Hudson Valley Area for Family (New York, Carmel: sales, to rent, townhome)

[Northward Bound]

Hi! We (husband and I - late 30s, 2 kids - 7 and 10) will be moving from Jacksonville, FL to the New York area in July. My husband's job is to oversee sales reps in NYC, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Long Island and will require travel throughout the week in these areas. So a daily commute to one single area is not of greatest concern, we need a good home base, if you will.

We are looking to RENT a single family home or townhome in a really good public school district in a suburban area that is safe and more toward the affordable side of things (such as they are in the NE ). Our kids love art and theatre, but we don't want to live in NYC. While we don't want to live in the city, per se, we do like being close to shopping and dining options. Are there areas like this in the Hudson Valley region?

[Byron1022]

"what do you consider affordable?" Good schools? my area school is very expensive but I would not consider it good when there is a drug issue and the superintendent is in my personal opinion a "progressive."
Crime? that is everywhere, which is why it is best to be armed and proficient in the use.

[ckhthankgod]

Perhaps look into the Monroe-Woodbury SD, which has plenty of shopping in the area. Is there anything else that you are looking for in a school district? Perhaps checking posts by Dreamshot would help.

[Northward Bound]

Thank you for your advice ckhthankgod. I really appreciate it!

[Dreamshot]

Hi there,

There are plenty of options within the Hudson Valley that would fulfill your needs and are convenient to NYC and the other points you mentioned. Understand however that the cost of living will be significantly higher in New York than in Jacksonville.

For perspective (numbers via City-Data):
Mar. 2012 cost of living index in Jacksonville: 89.3 (less than average, U.S. average is 100)

Mar. 2012 cost of living index in Middletown: 137.5 (high, U.S. average is 100)

While it would be good to know your budget, I'll lay out for you a general list of locations to check out (from south to north):

Hastings-on-Hudson, Tarrytown, Nyack, Croton-on-Hudson, Peekskill, Suffern, Stony Point, Cold Spring, Carmel, Brewster, Monroe-Woodbury, Chester, Goshen, Washingtonville, Middletown, Montgomery, Beacon, Fishkill, Wappingers

*The italicized locations represent those in Orange and Dutchess Counties. The northern borders of these counties are the unofficial end of what is considered the NYC Metropolitan Region (coterminous with NYC train service). Since these counties are a little bit farther from NYC, cost of living is a bit (this is relative) cheaper.

*Pink locations = Westchester County

*Red locations = Rockland County

*Orange locations = Putnam County

Schools are generally very good in the region (no proof to back this up, but I'd argue some of the best schools in the Northeast are in the HV). Your children will have a good experience just about anywhere.

Shopping, retail, and dining is plentiful. You have nothing to worry about in regards to that.

The Hudson Valley tends to be quite artsy with 'creative centers' in many of the Westchester River Towns, Nyack, Cold Spring, Goshen, Beacon, New Paltz, and Rhinebeck.

Additionally, living farther north (say in Orange or Dutchess County) puts you along 84, a major east-west roadway with access to Connecticut and points east.

To give you some additional perspective, the following map shows the location of the counties that I've mentioned in relation to NYC. The fringe (blue) line depicts the rough end to the NYC Metro.