Quality of Life in North Salem

[Natalpaz]

North Salem is very friendly, down to earth town. It is located in one of the most beautiful corners of Northern Westchester (bordering with CT), and it is all about nature. Take a drive on its country roads - it is spectacular! There are lots of horse farms in the area, and many homeowners keep their own horses.

Housing ranges from summer cottages around Peach Lake (they go for $100,000-300,000) all the way to multi-million dollar estates, and anything in between. Areas closer to I-684 and Rt-22 (Purdys and Croton Falls) are more affordable than those closer to CT border. With recent market slowdown you can find really good deals pretty much in any price range. One thing to remember though is that North Salem has NO industry, therefore the taxes are higher that those of surrounding towns.
North Salem school district is very small, there is only one elementary school in town, and per student expenditure is one of the highest in Westchester.
I am not sure if there is a newcomers club in N. Salem, but you can definitely meet new people at playgrounds, playgroups etc.

I would also recommend you to look in Somers. It is neighboring town to North Salem with very active newcomers club. It doesn't have quite as much of open spaces, however, it is still very spread out comparing to other Westchester towns. Somers also houses IBM and Pepsico who contribute nicely to town's tax base.

Coming from Brooklyn I am sure you'll love any place in Northern Westchester (as a transplant from Queens I can attest to that!) - have fun exploring and good luck with your search! Feel free to ask more questions,

Natasha

[MomOfToo]

Somers is another nice town and possibility like the pp said.

[rubygreta]

I think people live in North Salem for one of two reasons: 1) It is drop dead gorgeous; 2) The same house in North Salem is a lot cheaper than it would be in Armonk, Bedford or Chappaqua.

[dma1250]

Originally Posted by rubygreta

I think people live in North Salem for one of two reasons: 1) It is drop dead gorgeous; 2) The same house in North Salem is a lot cheaper than it would be in Armonk, Bedford or Chappaqua.

I agree that it is gorgeous, and it may be cheaper than Bedford, but not a lot. North Salem offers a lifestyle that you simply cannot get in Armonk or Chappaqua. When we looked, we considered North Salem but we rejected Armonk and Chappaqua even though we saw houses there that we liked. It is simply a different kind of place.

As for prices, one great thing about northern Westchester is that there is economic diversity in almost every town. You can find a nice house for 400K next to an estate for 4M. By the way, there are currently 40-something houses for sale in Chappaqua for under $1M (and not including town houses). Some of which look quite nice, actually.