Rye? (Hudson, Tappan, Irvington: apartment, school district, shops)

[laurelgreen]

Hi Everybody!

We are about to move for a job opportunity. My husband will likely be based somewhere near Paramus, NJ. Yet when we visited we fell in love with Rye. Coming from Raleigh, NC where everything as suburban sprawl it was so amazing to us to see the beutiful town with everything....shops, library, arts center, schools etc within a walkable area. We also saw that a children's museum is opening on the waterfront!!!

We have two children 2 years and a first grader. We love our private school here for its warm nurturing environment. They are academically rigorous but make learning fun! It will be hard to give up!

My questions/concerns are .....Is Rye a horrible commute to northern NJ? I've been told it's against the traffic? Second, is Rye a friendly town? Are the people in general more wealthy and down to earth types or more wealthy and wear it on your sleeve types? Finally, are the schools fantastic or stressful and neurotically competetive on an elementary level.

Are there other communities I would be better of looking in to? We are very down to earth people. We want a good town with a walkable core and a strong sense of community.

Any help will be greatly appreciated! I'm going up there in a week to look around Westchester and Bergen county! Thanks!

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[rubygreta]

I would try Irvington. It is much closer to the Tappan Zee Bridge than Rye, which makes the commute to Paramus much easier. Irvington has a very good school district, a cute downtown and nice Hudson River park, but overall is less expensive and more laid back than Rye. It has pretty good economic diversity, with housing options ranging from modest 1950's garden apartment coops, to drop-dead mansions overlooking the Hudson River.

Good luck!

[Viralmd]

Rye would be a dreadful commute. It is also extremely expensive, but if you have $1 million + to spend, you could get a nice house. But the commute would absolutely be killing.