I am moving to Westchester from Los Angeles, or Portland:) (New York: real estate, to rent)

[Jordan8928]

Hi all.
I am moving to Westchester New York or Portland OR from Los Angeles in 45 days time when my home closes escrow here! I have researched the county and being from Greatneck in a fantasy I think NY rules, well it did when I was a kid in the snow... I am wondering if anyone can give me some good insight on what its like, it is as beautiful as I see it?? close enough to really enjoy Manhattan? how is it for a younger man 40 years old, (conservatively gay but that makes little difference for me where I live unless its the bible belt) I am taking my Mom along w me and 4 dogs and buying a home straight away...
In both areas I can easily find a home for $1M only in Westchester the taxes will be $25,000 and in Portland $8000 a year, lets assume they are the same for the fun of it... one has the winter and one has rain and gray... Whats better??
Its a toss up and confused on which is best... I want a place where I can be mortgage free, sell Real Estate as I have done here in LA and have a good rest of my life with a little more beauty then ugly Los Angeles and all the wanna bee's and lack of green... I am thinking Bronxville PO or Larchmont Village area, I am supposed to go next week and buy a home.
I would love to hear some feed back... just a few points;
I can't and don't want to rent... I like suburban urban places... diversity is good but upscale for sure...
Rain or gray all year could be tough, can it really be like that 290 days a year? Are the winters that bad in NY?? as a kid I loved it...
Be cool and no cocky answers, no need

[dr.strangelove]

Originally Posted by Jordan8928

Hi all.
I am moving to Westchester New York or Portland OR from Los Angeles in 45 days time when my home closes escrow here! I have researched the county and being from Greatneck in a fantasy I think NY rules, well it did when I was a kid in the snow... I am wondering if anyone can give me some good insight on what its like, it is as beautiful as I see it?? close enough to really enjoy Manhattan? how is it for a younger man 40 years old, (conservatively gay but that makes little difference for me where I live unless its the bible belt) I am taking my Mom along w me and 4 dogs and buying a home straight away...
In both areas I can easily find a home for $1M only in Westchester the taxes will be $25,000 and in Portland $8000 a year, lets assume they are the same for the fun of it... one has the winter and one has rain and gray... Whats better??
Its a toss up and confused on which is best... I want a place where I can be mortgage free, sell Real Estate as I have done here in LA and have a good rest of my life with a little more beauty then ugly Los Angeles and all the wanna bee's and lack of green... I am thinking Bronxville PO or Larchmont Village area, I am supposed to go next week and buy a home.
I would love to hear some feed back... just a few points;
I can't and don't want to rent... I like suburban urban places... diversity is good but upscale for sure...
Rain or gray all year could be tough, can it really be like that 290 days a year? Are the winters that bad in NY?? as a kid I loved it...
Be cool and no cocky answers, no need

Having lived in both, I can say that Portland Oregon is by FAR the better choice. The home prices are way better. In PDX, the $1,000,000 range will get you a massive amount of house and trimmings. Depending on the area you want to live (may I suggest the Lake Oswego or West Lynn areas which are stunning and for that price you can get a view of snow covered Mt. Hood), you can get a modern small mansion or an 100+ year old stunning home. In westchester, $1,000,000 certainly gets a nice home, but its not in the mansion level.

Don't let anyone kid you about PDX and the rain. It rains FAR more in westchester than it does in Portland. Its just in Portland its grey from mid-October through March. But come April (and always a week in early February) its amazing. Big beautiful blue skies, no humidity all summer, because its further west in the time zone, late night sunsets. Its not rain or gray all year. Its not like that 290 days a year. And the winters, while grey, are calm. No significant snow, only a few days of freezing temps.

In Westchester, you need a snowblower because we usually get at least 6 storms of at least 6 inches of snow, and a couple of big ones over 10 inches of snow. Its freezing all winter, lots of freezing rain. Its not great. Summers here are brutal. Lots of 90+ degree days or close to it with high humidity. You need AC most of the summer and high heating bills all winter.

I love New York, but one of the places I would choose over it in a heartbeat is Portland. Good luck. I am sure a lot of people will sell you on all the great things here, but the weather is not one of them.

[allanny13]

I love Westchester but I would also vote Portland due to overall quality of life and COL.

[jaymtea]

If I didn't have so much family here in NY I'd move just about anywhere but here. We're house hunting right now and have been for WAY too long in Westchester and the market BLOWS. You have to severely overpay for everything. Go to Portland. It sounds wonderful. I'll live vicariously through you

[doghead]

I say Portland, OR, unless you like lots of lawyers--Westchester is filled with them. They're the only ones who can afford it.

[sayulita]

Just so you know, if you're looking for diversity, Portland is one of the whitest cities in the country. Especially in the upscale areas. Sure, there are sizable Hispanic and Asian populations but they tend to be concentrated in certain areas.

I've lived in New York state and I remember the brutal winters. Weather in Portland is much milder and pretty much nobody owns a snowblower. And summers are awesome even though right now temps are lower than they normally are in July. I actually have the furnace on today as it's about 65 outside.

[NYC_]

Portland or Westchester. Los Angeles is only a good place to visit, not a good place to live IMHO.

[sdcity]

I think your expectations are too high for westchester. Lower them down some and you should be okay. I don't know LA or Portland so can't compare.

I would think the real estate business is better in westchester than Portland.

For most in westchester life revolves around the kids. I know there is access to manhattan, but most people dont travel to manhattan outside of work much. So if your looking for a vibrant singles community, this is not it. If you have/plan kids, this will be a decent place for them.

[BicoastalAnn]

If it's just you and mom and your dogs, have you considered a luxury condo type of building? It would save you a lot of house maintenance time, esp with the weather and all. If you want easy access to the city, Bronxville and Larchmont would do it for sure but I'd even recommend White Plains. It's easy to get into the city and there are a few luxury condos in the downtown area (eg a Trump Tower) that would make your trips down to the city an easy walk to the train as well. Only thing is I don't know if I'd call that area upscale necessarily - maybe on par with Burbank. As in mix of wealthy families and younger people as well as lower income service folks. The taxes tend to be lower in White Plains as well. But if you're looking for something more like Brentwood, then Larchmont will be more your style.

Have you also considered CT? Taxes tend to be much lower there. At your budget, you could get a decent (not mansion) place in Greenwich or Westport... The former being the best for commuting to the city and about as upscale as it gets. [Edit: saw that you already checked out Greenwich.. never mind then ]

As to Westchester v Portland, that's really up to preference but I love the Westchester/CT area personally. And I'm from LA too.