Moving from Toronto to Westchester (New York, Yonkers: real estate, luxury, budget)

[beegee]

Hi Everyone ~
My husband has accepted a job in White Plains & we're moving...
Not knowing exactly where to live, White Plains is just not us...we drove and drove and drove around, trying to get a feel of how to match our Toronto vibe. We are urban and need to be able to walk to our local market, gym and coffee shop - does this even exist in Westchester?
The daily commute should not exceed 20-25mins.
We liked Rye and Larchmont. We also like (although not on W/C) Greenwich.
We plan on renting for the 1st year, until we've figured it all out (ha!).
Any thoughts?
Thanks a bunch!

[FutureCop]

Maybe Yonkers? It borders NYC, so there will be more of an urban feel. You can walk to the coffee shop, local diner, pretty much anywhere. I don't know if anything will match the Toronto vibe, though. We've pretty much got our own vibe here.

[Viralmd]

Be careful with Yonkers. Not a completely savoury city. In Rye and Larchmont you'll find houses for rent, not really many apartments. And your commute will likely be longer because the traffic on 287 in the morning can be brutal. How about living in White Plains?

[rubygreta]

The commute from Larchmont to White Plains is not particulary convenient.

If you are renting for one year, live in downtown White Plains and take your time exploring the other communities. There is a luxury high-rise rental building adjacent to the City Center Mall (it features a hugh New York Sports Club and a large multiplex theater) that you might like. You can pretty much walk to anything from this location except a supermarket. There is a Stop and Shop and a Whole Food Market located within one mile.

Downtown White Plains, which was a dead zone five years ago, has made tremendous progress in becoming an alive city. But if you are expecting anything that remotely approaches Toronto, you will be very disappointed.

The good news is that White Plains is a 30-minute train ride to New York City. No offense, but Toronto does not remotely approach NYC!

[dma1250]

Originally Posted by FutureCop

I don't know if anything will match the Toronto vibe, though. We've pretty much got our own vibe here.

Excellent point!! Different parts of Westchester have different vibes, and each is pretty unique and special. You can get the village vibe, the artsy country vibe, the horse country vibe, the small town vibe. But you can't really get the big city vibe. White Plains is a city, but it is very suburban and won't give you what Toronto has. Parts of Yonkers might, but it is still 'developing' as they say. Ditto for Peekskill. To get the big city vibe you need to go to the big city. So, I don't know what your budget is, but based on what yuo want I'd suggest moving to NYC and your husband can reverse commute. If you stay close to 125th street station or Grand Central, the commute to WP is pretty short.

[dma1250]

Originally Posted by beegee

We are urban and need to be able to walk to our local market, gym and coffee shop!

To add to my above comments: I can't help but say that I too am "urban," having been born and lived in Brooklyn for 35 years. Moving to a rural area of Westchester was a huge change, but I truly love it. I never miss being able to walk to the coffee shop, gym, or store--now I can walk to the woods, the horse farms, and along the resevoir! You can't get that in an urban setting. And getting in the car to go to the coffee house etc. is incredibly easy and convienient, not to mention the joy of loading the car with shopping bags and not having to carry them home (I remember that so well!). What I love most about where I live is the balance--there is an urban area 10 minutes away, there are many lovely towns and vilalges near by, there are museums, galleries, restaurants, coffee houses, and so on all very close by. And I can walk in the woods, climb a (small) mountain, and generally enjoy beautiful nature. I apologize for going on a tangent, but my point is that you shouldn't necessarily assume that you "need" the urban lifestyle. Wherever you end up, try exploring the more rural corners of the county. You might find that you need other things too.

[mead]

I don't think the OP will find what she is looking for in Westchester.

White Plains is about as urban as Westchester gets, without being sketchy. (Downtown Yonkers is more urban, but that is still a work in progress). It is fairly built up but was not built to scale. It is very hard to just walk around White Plains if you are living there. It was mainly built up during the past couple of decades as a place for office workers to go about their daily business and then go home.

Yes White Plains is much more vibrant today than it was 10-20 years ago, however it still doesn't have that real city vibe, at least for me.

Lots of people do the reverse commute from Manhattan these days. That might be possible if you husband's office is somewhat close to the White Plains train station.

The trains leave from Grand Central on 42nd st and in Harlem on 125th st.

[kellymenges]

Originally Posted by dma1250

To add to my above comments: I can't help but say that I too am "urban," having been born and lived in Brooklyn for 35 years. Moving to a rural area of Westchester was a huge change, but I truly love it. I never miss being able to walk to the coffee shop, gym, or store--now I can walk to the woods, the horse farms, and along the resevoir! You can't get that in an urban setting. And getting in the car to go to the coffee house etc. is incredibly easy and convienient, not to mention the joy of loading the car with shopping bags and not having to carry them home (I remember that so well!). What I love most about where I live is the balance--there is an urban area 10 minutes away, there are many lovely towns and vilalges near by, there are museums, galleries, restaurants, coffee houses, and so on all very close by. And I can walk in the woods, climb a (small) mountain, and generally enjoy beautiful nature. I apologize for going on a tangent, but my point is that you shouldn't necessarily assume that you "need" the urban lifestyle. Wherever you end up, try exploring the more rural corners of the county. You might find that you need other things too.

Hi there

I read your post and I wanted to ask you some more questions. I will moving from Tampa Florida to NY. I have taken a job in midtown. I currently live in 2 BR house with a backyard for my dog. I DO NOT want to live in NYC but I also do not want a long commute. I had been looking in the Westchster area . . . Ridgeview to be exact. Do you konw anything about that area? Could you suggest a few areas I might take a look at?

[dma1250]

Originally Posted by kellymenges

Hi there

I read your post and I wanted to ask you some more questions. I will moving from Tampa Florida to NY. I have taken a job in midtown. I currently live in 2 BR house with a backyard for my dog. I DO NOT want to live in NYC but I also do not want a long commute. I had been looking in the Westchster area . . . Ridgeview to be exact. Do you konw anything about that area? Could you suggest a few areas I might take a look at?

I don't know Ridgeview, where is that? I live in Yorktown Heights in the north-western part of the county. The general area is a mix of rural and suburban areas, with 2 small cities (or big towns), Ossining and Peekskill, and a number of small towns. As I described in my comment above, the area I live in is quite rural, but there are lots of restaurants and cultural venues nearby. The commute to Grand Central (from my house) is an hour and 5 minutes. The train from Croton is 45 minutes. Home prices in the area range from 450K to 5 million. In the area, I'd suggest Yorktown Heights, Croton, and Ossining--in each of those towns you can get a village house or a country place with land. It really depends on what you want and your budget. Hope that helps.

[BKLYNGIRL]

what is the difference between the two?

I live in the Town of Mount Pleasant and am looking to move a little north about 1/2 hr, and dont know the first thing about the northern westchester areas

I am from brooklyn and living here in westchester 8 years(big change)
(where's the sidewalks?)I have 2 small children and want a NORMAL size house. 3 bedrooms, etc. I too want an area like brooklyn where you can WALK ON SIDEWALKS to things like parks or shops with the kids. Enough of this packing up the car to go to the park for a PLAYDATE!!!

Are there certain areas to avoid? Are there areas that flood? Lately I see alot of homes for sale in Yorktown and Yorktown Heights, so I get weary something is wrong up there? Why so many houses for sale at such reasonable prices? Is one side of the Taconic newer or better than the other? Why when I type in Somers on real estate websites do I get houses in Yorktown?
Very confused - anyone with answers, would love some info
Just want a nice house and nice neighborhood to raise kids,