Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
See my post in the recent thread about the Tappan Zee about Orange County, I mention Dutchess in my latest post. It is and it isn't rural. Nearness to White Plains and extreme housing prices in Westchester have caused Dutchess to grow by leaps and bounds. However, unlike in almost all of Westchester farms, etc. certainly do exist in Dutchess.
[quote=readygo;10528563]Thanks to all who responded.
alexei27: how long did you live in Dutchess and how long in Suffolk?
3 years in Dutchess (Fishkill area) (2001-2004). Just coming up on 2 years on LI. (2007-now)
When you came down to L.I., do you recall how long it took?
I probably should have cleared that up...we moved from Dutchess to Utah in 2004...then back to LI in 2007. So I did not move directly from Dutchess to LI. When we did move out here...the closing took about 3 months (which is pretty standard anywhere in NY State).
Are the winters there brutal? being south of albany, I would think they'd be similar to LI but maybe colder + - 10 degrees.
You'll see LOTS of people say taxes are higher here...and most of them are correct. However...There are pockets where they are the same of lower. We pay $5800...that's pretty good anywhere in NYS.
Dutchess is definitely colder with more snow. In Summer Dutchess is warmer...but I would argue eastern LI is more Humid (because of proximity to the Ocean). North shore of Suffolk is a little warmer in Summer because the seabreeze does not always make it all the way across.
Best of luck to you whatever you decide...moving anywhere is stressful.
HI, to the poster, it would help if you became more specific, what is your budget range for a home, you never mentioned that you were concerned about the school system however schools in queens/brooklyn can vary with
district, some send their kids to private school, others have great public schools, however education to an extent depends on the child and whether his/her parent gets involved or how much help he/she needs at what pace.
Its true queens and brooklyn is very congested at times, but it depends on the area and what your price range is for a home the blanket statement that
queens has bad schools and is congested and you can't get a large home on a large hot may be true or false depending on your circumstances and budget.
Dutchess county property taxes are higher and going up. Queens taxes are not high generally speaking but the homes are more expensive than dutchess, its a tradeoff especially with the commute,
one many people talk about all the time.
Last edited by FlyDrive100b; 08-31-2009 at 12:47 PM..
tech2enable: Whether you're a realtor or not, you sure sound like one. I have no interest in living in Queens or Brooklyn, and our budget cannot buy what we want in any of these areas, anyway. I don't need to announce my finances in public forum and I'm not interested in whatever you're selling. The OP was about Dutchess and Suffolk.
alexei27: Thanks for the context.
We drove up and it took 1hr 15min each way, but I could imagine it taking 2-3hrs in snow or with an accident on the highway (Taconic had lots of bent median sections on it!). We're still determining if it would be practical. Someone mentioned lower Dutchess being rural, but it really didnt seem all that rural to us.
So does all the new york city suburbs, but some people are willing to pay those high property taxes in exchange for a cheaper home, or maybe a better
commute, or larger lot or reduce equity over time in the case of cheaper homes in exchange for higher taxes as a percentage of value, if you run a business you want to cut costs so you should know what I mean by that.
Its a suggestion, there are a lot of people who in similar situations, new york city and suburban real estate is generally more expensive and there doesn't seem to be much in the way of "free lunch" there is usually a catch when buying cheaper homes in the long run.
I am not a Realtor or trying to sell you anything , if someone asks for a place to live they usually specify how much money they are willing to spend on a home, they usually ask that in a public forum all the time, however they don't necessarily give out their real names or personal information , the folks on the forum can't tell if your budget is 250k which would generally rule out most if not close to all of the new york metro area for what you desire, or 400k which would put you in the new york suburbs in exchange for a bit of a higher taxes and commute or 800-1 million which would make the most financial sense to live in the 5 boroughs or 4 since Manhattan doesn't have the suburban style home with big lots unless you have super-rich.
Since you indicated you had a consulting business , I was wondering whether or not your home was where you run your consulting business, usually in new york city they have homes with offices which are usually zoned in commercial areas or may be 2 family homes with a commercial unit space which would be classified in the same tax class as 1-3 family homes.
Last edited by FlyDrive100b; 09-04-2009 at 05:11 PM..
We're looking for a bigger home and a bigger property and "reasonable" taxes - meaning 4-6k/yr. Long Island taxes are still out of whack vis-a-vis home prices. It should be another year or so of adjusting for values to drop. Taxes, on the other hand, wont be coming down any time soon and would likely continue to rise. On LI its difficult to find a "cheaper home" with higher taxes. It's expensive homes with high taxes, and anything built recently has astronomical taxes. Anything with "low" taxes was built in the early 1900s or is usually in a crappier area for schools.
