Hey Noah,
We’ve lived in Newburgh for over two years now. The commute is doable but if you are doing it every day it is not easy. I don’t have experience with the bus, but my wife takes the train to midtown every day and it gets hard after a while. About 1:50 door to door from our house.
I freelance but work from home usually so I don’t mind the long commute once or twice a week to visit with clients.
Newburgh is incredible and we are very glad we moved here, but commuting five days a week to the city while doable, is not easy. Luckily it’s a beautiful train ride and you always get a seat.
Biking is a mixed bag.You can definitely ride to the Beacon train station. I usually do it a few times a year. Riding over the bridge is great. I do that for exercise all the time.
The only downside is that the pavement in Newburgh is awful, so some roads are unbikeable (and other roads are fine).
Drivers are reasonably courteous but there aren’t a lot of bicyclists up here so they’re not always used to you.