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This just goes to support my assertion that I would never move here making less than $150K (at least not in lower Wstch). Although I have met nice enough people here in my short tenure, I would never, ever go out of my way to live here if I were trying to avoid snobs and materialism. Seriously? There is nothing down-to-earth about lower Westchester. Never in my life have I met so many stay at home moms with nannies. Couples work insane hours to get by, or one parent works so much that they really only see their kids on weekends.
Certainly, the schools are amazing and it's close to the city, but there are very big sacrifices that you make in return as a family. I'm sorry that the OP had such a bad experience. I really have found lots of very good people down here, but down to earth would not really describe them. Fortunately we can buy a home here, so we don't feel like we are shut out on that front, which helps. I can imagine that it would be much more difficult if you were a renter though, because I can see how you might feel marginalized in this town as a result. Good luck in the midwest. I hope that it's everything that you are hoping it will be.
It's why I've been trying to leave for years, only reason I'm here is I'm a "native" (and one who never fit in very well). But hard to leave when you have to sell a condo and have a job to move to.
"Wow... Westchester kids are so corrupt. It all starts with training the kids at home...in fact, I should start looking for homes where they have good parents living in the town. But the mentality of throwing your money away because of a "good" "school" is so sad. I'd rather home school than pay 500k for a tiny property on no land and $16,000 a year taxes."
How on earth did you come to this conclusion by saying that I wanted a bargain price for a house? There are few places near a major city where you can buy a house for under $500K. True, your taxes will be cheaper, but if you are looking for truly cheap housing, good luck. I could move to Arkansas and pay $150K for a house, but the schools are crap and the quality of life is not what I'm comfortable with.
What's wrong with parents in Westchester? Sure they are all wealthy and probably distort their kids' reality, but if you think that your kid would be better prepared for life by home schooling them vs. sending them to a top-rated public school, that is your choice. Few people out here move from the city to face a grueling commute if they are 'bad parents' though.
The bottom line is that if you HAVE to work in NYC, you have few housing options. Of them, Westchester and parts of CT are the best IMO, hence the high prices. I would not choose to live here if my husband didn't need to work in the city, though, that much is true. You could be a teacher or secretary anywhere.
How on earth did you come to this conclusion by saying that I wanted a bargain price for a house? There are few places near a major city where you can buy a house for under $500K. True, your taxes will be cheaper, but if you are looking for truly cheap housing, good luck. I could move to Arkansas and pay $150K for a house, but the schools are crap and the quality of life is not what I'm comfortable with.
Not true; yes for California cities, NYC metro, Boston, maybe DC, maybe Miami and Chicago, but not for many other "major" cities. OK, using Detroit or Cleveland as an example would probably be laughable (mainly due to the lack of job, nothing against those cities per se or the people who live there), but how about Atlanta or Dallas? Or if you are not comfortable in the South, how about Philly or Minneapolis or Denver?
Maybe expecting a $150K house near these cities (though that's possible for Atlanta or Dallas) is unrealistic, but only a few big cities do you really need to pay $500K+ for a house, especially since the financial meltdown.
I did say 'few'. And I should have added within a 45 minute commute to the city in a top school district. No way will you get that in Chicago and DC. Atlanta traffic is horrendous, with no mass transit. Dallas just isn't fair. Denver is maybe doable, but at one point we were looking at a job in Boulder and it wasn't cheap at all! And it snows in June. Minneapolis!? I just came from LA...baby steps with the cold!
If I had my way, I would do Portland, Seattle, Raleigh or Austin, personally.
Out of curiousity, 7Wishes, have you ever considered CT? I see you work there. We've been looking ourselves in the Greenwich, Cos Cobb, Riverside areas as an alternative to southern Westchester. It's not that we don't like it here so much as I just can't fathom the idea of paying $20K+ in property taxes to have 5 extra layers of government than I need.
Hmmmm,,,,why u are unhappy living in westchester...could it be because...
1) Being forced to live in an area with the highest proeprty taxes in the entire country..knowing you will never afford it
2) living in a county that by federal judge will now allow low income peopel to move into the upper class neighborhoods, all int he name of social engineering..
3) crappy weather...
