[jjv1]

My family and I will be relocating from Australia to US around the beginning of August and are starting to look at suburbs we should consider for purchasing. We will initially be in White Plains NY for 3 months in temporary accommodation and then potentially looking to purchase a home. At this stage we are thinking about towns in CT mainly for cost/tax reasons. It would be great if people can share any views/opinions on areas we should consider given our situation and values which I’ve outlined below.

About us & what we value

- We are a family of 4 with a 3 year old and a 1 year old.
- Our budget for a property is up to $1.2m but would like to spend less and preferably a modern house that doesn’t require too much additional renovations. Our preference is for a modest sized home and not having a huge amount of space.
- I will be working in Armonk and would like to keep commuting to around 30mins max.
- We’ve always lived in large towns/cities and enjoy having local shops, restaurants, entertainment, leisure facilities facilities relatively close by.
- Quality of schools is very important
- Preferably a non-snobby community
- We are a mixed race couple (I’m Asia Indian and wife is French) so local diversity would be nice, although I appreciate this might be limited in particular districts.
- We are outdoor people and enjoy nature, being close to the beach would be an added bonus.

I’ve visited Armonk and White Plains for work in the past but don’t have a feel for the other areas. I can’t see myself buying in White Plains as it lacked the character and community feel in my opinion. I have colleagues who live in New Canaan & Wilton but I’m wondering whether we should consider areas such as Greenwich/Stamford, Darien or maybe even Westchester county? It would be great to have a shortish commute to Manhattan for excursions but this is nice-to-have. It appears that the main downside to towns in Westchester county are the higher taxes (particularly property/school tax) but seems like this in only in specific suburbs.

Other questions

Given our focus on schooling and education we have been looking at the Greatschool website and the various ratings. Probably a difficult question but how accurately do people feel these ratings actually reflect the quality of the schools? I appreciate that rating are based on exam results on a relative scale. Apart from actually visiting the schools themselves what other resources to people use? I also frequently read the comment that you can’t go wrong with schools in Fairfield county, not sure if that is true?

Finally, my wife is a chartered accountant and will be giving up her job when we move across. She will eventually look for a new job preferably not too far from home and would like to avoid the commute to Manhattan. Just wondering if anyone has any views on job market for finance in areas such as Stamford/Greenwich?

Thank you all!

[KH02]

Ridgefield is a nice town that I think would meet your criteria. I have a relative with kids in the school system and she loves the schools there, and they are highly rated. Your budget would work there as well. I'm not sure on the commute but I think it would be around your 30 min criteria perhaps more with traffic

Greenwich and New canaan would work well too.

[Robert137]

It sounds like Greenwich would be a perfect fit for your family. It meets all of your requirements (including good schools, beaches, things to do), commutable to Armonk or Stamford or Manhattan if need be. There are plenty of jobs in finance in the Greenwich/Stamford area, in general. Greenwich beaches are pretty nice too.

The only negative is that you might not get the kind of home you described. It might be older or need a bit of work, but since you're looking for a modest-size home, you should be fine.

I've never lived in Greenwich, but from what I've observed, it's a welcoming community, a lot of diversity. It's home to people of many nationalities. And it's not all rich people by any means.

[JayCT]

You are moving to one of the most expensive parts of the USA so understand that $1.2 million will not get you a lot. I always recommend that you live as close to you job as possible. Why commute longer than you have to? If your job is in White Plains, you should first consider the Westchester towns in and around it. Scarsdale is a beautiful town with excellent schools but very pricey and as I am sure you know, the taxes are insane. Many of the nicer Westchester towns are similar which is why many families come to Connecticut. I would recommend posting on the Westchester forum for more suggestions.

If you still want Connecticut, I would start in Greenwich. It is a beautiful town with excellent schools and is surprisingly diverse. $1.2 million will buy you a nice but somewhat modest home there but your taxes will likely be a good deal less than found in Westchester. You could also look in Darien and New Canaan but then you would have to deal with heavy traffic that commutes into Stamford every day and that could be a problem.

As KH02 suggested, Ridgefield is a wonderful town with excellent schools. It is further from White Plains but your budget would go a lot further there. The commute would be at least 45 minutes. Another town to consider with Ridgefield is Wilton. It has a lot of what you looking for and is not as expensive as Greenwich, Darien or New Canaan. Good luck, Jay

[Raider111]

Originally Posted by jjv1

- Our budget for a property is up to $1.2m but would like to spend less and preferably a modern house that doesn’t require too much additional renovations. Our preference is for a modest sized home and not having a huge amount of space.
- I will be working in Armonk and would like to keep commuting to around 30mins max.

$1.2M is plenty for that in CT with lower prop taxes. Tons on the market, you have pick of the litter.
Darien, New Canaan would be easy commutes to Armonk via the Merritt, once you got past the High Ridge Rd exit you cruise right in, piece of cake.

[allanny13]

Based on these criteria I would suggest Greenwich, Darien, & New Canaan in CT and Larchmont, Rye, Rye Brook, Pleasantville, and Chappaqua in Westchester.

[jjv1]

Thank you everyone for the feedback, this is very help and will add these towns to the shortlist of places to explore. I will also post this in the NY forum to see if there are any different opinions.

[Stylo]

The diversity and non-snobby factor is tough to come by in the area if you want good schools.

Stamford would give you a lot of what you want: diversity, community feel (esp in places like Springdale and Glenbrook), down to earth feel. It's safe in most areas. Problem is the schools are just about average for the state. But, the money you save (you could get a great house well under a million) could be used for private high school. The elementary schools are fine.

Greenwich has more diversity than other homogenous towns like New Canaan and Darien despite its extreme wealth. Old Greenwich, Cos Cob, and Byram are worth looking at as more "normal" neighborhoods.

[allanny13]

Originally Posted by Stylo

Greenwich has more diversity than other homogenous towns like New Canaan and Darien despite its extreme wealth. Old Greenwich, Cos Cob, and Byram are worth looking at as more "normal" neighborhoods.

Old Greenwich specifically is the 6th wealthiest town in the United States, and there is nothing on the market under around $1M, so I'm not sure I would recommend that as a normal or non-homogenous neighborhood. The sleepy beach town is long, long gone. Cos Cob is a bit more normal but there is still very little at that price point. Byram, yes but the lower schools can be an issue.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Stylo

The diversity and non-snobby factor is tough to come by in the area if you want good schools.

Stamford would give you a lot of what you want: diversity, community feel (esp in places like Springdale and Glenbrook), down to earth feel. It's safe in most areas. Problem is the schools are just about average for the state. But, the money you save (you could get a great house well under a million) could be used for private high school. The elementary schools are fine.

Greenwich has more diversity than other homogenous towns like New Canaan and Darien despite its extreme wealth. Old Greenwich, Cos Cob, and Byram are worth looking at as more "normal" neighborhoods.

I would not characterize Stamford schools as average for the state. They perform generally below state averages on standardized tests. Plus the district buses students around the city to meet racial balances in their schools so for someone looking for good schools, I would not recommend Stamford.

Greenwich is about 23% non-white which is a lot higher than other affluent towns (Darien, New Canaan, Wilton, etc.) which are closer to 10%. It is subjective whether that number is considered to be diverse or not. Jay