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My wife and I are looking to move out of Manhattan (we're currently renting) as we're expecting in the second half of 2019. I've been scouting the Westchester county forums for a few weeks now but feel like I can do with any additional help that the good folk here can provide! Here are our criteria -
A. Top school district
I have been searching by school districts on different sites and also looking at niche.com, https://www.realestatehudsonvalleyny...ester-schools/, etc. Looking for a school with good diversity and good ranking is our main goal.
B. Commute to GC
- Relatively easy parking or walking distance from a Metro North train station
- 35 to 45 mins commute
- Space on the train to sit hopefully
C. Cost & Size
$ 650-850K
3 Beds +
2 Baths +
D. Walkability & social life
We love living in the city especially access to tons of restaurants and also ease of walking. Wondering if any of the towns have this (town centers). Worst case, the city isn't very far away.
So far we have drawn up the following list (no particular order, have ignored the river towns)
1. Edgemont/Greenville
2. Hartsdale
3. Mamaroneck, Larchmont, Rye Neck
4. White Plains (not sure if the school is very good, but lots of restaurants?)
5. Arsdley
6. Bronxville/Scarsdale (out of budget I suppose?)
7. Pelham (fastest commute?)
8. Harrison
Which one of the above best fits some/most/all of our criteria? Any help would be really appreciated. Thank you!
Top school.
Village is contained in an easily walkable area including train station 35min to GrandCentral. Grocery, restaurants, bank, drug store, bakery, books, Cafes, it's all there.
There are 3bd/2bth 1325sq/ft, maint around 1500$, coops between 600 and 800k. But they become available not so frequently. Gotta keep an eye out.
Some 20% down, some a crazy 50%.
Hartsdale would be great but the schools are just average and you'd need a car. Smaller village area. I lived there before I had kids.
Just some short notes
-Edgemont has really high effective taxes, so Home prices are less. I’d do some homework around the tax rates and the houses you’re looking at bc your budget may need to be adjusted for this town. Ie your monthly payment may be 3k for mortgage and 2k for taxes. Also, if you are not Jewish I would not recommend it.
-Hartsdale - I would cross it off the list as a contender. Not nice downtown, mediocre schools. It’s at a lower tier to the other towns you recommended
-white Plains - I would also cross this off. Really busy urban area that honestly is kind of an annoyance to drive through. So so schools.
-Bronxville / Scarsdale is out of your budget
-Ardsley is a tricky commute and land locked. Housing stock is not that nice with odd contemporary houses from the 50s. Your shopping will be on Central Ave and not really a walkable community.
-Pelham is a very good choice. Somewhat diverse. Fastest trains and sidewalk neighborhood. Excellent schools. Similar to Edgemont the effective taxes are really high. Roughly 3.0% of Home price as a rule of thumb. Keep that in mind. Houses are less here but you’ll be paying more in taxes.
-Harrison - I’d rule out too. Very suburban and spread out. Less of a community. Longer train. Harrison would be a big adjustment from the city as it is the most rural. Harrison is a god choice to upgrade from a starter to a full size house since you get more land and the taxes are lower, but again, a big adjustment from the city.
I would add Mamaroneck. Same shared HS as Larchmont. Fairly good elementary. Nice downtown and you could use go into Larchmont proper. It is basically like getting into Larchmont at lesser dollars and will be within your budget, with a slight sacrifice on the elementary/middle school
My vote goes to Pelham and Mamaroneck.
If you’re open to condo/co-op then I would say Bronxville it’s the best commute with very good schools and one of the nicest downtowns in Westchester. Beautiful housing stock from the roaring 20s with tudors and colonials. To me - Bronxville is a town of very little compromise and checks all the boxes for what NYCers are looking for. Which is why houses are 2mm with 45k in taxes. But if your okay using a co-op as a starter for say 5 years, it’s a wonderful transition from nyc. Just make sure it is zoned for Bronxville schools (Bronxville has a Yonkers side but with a Bronxville mailing address).
I would advocate the Mamaroneck side of the Rye Neck School District for what you are looking for. Nice downtown, easy walkability and in your price point (at least some on the high side of your price range). Larchmont is also quite nice, but I am not as familiar with the price ranges for the housing stock closer to downtown.
I think that Mamaroneck is a great choice, too. Larchmont is lovely but unfortunately at that price point you're going to be very unhappy with what you find.
Just some short notes
-Edgemont has really high effective taxes, so Home prices are less. I’d do some homework around the tax rates and the houses you’re looking at bc your budget may need to be adjusted for this town. Ie your monthly payment may be 3k for mortgage and 2k for taxes. Also, if you are not Jewish I would not recommend it.
-Hartsdale - I would cross it off the list as a contender. Not nice downtown, mediocre schools. It’s at a lower tier to the other towns you recommended
-white Plains - I would also cross this off. Really busy urban area that honestly is kind of an annoyance to drive through. So so schools.
-Bronxville / Scarsdale is out of your budget
-Ardsley is a tricky commute and land locked. Housing stock is not that nice with odd contemporary houses from the 50s. Your shopping will be on Central Ave and not really a walkable community.
-Pelham is a very good choice. Somewhat diverse. Fastest trains and sidewalk neighborhood. Excellent schools. Similar to Edgemont the effective taxes are really high. Roughly 3.0% of Home price as a rule of thumb. Keep that in mind. Houses are less here but you’ll be paying more in taxes.
-Harrison - I’d rule out too. Very suburban and spread out. Less of a community. Longer train. Harrison would be a big adjustment from the city as it is the most rural. Harrison is a god choice to upgrade from a starter to a full size house since you get more land and the taxes are lower, but again, a big adjustment from the city.
I would add Mamaroneck. Same shared HS as Larchmont. Fairly good elementary. Nice downtown and you could use go into Larchmont proper.It is basically like getting into Larchmont at lesser dollars and will be within your budget, with a slight sacrifice on the elementary/middle school
My vote goes to Pelham and Mamaroneck.
If you’re open to condo/co-op then I would say Bronxville it’s the best commute with very good schools and one of the nicest downtowns in Westchester. Beautiful housing stock from the roaring 20s with tudors and colonials. To me - Bronxville is a town of very little compromise and checks all the boxes for what NYCers are looking for. Which is why houses are 2mm with 45k in taxes. But if your okay using a co-op as a starter for say 5 years, it’s a wonderful transition from nyc. Just make sure it is zoned for Bronxville schools (Bronxville has a Yonkers side but with a Bronxville mailing address).
Larchmont and Mamaroneck also have the same middle school, not just the same high school. Apart from the elementary level, the Larchmont schools are the Mamaroneck schools.
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