burbs vs city (Bedford, Nassau, Ardsley: house, good schools, allergy)

[crisp444]

What's wrong with the schools in those towns? Though people talk down about all the schools in the more blue collar, middle class areas (as opposed to the white collar upper middle class and wealthy areas), the OP specifically WANTS a close-in town that is NOT expensive, and I can't think of school districts that are outstanding that fit that bill. You can get into a nice, smaller home in Fanwood for under $450,000 (which is part of the excellent Scotch Plains - Fanwood school district), but it takes an hour just to GET to Manhattan from there, let alone to get to the office. How is the commute from Bayonne? It's a more blue collar, middle class / working class kind of place and is supposed to have decent schools. Any comments about that town; I really don't know it.

[bmwguydc]

Bayonne is hit and miss with the schools, similar to Union, where some individual schools are very good and others are not. They are large districts by population, owing to the density of the areas that they serve, not unlike schools in NYC proper. Kearny is only a little smaller by population. I think Bayonne has 175,000 inhabitants, Union around 60,000 and Kearny around 40,000, and these are really small cities by population, no matter their legal descriptor. Many districts in the region that are higher ranked have better student-teacher ratios and are administering to a smaller school-age population, and can carry price premiums as they are sought after by purchasers. It's not a question of socioeconomics or class of worker in the area, but one that is based more on the sheer volume of students to be served by the system, and the resources available to meet the needs of the population. It's a similar situation in much of the Tri-State area, especially in the first suburbs, and that's why people extend commutes a little bit on either end to find a mix of affordability and school district, since places like Yonkers are close-in but I would not recommend the schools. It's not a question of class, since there are great areas in Yonkers, but you feed into the city's school system, and if the schools are important as the OP stated that they were, it's not the right fit.

The OP asked about Nyack, and the commute from Nyack and Pearl River is a draw, since they are both similar time frames, though one is Penn and one is GCT, but Pearl River has better schools, though Nyack's are not horrible. Also, the OP is looking for a "cute downtown area," which does not mean that it has to be walkable from one's residence. One can live outside of a town center and drive five minutes to town and achieve that quite easily, and many can be situated within a few minutes of several towns that offer that option, making for a lifestyle that has options for shopping and dining. These are very middle class, solid towns, but they are a bit of extra distance, and are affordable for a target purchase price in the mid $400s as there are houses under $500.

Right now, one should be purchasing for a longer-term, so I would not recommend to anyone that they buy a place closer in and then move when they need schools since appreciation might not catch up with transaction costs to make that situation a reality, something that a few years ago would not have been an issue. It's better to buy now and find something that will work when one has school-age children if they plan to start a family, hence the need to get a handle on the school district as part of the intial research.

Scotch Plains-Fanwood is a good school district, and that is indicative of a trade-off that the OP might be willing to make, an extra fifteen miutes to get what they need. Many parents I know would deal with the extra thirty minutes daily to have a better school district if they want to use the public system. And, an hour to Manhattan is not all that horrible a commute, since you can commute for an hour from neighborhoods within the city limits.

[Moderate Guy]

Originally Posted by BXGEAR

Kew Gardens, Briarwood

I seccond that except that the budget specified may be too low presently for a HOUSE or decent condo in those areas. If the OP would consider a co-op, there are possibilities.

[Zebra Pimp]

Try Bloomfield, NJ. Good restaraunts in the downtown, Brookside, and Brookdale areas. A lot of places have opened up lately since many people are getting priced out of Montclair. The NJ Transit line runs right into town as well and theres also DeCamp Buses.

[rlp123]

thank you so much for the responses! especially bmwguydc and crisp444 thank you so much.. you really helped me out. bxgear - we're actually going to check out kew gardens.. heard good things as well.

Anybody have anything to say about Tarrytown?
thank you!

[rlp123]

i think the problem we are facing at the moment is that bc we are ATLEAST five years away from putting kids into school (elementary) we're having a hard time changing our lifestyle completely (which we will do when the time is right) when it doesnt fit our needs at the moment. maybe we'll rent a little longer and save till it feels natural to make the jump out to an area where finding the right school district/commute is more of a priority. all of these suggestions were really on the money -- ive researched westfield, millburn, scotch plains, montclair, short hills, etc.. and i love the old houses and town feel. i think we may need a little more time before we do it tho. thank you so much for your replies.

[Rachael84]

I don't know why everyone on here recommends NJ over any other suburbs in the area. There are tons of suburbs in the area, like Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, Rockland county, Orange county. I grew up on Long Island and it was great having Queens and Brooklyn right there. You don't need to pay a toll or go on a bridge to enter NYC. In NJ, you have to pay a toll to even get into the city.

[bmwguydc]

Tarrytown offers a faster commute than other areas, and it has upgraded its image in recent years, but the village is not noted for its schools. The schools are decent, but it's not a sought-after district such as nearby Irvington or Ardsley. It is a more relaxed area as well.

Nearby, I would also suggest looking into Ardsley, since sometimes, you can find a starter home/cottage at just under $500k. But, if that is a big hit to your budget, I would suggest Pleasantville, espeially in the Pleasantville Union Free District as opposed to Mount Pleasant Cottage District that does not get the same ratings. Pleasantville is just outside your commute window, roughly 50 minutes to GCT on the Harlem Line train.

Tuckahoe would be great, but the houses are closer to $500 for starters in the village (and there aren't many around that price), but you never know what could come on the market, so it might be worth a look. This is similar to Eastchester, which neighbors the Village of Tuckahoe, which also has a good school district, but the house prices start around $500.

Parts of New Rochelle are also decent, and the schools are actually better than Tarrytown. Some of the schools within the system do not perform to the same standard, however, so I would pay attention to both price and the local school, but overall it might be a consideration for you. And, the downtown area has had some issues in the recent past, so I would tend to focus on city areas that are closer to Eastchester, Scarsdale, etc. as opposed to the downtown core.

Hope that helps.

[Andysocks]

Did Long Island get blown up off the face of the map recently? Hasn't been mentioned once... there's definitely a few areas in central Nassau or western suffolk you can snag a house in a decent school district for around $400K. Like... Levittown? East Meadow? Lindenhurst? Yeah, none of the school districts are "WONDERFUL!" but they're sufficient, and if you drive to the nearest train stations, the commute should be less than 45 minutes to Penn if I remember correctly.

[Rachael84]

Thank you! Someone who recommends Long Island. You're right about how it seems it's non-existent anymore on these forums. People seem to have forgotten about it. It's a great place to be. The schools are very good (minus a few, like Roosevelt and Hempstead in Nassau county) and the commute time is quick.