Looking to move to Sullivan or Orange county...any suggestions? (New York: fit in, houses)

[fish317]

I grew up in NYC, but am now living in AZ. I just recently got a job offer in South Fallsburg, NY and am seriously considering returning to the east coast. My parents still live in the area in Highland Lake (near Eldred and Barryville). I know I have a lot of criteria that I am hoping to meet if I decide to take this job, but hopefully someone out there knows of the best possible fit. Thank you in advance for any info that can be provided. So, here is what we are looking for:

1) My commute to work to be no more than 1 hour.
2) To live within 90 minutes of my parents. (Of course, the shorter the drive time for both work and folks, the better.)
3) Good schools and community for our young children.
4) To live within near proximity of shopping, restaurants, etc. (essentially, to be within 10-15 minutes of civilization...my parents place in Highland Lake is a little bit too off the beaten path for us).
4a) One of my favorite hobbies is bowling, so a bowling alley which has leagues near by would be nice.
4b) One of my wife's favorite hobbies is martial arts. She is a black belt in Shaolin Kempo, and if possible, would like to continue training in this discipline.
5) We are also looking for a nice Reform or Conservative Jewish community/synagogue within 10-15 minutes.

Once again, thank you for any input. It is greatly appreciated!

[galee]

Congratulations on your new job. I would recommend the Liberty area, but not the village of Liberty itself, because the taxes are high. Why the Liberty area?

1. It's close to South Fallsburg.
2. It's on Route 17, the Quick Way, which will become Interstate 86.
3. There is shopping, a bowling alley and a reform synagogue there, not sure if there is a conservative one.
4. There is a health club in town which may have martial arts classes.


Some folks say the best school district in Sullivan County is Tri-Valley which includes Neversink, Grahamsville and parts of Woodbourne. Neversink and Grahamsville are about 10 -- 15 minutes from Liberty and have very low taxes because they are in the New York City Watershed. Woodbourne has higher taxes and a large Chasidic population in the summer months. In the winter, the town is dead. Almost all the shops close after Labor Day.

Another nice town is Livingston Manor which has some nice shops and a good restaurant. Not sure if there's a bowling alley up there. I don't know about the taxes there, but I believe they are probably lower than in Liberty.

The good thing about all of these towns is the houses are reasonably priced. You can get something comfortable under 200K, and something really nice for 300K.

As for Orange County, Pine Bush is a really nice town. It's got a good school system, shopping and nice scenery. I live in Sullivan County so I can't say if Pine Bush has a synagogue, health club or bowling alley. The houses will be more expensive than in Sullivan County and the taxes will also be higher.

Galee

[Dreamshot]

Sullivan County is economically depressed, generally speaking. I would certainly suggest Orange County. Pine Bush or Montgomery would be PERFECT fits for you. Great schools, (Pine Bush and Valley Central, respectively), a bowling alley close to each, tons of shopping in nearby Middletown or Newburgh (this could be an issue in Sullivan, not much shopping aside from Monticello and Liberty [and even that's lacking]), martial arts joint in Maybrook (close to both Montgomery and PB, especially Montgomery), and Jewish services in Kiryas Joel, NY.

Montgomery or Pine Bush, hands down.

[fish317]

Thanks for the info Galee. I will start doing some research on those areas around Liberty, but Dreamshot might have convinced me to concentrate my search more on Orange County.

Thanks for the info Dreamshot. Based on your recommendation I started doing some initial research on homes in Montgomery. I came across the Beaver Dam Estates which looks like a new development in the area. Do you know anything about it? It looks like there are railroad tracks going right through the community. Are they still in use?

I also decided to read some other threads on this site and I kept seeing a lot of people talking about Goshen and Warwick. How would those two fit in with the criteria I listed in my original post?

Thanks again for everything.

[Dreamshot]

I'm actually a long time resident of Montgomery....here is my Montgomery general info post, should be of great use to you:
//www.city-data.com/forum/16534843-post2.html

Beaver Dam Estates are currently being built, just outside the Village of Montgomery in the Town of Montgomery. A cookie-cutter community that starts around 350K. Construction has begun on some homes while some plots show a sign saying "Future home of..." Train tracks behind the community are used by CSX (freight) sparingly. These trains absolutely crawl and use their horns frequently when on the tracks within Montgomery limits. There haven't been any incidents with the trains since I have lived here....and many homes border the tracks.

Commute is easy from Montgomery. 17K->Route 17 ... I would estimate it at about 40 minutes...somewhere around 30 miles. Little or no traffic in this direction.

Goshen is a nice village about 12 miles Southwest of Montgomery. Its the seat of Orange County and is quite pricey. Nice village with a bunch of places to eat and various shops. No grocery store in town, though - the Grand Union defunct a few years back. Would have to go 6 miles NW to Middletown for this. Due to its location on Route 17, the commute would only be a bit longer than the commute from Montgomery. I would estimate 50-55 minutes each way. Goshen Central School District is solid. Depending on your location, though, you may be in the Middletown Central SD zone which isn't as good as Goshen.

Warwick is also a very nice village. Seems like an NYC cop hot-spot, and rightly so - it is charming. Great schools. Commute would be a haul, as Warwick is on the New Jersey border. You would have to drive the extra 15 miles (30 miles extra daily) to Goshen to hop on 17, easily putting the ride over an hour.

Let me know if you have any more questions, I'd be happy to help!

[Met8568]

Check out Scotchtown area. It has middletown zip code- Pine Bush schools. Close to lots and lots of shopping and only about 25-30 minutes away from Fallsburg

[fish317]

Hi all...I started this thread almost three months ago, and I am now finally in NY looking at several of these suggested areas in person. I have definitely decided that I want to be in Orange County, but I am still not entirely sure what is the best fit for me. Over the last few days I concentrated on Montgomery and Goshen. I still plan on checking out Pine Bush and Scotchtown.

During my explorations the last few days, I came across a community called The Hills at Goshen. It is right on the Goshen/Chester border, but it has a Goshen address. However, from what I can tell, it is in the Chester school district. I like the location because it is two minutes from a stretch on 17M (just off exit 126 on 17) that includes a ShopRite, bowling alley, movie theater, martial arts studio and the Castle Family Fun Center. Since the community is only a few minutes from 17, it would only be about 30-40 minute drive to South Fallsburg and less than an hour to my parents place. Plus, there is a synagogue in Florida, not too far away. So, this seems like a perfect fit, but in all my searching I cannot find anyone on this site discussing the Chester School District. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

[Dreamshot]

Chester Union Free School District is great. I haven't heard a single problem about the district during my 17 years in the county. I happen to like Chester....Chester Mall has everything you need (Brother Bruno's pizza here is quite good). Easy access to 17 (obviously); quick to Middletown or Monroe and points further North and South. Let me know if you have any other specific questions about any location within Orange County.

[petede]

You should try Harness Estates in the village of Goshen, goes to Goshen Schools.

[generaluse]

Good pick, Orange is a better bet than Sullivan.