looking into a move to orange county (Clay, Monroe: appointed, homes)

[nycdet]

Can anyone help with any information on which towns are the best regarding home prices, schools etc. I am looking into Goshen, Westtown,Minisink and New Windsor. I like New Windsor but am leary about the school system that the development (fox meadow) falls under. It is in the washingtonville school district and I have not heard good things. Any feedback or suggestions would help.Thanks

[OCNYISHOME]

Originally Posted by nycdet

Can anyone help with any information on which towns are the best regarding home prices, schools etc. I am looking into Goshen, Westtown,Minisink and New Windsor. I like New Windsor but am leary about the school system that the development (fox meadow) falls under. It is in the washingtonville school district and I have not heard good things. Any feedback or suggestions would help.Thanks

Each area you mention has an entirely different atmosphere ranging from suburban like to rural farm country. Each school system has it's own site w/ recent state reports. Caution re anecdotal posts both +/- as you have no way of knowing the nature of the child or the parents. I have a niece w/ a son graduating to one of the top engineering schools in the NE. He was educated in Middletown Schools,was a state level swim star, all from a system which often gets a "poor" anecdotal rap. In the same system, a client moving from the Bronx initially refused the Middletown system based on anecdotal reports. Due to housing needs, she settled for Middletown after visiting during school hours. Both her teenagers flourished and are now successful college students.....much depends on family strength. Where will you commute? Would you prefer a village or rural setting.......development?......culdesac? All the areas you mention have small and large subdivisions which can provide community in the absense of a village setting OR you can find a home on several acres with neigbors at a distance. Minisink and Westtown are in areas formerly dominated by farms. Goshen is the County Seat, home to many upward mobile professionals and on average more expensive then the other areas though you can find upscale pockets in each area

[nycdet]

thanks for the information. My commute would would either be from the bronx or upper manhattan, hopefully by train. The perfect setting for us would be a sub division with an acre or so ,new construction in a school district with a good reputation. Westtown seems promising with affordable homes and what appears to be a good school system.

[OCNYISHOME]

Commute can be arduous from Westtown as have to return to interstate 84 and NYS 17[future 89] to journey to the city. From the City of Middletown a drive to the Bronx is 1hr 5mi w/o traffic issues....add 15 to 20 for Westtown depending on Location. Minisink Schools service Westtown and are currently much requested. Area has beautiful rolling countryside. Sold a stunning 2850 sq ft colonial, 4 bdrm, 3 bath, 2 acres in a partially wooded lot on a quiet rd of similar homes.........$430,000......taxes 9800

[Desnik]

We live in Goshen and DH drives into Manhattan every day. It is about an hour 15 min. commute on a good day, ie. no traffic. The great thing about Goshen is you are right next to the highway(especially if you are in the village like we are) DH takes Rt. 17 to the PIP to the GW. The other great things about Goshen are our schools, people, community/home town feel, great shopping nearby, little to no crime, and a really beautiful town. The not so great things about it are our taxes! Oh, and Goshen is really not that diverse. Seriously there is probably a handful of AA kids in my daughters school. Thank goodness we visit other areas like the Bronx and Manhattan often so my kids see what real life is like when it comes to diversity. This is not a complaint though because we are Puerto Rican and Italian and we have never seen or even heard of any racism issues.

My best friend lives in Washingtonville, and went to the schools there and has children that will be going there next year. Some of her family members still go to the school. Schools are not that important to her so she has no problem there. It is well known in this area that the Washingtonville schools are not really desirable. How's that for trying to not sound bias!LOL Honestly in Orange County the schools you want are Monroe/Woodbury, Warwick, Goshen, Minisink.(not in any particular order)

My family is still in the Bronx and I get there from here in about an hour.

For what you are looking for I would think Goshen, Westtown, even Warwick are great options for you. You don't say what your budget is but there is a really nice development in Goshen called Remington Ridge. You get 1-3 acres, new construction(2200 sq. ft. and up) for anywhere from $479,000 to the mid $500's with taxes around $10,500 and up.

Let me know if you have any other questions. We have also lived in Warwick and the village of Florida.

