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We have the typical story. Family of 3 living in Williamsburg looking to make the jump to buying our first place in Westchester. Both parents work (Midtown East and Financial District). Looking to spend somewhere between $900k-1.3m. Looking for small schools with many opportunities, good afterschool and camp options, a welcoming community, some private green space, being able to walk to the train station would be a bonus, and some nice town infrastructure (park, pool) would be great. We've looked at Pelham, Briarcliff Manor, and the River Towns. Is there anything we should know about one of them that touring around, spending time in the towns, and obsessively searching these boards and the rest of the known internet for those town names and various search terms won't tell me? I think Pelham is supposed to be much harder to get parking at the train station, but there are other places people park near the station? I hear vague things about community personalities in the various places, and don't totally know what to make of all of it. Taxes in all of these places are equally astronomical for same-priced houses, right? Thanks!
Pelham has a 10 year wait for the MTA lot which is right at the station. There are also private lots located close to the station which I was able to get a spot within a year. Although, in Pelham, at your price point, you can get a nice place within walking distance of the train. As for taxes, you're looking at approx. 3% purchase price per year, so 30k for a 1 mil house.
Pelham's great, but there's nice people in all of the towns in Westchester. I would advise looking for the best house you can get at your price point that fits your commuting and school needs (schools in WT are generally either really good or bad, like those districts you mentioned; not too much in the middle). Other things like "town vibe" and "whether we'll fit in" is all irrelevant, there are nice people and jerks everywhere you go.
We have the typical story. Family of 3 living in Williamsburg looking to make the jump to buying our first place in Westchester. Both parents work (Midtown East and Financial District). Looking to spend somewhere between $900k-1.3m. Looking for small schools with many opportunities, good afterschool and camp options, a welcoming community, some private green space, being able to walk to the train station would be a bonus, and some nice town infrastructure (park, pool) would be great. We've looked at Pelham, Briarcliff Manor, and the River Towns. Is there anything we should know about one of them that touring around, spending time in the towns, and obsessively searching these boards and the rest of the known internet for those town names and various search terms won't tell me? I think Pelham is supposed to be much harder to get parking at the train station, but there are other places people park near the station? I hear vague things about community personalities in the various places, and don't totally know what to make of all of it. Taxes in all of these places are equally astronomical for same-priced houses, right? Thanks!
Yes those taxes are high for sure. But its offset by the NYC income tax that you won't be paying anymore. And if you're a double income professional couple in NYC - that's probably quite a bit of money at the 3.65% rate.
My hope was that by saving on the income tax and private school, it at least wouldn't feel like much extra out per year, in exchange for basically the same things.
schools in WT are generally either really good or bad, like those districts you mentioned
The districts I mentioned are the generally good kind, right? That seems to be most of what I've read (obviously some differences between them, but I mostly want her to be safe and have options and then let her make of it what she does).
It seemed like these places should be within about 30 minutes/day of each other in terms of commute. We still need to figure out how important those 30 minutes are to us.
My hope was that by saving on the income tax and private school, it at least wouldn't feel like much extra out per year, in exchange for basically the same things.
With current private school rates in NYC I think you'll be better off - not just breaking even.
Re. commute - to midtown will be a one-seat breeze. But the financial district is an extra commute in itself. Might want to consider that in your decision re. travel times.
The districts I mentioned are the generally good kind, right? That seems to be most of what I've read (obviously some differences between them, but I mostly want her to be safe and have options and then let her make of it what she does).
It seemed like these places should be within about 30 minutes/day of each other in terms of commute. We still need to figure out how important those 30 minutes are to us.
Yes, those districts you mentioned would be considered "good." Honestly, with the exception of Yonkers and Mt. Vernon, I would consider all districts in Westchester as being good. There's a 1 to 10 rating system somewhere (it's on the Zillow app) and you'll see that most districts are rated 8,9, or 10.
Pelham is a true 30 minute commute to midtown. I can drop my kid off at day care at 9:00, make the 9:05 train, and be at my desk (midtown) between 9:40 - 9:45. MTA lists the train times on their website and it seems pretty accurate.
We have the typical story. Family of 3 living in Williamsburg looking to make the jump to buying our first place in Westchester. Both parents work (Midtown East and Financial District). Looking to spend somewhere between $900k-1.3m. Looking for small schools with many opportunities, good afterschool and camp options, a welcoming community, some private green space, being able to walk to the train station would be a bonus, and some nice town infrastructure (park, pool) would be great. We've looked at Pelham, Briarcliff Manor, and the River Towns. Is there anything we should know about one of them that touring around, spending time in the towns, and obsessively searching these boards and the rest of the known internet for those town names and various search terms won't tell me? I think Pelham is supposed to be much harder to get parking at the train station, but there are other places people park near the station? I hear vague things about community personalities in the various places, and don't totally know what to make of all of it. Taxes in all of these places are equally astronomical for same-priced houses, right? Thanks!
You might want to check out Irvington. Except for the small shops on Main Street it's all residential. Nice parks, good schools, no big box stores and the congestion they bring. It's around 3 sq. miles so there are a lot of places that are within walking distance to the train station(s). Irvington has two train stations within it's borders even though one is called the Ardsley Station. The commute is around 25 minutes to Grand Central Station. (there's no express train service) Croton maybe another option. You can take the express train from the Croton Harmon Station. Because it's an express train it too is about a 25 minute commute to NYC. Like Irvington, Croton is a nice quiet town.
Indeed taxes are gonna' be astronomically high especially for a home in your price range. I don't think there's anywhere in Westchester County where they are not. Hell, we were paying over $11,000 annually on a $300,000 3 bedroom 1 bath, 1100 sq. ft. home in Peekskill. That was over 7 1/2 years ago before we moved out of New York State altogether.
Last edited by Ex New Yorker; 10-11-2017 at 12:11 PM..
The express from Irvington to Grand central is 40 minutes, local train can be 50-55 minutes.
Come to think of it you're right, it probably is about 40 minutes. I haven't ridden the train in years. At that time there was no express train from Irvington. Maybe there is now? I don't know. The train would stop at every station on down the Hudson. I remember the conductor announcing every stop. My wife would ride the train regularly she thought it was around 25 minutes. But then again that too was years ago. But 55 minutes seems rather long?
My friend still commutes to the city from Croton Harmon on the express train he told me that it takes him about 25 minutes as there are no stops in between. Those express trains do move pretty fast.
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Taxes in all of these places are equally astronomical for same-priced houses, right? Thanks!
