Upstate NY, Penn and NJ

Hubby and I are looking for a new place to call home. We are looking for a place that is a bit quieter, and country, but not so that he couldnt find work too far from home, as a plumber in a city such as a hospital, nursing home ect . We currently live on Long Island and are considering Upstate NY, but not too far north, Penn and NJ.
We are looking for places where the properties are at least 5 acres, some kind of stream or water, where its not too built up but where he can find work.
I dream of my little farm but there is such a big world out there that it has become a bit overwelming and I thought you guys out there, living the dream, could help us by giving us some places to check out.
Thanks
Janice

My husband is orginally from upstate new york. cohocton..small blip on the map. the bigger towns around are bath, painted post, cornell, rochester, etc.
the country is GORGEOUS!!!! for the past two years weve gone up and i see so many of the old farmsteads that are for sale in the area. my dream is to one day liquidate EVERYTHING we own here, move to the north and refurbish an old homestead.
im not sure how much land is, but i cant help but think it would be worth it. i cant seem to forget how peaceful it was there.
oh boy, i see another "hunny, i wanna move" talk coming up.
hope this helps. its worth checking out : )
jen

OOPS!

This message was edited Wednesday, Sep 5th 5:38 AM

MSJen and Janice, we live in far southwestern NY, west of Jamestown, and (unfortunately) there are a lot of properties out here for sale - farms that just couldn't make it anymore. There are woods and streams and New England has nothing on us when Autumn comes. We'd love to have some gardeners out here - BUT, you have to know about the lake effect snow that Lake Erie sends us each year, up to 300 inches in a really bad year, often less very seldom more. The prices are good, the land is sometimes in need of work, but there are places that could be just what you're looking for. And while I hate the fact that we are losing farms, it would be nice to know that someone who would love a place would buy it.

While looking at some NY state places recently, it seems the Chappaqua (sp) NY (follow the line North into NY from Scranton PA) has some great land deals with housing and acreage. I did notice that taxes were a bit high though.
Trish

I thought upstate NY was like from Watertown and north of there? Rochester is practically Florida to us!!! : )

I will warn you against our area...it is beautiful here, even in the dead of winter, with all the blasted snow. But there are no jobs. Unless you and your DH can secure jobs working on the military base, Fort Drum, there's really nothing here for you. The paper mills are all closing down, the small businesses are being run off by big box stores....it's just too depressing for anyone to try and start over again in a place like this. When business was good, it was very good,but right now it just plain stinks.

Good luck to you finding your new homestead, it's too bad we couldn't have been neighbors....

All the snow is why I couldnt go too far North. I wish I could take my LI weather with us. Summers average about mid 80s and winters average just below freezing. We dont get much snow so its a treat when it comes (and when it goes)
I have been checking local real estate ads in some papers from upstate and I am seeing ads for houses that look like they could be for here. I am feeling a bit overwelmed. Too bad were not independently wealthy and didnt need to worry about a job. Guess its difficult to find both a country farm setting and a good secure job. If anyone has a good job and is retiring soon, please let me know. LOL
I will keep checking this post. I love to hear about places like the one we are looking for.
Janice

Janice, it's good to see you posting again. You have been missed :) Best wishes on your search for a new place to call home!

Try Fishkill,Shrub Oak,Wappengersfalls,I lived in those places years ago and they were all great.people get confused with whats considered upstate.New york city people consider Westchester,and Dutchess counties Upstate,Where us cental NY folks consider Binghamton downstate and naturally if thats downstate than Syracuse is upstate ,right??

LOL and then there's the Southern Tier and Western New York. We're in both, as far west and as far south just about as you can get. It is a pretty state, though. I don't think I've been in much of it that didn't have something good to talk about.

Now I'm confused. I've always said hubby was from Upstate Ny and he's from Oneida. Should I say central? I just know that it's beautiful country and I'd love to have a summer home there to escape from our hot, humid Virginia summers.

I grew up in the Binghamton NY area (Greene, to be specific)and moved to Iowa in 1991. (It's funny how everyone who asks me where I was from thinks that "New York" means NY City - like the rest of the state doesn't exist!) Anyway, Binghamton is about 30-45 minutes north of the Scranton PA area. Greene is about 30 minutes N/NE of Binghamton. Also it's in Chenango County, which has a lower tax rate than Broome County (Binghamton). That area can be quite lovely and the winters wereren't too bad. Anyway, the Finger Lakes and Jamestown areas are probably nicer (I love driving through there and always like to stop in the Jamestown area when driving to or from NY from Iowa) but perhaps not as much job opportunity (?). I think the housing in Chenango County has been slow so you might find a good deal. Probably the biggest expense you'll run into is heating costs. In a lot of rural areas natural gas may not be available and you'll be paying for fuel oil and/or propane. Of course it's been 10 years since I lived there so it's probably gotten better! Happy house hunting!

LindaB, next time you drive through, send me a note, we're just west of Jamestown, about 30 minutes.

Housing market here is slow also, not a lot of industry, but some growth. There are a lot of old farmsteads, some that have pretty much gone back to wilderness and others that are quickly becoming hobby farms. Many have a bigger farm near that will often rent the land. Helps pay the taxes, but not much more. It is pretty country - hills and woods, skiing in the winter and lakes in the summer.

Kathleen - will do but prob won't be heading that way til sometime next year so "don't hold your breath" as they say! Have a long Iowa winter ahead, now that the tornados are almost behind us :) Actually winter's pretty comparable to upstate NY and I think spring even gets here a bit earlier. Can't wait! I'll have so many seeds to plant by then!!!

I have my pen and paper and map and I am looking!! I love wild weather but tornados absolutly terrify me. I was driving back from a hurricane visit several years back and unfortunatly the storm which was then tropical came back with me. There was a tornado WARNING in the town I was driving thru and I have to say that I was happy that I got out of their without soiling myself!!! LOL My heart was pounding louder than the rain on the windsheild. I have much respect for the power of tornados as well as for the people who live with their threat.
Thanks for the tips and thanks Go--
Janice

If you like gardening, check out Rochester NY -specifically the western suburbs of Greece, Spencerport, Ogden, Parma, Hilton, Brockport. We love gardening and farming and we take it seriously. There are landscape and gardening stores all over the place. Autumns are gorgeous, Spring smells wonderful, Summers are HOT. Winters here are not as bad as in Buffalo. We have state of the art snow removal - we are always driving on road pavement, even in the worst blizzards. And a marvelous network of expressways will take you almost anywhere in 20 minutes. But the thing I've come to marvel is that in this area we have no major floods, tornados, hurricanes, mudslides, earthquakes, out of control fires, avalanches, etc.