[tambre]

Hi,

Just for fun, let's not forget that recently (Feb. 25, 2008) two Washingtonville graduates were up for a combined 9 oscars.

Tony Gilroy - 1974 Washingtonville Graduate (movie .... Michael Clayton)
James Mangold - 1981 Washingtonville Graduate (movie ... 3:10 to Yuma)

I've also heard rumors that Mel Gibson once attended Little Britain Elementary (but not sure about that!)

So, Washingtonville does have it's merits!

Tambre

[nycdet]

Thanks for the feedback. My range is 350 to 450 I think I should be able to find something in that range. I am a bit confused because I went on schooldigger.com and the school districts were listed as Warwick then Cornwall then Goshen with Chester close in ranking. This was a list of all school disticts in the state, so now I am once again rethinking my strategy. I was narrowing my search to the Goshen , Westtown area or New Windsor with Cornwall schools. The main priority is schools. I would hate to take my daughter out of the her school in the city and be disappointed with theschool where we settle.

[Desnik]

If schools are a top priority then may I suggest the Warwick school district. It's a beautiful town and has great schools. If you look at the statistics only on sites like greatschools.net or schoolreport.com then the top ranking schools in Orange County are always Monroe/Woodbury(personally I feel it's too over crowded, the school and town), Warwick, Goshen, Minisink. Keep in mind the Goshen school district has a lot less kids than the other 3 schools. Also, you can't always go solely on the statistics and test scores. You need to go to all the schools and see them for yourself, talk to people who have education as their top priority and then ask them what they think of their district. No offense to anyone, but if you are looking for a good district you won't be happy with Chester. That's going on statistics, testing, reputation, and first hand knowledge from people that live there. I personally have had my child in the Warwick school district and now my kids are in the Goshen school district. For me, the reason I prefer Goshen is it's size, the principles and faculty, smaller class size, and how they get to know each kid individually. Also, they have no tolerance for bad behavior.

I know how hard this can be. My husband was born and raised in Rockland county, West Nyack to be exact and he went to an excellent school and still goes to college, he just loves education and it's so important to him. When finally deciding on a place to settle it took a long time for us and some trial and error but we are so happy in Goshen.

Other things great about Goshen:
Farmers Market every Friday from May - Oct.
Parades for lot's of Holidays, including one of the biggest St. Patricks Day parades around.
Great American Weekend in July(hundreds of vendors, food, rides)
Hometown feel and great people.

A great way to get a good feel for a town is to go to their festivals, farmers markets, etc... You can meet some of the locals and see the kind of people that are from the area.

Good luck!

[LSLE]

Originally Posted by nycdet

Can anyone help with any information on which towns are the best regarding home prices, schools etc. I am looking into Goshen, Westtown,Minisink and New Windsor. I like New Windsor but am leary about the school system that the development (fox meadow) falls under. It is in the washingtonville school district and I have not heard good things. Any feedback or suggestions would help.Thanks

My son is in Washingtonville school district.
Being picky about academics I am happy with how it goes so far. Very happy. Yes, the best school district in OC is Warwick, but commute to the city would be a killer. Monroe/Woodbury, IMHO, is overpriced (school tax-wise) and overrated. Minisink is below average. Goshen and Cornwall are good, but here comes the commute again. If, by any chance, we understand that the level of education falls below our expectations then we can always add private tutoring, and it shall be less expensive then paying high school taxes in Monroe/Woodbury or commuting extra hour from Warwick. I am not saying Washingtonville school district is so great, what I am saying is that it still deserves to be looked at. Also, the friends whose kids are either in Monroe/Woodbury or in Goshen school district constantly complain about very unhealthy competition among the kids. Luckily, we don’t have it here.

[OCNYISHOME]

Have had several clients who were extremely apprehensive re a move to Orange County. Their children had attended high priced Manhattan private schools w/ stellar reps. Settling in the Pine Bush Central district, both children flourished much to their surprise. Turns out the systems has a modular pre-college program that fit these folks needs perfectly. Just another anecdote. You can read between the lines of many posts/anecdotal reports from edu focused families, social focus, expense focused.......contact the schools directly. If you like a certain area, visit the system. Use these posts as you would your Tom-tom.......assistance w/ direction but in this rural area many times not accurate.