Relocating to work at Columbia University Medical Center (Yonkers, Eastchester: house, school district) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

newtoli · 12-26-2007, 05:49 PM

You could look into Mt. Kisco. You can get a starter small house there for $500k, and they also have a lot of townhomes and condos for under that. School district is shared w/ Bedford/Pound Ridge and the high school is great. Elementary school might be going a little downhill due to a huge influx of non english speakers. Plenty of inexpensive private schools for that age in the area though.

westchester · 12-26-2007, 06:08 PM

expensive than most of Westchester, but their taxes are cheaper. the public schools are o.k. in Riverdale, their are plenty of private schools that will probably cost you more than your mortgage. In Westchester you must remember that the higher the taxes the better the schools....its that simple in most of Westchester.....What part of Columbia will you be working at....

Viralmd · 12-26-2007, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newtoli

You could look into Mt. Kisco. You can get a starter small house there for $500k, and they also have a lot of townhomes and condos for under that. School district is shared w/ Bedford/Pound Ridge and the high school is great. Elementary school might be going a little downhill due to a huge influx of non english speakers. Plenty of inexpensive private schools for that age in the area though.

The problem is that Washington Heights is very difficult to get to from Westchester on public transportation, which is what the OP was requesting....

westchester · 12-26-2007, 07:00 PM

your not going to find a house in riverdale for 500k unless it's marble hill, and no good schools their...The only good public school is p.s. 81 and it would be extremely hard to find a 500k house around their......not impossible but very hard and it would be a fixer upper............

thats all I was trying to say...i agree Riverdale is hands down is the best commute, but the best commute to Scarsdale Schools is to live in Scarsdale....but if you can,t afford Scarsdale well........................

Have a Great New Year

jyyanks · 12-26-2007, 07:45 PM

My friend lived in Yonkers and commuted to Columbia, but she drove. I do not recommend Yonkers since the schools are not that great. I live in Ardsley and drive to midtown via the West Side Highway every day. Its a MAJOR pain and I sit in traffic for at least 30-60 minutes. However, the worst traffic is from the 70's to the George Washhington Bridge. Since Columbia is in the 120's, you should be ok taking Riverside Drive to 168th and avoiding the West Side Highway altogether.

To answer your question, a 3BR/2BA home in a good school district will be difficult to find in Westchester. I saw a couple of houses in Pleasantville and a couple in Thornwood but the homes were tiny and looked like they needed work.

You may want to look into either a)moving up the line to Yorktown or Cortlandt Manor, but note that if you drive in, it will take over an hour to get home unless you have odd hours which may be the case if you work in the medical center b) buying a house in northeast yonkers and sending your kids to public school c) buying a condo or townhouse.

Here's a link to the Westchester board of realtors website, you can do a search for active homes there. Good Luck.
www.wcbr.net

Viralmd · 12-26-2007, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyyanks

Since Columbia is in the 120's, you should be ok taking Riverside Drive to 168th and avoiding the West Side Highway altogether.

www.wcbr.net

Columbia-Presbyterian is at 168th Street and Broadway, not at the downtown (yeah, 110th St. is considered the 'downtown' campus).
I know, because I went to medical school there and did my fellowship there. It's a royal PAIN to get there from Westchester....

jyyanks · 12-26-2007, 08:23 PM

168th is actually perfect as you will most likely avoid most of the traffic. The West side highway is the WORST! However, if you avoid it and get on past the bridge, there is rarely any traffic unless there is an accident on the Henry Hudson or Saw Mill. I probably encounter traffic on the Henry Hudson about 3-4 times a year. This is going away from NYC.

Getting to NYC in the morning from Westchester is a different story. It used to be better, but now they are doing construction on the Henry Hudson bridge which backs up the HH parkway and sometimes, the Saw Mill. Don't know when that will be over but the morning commute has been difficult lately.

Correction to my last post, the (b) option should be live in Yonkers and send your kids to Private or parochial school, not public. Private school is privey, last I heard tuition at Iona Prep highschool was in the $11K$14K range.

beaswar · 12-26-2007, 11:14 PM

If we manage about 700K, will that worth looking these areas?

Viralmd · 12-27-2007, 05:49 AM

700K for a house? That should be more doable for a place like Ardsley, etc. Again, please check www.trulia.com to look at the home prices and taxes!

westchester · 12-27-2007, 09:58 AM

If you don't mind driving to work you can be @ Columbia in 25 min. by car...It Really is and easy commute. In the 700k range you can look in Ardsley, Eastchester,Tuckahoe, parts of Scarsdale( which you may be able to afford the house but the cost of living in Scarsdale is another thing ), Edgemont.....