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I have lived in both New Canaan and South Salem. NY property taxes are killers and most areas lack the central small town areas that Ridgefield and New Canaan have. The exception, to me, is Katonah which is charming and very livable.
Connecticut houses cost more but are property taxed less with better services. But a towns like New Canaan, Darien and Greenwich are pricey.
All, Hastings on Hudson is going to be the next town we visit. To give you an idea of how we've been approaching this, we've been visiting potential towns for a meal, walking a bit around the downtown area, and then driving through a few neighborhoods.
I'm less familiar with the western portion of Westchester, though, so would love to hear any recommendations for how to structure the visit.
I would argue that adding the median home price for Fairfield on top of our soft ceiling of $1mm is out of our range. But yes, that is a very nice house.
I would argue that adding the median home price for Fairfield on top of our soft ceiling of $1mm is out of our range. But yes, that is a very nice house.
I have not read all the responses but I am in the same boat so I will tell you what I have learned...
For $1M you get crap in Greenwich, you can get into Darien and Stamford. Taxes, maybe $9-13,000 a year.
In Westchester its 10 times more beautiful home wise. you get 3500 sq feet in a gorgeous neighborhood but taxes can be anywhere from $20,000 to $$45,000.
Its a wash really.
I am heading to Bronxville... for $1M you get gorgeous and you can get a house with $17,000 in taxes.
All, Hastings on Hudson is going to be the next town we visit. To give you an idea of how we've been approaching this, we've been visiting potential towns for a meal, walking a bit around the downtown area, and then driving through a few neighborhoods.
I'm less familiar with the western portion of Westchester, though, so would love to hear any recommendations for how to structure the visit.
I can try to give a small glimpse, though we are fairly new to the area. We started out looking in Greenwich/Stanford/Cos Cob due to the lower taxes, but the homes we liked that weer in our budget (< $1M) were closer to the Port Chester border and we weren't crazy about the idea of commuting out of Port Chester. Additionally, the home prices tended to reflect the lower taxes, so a comparable home (in terms of age and sq footage) tended to average about $100k more in CT.
Anyway, long story short, we ended up purchasing a home in Dobbs Ferry (just north of Hastings). So far, we are really enjoying the rivertowns area and have attempted commuting by both by train and car. I work in lower Manhattan and the commute by car is anywhere from 1-2 hours depending on what time you are out the door. The train is much more flexible, it's just under an hour to GCT and another 13-15 minutes by express 4/5/6 to Downtown. Subjectively speaking, I don't enjoy the subway transfer, but it isn't awful and I'd say it beats sitting in traffic.
Again, subjectively speaking, Hastings seems to have a somewhat more active downtown area than Dobbs, but they are both nice. Walkability depends on what you are willing to tolerate in terms of time, distance and grade. Our house is about .5 miles from main street and 1 mile from the train station, which translates into a 15-20 minute walk, most of which is uphill on the way home. I'm not sure about the wait times for station permits in Hastings, but in Dobbs we are on a waiting list until Feb (we purchased in Aug) so getting to the train and finding parking can sometimes be challenging. Overall, though, we are very happy with our decision. Please feel free to let me know if I can help out with any specific questions about the area.
Best of luck in your search!
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Hastings on Hudson
