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I'm a NJ native but as my handle reflects, I spent most of my adult life—39 years to be exact—on the Upper West Side until the recession, basically, forced me back across the river.
Not happy and getting old (66). New York has always been kinder to me. Wondering if I should return for the duration of retirement…
I'd like to be spending no more than $1500 for rental housing or $200K (tops) to buy a home. Very much prefer older (Victorian, prewar, midcentury) houses and apartment buildings and love being surrounded by them.
I adore the shore, but am also moved by mountain scenes and peaceful expanses of green at this stage of life. Very tired of NJ's congestion, but going radically rural will not work for me as a senior single woman, either, so something in between is needed. I do require certain conveniences and luxuries that I'm more apt to find in population centers, like specialty grocers, natural foods, and really good internet service . And a gentle landscape where I won't be constantly scared to drive during the icy months.
I surely don't want to go farther north than Albany (ideally less) or farther west than Binghamton. What are some of the areas and towns I should be looking toward? Is my best direction Hudson Valley or Long Island? (Assuming Long Island has anything affordable for me. I believe in some parts it does, but I haven't made the time to reality-check that belief.)
No, not NYC. Still love it but it's changed a lot, and it's overwhelming to me now. You can't go home again. I shouldn't have returned to NJ, either.
I'm not looking for any laborious or encyclopedic advice here. Just your casual, friendly first thoughts will be of great interest and much appreciated.
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Do a Zillow search in one of the college towns like Oneonta, Hamilton, Ithaca etc I think you can find what your looking for with the amenities you'll want.
I'm a NJ native but as my handle reflects, I spent most of my adult life—39 years to be exact—on the Upper West Side until the recession, basically, forced me back across the river.
Not happy and getting old (66). New York has always been kinder to me. Wondering if I should return for the duration of retirement…
I'd like to be spending no more than $1500 for rental housing or $200K (tops) to buy a home. Very much prefer older (Victorian, prewar, midcentury) houses and apartment buildings and love being surrounded by them.
I adore the shore, but am also moved by mountain scenes and peaceful expanses of green at this stage of life. Very tired of NJ's congestion, but going radically rural will not work for me as a senior single woman, either, so something in between is needed. I do require certain conveniences and luxuries that I'm more apt to find in population centers, like specialty grocers, natural foods, and really good internet service . And a gentle landscape where I won't be constantly scared to drive during the icy months.
I surely don't want to go farther north than Albany (ideally less) or farther west than Binghamton. What are some of the areas and towns I should be looking toward? Is my best direction Hudson Valley or Long Island? (Assuming Long Island has anything affordable for me. I believe in some parts it does, but I haven't made the time to reality-check that belief.)
No, not NYC. Still love it but it's changed a lot, and it's overwhelming to me now. You can't go home again. I shouldn't have returned to NJ, either.
I'm not looking for any laborious or encyclopedic advice here. Just your casual, friendly first thoughts will be of great interest and much appreciated.
Long Island probably has the "best" winter weather out of New York State if you do not like snow, which many seniors do not.
However, much of Long Island is expensive and also crowded. On the good side, if you like beaches, boating and salt water fishing, Long Island is not a bad place to be. Also if you like golf, there are a ton of golf courses on the Island.
I know people who are retired who live out in the Towns of Riverhead or Southold. Thesee areas are rural or semi-rural on the East End. Perhaps you might want to check out there.
Do a Zillow search in one of the college towns like Oneonta, Hamilton, Ithaca etc I think you can find what your looking for with the amenities you'll want.
I thought of Courtland but have read some disparaging articles on it as a whole so I didn't include it.
Yeah, I believe that another poster(I believe ki0eh) did mention that in one part of town there have been issues, but it does have some nice affordable areas of town on its North and West(near SUNY Cortland) sides. It is generally a low crime city though.
There is also the village of Homer literally a mile north of Cortland, which is a walkable village of a decent size. So, that could be another place in that immediate area to consider. https://www.homerny.org/
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 02-22-2019 at 07:31 AM..
Do a Zillow search in one of the college towns like Oneonta, Hamilton, Ithaca etc I think you can find what your looking for with the amenities you'll want.
Ding ding! That's such an excellent guideline for me and for some reason I haven't had it front of mind. Any search I do and especially in unfamiliar territory should definitely highlight college towns. It's an almost foolproof method for steering toward communities where I will feel comfortable and find things of interest.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LINative
Long Island probably has the "best" winter weather out of New York State if you do not like snow, which many seniors do not.
However, much of Long Island is expensive and also crowded. On the good side, if you like beaches, boating and salt water fishing, Long Island is not a bad place to be. Also if you like golf, there are a ton of golf courses on the Island.
I know people who are retired who live out in the Towns of Riverhead or Southold. Thesee areas are rural or semi-rural on the East End. Perhaps you might want to check out there.
Thanks! I've been addicted to the Wildwoods since I was a tot and absolutely loathe the thought of giving up my annual vacations down there. From Long Island, the distance would not be prohibitive. Or I just might not need my Wildwoods fix as much with all the varied waterfront that Long Island has.
Riverhead looks like a fantastic location, as far as geography goes. I have a friend who used to live near Rocky Point. The area seemed so rural that it kind of freaked me out the first couple of times I visited, but it was really growing on me toward the end. Maybe that part of Suffolk also has potential for me?
Another strong selling point of Long Island, I realized this morning: Fairway Markets (another addiction, and I am so grateful to live within striking distance of one of their New Jersey locations). I do sadly remember at least one of the Long Island Fairways closing a few years ago. Hope the others are still OK.
