is.
Orangeburg is not anything like Manhattan in terms of prices, but because of proximity to the city, it will tend to be higher priced than your current area in Georgia. Rockland County is generally much less expensive than neighboring Westchester County. Pearl River has well-regarded schools, but is not an Orthodox Jewish area as it read in an earlier post -- that's more to Monsey and Kiryas Joel in that general area. You would be looking at around $400k for a 2000 square foot home in that area, but the school system is very good. New City would also be a consideration with a price of $350-$400k for 2000-2500 square feet. New City's school system is also pretty good, though Pearl River tends to rank a bit higher.
For a newer, larger house, I would look to Orange County. Somewhere around Monroe would be a good place to start, where you may be able to find a house in the size range you want for mid-high $300s. In the lower $300s, you would be looking to a newer 2000-2500 square foot house. The only caution with going north would be the snow as it can be raining closer to the city, and snowing in Putnam, Dutchess, Orange, etc. I would give Pearl River, Suffern, and New City areas a look, since your husband would be 10-20 minutes from work. Spring Valley/Chestnut Ridge has some interesting properties, in terms of size, but the school system has more challenges than some others in Rockland County.
As a means of comparison, what you probably have in Georgia is similar to some of the newer houses in Tappan, NY or Montvale, NJ, which is just over the NY border from Rockland. That would likely run from $800k-$1.7M for around the same size, perhaps a bit more in Montvale.
Another area you may consider, is Highland Mills, NY. In this general area, Central Valley, Highland Mills, Woodbury, a house similar to your preferred size would run in the $500-$600k+ range for newer construction, though some previously built houses might be around 3000 square foot for the low/mid $400s.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
I just went back and saw that you expect the new job to pay around $100K. That would be tight for Rockland, taking into consideration that you are paying out of state college tuition for one of your children, as well as transportation costs for him to come home on vacations.
Orange county might be more suitable for you. It's more rural. Besides the homes being cheaper with some newer developments, I would imagine that the schools are less pressured than the top high schools in Rockland or northern NJ. Sports are prevalent, but academics are highly stressed in these high schools. Travel soccer and lacrosse is pretty big for both boys and girls. There are football teams, but the spectators are going to be parents, not the whole community. You also won't have as much pagentry with the marching bands and the cheerleaders. They have them, but would be on a smaller scale than what you currently have.
You can buy Gold Peak Sweet tea in a lot of supermarkets, but it's not the most popular item. There are some Cracker Barrels around, not a lot. Again, not as popular as down south. I like them a lot. You won't like the fried chicken or the barbecue. No one knows what a biscuit is, let alone biscuit with gravy, red gravy and all the other trimmings. Gravy here can sometimes mean tomato sauce. Even the cole slaw is different from the southern style cole slaw. No caramel sweet potatoes.
If you are lookihg for homogeneous white Protestant communities here you won't find them. Not even in Orange County which has quite a few Hispanic residents. In Rockland and northern NJ, you would be part of an ethnic minority, unlike where you are now. There are plenty of Christmas celebrations and we've got the snow that you lack to make it more of a postcard look. But, it is essential to realize that there will be people around you who celebrate different holidays and have different beliefs and to not make the assumption that everyone has the same rituals or way of life as you. Not only for you and your children, but for your husband to get along with his mulitcultural and multi-ethnic co-workers.
Regarding colleges in the area, are you looking for some place to commute or board? Depending on where you end up living, there is Iona College which would probably be pretty close. Also look into SUNY Purchase which is a public state school, Manhattanville College, PACE University, Monroe, Marist. There are also schools over the border in NJ. There's a community college in Rockland.
Obviously, the downside, of course, to my daughter and I staying here in Atlanta and not moving to NY is that we probably wouldn't see my husband as often as we'd like. However, ever since we've been married, he's traveled 3-4 nights out of every week, so it wouldn't be that big of an adjustment. I just hope and pray that his company (if he gets the job) will be understanding and not force us to relocate. My main priority right now is to get our youngest daughter through high school with as few bumps in the road as possible. I know that moving her at this time in her life would be traumatic, to say the least. I think I'm just going to stand my ground on this one. Surely to goodness, if the company wants to offer my husband a job, they will understand.
I've been amazed at how many people have said on this forum that they can't wait to get out of NY and NYC. To me, that speaks volumes. The life we live here is pretty laid back in comparison to what I've been reading about. You can step out on the back porch and actually hear birds chirping. It's nice and peaceful and easy to get around. I'm so nervous about giving up all that we have here. I can't lie...my heart just isn't in it. The problem is that my husband has been out of work for nearly 6 months, so if an opportunity comes along, we simply can't afford to pass on it.
By the way, I LOVE Tenesesee! Lived there for several years and hope to go back there one day and live out the rest of my days in complete contentment. There's nothing quite like the Great Smokey Mountains.
On more thing before I forget. What are the summers like up there? We are a very active, outdoorsy family. My husband loves to play golf. Is that a popular activity in NY? Also, where do folks go for a little beach time? I can't imagine moving farther away from the BEAUTIFUL Emerald Coast. Heaven on earth!
If you husband decides to work in NY, while you and your daughter stay in GA, consider the added expense for your husband to rent a one bedroom apartment for himself for $1400 a month, plus utilities ($300 approx per month), plus his car expenses, plus airfare for visits.
There are lots of golf courses, and some very fancy and expensive ones in neighboring Westchester. Westchester is known for some exclusive country clubs.
You will not mind the summers at all. It is also cooler where you are planning to relocate than in NYC. You could manage a day trip to an Atlantic ocean beach from Rockland. It would probably take you about 2 hours each way with a moderate amount of in-season summer beach traffic. Otherwise, there are places where you could stay overnight or for the weekend. If you like the beach, then you will enjoy having that amenity here fairly close by. There are also beaches on the Long Island sound.
If you do decide to look at places to live in northern NJ, make sure you call some of the local school districts there. They also have top notch schools there, but the curriculum is slightly different than NYS schools so do not assume it would be the same.
I love TN too. I have a child in a TN college. Your daughter might benefit from experiencing life in a different part of the US. It helps give one a different perspective and makes one less provincial. She may surprise you and end up liking the area as my native New Yorker child is enjoing life in TN.
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