Job in Blauvelt - advice on where to live (White Plains: school, college)

[ak329]

Hi everyone! Thinking about taking a job in Blauvelt and looking for some advice on where to move to.

At first hearing about the job, I thought I could live in Hoboken but then realized it would be a 45 min (prob 1 hr if not more with traffic) commute and not sure if I want to endure that.

I really don’t know the area at all (hence Hoboken), and I’ve heard it can get a little college-y. While I enjoy having those options, not sure if I want all of that around me. I really just want a town with some bars, good restaurants, places I can walk to, and close to NYC (either by car or public transportation).

I’ve lived in Philly and Baltimore my whole life so I like the city feel, but not on the scale of NYC so I’d probably be more comfortable outside the city, but just don’t want to be stuck in the suburbs/rural areas.

I drove to Blauvelt to interview but didn’t really drive around, so I didn’t get a sense of the town. Someone told me I should also look into Nyack. Are there other towns in NJ/NY I should consider? I would say 45 min is probably my max time I would want to commute.

Any help is would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[lammius]

Nyack would be my first suggestion, because it offers a little downtown area with some restaurants and bars, and it's very close to Blauvelt. I can't say I'd recommend other places in Rockland County for you. You could check out some of the more popular Bergen County NJ towns such as Westwood, Ridgewood, maybe Englewood. They'll also offer small downtown areas with some places to eat/drink. Westchester County towns like Tarrytown or White Plains might be worth looking into, but you'll have some issues with traffic and tolls on the Tappan Zee Bridge. Some other popular Jersey towns like Montclair, Morristown, Jersey City, Rutherford probably have a bit more going on, but they're going to be close to or just over your 45 minute commute limit.

There have been a few threads in the NJ forum in recent months by people looking for places to live close to jobs in Rockland County. Give the NJ forum a search or start a thread there too if you'd like more info about NJ options.

[ak329]

thanks - that was super helpful! would you say Nyack is safe or are there certain parts to stay away from? What about Westwood, Ridgewood, maybe Englewood in terms of safety?

[lammius]

Nyack has always felt perfectly safe to me. The area around the intersection of Main Street and Route 9W is a bit crummy, but most of town, especially near the river, is quite nice.

Westwood and Ridgewood are very affluent towns. Nothing bad to say about either, except parents of school children in Ridgewood have a reputation for being a bit snooty. Englewood has a very nice residential area on its east side and a nice downtown, but there's definitely an "other side of the tracks" on its west side.