Chappaqua vs Greenwich - thoughts? (Yonkers, Mount Vernon: townhouses, elementary school, median income)

[prettykitty]

Originally Posted by brooklyn-mom

I too am interested in Chappaqua's amenties -- are there public amenties -- a pool for example -- or is all membership clubs? I'm also looking at Katonah and I occassionaly look at Scarsdale (but same problem as other writer -- small plots for my price point). I think Katonah has a modest outdoor pool facility (from Googling it's unclear -- maybe someone can confirm), and I know the Scarsdale pool facility is great and makes it almost worth the taxes and small plots. But, anyway, if anyone knows about Chappaqua town recreation facilities, I'd love to hear what you know. Thanks.

Chappaqua is the the Town of New Castle, which has no pools. So you would have to rely on a community pool.

And you're right, you can't beat the Scarsdale pool.

[BLUEDIAMOND64]

Originally Posted by jyyanks

Alot of parents foster competiveness no matter what school district their child is in. I think the real issue here is that Chappaqua happens to be a wealthy community. And they have a school district that happens to have mostly wealthy kids who perform well in school. There is nothing wrong with that. Statistically speaking, the Chappauqa school district is one of the top school districts in Westchester. I think any parent considering a certain town to live in would want a good school district which is why I gave her the stats.

From Op's posts, she is interested in Chappaqua and Greenwich. I think telling her about the school district is important. But obviously other things about the community are important to her too, such as recreation and town facilities, not the "snobbiness" factor. If she did ask about that, then ok, fire away but I did not feel like that was what she was asking for in her original post.

I think this is an interesting point. I worked in Scarsdale and Chap for years. I think part of the reason that children in these areas perform well in school is because the parents are educated and stress the importance of academic performance. As a parent, I would do the same for my children. I agree, we are former Rocklanders/West that just moved into another area because of the school district. The best advice I can give is do your own homework. Get out of the car and talk to people. I wish I had done this when we built our first house.

[MomOfToo]

Go to the parks in each of these towns and talk to people that have school age children and see how they feel about the schools. I did this when we moved and I am glad I did!

[mfenimore]

Have you looked at Briarcliff? Train ride is 45 minutes and you can get a nice house within your price range with decent land. Great schools too. Taxes are high but all of Westchester is. I know 2 people who live in Chappaqua and they say they think the people in Briarcliff are more down to earth.

[PullingHairs]

Originally Posted by prettykitty

Chappaqua is the the Town of New Castle, which has no pools. So you would have to rely on a community pool.

And you're right, you can't beat the Scarsdale pool.

Have you ever seen the Mount Pleasant Town Pool? Think it's one of the nicest in Westchester. Was there the other week dropping my cousin off at some teen center rec thing.

[PullingHairs]

Originally Posted by Kevrltr

Hi again,

I forgot to mention, you might like Armonk also, a little closer to NYC and larger property.

Kevin O'Shea

Not going to be much in Armonk at that price point. Also, Armonk is not metro north friendly as the closest stop is North White Plains or Chappaqua.

[Jeff V]

How about there is no comparison. The extreme taxes of Chappaqua was a big turn off for me. Go to a realtor in Greenwich and ask them what the town has to offer and also ask them to show you how much people pay in taxes for their homes. You will be convinced as I was

[Londonlawyer]

Greenwich is the richest town in the NY metro. Chappaqua is nice, but it's no Greenwich. It's like comparing a BMW 5 series to a special edition Ferrari.

Bronxville, Scarsdale, Chappaqua, etc. don't have $25m houses. Greenwich does.

[NYCUWS]

Originally Posted by rubygreta

Are you talking about Asian kids and Indian kids whose parents are scientists or physicians? They don't count.

Greenwich, believe it or not, has some low-income housing projects and some pretty crappy looking neighborhoods. Chappaqua does not.

Asian and Indian kids and families don't count? Perhaps they don't count in terms of your particular question, but watch your phrasing - you are offensive. I'm sure that many more posters would take issue with your outlandish comment if you had said "Jews don't count."

And yes, they do count, especially since your children will be working for them in about 10 years.

[ExNooYawk]

Originally Posted by MomOfToo

Go to the parks in each of these towns and talk to people that have school age children and see how they feel about the schools. I did this when we moved and I am glad I did!

That's a great suggestion. One thing to bear in mind is that in some of these wealthy towns you're likelier to meet nannies than mommies and that's also a factor in what might work for someone.

Any town in Westchester with great schools will be in an affluent community. That's good and bad but only the home-buyer can really decide what makes a town the right choice.