Rye/ Greenwich (low crime, houses, neighborhoods)

[laurelgreen]

Hi.......We are considering a possible move to Rye or Greenwich and are wondering how the two towns compare as far as friendliness to newcomers and also as far as lack of snottiness for lack of a better word! Would you characterize Rye as a warm welcoming community or one filled with cliques and materialism?

We visited the town Love it, but are not sure what it would be like to actually LIVE there.

We have 2 young children and would love a warm and welcoming community.

Any ideas/suggestions/ guidance would be appreciated!

[LisaZ]

Oh brother. I have lived in Rye and Greenwich. I never had kids at the time but I find Rye way more elite in attitude-snotty and materialistic. It is not in your face, but it is there and the more you are there - the more you "feel" it. Greenwich has more money but it is diverse. Rye is white bread plain and simple. Taxes are hugely different. A $1.2m house in Rye will likely be $20k plus in taxes, where the same house in Greenwich is about $7k. I think Greenwich is way better. They have a beautiful beach (nicer than Rye-Playland)-way nicer. Very clean with nice trails to walk/run. Then you can go north and be in horse country-in the same town. The downtown kicks Rye's a%^-Greenwich has more stores, better/more restaurants - you just can't compare it, the Greenwich library is as posh as it gets. Greenwich is a little further north, but has much more to offer families. Definitely spend some time in Greenwich, I love the town.

[rubygreta]

Greenwich is just as snotty as Rye. And you better have wll over $1,000,000 to spend unless you want a shack.

Downtown Greenwich was at one point very charming and even had a Woolworths(!). But now it's loaded with high-end jewelry stores, baby stores with $200 outfits, pretentious over-priced restaurants, and other ridiculously high-end stores. Sprinkled inbetween are the same stores you see in every mall.

Yes, Greenwich is diverse, and it has very modest neighborhoods and even a couple of housing projects. But don't kid yourself. The well-off (and these are the most well-off families in the country) send their kids to Greenwich Country Day and other private schools.

Overall, Greenwich is a beautiful place, but it is definitely not for everyone.

[LisaZ]

Originally Posted by rubygreta

Greenwich is just as snotty as Rye. And you better have wll over $1,000,000 to spend unless you want a shack.

Downtown Greenwich was at one point very charming and even had a Woolworths(!). But now it's loaded with high-end jewelry stores, baby stores with $200 outfits, pretentious over-priced restaurants, and other ridiculously high-end stores. Sprinkled inbetween are the same stores you see in every mall.

Yes, Greenwich is diverse, and it has very modest neighborhoods and even a couple of housing projects. But don't kid yourself. The well-off (and these are the most well-off families in the country) send their kids to Greenwich Country Day and other private schools.

Overall, Greenwich is a beautiful place, but it is definitely not for everyone.

What is the point of this? She didn't ask should I move to one or the other. She was asking for a comparison- which I gave her. You need a lot of money to live in either so that fact that Greenwich houses costs a fortune and the downtown is filled with high end stores doesn't help her out. Because Rye does also - it's just not as nice a downtown. One thing is true of this area, if you want to live in a sought after town with a lot of great amenities, low crime and great schools - you are paying for it big time. But as I said, I lived in both and that is what I saw. By the way, any sought after town in this area has a snotty element. My husband and I notice it where we have lived. We sometimes wish we bought in a town that was a little more low key and where parents are a little more down to earth.