Moving to Katonah NY from Ireland (White Plains, Rye: amusement park, house, YMCA)

[IrishLase123]

I can try to give you some perspective from an Irish American point of view. My parents are from Ireland and I grew up in Rockland County, which is above Westchester, but know the Woodlawn area of the Bronx/McLean Avenue area of Yonkers well, which is like a little Ireland. My husband and I are looking for a house and are pretty sure we will settle in Pleasantville. Anywhere you go in Westchester, there is money/nannies, etc., but there is also good, down to earth people. Personally, I'd love to live in Rockland county, but the commute to NYC is too far. In Westchester, you get a lot less for your $ in terms of house/property. Not sure if anyone said this, but you need to shop by school district vs. town. You could buy a house in say Bronxville (one of the best school district in the county), but the schools are zoned for Yonkers, which typically has bad school. Something to think about....if the town has a town pool (one of the reasons we like Pleasantville). This is a great way to meet people and great way to spend the summer. If not, you may want to consider joining a pool club. Westchester is full of pricey country clubs - I didn't grow up in that world and consider it snooty, but that is a definate generalization as I have little exposure to them. If the town has a pool, you would meet people who live close to you and those whose kids will be going to school with yours.

In general, Westchester has a lot of stay at home mom's and lots of opportunities to meet people through kiddie activities. As it is a good commute to the city and has great schools, you will find a lot of people here who are not from the NYC area (vs. Rockland county where the majority of the people are from the area).

Is being around Irish important to you? Enrolling your kids in Irish language classes in the event you move back home? Playing irish football? If so, the lower half of the county might be better has you'd want to be near Woodlaw/Yonkers, where you can enroll in these through the Ashling Irish Center.

[IrishLase123]

Also, if you are looking for a more Irish community, you may want to check out Eastchester, which I belive is mainly Catholic and Irish/Italian American. There are 2 school districts - one that rolls up to Eastchester High School and the other to Tuckahoe High School. I think Eastchester is the better of the 2. Pople here drive to the Bronxville or Tuckahoe train stations. Eastchester has a town pool caled Lake Isle.

Another area if you want to be in an Irish American area is the Crestwood section of Tuckahoe/Yonkers, which is beautiful, but after the younger grades, people tend to send their kids to Catholic schools (which are around $5k per kids/per year). Many houses here are walking distance to the train.

[dma1250]

Originally Posted by bmwguydc

... Because of the reservoirs, development is restricted, so you would not find a large estate being cut up into 1/8th of an acre lots for hundreds of homes...

As bmwguydc said, the entire swath of Northern Westchester around the reservoirs has strict watershed regulations which have saved it from major development. For example, southern Yorktown (both north and south of the reservoir) is zoned for 4 acre plots (except for a few pockets that are zoned for 2 acre lots), but even a small development of 4+ acre lots would have a hard time passing the strict DEP regulations now in place in the area. The area also has a tremendous amount of protected land owned by the county, town, and NYC, as well as a great deal of forever-protected nature preserve land. It really is very different up here than in southern Westchester.

Thank you for the feedback SallyG and bmwguydc, going to do some more research on the towns you listed as I have a feeling that Katonah may end up being a little quiet for me. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Katonah can be pretty quiet, but remember that the towns don't have walls around them. Katonah is a 5 minute drive to Mt. Kisco, which is no metropolis but does sport a good range of restaurants and stores.

[Dewdroplet76]

I recently moved to an area very close to Katonah. I'm not really sure what town I actually live in (funny but true) because my address says Katonah, and I live on Lake Katonah, but I'm actually about a 7-8 minute drive from downtown Katonah and I'm closer to the Golden's Bridge train station. But all that aside - I absolutely love it here. We moved to a little Lake community in April - and already I'm friends with so many of my neighbors! We have been invited to dinners, parties, holidays, etc. - and our neighbors have helped us shovel our driveway and even picked up my husband from the train station once when I was afriad to drive because of the snow! I really can't believe how amazing it has been! I also joined the neighborhood book club which led to even more friendships! And we don't even have children yet (we are due in August).

