[toddb]

Originally Posted by NYCityBound

Looking to move to the NYC area and researching burbs. Don't want anything to do with Penn Station and want everything to do with the beautiful Grand Central Terminal so I'm narrowing my search to CT and Westchester.

Before choosing a place to live based on the <5 minutes you'll spend in a transportation hub, I would recommend figuring out which is easiest to get to your office. You can easily spend 30+ minutes just getting from Grand Central or Penn Station, depending on where you'll be working.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by tgh293

You won't get too much for your budget in Greenwich, like small to mid size house, plus school is good but not great. You can cross that off. The other 4 all have the best schools. Scarsdale and Darien same expensive, Scarsdale closer to Grand Central but huge property tax like 2% of your house price. Darien tax is bit lower than Scarsdale but 20 min longer train. Rye and Westport would be better choice for you. you get more from money (not drastic) and they are great shore towns,40 min train vs 60 min. We cannot tell you if 60 min train is too far or not, lots of people in westport commute nyc to work but some cannot stand it.

I do question why you say Greenwich schools are not great. Their schools perform well above the state averages on the Connecticut Mastery and Connecticut Academic Performance Tests. People pay a high premium to live in Greenwich and would not do so if the schools were not up to par. Greenwich is a large town and has a surprisingly diverse population. It is considered by most to be one of the best towns to live in. Jay

[elinyc]

I urge the OP to check out Greenwich before disregarding it. If I had this kind of a budget and an NYC commute, there is no question I would choose Greenwich over Westport. Greenwich is gorgeous - Greenwich Ave, Greenwhich Point Park, and so many other wonderful amenities. The schools are varied, but I'm sure the OP could easily limit their search to the districts zoned for their preferred schools and still find many good options in their price range.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by elinyc

I urge the OP to check out Greenwich before disregarding it. If I had this kind of a budget and an NYC commute, there is no question I would choose Greenwich over Westport. Greenwich is gorgeous - Greenwich Ave, Greenwhich Point Park, and so many other wonderful amenities. The schools are varied, but I'm sure the OP could easily limit their search to the districts zoned for their preferred schools and still find many good options in their price range.

Ditto.

[mlassoff]

Originally Posted by elinyc

I urge the OP to check out Greenwich before disregarding it. If I had this kind of a budget and an NYC commute, there is no question I would choose Greenwich over Westport. Greenwich is gorgeous - Greenwich Ave, Greenwhich Point Park, and so many other wonderful amenities. The schools are varied, but I'm sure the OP could easily limit their search to the districts zoned for their preferred schools and still find many good options in their price range.

If it's simply a question of amenities, I don't think Greenwich enjoys a significant advantage over Westport at all. I also think that Westport has a superior school system without schools that are "varied." However, if you factor in commute, you owe it to yourself to give Greenwich consideration as well.