Westchester without a car? (New Rochelle, White Plains: neighborhood, theatres, taxis)

[italylover]

I need honest opinions about places to live within commuting distance to manhattan without a car. Without traveling to each city on the train line and walking around to see how far I get, can you describe which cities are at all accessible with grocery stores, dry cleaners and amenities that are walking distance? I am considering sticking to the immediate boroughs but friends (who have cars) keep saying go to the cities up north.

Thanks

[Viralmd]

The 'boroughs' are part of NYC. You can navigate those without a car.

You absolutely need a car in Westchester, unless you're in White Plains, but even then, a car would make shopping and doing errands a WHOLE lot easier.

[Dockside]

Originally Posted by italylover

Without traveling to each city on the train line and walking around to see how far I get, can you describe which cities are at all accessible with grocery stores, dry cleaners and amenities that are walking distance?

Downtown New Rochelle would work for you. Trump and several Westchester developers are putting up new buildings in the downtown NR area, all within easy walking distance of train station, library, grocery store, movie theatres and many new restaurants. Downtown NR is much more convenient to get around without a car than White Plains.

Metro-North is a quick ride into NYC. mta.info | Metro-North Railroad Schedules.

Downtown Larchmont is less urban than NR, and would fit your bill too.

Good luck.

[Moth]

It can be done. Westchester towns are often built around Metro North train stations in the center of town. As mentioned, Larchmont and New Rochelle are possibilities. Check out Mt Vernon and Hastings on the Hudson as well. You could even live in Riverdale and use Metro North to get to Manhattan.

Spend about three days exploring and you will find several options.

[Johninwestbury]

I've found getting around without a car in Westchester is alot easier than Long Island. Metro-North and Bee Line have better schedules for the most part than the LIRR, LI Bus, and Suffolk Transit. Suffolk Transit does not even run on Sundays!
May not be as good as the city, but Westchester is generally much more transit friendly than any place on Long Island.

[newtoli]

I did it for 2 years. It's a bit of a pain, and taxis are expensive! To be honest, its not easy to do in Westchester, you'll rely heavily on taxis. You'd do best in White Plains... but it's also expensive to live there

[gbarney04]

I lived 7 years in Mamaroneck and have never driven in my life. I lived on Palmer Ave. not far from the train station and everything I needed was in walking distance. I now live in Old Greenwich, CT and still don't drive (still walk to train station) without any inconvenience.

[mead]

Yes it is certainly possible to do, but I don't imagine it is easy.

Even in downtown White Plains which is built very densely there is no local grocery store. I believe the closest one is the Stop & Shop by the Westchester mall which is a mile away.

Living in NYC makes life a whole lot easier to live without a car as everything is built more to a human scale and is designed for the most part around public transportation and not cars. I own a car, but I never use to move within my neighborhood as I can just walk to everything. Everything is pretty much within walking distance.

[eslteacher]

It is possible to live in Westchester without a car, but it is not fun.

[AurorainTarrytown]

Tarrytown is a very walkable town. We don't use our car unless we are doing major grocery shopping/ going to the 24 hr Walgreens in the middle of the night. Any of the Rivertowns (Hastings, Dobbs Ferry, Irvington, Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow) would be walkable. Also, Tarrytown has Zipcars available at the train station if you ever should need a car.