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Hello - My husband and I intend to move to Westchester this year, from Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. We have a 2 year old son. I work in Manhattan (Chelsea) and my husband will be joining his family business in New Paltz, NY (Ulster County). We'd like to find a town that's somewhere in between, with good schools. I would really love to live in a pretty town with charming housing stock from the 1920s-1940s. Our budget is ~$700k assuming taxes are $20k. We're fine with a small house but would prefer a little space between neighbors. We checked out the River Towns and love Dobbs Ferry and Irvington, though they seem to be outside of our price range. I visited Chappaqua and liked it a lot but the taxes are high and I'm concerned it may be too snobby. We love that our current Brooklyn neighbors are educated young families from varied and interesting backgrounds - a little yuppie but not too status-concious; hopefully we'll find a similar community in Westchester. Any help identifying towns would be much appreciated!! Thank you!
Have you looked at Katonah or Pleasantville? You can find charm and a more laid-back vibe within your price range. Katonah's village is prettier and has slightly better schools, Pleasantville has better restaurants and a bigger farmer's market. Either is a better choice than Chappaqua if you like the vibe in the river towns. In Katonah, if you prefer a bit of space between neighbors, you can find it within a mile of the village/train station.
Lots of Brooklyn people appear to be showing interest in Westchester of late.
OP - Consider also that while some towns/villages may not have a downtown vibe, you can drive to ones that do at your leisure. For example, from Ossining or Croton, one can drive to Peekskill, Pleasantville or Katonah for shopping/dining.
Croton has good schools with plenty of new Brooklyn transplants who make the journey in each day. The housing stock in some of the neighborhoods is likely close to what you are looking for. The big upside is that from Croton you can take MetroNorth to Grand Central or those days that you want to spoil yourself, you take Amtrak to or from Penn Station. For how far north it is, the train schedules make the commute pretty much of a tossup with most of the river towns. And Peekskill does have that little bit of city edge a short drive away.
All these areas mentioned are great (born and raised Ossining), but if you're thinking about commuting to New Paltz for work....HOLY CRAP !!!....that's a hike (IMO)
Thanks, everyone, for your input! Much appreciated. We will check out Pleasantville and Croton. For reference the commute to New Paltz from Dobbs Ferry/Irvington is ~1 hour 10 minutes which is manageable (of course we'd have to do the drive because that assumes no traffic!) Katonah seems beautiful but a little too far to the city. Regarding Chappaqua - I don't care if people think we're snobby, but I do want to get along with our neighbors! Again, thanks to everyone who took the time to respond.
Katonah seems beautiful but a little too far to the city. Regarding Chappaqua - I don't care if people think we're snobby, but I do want to get along with our neighbors! Again, thanks to everyone who took the time to respond.
It all depends where you find a house. We live right in the Katonah village and walk home from the train. When I take the same train as my friend from Chappaqua, I get home before he does because he has to get to his car, wait to get out of the parking lot, etc.
And then on snowy days like this, the car can stay in the garage and I don't have to deal with it in the morning or after it has been sitting in the parking lot all day long getting covered in snow and ice.
We moved from the upper west side and we think Katonah is a perfect blend of living in the suburbs and still having the things we need within walking distance. The schools are great here and everyone is very involved but in a friendly sort of way, which is refreshing.
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