It is also minutes from bigger cities along I-81 like Binghamton and Syracuse, as well as Ithaca along Route 13.
OMG that's far but I bet I'd like it. Thanks for the video page. I watched the first one and will definitely go back and view the others. A SUNY campus is a plus of course! And it looks… kind of vaguely 20th century. For this old nostalgic Boomer, that's another plus. One of the things I do enjoy where I am now is driving through the areas that haven't changed very much since I grew up in Passaic County.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckhthankgod
Yeah, I believe that another poster(I believe ki0eh) did mention that in one part of town there have been issues, but it does have some nice affordable areas of town on its North and West(near SUNY Cortland) sides. It is generally a low crime city though.
There is also the village of Homer literally a mile north of Cortland, which is a walkable village of a decent size. So, that could be another place in that immediate area to consider. https://www.homerny.org/
Ding ding! That's such an excellent guideline for me and for some reason I haven't had it front of mind. Any search I do and especially in unfamiliar territory should definitely highlight college towns. It's an almost foolproof method for steering toward communities where I will feel comfortable and find things of interest.
Thanks! I've been addicted to the Wildwoods since I was a tot and absolutely loathe the thought of giving up my annual vacations down there. From Long Island, the distance would not be prohibitive. Or I just might not need my Wildwoods fix as much with all the varied waterfront that Long Island has.
Riverhead looks like a fantastic location, as far as geography goes. I have a friend who used to live near Rocky Point. The area seemed so rural that it kind of freaked me out the first couple of times I visited, but it was really growing on me toward the end. Maybe that part of Suffolk also has potential for me?
Another strong selling point of Long Island, I realized this morning: Fairway Markets (another addiction, and I am so grateful to live within striking distance of one of their New Jersey locations). I do sadly remember at least one of the Long Island Fairways closing a few years ago. Hope the others are still OK.
OMG that's far but I bet I'd like it. Thanks for the video page. I watched the first one and will definitely go back and view the others. A SUNY campus is a plus of course! And it looks… kind of vaguely 20th century. For this old nostalgic Boomer, that's another plus. One of the things I do enjoy where I am now is driving through the areas that haven't changed very much since I grew up in Passaic County.
Thanks!
Just as a frame of reference, Cortland is only about 40-45 minutes north of Binghamton. So, it isn't that much further away.
It is also only about 20-25 minutes from Ithaca to the west and about 30-35 minutes from Syracuse to the north. So, you have 2 other options nearby that would have more.
Cortland does have some big box shopping along Route 281 on the city's western edge and a nice Downtown.
Cortland does have some big box shopping along Route 281 on the city's western edge and a nice Downtown.
Oh dear, haha. Big box shopping is definitely not a relo criterion, although as an exception, I do find Kmart useful because it leans more urban in product selection than its competitors. My reference to Fairway Markets must have prompted you to mention that. I don't think Fairway has any locations north of Rockland so you likely don't know them if you live anywhere near Syracuse. Fairway is a slightly upmarket group of grocery stores that's very savvy about both health and gastronomic matters. My go-to for most foods since about 1980. They have only two locations in New Jersey, both of which struggle, and that's one of my bazillion reasons for being kind of fed up with NJ. https://www.fairwaymarket.com
The Cortland downtown definitely did look appealing in the video on the page you linked.
Oh dear, haha. Big box shopping is definitely not a relo criterion, although as an exception, I do find Kmart useful because it leans more urban in product selection than its competitors. My reference to Fairway Markets must have prompted you to mention that. I don't think Fairway has any locations north of Rockland so you likely don't know them if you live anywhere near Syracuse. Fairway is a slightly upmarket group of grocery stores that's very savvy about both health and gastronomic matters. My go-to for most foods since about 1980. They have only two locations in New Jersey, both of which struggle, and that's one of my bazillion reasons for being kind of fed up with NJ. https://www.fairwaymarket.com
The Cortland downtown definitely did look appealing in the video on the page you linked.
I'd say the closest thing to Fairway up this way is perhaps Wegmans, in which the closest one to Cortland is in Ithaca or perhaps even a Co-Op market like Greenstar(to a lesser degree), also in Ithaca. https://www.wegmans.com/
Also, only because you mentioned it, if interested in the Binghamton area, I'd say that the West side(south of Main Street) would put you in between Downtown and shopping(including a Wegmans) in Johnson City(along Harry L. Drive), as well as along Vestal Parkway in Vestal. A nice street view coming towards Downtown from Riverside Drive: https://www.google.com/maps/place/19...!4d-75.9196022
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 02-24-2019 at 02:11 AM..
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. And a gentle landscape where I won't be constantly scared to drive during the icy months.
and absolutely loathe the thought of giving up my annual vacations down there. From Long Island, the distance would not be prohibitive. Or I just might not need my Wildwoods fix as much with all the varied waterfront that Long Island has. 
(another addiction, and I am so grateful to live within striking distance of one of their New Jersey locations). I do sadly remember at least one of the Long Island Fairways closing a few years ago. Hope the others are still OK.
but I bet I'd like it. Thanks for the video page. I watched the first one and will definitely go back and view the others. A SUNY campus is a plus of course! And it looks… kind of vaguely 20th century. For this old nostalgic Boomer, that's another plus. One of the things I do enjoy where I am now is driving through the areas that haven't changed very much since I grew up in Passaic County.
