Moving to Woodlawn...Advise or warnings please (New York, Yonkers: middle-class, apartments)

[Septopus]

Hi,

I am a 27 year old female thinking of moving to Woodlawn. I think the area is really pretty and is the perfect location for me since i work in both Manhattan and White Plains. Is there any advice or warnings I should note? It seemed really safe and clean when I've been there but i've only gone during the day for a pint in a bar on Mc Lean. Any advice or warnings? Thank you so much.

Meghan

P.S. I'm from Jersey not Ireland...I just have an irish name. Thanks.

[mead]

Its a pretty good neighborhood, most people are Irish or Irish-American around here as I'm sure you've guessed, although we also have a good number of Italians and Albanians. People keep on saying more Irish are going to start coming over since their economy is slowing down over there, however our economy is also slowing down so I don't know if that cancels each other out?

The bars on McLean and Katonah are pretty good. The parking is pretty bad, only some of the newer (post 1960s) buildings have places to park, or some houses that have apartments also have parking.

McLean is technically not in Woodlawn, but rather is in Yonkers. The city ends at 242nd street.

Neighborhood is pretty safe, never see any real problems. The cops barely even patrol around here since the crime is so low. Sometimes I'll read about people having stuff stolen out of the ground floor of their house after leaving the kitchen window open.

Taking the 4 into the city is generally pretty safe, however most people prefer to take Metro-North. The Metro-North trains don't run that frequently I think 3 an hour during the week, and only 2 an hour on the weekend.

The neighborhood was actually used as a set for this film that is going to come out: Synecdoche, New York - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . They filmed back during the summer over the course of 2 days (and they were even filming in front of the post office during the night).

Let me know if you have any more specific questions.

[Septopus]

THanks Alot. That's what it seemed. I was just trying to make sure that there are no hidden problems that one can't see. Also, are there any bars in the area that are not friendly to the American Girl from Jersey, i.e. really just shady places for older irish men? I used to live in the bronx and currently live in white plains, so I'm not totally naive about the Bronx. I would take the metro north into the city as I am definitely a train snob, and really don't prefer the subway north of harlem as it just seems to take too long and some lines do become sketchy at night (the D was weird at nights when i lived by Arthur Ave).

Finally, the apartment blds that are really close to the woodlawn stop of the metro north off of webster ave... are they ok? Or is that bordering sketchy? I would prefer an apt in a house in the woodlawn area or even in yonkers (i know the county line is drawn through it, but i just still call it woodlawn) but realize this might not be doable and should look into these bldgs as well. Just wanted to know where the invisible line is with the neighborhood safefty if you know what i mean. Thanks.

[mead]

You're pretty much free to go whever you want in terms of bars. Some places have a more established clientele so to speak, so if they don't know you, you'll probably get stared at. Most young people stick to the bigger places like the Rambling House and Rory Dolans anyways. As a rule of thumb, most of the smaller bars have older patrons.

I'd say Webster, and even McLean down by Webster is somewhat sketchy. The buildings themselves are pretty nice, but there's nothing to do down there, feels deserted. There's only one place that serves food, and a dry-cleaners. Much more stuff to do along Katonah Ave or up on McLean.

A lot of those buildings do have parking, which is a plus, however you won't be able to find much parking in Woodlawn itself, so I don't know what help that would be to you unless you wanted to go to the ShopRite over by the Deegan. But if you're driving to White Plains on a regular basis this could be a definite plus.

I wouldn't say Webster is unsafe though. Just somewhat desolate, not as Irish/Italian as the rest of the neighborhood. Up the hill from Webster seems nicer to me.

In my mind anything north of the cemetary, west of the Bronx River Parkway, and East of the Saw Mill Parkway is pretty safe. There are some rough spots east of the Bronx River Parkway in Wakefield/Mt. Vernon around the 2, however once you get farther east of the 2, then things turn into a more normal middle-class Jamaican neighborhood. Also one you get into Northern Mt. Vernon up by the Fleetwood train station, along Granmattan Ave things are pretty nice.

To the west of the Saw Mill Parkway in Yonkers things are a little bit sketchy. There are some decent restaurants all the way over on Broadway in Yonkers (mostly Latin ones, and an Arab one around there is pretty good). I don't mind that area, but a bunch of my female friends won't go over there, so I guess its in the eyes of the beholder.

Other than that its a pretty decent neighborhood, lots of bars, its pretty safe, and the rent is still somewhat affordable. Be somewhat suspicious of Craigslist postings. Some of the posts on Craigslist are completely out of wack with reality. The going rate for a 1br in the neighborhood is around $1,000. For a Studio it should be around $800-$900. On craigslist there seems to be a lot of inflation in rental prices recently. Somebody is trying to charge $1,500 for a 2br or $2,000 for a 3br. Those are rip off prices. $1,000 for a 1br and $1,300 for a 2br is more normal.

[Septopus]

Final question and thanks so much for your advice:

If I dont want to pay a brokers fee, where would you suggest I begin my apartment search for this area? I looked at alot of broker sites (ADNY, Citi habitats, etc.) and they dont seem to have anything in the woodlawn area listed anyways so other than CL I'm at a loss. Even NY times has only one apartment listed in the area. THe problem I seem to have is that alot of the apartments listed by owner are "available immediately" and I'm not moving for 40 days, but I cant just wait till the week before i move to start looking....that would drive me nuts..I;m the type of gal who needs a plan.

I'm going to look at those apt bldgs I mentioned this week just to see what they're like, but would prefer a house apartment. My budget is under 1100 but would love to know where I could find a studio for 900, so if you have any good tips I'd truly appreciate it. In terms of references, etc. I'm good. I have a job, etc. Thanks alot, your help is really great..I owe you a pint.

Oh, and thanks for the advice...but no worries, you couldnt pay me to live in that region of Mt. Vernon.

[mead]

Try looking around locally. Stuff is usually posted.

If you can't find anything there, use local realtor. I am sure you could find someone in Yonkers who is showing apartments in the area.