4) corrupt politicians skimming money on your back...why u struggle to stay afloat financially...
Hmmmm,,,,why u are unhappy living in westchester...could it be because...
1) Being forced to live in an area with the highest proeprty taxes in the entire country..knowing you will never afford it
2) living in a county that by federal judge will now allow low income peopel to move into the upper class neighborhoods, all int he name of social engineering..
3) crappy weather...
4) corrupt politicians skimming money on your back...why u struggle to stay afloat financially...
yeah i would stay... NOT !!!
leave NY State !!!!
Gimme a break. Of these only #1 makes the slightest bit of sense. And even that's questionable. "Forced"?
Out of curiousity, 7Wishes, have you ever considered CT? I see you work there. We've been looking ourselves in the Greenwich, Cos Cobb, Riverside areas as an alternative to southern Westchester. It's not that we don't like it here so much as I just can't fathom the idea of paying $20K+ in property taxes to have 5 extra layers of government than I need.
Yes, but except for taxes being somewhat lower, it's almost as expensive as Westchester until you get north and east of a line from Danbury to about Fairfield/Trumbull. Now i do work part of the week in Bridgeport and part of the week in Stamford (and my wife works in Stamford), but these are not "permanent" jobs we have (and we only got them in the last few months). If I got something permanent, particularly more in the Bridgeport/New Haven area over Stamford (getting to Stamford from points east and more so north is a nightmare if I wanted to move where it's really cheaper, I-95 is a lot like an "East Coast" version of L.A. .....it's pretty bad from Westchester too except my current hours are usually a little before rush hours) I'd move in a heartbeat (actually in this economy I'd probably put up with a really long commute for a year or two until I feel "secure".....I'm already used to going to Bridgeport part of the week and I could actually get to New Haven in about an hour if I had the hours I have now.....I had an interview there in the middle of the day that took me an hour to get to). I actually did do a temporary assignment up in the Hartford area last summer and rented a small room during the week, coming home to family on weekends. It's much cheaper there so maybe if I got a job there I'd go......thanks for noting!
Funny thing is- most of the social climbers who live in lower Westchester are NOT from NY. Yes- if you moved to somewhere else in the country- you would be amongst the richest, would be able to live in the McMansion and join the country club. We pay for what we get. I moved to Charlotte and we returned in a year. The women there were the worst social climbers I have ever encountered- and "nice"- ha! No one seems to get sarcasm outside of New Yorkers- and forget about food- just pitiful. If you are a true New Yorker- born and raised- it is very hard to be happy elsewhere. It is unfortunate that due to cost- many are forced out- but most would return if they could afford it. I have a relative who is in Chicago- counting the days she can return- another in Florida- moving back in a few months. I understand if you are not from the NYC city area- it may be hard coming from a place where you were able to join the country club and had the nicest home on the block- and it wasnt possible when you came here. I would rather live in a modest home with proximity to the city, culture, great food- than elsewhere in America- which lacks all of that. And the kids in Westchester- check out all these reality shows on TV- with the highest population in the country- you rarely see one of our kids on this junk! Check out the kids and the social climbing moms in Middle America- much worse than here. just my opinion. It aint for everyone!
"Half mil for something livable and then you had 16k/year taxes on that-who in their right mind would do that to themselves?"
ME! Show me a livable house for $500K in a good school district in lower Westchester and I'll have my attorney draw up the papers tomorrow!
I should have been more specific, I rented in lower Westchester but looked to buy waaaaaaaay up north, right before Putnam. Luckily I was able to just to leave NY.
Corrupt? What on earth are you talking about?Throwing money away? That's what it costs to be here. If you that's inconsistent with your values then vote with your feet, no sense carping about it online.
it is corrupt. The superintends of these tiny village districts with a few hundred kids are taking home what, 250k a year? I base this on what I saw in LoHud awhile back.
A superintendent of a county-wide school system in a functional state gets nowhere near that, and those districts can have thousands of students.
Police chiefs in tiny villages taking in 200k. Great pay, total job security, awesome benefits, guaranteed 8% pension, and you can retire, get rehired, so you can get paid twice for the same job. What a wonderful system.
That is not just throwing money away, it is being robbed. Whatever, you get what you pay for right?
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