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My husband and I are considering the Yorktown area but have also been looking at towns surrounding it. Is Shrub Oak a part of Yorktown or a separate entity? And can anyone tell me what Shrub Oak is like in terms of schooling, overall community events, commuting, taxes etc? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Shrub Oak is separate from Yorktown, but I don't know much about it.
One word of caution: in my opinion, the taxes in Yorktown are extremely high for what you get. Yorktown is not an exclusive place, yet it costs like one. What is the reason you zeroed on it?
Shrub Oak is indeed part of Yorktown. It is one of the 7 hamlets that make up the town. It is part of the Lakeland school district (along with all of northern Yorktown, much of Cortlandt, and parts of Putnam county; That's a distinct district from Yorktown Central, which covers the rest of Yorktown). Shrub Oak has a pleasant Main Street with a library and a few nice stores (and very good Indian restaurant). I'm not that familiar with it, but my sense is that it is predominantly blue collar and politically conservative (but I could be wrong). For commuting I assume people drive either to Peekskill train or Goldens Bridge, so that's about 15 minutes to the train from central Shrub Oak.
Yorktown has a rep for having high taxes which I think dates from the 1990s. When we looked in 2001 the taxes were on par with the other towns we considered (Croton, Katonah, Bedford, Cortlandt) and when I look at things now my taxes seem not bad for the area (3000 square foot house on 4 acres for 15k). That said, we are in southern Yorktown with YSCD, so I don't know if the school taxes are that different in Lakeland.
Yorktown is huge and has many distinct areas, so its impossible to sum up. But overall it has a great deal of socio-economic diversity and a generally mellow vibe. There are great parks and preserves (Turkey Mountain, Teatown, Kitchawan, to name a few), the wonderful Hilltop Hanover Farm (a county run agricultural center), and the north county trail.
Thank you both for your responses. We're not exactly zoning in on Shrub Oak, per se. It was just one area of interest. My biggest concern is school for our two little boys. That will be my focus.
I stand corrected about Shrub Oak, but find it hard to compare Yorktown to Katonah. Just my 2 cent. I would take a tour to get first hand impression. As for school districts, most of those mentioned above are satisfactory and beyond.
OK I logged on at just the right time! I live in Shrub Oak and love it. My kids go to the Lakeland school district and are in MS, went through their entire grade school years At Ben Franklin Elementary, which is where your kids would go( very good, parent involved school) I don't want to get in any arguments with anyone over the class system in Westchester, so I will just speak for myself in saying that we moved here from a more "affluent" town (Rye) on purpose! We wanted to raise our kids in a more real. down to earth environment, and we were glad we did. Yes, my street is comprised of electricians, teachers, cops, but with a doctor and an IBM'r thrown in - it is definitely working area, but in a good way most of my neighbors moved up this way from Yonkers or the Bronx years ago. My taxes are definitely similar to what I paid in Rye, but I feel I get so much more here! We lived in a $700K sh**hole in Rye and paid through the nose for the town pool, conjestion, shopping, up tight schools - no way could we "keep up with the Jonses" and we were born there! We have a better home here and I was able to quit my corporate job and be a SAHM, so I am grateful. We live near the beautiful library and mall with free parking. I can walk to the grocery store if I want as well as pizza, ice cream and deli. My kids ride my bikes on our streets, and we know our most of our neighbors. So if an "executive" environment is what you are looking for, it would not be your cup of tea here, but if you appreciate a more socio-economic diversity, you might like it! Aside from the school district, I don't consider Shrub Oak separate from Yorktown - when you join the pool (there is one in Yorktown AND in Shrub Oak), you get to go to either. All town services are the same. The only library in Yorktown is located in Shrub Oak. Most of the kids in my elementry school have an address of Yorktown Heights. It is more like a Hamlet (or section) of Yorktown. It all depends on what you are looking for. I hope that helps - I agree with the poster above -dma1250 - but if you have any further questions from a resident, feel free to PM me.
Thank you so much for your in-depth descriptions. A more real, down to earth environment sounds exactly like what we're looking for. I appreciate you taking the time to respond!
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