[Asil65]

My dh and I are originally from CT. We now live in Va and my husband will likely be accepting a job in Tarrytown NY. We are looking at Ridgefield for a possiblity. We have a 9 and 11 yr old so schools are really important. How are the Ridgefield schools? The stats look pretty good. It is a friendly town? Being a Yankee I know how some parts of Ct are not quite as welcoming as others. Taxes in NY are insane. So we are looking at various options.Thanks.

[KH02]

Ridgefield has great schools. Though it's very expensive to live their.

[JayCT]

Ridgefield schools are excellent. Here is a link to information on the schools there and other towns in CT. Jay

Strategic School Profiles by District

Strategic School Profiles by School

[jdhall1]

It is quite expensive. Average list price per CMLS 12/2/08 is $1,258,250 with taxes of about $16,000 a year.Median price is $899,000 with taxes of about $9200. Good luck!

[Asil65]

So we are not going to save very much money by increasing my dh commute by 15 minutes? Seems like you get more bang for your buck compared to Katonah or Croton andthe taxes are definitely less.

[MomOfToo]

I think it all depends on what kind of house you are looking for. I am originally from Westchester and the taxes are out of control-probably the highest in the country. Ridgefield can be affordable if your looking for an "average" home. Those quotes the pp posted may be more for a brand new 3000sq ft home. We looked in Ridgefield and there were many homes in the 400-600k range. It all depends on what you are looking for. We opted for New Fairfield, the schools are good here as well but it is a much more friendler town. I'd say look on realtor.com for both towns and see what you can get for your price range. The taxes in CT are wayyyy more lower than Westchester-believe me!

[lp81502]

Ridgefield has really excellent schools, but the commute to Tarrytown looks like it would be just shy of an hour's drive. Have you considered Somers, NY? There are really nice homes for under $700k and with Star the taxes look like they would be in the 7000-8000 range (not a steal but compared to other Westchester towns its low). The schools are supposed to be good. You should also consider Irvington, although it looks like the taxes are on par with Westchester averages.

[Asil65]

Thanks for the great responses. We were looking at New Fairfield too as it seems you can get more bang for your buck a little farther north. The commute would be longer to Tarrytown. Mom of too why did you feel New Fairfiled was friendlier than Ridgefield? Please don't tell me it is another snobby town.I did look at Somers NY. It just seems a little too far out there for me. No real downtown which I would like. We are still looking at Katonah and Croton in NY as well. My dh would like at least an acre of propert so I think Irvington would be out.

[jdhall1]

You also might want to check out Bethel. There is a downotwn and prices about very similiar to New Fairfield.

[jeena]

I live in Westchester County, about 15 minutes from Tarrytown. I have looked in Conn. for property. It seems Bethel has some kind of waste plant that you wouldn't want to live close to. What about Brookfield, Ct? It's really nice and you have access to Candlewood Lake, homes there have lots of property and used to be cheap in 2002 compared to Westchester. You can always go to Danbury to shop in the mall, and Mt. Kisco and Katonah in Westchester are close by, lovely towns with small shops.

Many people who live in more expensive towns in Westchester tell me that when their kids are out of school they are going to move into East Yonkers because the taxes are much cheaper, the problem is the schools are crappy.

I used to live in Croton, it was very nice, but extremely boring, a typical river town. I used to come back to Yonkers or White Plains every chance I got to shop and visit friends. Additionally, I didn't like living so close to the Con Ed nuclear plant on the Hudson, and when I was commuting to work in White Plains on Route 9, if I didn't get on the road before 7:00 a.m. it was bumper to bumper traffic from Croton on down, and I was always late for work. In the winter the side roads in Croton are very icy. One morning while trying to get to work my car slid on ice, I had no control of it, and luckily it stopped about two feet in front of a tree!

I gather you don't want to pay the Westchester taxes to live in Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow, it's too bad, it's so lovely, I go there all the time.
A town called West Harrison (it's right next to White Plains) used to have cheaper taxes than typical Westchester.

If money were no object, I would live in Pleasantville, NY, I think it's one of the nicest places to live in Westchester and it's surrounded by towns with all good neighborhoods, and convenient to White Plains.

Good luck!