New and in need of help! (Rye, Mamaroneck: fit in, real estate, low crime)

[AEB52006]

Hello everyone,
I am a 30 yr. old married woman with a 2 year old little girl. We are currently living in a lovely Brownstone in the West Village in NYC. We love it here, but we would like to move to a more "family" type community for our daughter. We are looking in CT., PA., NJ, RI, MASS, and Long Island and Westchester in NY.
My husband is a surgeon, and I am a kindergarten teacher, so as long as there are good hospitals and schools nearby, we are not very limited on where we go. Now, for what we are looking for:

- We want to be close to the beach, we are big beach people.
- A clean, safe neighborhood with a low crime rate and great public schools.
- A fun place to raise kids. ie; a nice library, maybe a nice neighborhood pool, community events, nice parks
- a fairly affluent community. We are not snooty people, but we would like to live in an upper middle to upper class neighborhood where people take good care of their homes and lawns, are well educated, and are involved in their community.

Is there anything that would fit the bill? TIA!

[Viralmd]

We need more information: what's your budget, how long a commute will your spouse tolerate...

[AEB52006]

We are willing to go as high as between 1.5 and 2 million. My husband would probably tolerate as much as 45 min each way without traffic, or a 45 min train ride. He is currently at Mt. Sinai in Manhattan, so if we are in Southern Westchester he would probably stay there. But if we find something we love more north, he would be willing to look elsewhere for a job.

[Viralmd]

There's Bedford, Westport, Pound Ridge Katonah....these are not necessarily near the beach, however. Rye is on the beach, and homes there START at around $1 million. There are restrictions on beach use on Long Island Sound. It's usually by permit and restricted to town residents.

[AEB52006]

Originally Posted by Viralmd

There's Bedford, Westport, Pound Ridge Katonah....these are not necessarily near the beach, however. Rye is on the beach, and homes there START at around $1 million. There are restrictions on beach use on Long Island Sound. It's usually by permit and restricted to town residents.

Thanks for the info. We have heard great things about Rye and Katonah, we are going to look into these towns further. Do you know anything about Croton-On-Hudson or Hawthorne? Thanks!

[mead]

Rye, Larchmont, Mamaroneck, and Bronxville (no water, but its a nice town).

[jyyanks]

Rye and Katonah schools are considered better than Hawthorne and Croton (which aren't bad either). Hawthorne is not near a beach.

I would consider Rye & Larchmont if you want to be closer to water. I would also post in the CT forum, there are beautiful areas in southern CT that are within your price range and near the water.

Good Luck.

[ambarstone]

Originally Posted by AEB52006

Hello everyone,
I am a 30 yr. old married woman with a 2 year old little girl. We are currently living in a lovely Brownstone in the West Village in NYC. We love it here, but we would like to move to a more "family" type community for our daughter. We are looking in CT., PA., NJ, RI, MASS, and Long Island and Westchester in NY.
My husband is a surgeon, and I am a kindergarten teacher, so as long as there are good hospitals and schools nearby, we are not very limited on where we go. Now, for what we are looking for:

- We want to be close to the beach, we are big beach people.
- A clean, safe neighborhood with a low crime rate and great public schools.
- A fun place to raise kids. ie; a nice library, maybe a nice neighborhood pool, community events, nice parks
- a fairly affluent community. We are not snooty people, but we would like to live in an upper middle to upper class neighborhood where people take good care of their homes and lawns, are well educated, and are involved in their community.

Is there anything that would fit the bill? TIA!

__________
Hi!
Since you are a beach lover and your search range is so wide, I will dare to suggest the town of Fairfield, CT. It is a middle/affluent beach town that is family oriented. During the spring and summer, it has lots of outdoor activities for families. The area you'd fit in best is in the Jennings Beach area (around Old Post Rd). I had a drive around that area a few days ago and it was beautiful. Plenty of mature flowering trees and houses around the million that show great pride of ownership. This area would be a short ride or nice walk to the beach, train YMCA and library. The town has low crime, outstanding schools, and a relaxed environment. it does not have a mall, but still counts with good shopping and decent restaurants as well as with a well defined downtown area. Malls are some 20 minutes away. Your husband could work in Westport or Norwalk, I believe both have hospitals. I think this is a great place for a family.
Here is the town's link for more information:
Town of Fairfield, Connecticut

Good luck in your search!!!

[Ekulu]

Larchmont (Mamaroneck School District), Mamaroneck (Mamaroneck and Rye Neck School Districts) or Rye (Rye City and Rye Neck School Districts) will fit your bill.

In Larchmont, the part of the village called Larchmont Manor is on the water the elementary school is Chatsworth, middle school Hommocks and high school Mamaroneck all in the Mamaroneck school district. It is very expensive and has a lovely beach and people that live in the manor have beach rights. The other part of the Larchmont I will recommend is the part of the village that is closer to the train station but not in the manor, same schools with beach priviledges the homes there are not as expensive.

In Mamaroneck the two affluent and expensive parts of Mamaroneck Village that are on the water are Orienta (central elementary school, Hommocks middle school and Mamaroneck High School) and Shore Acres (Bellows Elementary school, Rye Neck Middle and High schools). Orienta has a couple of private beaches. People that live in Shore Acres have deeded rights to a private beach club which also has a pool, clubhouse and boat docking/mooring facilities.

In Rye the homes on the water are very expensive and very desirable, all of these homes apart from the homes in the Greenhaven section of Rye are zoned for Rye City Schools (Milton or Midland elem schools, Rye Middle and High Schools). The homes in Greenhaven are zoned for Rye Neck Schools (F.E Bellows Elementary School, Rye Neck Middle and High Schools). There are private beaches on the water and Rye. Oakland Beach which is owned by Rye Town is also in Rye and is open to residents of Rye Town (which includes the part of Mamaroneck zoned for Rye Neck schools and Rye Brook) and Rye City residents as well as non residents of the city and town).

Some of the homes in all of these areas I have mentioned (those on the water) also have their own deep water boat docking facilities right outside their homes. Obviously these are the more expensive homes. There are also privately owned yacht clubs in all of them. All the areas by the water are very expensive but you will get more land for your money in Mamaroneck and Rye. Larchmont Village yards are typically much smaller than can be obtained elsewhere in Westchester.

GreatSchools.net is a good place to learn more about the schools and you can search for homes at Houlihan Lawrence Real Estate by school district, price and town etc and have the addresses of the homes included in your seach results. Google.com Maps or Mapquest.com will easily map out the locations of the homes for you.

[Ekulu]

I forgot to mention Mamaroneck also has Mamaroneck Harbor Park which consists of a public beach, athletic fields, tennis courts and a fishing pier.

All three (Rye, Larchmont, Mamaroneck) all have good libraries, Rye also has the Rye Arts Center and Mamaroneck has the Emelin Theatre. They all have summer camps for children, tennis courts and town pools. Larchmont-Mamaroneck share a little league, basketball, soccer, football teams etc Rye also has little league, soccer and football. Rye has a town owned golf club which most residents join, residents of the town of Mamaroneck and Rye can also join the club as well if there are openings but pay higher membership fees than City of Rye residents.