westchester (Yonkers, White Plains, Eastchester: best town, house, school district)

[carolyn11]

Can anyone tell the best town to commute to NYC from westchester. We are looking for less than an hour and good parking. We would like a 4 bedroom house. We currently live on L.I. We like Connecticut, but the parking situation for the train seems bad.

[karen824]

Hi, Carolyn,
We live in Scarsdale, which is very popular with commuters because express trains can get you to Grand Central in about 30 minutes. But parking is a problem (as it is at almost every Metro-North station in Westchester.) There just aren't enough spaces for everyone who wants to park. Scarsdale has one giant parking garage and some parking spaces outside for which you can get a permit--at a cost of about $600-$700 a year, I believe. There is bus service to and from the station, which is what my husband does--we are fortunate in that we live very near a bus stop. The bus is pretty reliable, but there are parts of Scarsdale that aren't on the bus route.
Commuting costs are expensive, too--my husband's monthly ticket is over $200. However, some employers do subsidize that to some extent.
A 4-bedroom house in Scarsdale would cost you at least $700,000, and probably closer to $1 million.
Eastchester is also a close commute to the city, and the homes are slightly cheaper, but the schools are not as good.
There are many other lower Westchester towns that are within an hour's commute of the city, but if you have children and are looking for good schools, you have to take that into account. I would definitely avoid Mt. Vernon and Yonkers. White Plains could be a possibility for you; also Bronxville, Dobbs Ferry, Tarrytown, or Hastings. But housing in all of these towns is extremely expensive.
Karen

[carolyn11]

Karen, thank you for all the information. We now have a five minute ride to the train station and parking is not a problem ( It only cost $3.00 a year). It seems that the commute to NYC from either Connecticut or Westchester can be stressful. We were looking to move up that way because my husband's office is close to Grand Central. I guess we will definitely have to do our homework and check all the areas out. A good school district is very important to us.

[karen824]

Also, the commuter trains on the New Haven (Connecticut) line are not as well-kept as the ones in Westchester--some issue with part of the funding for their maintenance having to come from the state of CT, which has not wanted to pay it. The trains on that line tend to have more breakdowns, problems like no heat in the winter and no A/C in the summer, more cleanliness issues, etc. The Harlem and Hudson lines in Westchester have been better-maintained and are getting brand-new train cars (which some people actually don't like, as the seats are narrower, etc., but at least they are new and don't break down as often in the snow!)
Westchester generally has very good schools except for a few districts like the ones I mentioned. I think people with kids move here for the schools and then put up with the inconveniences like commuting and parking because the quality of the education is worth it to them. You may be able to find a house near a bus line, as we did, or within walking/biking distance to the train station. Some people also carpool down to the station, or get rides from their spouses
Some stations do have absolutely massive parking lots, like Croton-on-Hudson, but that's more than 30 minutes from Manhattan--about 45 minutes, I think. And there may even be waiting lists for that lot! We used to live in Peekskill, and parking at that station was available and less expensive, but the commute is long (60 minutes) and the schools are problematic.
Good luck!
Karen

[ucb91]

ok you schould relly check out new rochelle the train ride to grand central is only like 20-30 min and parking is on the same block as the train station