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I am going to say - OP go for it! Lots of people have second homes north of Hudson, NY. It is a lovely area. You can take the train to Hudson and get a taxi to your home https://www.amtrak.com/stations/hud
People drive up but there can be traffic.
There are lots of New Yorkers and particularly people from Brooklyn around Hudson. I'm sure you can google and find lots of articles about their experiences. Kinderhook is just about the prettiest town ever.
You can rent for a year before making a decision, too.
Like it or hate it the following is only my opinion:
Mathjak brings up many points of truth concerning the Poconos.
You either end up staying or leaving.
My friend since childhood has had a home in Pike County since the mid 80's and absolutely loves it.
Yes... he paid more for what the house is worth today. Yes... you definitely need 2 cars if you live up there.
Get used to the fact that you will be car dependent when living anywhere outside of city limits. Facts of Life.
There is no local bus service but there is limited bus service. I haven't seen taxis but I'm sure they exist if needed.
Yes... once you get to know your neighbors you rely on each other. Yes... it snows in the Poconos....Lots of it.
My friend and his wife are retired and love the Poconos.They could have gone anywhere. They thought of Florida
but scratched that. The ranch house is paid and does his own work on it. Great to have a skill set when living in
the country. He has Cable Internet service and there are plenty of videos on Youtube that teaches you to fix anything
even if you are not handy. Stores and local supermarkets are 10 minute drive and prices are average. The taxes are low,
his water (well water ) is free and his utility bill ( electric ) gets high during winter. A short car drive to Matamoras, Milford
for shopping such as Lowes or fast food or the local Butcher shop. They are also nice areas to live a tad more expensive.
There is an indescribable sense of peace and solitude when there. Nature is beautiful. Whenever I visit I feed the deer.
They come right up to me and take the food out of my hands. The deep woods get dark at night. Yup ...country dark up in
them there mountains. Crime is low and life may not be Mayberry but it sure aint crazy like Cuomo/ de Blasio's empire of ruin.
I think when it comes to owning a 2nd home it will only work if it's in an area that you love, especially since you have to fight NYC traffic to get to and from it. We have a home in the Poconos, but we didn't buy it because we wanted a vacation place. We loved being there already. You need to know an area really well before committing to buying a house. It snows, it's remote, there are no jobs. You don't want to be one of those fools who buys a house on the top of a mountain and then complains that the roads are icy and you can't get food delivered.
When we lived in Brooklyn we went to the house nearly every weekend. I will say that the traffic was tough and Staten Island was the worst part. We would mostly go from Friday to Sunday and no matter what time we came home on Sunday it was a complete **** show as soon as we had to cross into Staten Island.
There was good advice give about being handy as well. It can be tough finding contractors/handymen anywhere, but there's the added wrinkle of getting work done on a home when you have limited times you can be there to let them in.
I think when it comes to owning a 2nd home it will only work if it's in an area that you love, especially since you have to fight NYC traffic to get to and from it. We have a home in the Poconos, but we didn't buy it because we wanted a vacation place. We loved being there already. You need to know an area really well before committing to buying a house. It snows, it's remote, there are no jobs. You don't want to be one of those fools who buys a house on the top of a mountain and then complains that the roads are icy and you can't get food delivered.
When we lived in Brooklyn we went to the house nearly every weekend. I will say that the traffic was tough and Staten Island was the worst part. We would mostly go from Friday to Sunday and no matter what time we came home on Sunday it was a complete **** show as soon as we had to cross into Staten Island.
There was good advice give about being handy as well. It can be tough finding contractors/handymen anywhere, but there's the added wrinkle of getting work done on a home when you have limited times you can be there to let them in.
There has been a lot of great advice from everyone, and I appreciate it. I also agree with your last point - given this, we are hoping to find a place that does not need a ton of work from the get-go. I realize that things will likely need repair over time, but I also forsee us (hopefully) having some opportunity for longer stretches of time, beyond just weekends, at the property. I am a teacher, so I have all summer, and my fiancee's company is likely to allow people to continue to WFH, even after the office opens, to alleviate the amount of the people in the office at a given time.
We are hoping to find a few summer rentals, to perhaps explore some areas, but the prices are fairly steep, and things are complicated by the fact that we also need a pet-friendly rental (not impossible, but certainly harder to find.)
In all honesty, I would love to leave the city full-time for a few years, but the reality is, we are not going to find the jobs we have here outside of the city (especially with the current unemployment climate that is emerging, as a result of the pandemic.)
I think when it comes to owning a 2nd home it will only work if it's in an area that you love, especially since you have to fight NYC traffic to get to and from it. We have a home in the Poconos, but we didn't buy it because we wanted a vacation place. We loved being there already. You need to know an area really well before committing to buying a house. It snows, it's remote, there are no jobs. You don't want to be one of those fools who buys a house on the top of a mountain and then complains that the roads are icy and you can't get food delivered.
When we lived in Brooklyn we went to the house nearly every weekend. I will say that the traffic was tough and Staten Island was the worst part. We would mostly go from Friday to Sunday and no matter what time we came home on Sunday it was a complete **** show as soon as we had to cross into Staten Island.
There was good advice give about being handy as well. It can be tough finding contractors/handymen anywhere, but there's the added wrinkle of getting work done on a home when you have limited times you can be there to let them in.
There has been a lot of great advice from everyone, and I appreciate it. I also agree with your last point - given this, we are hoping to find a place that does not need a ton of work from the get-go. I realize that things will likely need repair over time, but I also forsee us (hopefully) having some opportunity for longer stretches of time, beyond just weekends, at the property. I am a teacher, so I have all summer, and my fiancee's company is likely to allow people to continue to WFH, even after the office opens, to alleviate the amount of the people in the office at a given time.
We are hoping to find a few summer rentals, to perhaps explore some areas, but the prices are fairly steep, and things are complicated by the fact that we also need a pet-friendly rental (not impossible, but certainly harder to find.)
In all honesty, I would love to leave the city full-time for a few years, but the reality is, we are not going to find the jobs we have here outside of the city (especially with the current unemployment climate that is emerging, as a result of the pandemic.)
It's great that you'll have longer stretches to spend. It makes it so much more worth it. Right now rentals will be hard as well. PA has put a stop to short-term rentals right now. I would imagine other vacation areas have as well. They will restart eventually, but it's not part of the early stages of the reopening plan in PA.
We've had our house for about 16 years now and we still love it just as much as the day we bought it. We have a ranch house so the maintenance is a little less, and so are the utilities.
Our exit near 80 is Blakeslee. It's in the area of Lake Harmony, JFBB ski hills. Not far from Jim Thorpe which is probably better known than the other things!
IMO the Poconos are beautiful. Taxes are low too. GL toyou.
Depends where you go ....Monroe county can be a lot .....our old house must be close to 3500- 4K today in pike county and that can be half of what some are paying in Monroe
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