Leaving Manhattan For Orange County NY

Many Manhattanites coping with the economic contraction may often find themselves going through a mental arithmetic that is now familiar to everyone who lives in the city. Is it worth it ? Nowadays, this question goes beyond the usual, big city cavetching. Even the most loyal New Yorker is having their allegiance to the city sorely tested as city and property taxes skyrocket and subway fares threaten to rise, adding insult to injury.

Yet, even in the face of fiscal Armageddon, New York is still New York. The beloved Big Apple still offers unmatched cultural amenities, and some affordable ones at that. Unlike Los Angeles, San Francisco and Detroit, its economy does not rely on any one industry. Its varied landscape of opportunities , culture, and lifestyles will continue to pull people into the city.

With these two above paragraphs in mind, let me turn your attention to Orange County New York. It lies well within a two hour commute to the city , and features beautiful vistas of dairy farms, wineries, fertile land and pastoral scenery. The Schawangunk mountain range lies in the western part of the county, offering some of the best rock climbing on the Eastern Seaboard. To the east lies rolling hills that run right up to the Hudson River. Arriving for the first time into Orange County , one might think they were in Western Oregon. It is here where the Appalachian ridge breaks open into a valley, ending right at the foot of the Catskills.

This famous area boasts the beautiful state parks of Harriman and Sterling Forest, as well as West Point Military Academy, apple orchards, and Brotherhood Winery, the oldest winery in America. Perhaps nowhere in the country are the four seasons more dramatic . Autumn is a perhaps the most famous season here , with the hills ablaze in color. There are also numerous harvest tours where residents and tourists alike can enjoy picking apples, or exploring the vineyards.

The schools in Orange County also rank as some of the best in the state. I asked around and the locals confirmed the statistic. In fact, there wasn’t one transplanted Manhattan parent I spoke with that felt the schools were a step down from the Big Apple.

Like most places in the country, home prices here have fallen, allowing affordable windows of opportunity. In January, the Case-Shiller home price index showed a 20% nationwide drop in median home prices from the year before. Current market indicators are pointing to a continued drop. The era of the buyer’s market is soon arriving, and New York’s Orange County will be offering some of the best deals in ten years. Most of the towns lie within an easy commute to Manhattan which gives Orange County a special status having a rustic, country feel while being adjacent to one of the largest Metropolitan areas on earth.

People who have had enough of the politics of the city might do well to consider an easy move to Orange County New York, where exclusive views can now be had at affordable prices.