Anyway to get a cheap area of residence around the NYC area?

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Like in the countryside, maybe 5-10 miles away, for the fraction of the monthly rent of an apartment?
I'd like to move in a year and a half or so.

Truthfully, you'd have to go quite a bit more than 5-10 miles away from NYC in order to see what resembles "countryside" somewhat. It's suburban sprawl for at least like 60-70 miles to the east (on Long Island), basically down to Philadelphia to the south, maybe like 40 miles to the west, and maybe about 30 miles to the north. You'll be lucky to get a decent price even in suburban areas. It's relatively cheap in places near or in Scranton, Allentown, Reading, or Bethlehem PA--from between 70 to about 90 miles southwest and northwest of NYC. People even commute to NYC from those places.

The only "reasonable rents" you'll get within 50 miles of NYC are (possibly) in basement apartments within two-family houses. You could maybe pay $500 a month, if you're very lucky, in a rooming house with shared kitchen and bathroom facilities, in a not-so-nice area. The $500 figure is not likely though--make that $750 or so. Or maybe some place in some rundown area of a hick town in Jersey, above a store, from somebody desperate for tenants.

How much are you looking to pay?

To get a decent apartment in a decent area in NYC, within an hour commute from Manhattan, you would have to pay, at the VERY LEAST, about $900 for a small studio. They will require at least one months rent and one months security in advance.

You should look in Zillow; you'll see what I mean. Look at all the zip codes within 50 miles of NYC. You'll see what I mean.

The following neighborhoods are nice and the best for you: West Orange, Paterson, Central Islip Long Island, Newark New Jersey, Jersey City, Bronx (Towns: Morrisania, Hunt's Point, Mott Haven), East New York in Brooklyn, Staten Island (Port Richmond is the only town I know there) and if you are ok with a bit of a longer commute try towns such as Camden in NJ and Bridge Port in Connecticut.

Those are considered like similar to a suburb rather than rural area. None of these areas really require a car, but if you are living in Jersey you might share a car with friends so that you can go to Costco because some suburban busses ban large carts.

I do not suggest commuting from Pennsylvania because my friend lives in Stroudsburg and his commute sucks. Also some parts of Staten Island have a history of prejudice, but the north part is usually fine. I would not be considering any part of Jersey as a hick town actually.

Port Richmond and Bronx are nice towns. Usually places that are far from public transportation, such as East Flat Bush in Brooklyn and East New York or New Lots in Brooklyn, are more affordable. But it's still really really expensive. Like if your apartment cost $600-700 you will still need to get roommates. Usually 2-3 people live in apartments so that would break down to like 250 per person.

Are you kidding me? I think the previous poster is trying to test my knowledge of New York!

Most of the areas he mentioned are actually quite bad areas, and best avoided!

The Ironbound section of Newark is not bad--but the rest of Newark really sucks.

Camden is worse than Newark (and is near Philadelphia, not NYC). It's about 95 miles SW of NYC. It's actually right across the river from Philly.

There are some nice parts of West Orange and Jersey City--but most of those two cities are pretty bad. You have to look carefully. Observe where you might live during the day, and at night. Jersey City is much better as far as access to NYC is concerned.

East New York, Brooklyn, for the most part, is laden with housing projects and best avoided.

The sections of the Bronx he mentioned: Avoid them, too.

It is true, though, that a few of these areas MIGHT be getting a bit better--because people are being priced out of "better" areas. This might be true for East New York, Brooklyn (but you have to be careful and observe the area by day and by night).

Bridgeport, CT is about 60 miles east NYC. Most of it is not that great; it's an industrial area.

Stroudsburg is actually a decent area, in the Pocono Mountains, though it's about 80 miles NW of NYC.

There are no decent, actual apartments which rent for $600-700 in NYC--none. Unless you're in a bad area, and the landlord is desperate to rent to somebody. Or if somebody is subletting, and has been in the apartment a while.

Probably some place like Minneapolis.