I love going into downtown Katonah - it's really lovely. We love the butcher/gourmet shop there, the old school department store, the organic grocery store, the wonderful pharmacy, the great restaurants, just everything! It's so quaint and cute - and they even know me at a few of the stores already! And also, Mount Kisco is just a little further away - and they have a lot more stores including Borders, a market with great produce, clothes stores, a movie theatre, lots of restaurants, etc. There is also a Target nearby that I have begun to frequent quite often!

Oh - and we are by no means rich! In fact, I'd say we are at the low end of the income totem pole - and we fit in perfectly! All of our neighbors are so nice - no matter how much or how little money they have.

I'm a really social person and I have been absolutely shocked by how many friends I have already made up here. I can't speak for any other area except for my own little neighborhood - but I love it up here. My husband has to commute to the city 6 days a week - and it takes him a lot longer than it took him from the Upper East Side - but it's worth it to have a house and some space! And the trains are really reliable - especially the Harlem line. Even during the blizzards, it's been running almost the whole time - although sometimes on a more limited schedule. Still, it's been a lot better than most of the other trains.

The only thing I wish I could change is the weather we've had this winter!!! But that's kind of beyond my control!

[Ehar]

Hi Dewdrop93 , Thanks a million for your first hand account of moving to Katonah, its great that you have so many friends already and are fitting into the community, exactly what I would like to do particularly being new to the whole stay at home mum thing. Who knows, if I am brave enough to make the move, we may be bumping into one another in down town Katonah. Best of luck with your pregnancy.

[Ehar]

IrishLase123, thanks for the Irish perspective on living in Westchester although I reckon if we uproot our son from school, this will be a longterm move so I would want to integrate into the whole US community and would not be as concerned about having to live near an Irish community. Good luck with your move decision, I've read good things about Pleasantville.

[Dewdroplet76]

Originally Posted by Ehar

Hi Dewdrop93 , Thanks a million for your first hand account of moving to Katonah, its great that you have so many friends already and are fitting into the community, exactly what I would like to do particularly being new to the whole stay at home mum thing. Who knows, if I am brave enough to make the move, we may be bumping into one another in down town Katonah. Best of luck with your pregnancy.

Thank you! Feel free to DM me if you have any questions!

[squirrel316]

Dew Drop,

Not sure if this is a direct message to you. I am very new to this site and would like to speak to you about Katonah. Thank you. Valerie

[bwap_bonk]

Originally Posted by Ehar

Thank you for the feedback SallyG and bmwguydc, going to do some more research on the towns you listed as I have a feeling that Katonah may end up being a little quiet for me. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

Ehar,
I grew up about 10 minutes north of Katonah, but spent a lot of time there, especially at the library. I love it there and as someone who grew up in the area, I literally can not think of a better place to be a kid. Great schools, friendly people, open space to run around, safe.
I have lived in Manhattan for the past 12 years and in the process of buying an apartment in Scarsdale (lower Westchester). I obviously have nothing against lower Westchester, but for kids, northern can not be beat. You can get to the City in no time on the weekends, train or driving; we were always going to museums and concerts and other cultural "stuff" in the city, while living with so much open space.
Put it this way, my friends who had kids moved right back up there from the city and others are planning to once they have children. I find the area not to be pretentious at all, even though there are many extremely wealthy individuals.
Good luck wherever you move!

[Pilgrim324]

Hi Ehar,

We moved to Katonah from Brooklyn a little over a year ago and, like you, I was concerned about the transition from city to small town, and about meeting people as a new stay-at-home mom.... I'm happy to report that we've been very happy with the move. The natural beauty of this area is unparalleled by any other commutable town, in my opinion, and I've found the people here to be relaxed and unpretentious. Our neighbors have been very welcoming, and I've made a bunch of friends with other moms in and around town. We've even formed a little playgroup for our kids (and for us!). There's a toddler story hour at the library every Friday morning, which is a very social time and a great way to meet other parents. If you do end up here, I'd be happy to say hello and show you around. Just drop me a line.