Yes you can blame state law for that, new construction is subject to the full market value of the assessment , on occasion new homes are built with perhaps 10-15 year breaks on taxation., on older homes the assessed value can't go up by a certain percentage every year thus you will find homes with lower taxes, that is what you are observing, as for schools I'm not sure whether it is a debate about older homes v. newer homes in the school districts.
Your assertion about homes being built in the early 1900s with low taxes and not so well rated schools is a bit incorrect, but I'll explain , homes built before the 1980s and in areas that have appreciated very quickly benefit from that provision the most. This is also true for new york city , however the general tax rate is lower than Nassau county for new construction although still a high rate.
In wealthier areas , the tax rates may be low, such as the case for multi million dollars homes in certain parts of the Hamptons. That is due to expensive homes bringing in a lot of money such that a lower tax rate is sufficient enough, also schools may be contracted out and private sewer/garbage utilities.
Truth is new york city metro real estate is a bit more expensive than other metro areas around the country , its true that dutchess and orange counties may offer cheaper real estate with more lots but taxes are higher. I can't emphasize this strongly enough but if you buy a home that has a tax bill of lets say 6000k a year it can easily morph a couple years latter into a bill that's over 7000k a year factor in the loss factor of an extra 1% of the home's value every year upon resale and the longer commute , it may not be worth it - but its a compromise if one cannot afford a more expensive home.
You mentioned a consulting business in queens, so any commute further out say ulster or outer orange county would be more difficult, simply but the new york city metro area is not necessarily a cheap place to live for new home buyers on a limited budget with a few children when you consider all this, with home prices dropping you can probably see if you can find deals but its a catch for catch.
readygo-I've lived in Nassau County, in Queens, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Westchester County--hung out in Suffolk County, spent every weekend in Columbia County or Sullivan-not necessarily in that order. I've been a property owner in CT., Sullivan, now in Orange County. Basically I've been around and have been involved in the selling and buying of property (not a realtor, I've been a landlord, property manager and work in construction in the 5 boroughs) and "tech2enable" seems to know what is going on out there.
You are in a bind with work location and where and how you want to live. Your nationalities are the LEAST of your worries from what I'm reading.
I am in the southern part of Orange County. My traveling is very early and I cut right thru NJ-so traffic is no problem. You will find lowest taxes in older homes. Not just 1890's old-but 1980's. Many are newly renovated within. A house built in 2001 has an older kitchen and bath compared to these.
The taxes you want to pay are unrealistic.
My best advice to my loved ones if they're willing to make that commute: Buy a modestly sized home to keep your heating/air conditioning bills to a minimum. Get one with a big basement with decent windows for extra living space. Use a wood stove-not a fireplace. A garage, a pool and (sometimes) a paved driveway will bring up your taxes. Avoid these when possible-especially the pool. (Probably also cause it's on the top of the list of accidental deaths for children).
Taxes will continue to rise but house prices have NOT hit bottom yet. Keep looking and wait it out. And if I had a knowledgeable lawyer-I'd so look into foreclosures.
As an INDIAN mom who lives in ARLINGTON schools...I can assure you..there will be no issues with big box shopping..panera, macys, christmas tree shops..there is plenty to do...wine festivals....town recs...where people REALLY know each other in town truly does exist. Taxes are higher..but the quality of educucation is wonderful. My dh is a bronx boy fordham prep and fordham u alum..he says the schooling in arlington is very comparable and FREE! There is a HUGE indian population and places of worship and a very large JCC. No issues on mixed couple.
winters are not brutal...if it snows 1 inch in the city, 3 in westchester then we get 5 inches. We arent the "boonies" LOL. Lots of new construction and NO Long Island expressway. (LOL).
winters are not brutal...if it snows 1 inch in the city, 3 in westchester then we get 5 inches. We arent the "boonies" LOL. Lots of new construction and NO Long Island expressway. (LOL).
While they are not brutal by the standards of Albany or Buffalo, you will see a difference vs. LI. While the scenario above is true, another common scenario is:
1) rain in NYC and LI and a mix that isn't icy in lower Westchester
2) icy mix with light accumulation in northern Westchester.
3) Then 5 inches of snow in Dutchess.
Although admittedly this was a long time (a little over 15 years) ago, I had a brief job in lower Westchester that had some Dutchess County commuters, and I remember days like this where we all were in and they had delays getting in; or where they couldn't come in because their kids' school was closed while we essentially had rain. Not a big deal, but just wanted to note.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
