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Old 12-21-2011, 07:24 AM
 
Location: Connectucut shore but on a hill
2,617 posts, read 7,007,886 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by healaeats View Post
When I say I want to avoid a "suburban" feel, I suppose I want to be in a town that feels somewhat self-sustaining--where people actually care about the town itself, and most people can walk into town from your home.
I think you'll find the the last point to be extremely limiting. There are few if any towns in Westchester where "most" can walk into town. There are more towns where "some" can and still more where "few" can. Factor in the housing inventory that's "walkable" (by whatever criteria you set - 5 minute walk? 15 minute walk?) with what's actually available in the town center. What do you envison walking to? Most downtowns have plenty of nail/beauty salons and a few coffee shops, restaurants, delis and various boutiques. Supermarkets are often not in the "walkable" downtown areas, they need space for parking. Neither are Trader Joe's. Some have a library, others don't.

Regardless, central Mt Kisco comes the closest I can think of to having a wide variety of shops (boutiques + chains like Gap, Ann Taylor etc), library, theater, green grocer etc etc all in a small, downtown core. But "walkable" distance housing is another matter entirely.
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Old 12-21-2011, 01:10 PM
 
Location: Brooklyn
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Kletter1mann--I suppose I am reflecting on where I grew up--no sidewalks (!) and it was clear that if you wanted to get somewhere, just to go out for a walk and grab a coffee--you couldn't. That is, no coffee without the car (funny example as I mostly make my own coffee at home, but you know what I mean--when you just want to go out and be around people). I would like a situation as well where my son, when he grows up a bit more, can walk or bike over to a friend's place easily. Beacon gave me that vibe--I'm sure there are houses further from Main Street than the ones we saw that are technically in town vicinity, but it did seem rather concentrated.
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Old 12-22-2011, 03:32 AM
 
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I live in Pleasantville. Pleasantville is less than 2 square miles and almost everyone can walk to town. From my house, I can walk to the train, a supermarket, an independent film theatre, Chinese food, Indian food, etc. It is not an artsy town but it doesn't have that upper East Side everyone works in finance/banking feel either. I love it here.
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Old 02-02-2012, 08:30 PM
 
Location: Cold Spring, NY
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We looked everywhere closer in Westchester before moving from Bklyn to Cold Spring with a similar situation to yours. And I am glad we chose it--if you are outdoorsy at all it is amazing the hikes you can WALK to from your front door. The walkability was really key for us, for groceries, coffee, booze, drugstore, cafes, train to be blocks away is very nice. If your partner is in midtown then the commute isn't terrible, but many folks here going into the city 5 days end up trying to figure out how to work from home 1 day a week or so. And many more are in creative industries and have flexible schedules. There are dads on the playground here, good school, great hiking, interesting people. It is small, but friendly. So many of the newer folks are from Brooklyn, which is something we didn't know before we landed here. Highly recommend it. It is tiny, but feels like (and is) a real village...not a dead commuter town.They even have an outdoor film society that screens movies on the river that started last year. Honestly though, with kids--you eat dinner later than most because parents get home late. And if your partner works long hours or has a totally inflexible schedule the commute is long. Lots do it though.
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Old 02-20-2012, 12:23 PM
 
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My husband, our daughter and I moved from Manhattan's UES to a turn of the century house in Peekskill this past year.

We can walk to the library, the parks, the museums, the post office, dry cleaner, grocery, coffee houses, restaurants, theater (the Paramount is pretty amazing), yoga studio, and train station (to commute for work - 55 minutes to GCS-), just as we could in New York.

Our car sits in our driveway unless we are going to New England or for large chain stores (which I am not a huge fan of - the huge hardware national chain store is about a 10 minute drive). There is nowhere to shop for clothing in Peekskill of which I am aware so I continue to shop in Manhattan.

In addition, there are hiking trails and a river walk that is lovely. There is an art movement up here that is supported by the city which dedicates city real estate to art work/live.

It's definitely a city -- a small city -- but a city.
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Old 02-21-2012, 07:35 AM
bg7
 
7,694 posts, read 10,528,591 times
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The town I live in is eminently walkable, from the park on the harbor, to the library and theater and the restaurants, bakeries, pasta-making stores, railroad station etc. But I don't tend to walk unless its a spring day and I really just want to walk. This is really not different from living in NYC (Brooklyn). While the local deli was fine to walk each day in the city, whenever I did the heavy grocery shopping we took the car or got it delivered. As for all the citiy's great places and nightlife - I never walked! We took the subway or the bus there and more often than not on the way home we took a yellow cab for comfort and ease.
In short, I don't want to live in a place designed around a car - but as to the amount of actual walking - its overrated. I'd rather spend my walking energy on hikes or going to the park or walking the dog. I don't want to be walking when I'm trying to get three kids home from the museum, or carrying 5 bags of groceries, or a little too indulged in the red wine we had at the restuarant.
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Old 02-22-2012, 03:15 AM
 
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OP may want to check out Croton. Surprisingly walkable if you live in the village, not in the outskirts. Sidewalks, can walk to library, gym, CVS, supermarket, the basics. Most important, can walk to the train and the commute is great. There are so many express trains which can take as little as 42 mins. to get to Grand Central. Even the weekend schedule is great. I don't have kids, but I am sure if you do, you'll become connected to the community quickly.
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Old 02-27-2012, 09:53 AM
 
8 posts, read 48,667 times
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Hi.
I grew up in Larchmont, and though it is regarded as a great town, I always dreamed about moving to NYC. I moved to Manhattan for film school, but couldn't stay there because it was too expensive. I then moved to Queens, then Staten Island, and then Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. My Grandmother passed away and left my sister and I her house in Larchmont, so I moved back home. I don't like it here. It's beautiful, and clean, and safe, but my friends are all in the city, and there's nothing for me to do here. If I had kids, perhaps I would feel differently. It's a very personal lifestyle decision. Kids that grow up in the suburbs like me tend to be extremely well educated, but very sheltered. Kids that grow up in New York City have access to all sorts of culture and experiences that suburbanites won't, but they will probably be less likely to have straight As, an Ivy League education, and an all-American upbringing. The one thing I can tell you is that you won't find any place like Brooklyn in Westchester. You can find places like Queens in Westchester, but not Brooklyn.
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