Westchester County (White Plains, Rye, Yorktown: how much, houses, private schools) - City-Data Forum

bemn · 10-27-2006, 02:58 PM

Still considering moving to the area and I have looked in all kinds of areas.....so far I really like several places in Connecticut but my dear husband is concerned with the commute to NYC, which he'd do by train. I really like Ridgefield and Redding, they're probably my top choices right now in Conn. I have looked at Chappaqua and Rye and know they are very expensive and the houses are on small lots. Does anyone know anything or have any input on the areas of Yorktown Heights or South Salem? They look nice and the schools look good. We have three boys, 9, 11, 12 and my eldest is very bright but needs learning support for several learning disability issues. Right now they are all in private school, however, I'm seriously thinking we will put them in the public school system if we relocate. Also on the top of my "wants" is proximity to sports extracurricula for my middle son who loves soccer, basketball and baseball...and we're all BIG skiers!!! Thanks!!!!

brahmos · 10-27-2006, 08:42 PM

Bemn,

In general Westchester has great resources for sports. Westchester has many AYSO teams and little leagues. Westchester in general has a lot of open space which are conducive to sports. My town has about five parks all within 3 miles of me. Schools are generally top-notch, so there is very little need to put them in private schools. Most people go up to Vermont to ski, which is easily accessible from Westchester but locally in Patterson there is a Thunder Ridge.

Yorktown and South Salem are both generally more affordable, but still you are looking at around 500,000 for a house give or take. Both I imagine allow for easy access to Katonah which is on the Metro-North allowing easy access to NYC. If you are looking there you might want to look into Katonah.

Do you have any particular price range? Also do you know how much land, and house space you are looking into? It would be easier to help guide you in your search.

If I may ask, where will you be relocating from? It would probably be easier to give some perspective on taxes that way. All of Westchester is generally high.

lohud.com is the link for our local newspaper the Journal News. They usually have info on schools.

Good luck in your search.

bemn · 10-28-2006, 05:51 AM

We're moving from the Northern Virginia/Washington, DC area. We bought our current home around 10 years ago for $400 and can easily get at least $700 for it now.....we're looking to spend anywhere from $800 to $1,000,000.....right now we're on close to an acre in a culdesac.....which has been great for the boys. I'd personally like to have at least an acre, more is great!!! Schools are a huge concern for me, but from everything I see the schools, as you said, are top notch in most of the surrounding areas up there.....my husband is used to a one hour commute in the afternoons, less in the mornings because he gets up so early....he leaves the house around 5:30 or 6:00. I've explained there's a difference between spending an hour sitting in traffic and riding a train......he's heard alot of people live in the Rye area and work downtown, but I keep telling him that most of the homes are on postage stamps in that area....I'm not willing to give up having a least some yard for the boys to play in and I don't want to sit in traffic 7 days a week. In the area we live in now, generally there is traffic on the major interstates (I-66 , I-95, I-495) and we plan around it accordingly (I usually give myself an hour to get somewhere even if it's only a 20 minute drive "non rush hour" if I'm going during heavy driving times).....but I don't want the sitting in backed up traffic to get everywhere on the weekends.....

jdhall1 · 10-28-2006, 08:09 AM

Ridgefield seems like a good fit. Almost every home in that price range is on atleast 2 acres, some wooded. Rye is nice, but the median home price is double the amount in Ridgefield. You can get a lot nicer and larger home in Ridgefield considering you can only find smaller homes (1700 sq. feet) for the similar amount of $ in Rye. There are a good amount of small businesses downtown. Traffic is not really a problem in Ridgefield, I think there is a total of 5 or 6 stoplights in the entire town and there are always lots of options to aviod roads that are busy. Traffic for the whole area only gets bad around Friday nights on the highways, where it could take about 35 minutes to go a regular 20. The train into the city is about 70 minutes, and the drive could be about 60.The Ridgefield schools rank very well in the group in the state of 'affulent suburbs.'

Feel free to PM me anytime

brahmos · 10-28-2006, 01:48 PM

Bemn,

Is your husband up for riding the train? I have done it before, and I must say that its perfect if he works in Mid-town Manhattan. Generally it is stress-free because he can read the newspaper/ do work and avoid traffic.

With a price range of 800-1,000 I think you can definetly find a nice house in Westchester. I would recommend Katonah, Pleasantville which are all on the Metro-North line.

I would geneally stay away from driving. Actually Westchester traffic is not bad, because there are various highways that go through. But still parking in the city is expensive, so trains are the way to go.

While you are looking at towns, I suggest looking into my town, Armonk. It is a really great town. Only cons are is that it is somewhat isolated as it takes about 20 minutes to the train station. There are definetly homes in the area which have land and are well within your price range. Do take a look into it. I like the Windmill section of our town, because it is really scenic.

desiserver0708 · 10-28-2006, 09:43 PM

you are right about the lot sizes... i live in rockland c. and its definetly a big differnce. White Plains isn't too bad though. dont use trains, but valhalla schools are great (for greenbugh, part of white plains)

MikeNY · 10-30-2006, 04:42 PM

About lot sizes, from my experience any areas in lower Westchester with good schools and large lot sizes the prices will get high. As you start moving towards upper Westchester and even Putnam County and still within a 1 hr commute to NYC you will see the change where you get more land and more house for your money. Yorktown Heights is in upper Westchester and an excellent choice for all the criteria you outlined.