Will we really dislike living in Armonk? (sorry, initial post is long) (Mount Pleasant: fit in, for sale)

[Bhnel]

We are Americans relocating from Tokyo for my husband's job transfer to Manhattan. We are originally from the Midwest so are not really familiar with the area. We would like to pick a house/area that:
- is within 1 hour to grand central station
- has a sizeable lot (preferably 1 acre+)
- has a very good public school system
- has current property tax rate within 2% (ouch , some areas have really high taxes!)

We had a very short visit to NJ in Sept and decided that NJ is not for us, but we also saw CT briefly and really like New Canaan, which is still an option for us. Since our visit we have been doing a lot of research on the Internet to ensure we are looking at all our options before we narrow down/focus too much.

That brings us to Armonk. We found a house we really like (internet search, still to confirm in person) that meets all of our requirements and is in our budget! However we have read that Armonk can be quite hard to fit in to if you are not Jewish (we are not) and that it can get quite pretentious. I am a SAHM to 2 boys (ages 1 & 4) and it appears that our hh income will be a little above median, but we are certainly not wealthy. My husband and I are both quite laid back. We appreciate quality, but are not materialistic. We like small group social activities vs large events, and may join a club but if we do it will be primarily for kid activities. I do not plan to have a nanny, can't remember the last time I had a mani/pedi, and hope to have a greenhouse at our home so we can grow much of our own produce and get the kids involved in that too. (just to give a sense of our lifestyle)

Given this description, will it be possible/likely that we will enjoy living in Armonk? Does it really matter the exact address? The house we are investigating looks quite near to both the Pleasantville and Chappaqua boundaries, and both these towns seem to get better reviews. If you think Armonk is not for us, can you give me other suggestions?

[rscap]

It's Possible, but Not Likely. Depends on how high your tolerance is for others' pretentiousness.

Armonk does not have a train, so note you will add 15-20 minutes of drive time to get to a station. Based upon your criteria, I'd look at Bedford or Bedford Village. Much more outdoorsy, laid back, large lots, good schools, especially elementary. Taxes may not come in at 2%, but they are average for Westchester. Drive through the village green of Bedford Village and you will think you are on a movie set.

Regarding how the address matters..when you have kids it matters for the following:
1. What school district you are in - this will be who your kids, and likely you, will associate with. When people review places on these boards, it's pretty much by schools boundaries, not Post Office addresses.
2. What TOWN or VILLAGE you are part of. This matters because this will be the recreation department that you use for pool, summer camp, library, etc. For example, the home you are talking about in Armonk sounds like it is in either Mount Pleasant or New Castle town. The majority of the kids in Armonk schools are in the town of North Castle. Come summer, they will all go to North Castle camp and pool (well, the common folk who are home for the summer, at least). You, on the other hand, would be going to the Mt Pleasant or New Castle camps/pools with kids from Pleasantville / Horace Greeley.

Other suggestions - Katonah, Croton, Briarcliff, maybe Chappaqua or Pleasantville - it will be tough to stay in your 2% tax range with these, but they do exist.
Note that taxes on one house in a town could be 1.5% and on another house could be 3%..so don't rule out towns based upon the taxes on a single house you see. Good luck.

[Bhnel]

Thank you very much for such a thorough response! Its unfortunate that Armonk seems like it won't be a great fit for us, but better to know now than after we move there. I am just getting used to the concept of a single village possibly belonging to more than one town... How do you know which town a house may belong to? I am pretty sure the one we were interested in is in North Castle (found it in the assessment roll on the North Castle website) and I found a section in the NY State tax website that lists villages that are in multiple towns and I did not see Armonk there, but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything. And regarding taxes, I am actually going by the calculated % - we aren't opposed to grieving a home assessment if it is too high, and we don't want to count on a house being underassessed because I think it could be reassessed by the town at anytime which would reset the taxes.

Thank you so much for the other suggested towns as well. We've looked more closely at Bedford, Bedford Hills and Katonah and they all look lovely. We will definitely check them out in person next week when we are in the area.

[NYC Mama]

You may want to look into Chappaqua based on your description. Lots of express trains into the city. Easy drive into NYC. Beautiful homes with property. And excellent school district.

We also looked at Armonk but everything/everyone felt very disconnected. Nice homes but no town or sense of community.

[rscap]

Bhnel - Note Bedford Village and Bedford Hills are right next door to each other, but VERY different. They do share the high school. And to further confuse things, i think they are both in the TOWN of Bedford..Bedford Hills is much more condensed, commercial, diverse. Bedford Village is rural and small town with old colonials and victorians on large lots and quiet streets.

[Bhnel]

Originally Posted by rscap

Note Bedford Village and Bedford Hills are right next door to each other, but VERY different.

thanks for the clarification. I thought 'Village' must be a typo b/c there were no homes found on several real estate sites and they seemed to not recognize the town. But perhaps no one wants to move out!

[jojoboulette]

Hi there... we recently relocated here and have been searching all over Westchester to find the right place for our family.

You sound fairly similar to myself in many respects and I just wanted to say that from what I saw/read about Armonk, I'd never buy there. Nor rent there. I'm not sure what it is with Armonk, Scarsdale, etc. but those areas seem to attract a lot of wealth and for some reason, it's the kind of wealth that is a major turnoff to folks like us. And your kids would be going to school with all of that. Yikes.

You might check out Bedford, Mount Kisco and/or Katonah. Possibly Chappaqua or Pleasantville. I think you might find a better fit there, and the schools are top notch.

Oh, one other thing I wanted to mention: houses that you find online are almost always nothing the way they really look. The RE photos can be highly deceptive. They are shot to make tiny rooms look huge, dated kitchens look shiny & new. There is simply no way to find a good home simply by looking on the internet. This is a Boots On The Ground situation. I can't tell you how many 'gorgeous' homes I've toured here only to be very let down once I crossed the pavilion. There have been exceptions, but just take anything you find online with a grain of salt. Or anything that's sent to you in a brochure/pdf, etc. Basically, until you've seen it with your own eyes, don't get excited about it. You'll save yourself some stress and heartache that way, trust me on this one.

Best of luck in your home search. There are some deals out there if you keep your eyes open and do your research. IMO, there will be more to come.

[Bhnel]

NYC Mama - thanks, we're adding Chappaqua to the list.

Jojoboulette - many thanks for your insight. I know exactly what you mean about seeing the homes in person. Thankfully we're doing home hunting there next week. I started looking at the real estate just to get a feel for pricing, availability etc, by specific area but inevitably I see something that looks really intriguing. We've started opening up our target areas and now I feel as though we have so much area to cover in one short week. Can I ask, where are you now and why did you choose the area? We seem to be drawn now to Katonah - we've seen some nice homes there and read great reviews. Again, all Internet based.....

[bmwguydc]

Katonah is a very nice area, but be sure that you are in the Town of Bedford for the train, as non-resident permits can be difficult/expensive for properties that have a Katonah zip code, but are actually in Somers or Lewisboro. Katonah shares a school district with Lewisboro, so the schools would not be an issue, but there are few metered spots at Katonah, yet residential permits are not difficult to obtain from the Town of Bedford.

Katonah, itself, has a nice downtown area with shops and restaurants (no chains permitted, unless they're local like Mrs. Green's natural market), and the library. There are many things to do with children at nearby recreational areas like Pound Ridge reservation, arts at Caramoor, events at the library, etc. As a rough guide, if you were to look east of the train station, along Jay Street, to Route 22, and south of Route 35, the house you are considering would be within Katonah. On the west side, if you find a property that is across the reservoir, as in west of Cherry Street & Route 35 (roughly speaking), the property is not in Katonah. There are properties off Cherry Street that approach the reservoir that are in the Town of Bedford, and some properties along Croton Lake Road are in Bedford as well. Katonah can be a bit more expensive, so if the property is a relative bargain, i.e., larger/larger lot, check the area, as many times it will be Somers. For example, there is a house in Katonah, close to the train station that was asking in the lower $900s for under 2800 square feet on a town-sized lot, whereas you might see a 4,000 square foot recently built house on an acre or more at a similar price point, and it turns out to be in Somers, which adds complexity to the commute as there is no train station within Somers, and you have to travel to a neighboring area for the train, where it may not be easy to obtain a non-residential parking permit.

Westchester can be confusing with the zip codes not conforming to municipal boundaries, and school districts that have another set of boundaries. Katonah, 10536, does straddle Somers and Lewisboro, with Lewisboro and Katonah sharing a school district.

[rscap]

I just checked and there is not much for sale in Bedford Village, but there are a handful. Here are three MLS#'s that will give you an idea of the AREA I'm talking about. MLS # 3201808, 3120306, 3113746.

I'm in the Katonah school district, so if you want specific info on areas or homes (or anything else) here, PM me. My kids are in high school, and have had friends everywhere, so I'm real familiar with streets and neighborhoods.