South salem (Yorktown, Bedford, Ridge: real estate, crime, high school)

[RickRac]

Hi Everyone,

Thinking of moving to South Salem. Can you please weigh on in:

Safety (friends have said the area is very dark at night with poor lighting).

Things to do (for children and teens, after school, weekend, sports, clubs, school-based?)

Seniors (recreation not senior centers)

Commute to midtown on a daily basis

Access to shopping? (another colleague said head to CT for shopping)

[ashowofhands]

Town of Lewisboro (which South Salem is a part of) was ranked as the #1 safest town in America a few years ago. Crime is virtually nonexistent.

John Jay has relatively strong sports and arts. I don't have kids so I can't really get more specific than that. Be prepared to have to drive your kids everywhere until they get their own licenses, the area is very car-dependent. The Lewisboro Library does some interesting stuff, including I think a concert series at one point in time.

"Recreation" can mean all sorts of different things. Neighboring Ridgefield, CT has more events. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a great small concert venue. Brother Vic's gets some good acts. There are multiple lake communities in South Salem if you're into water sports (kayaking/SUP, fishing). Various car shows happen during the warmer season - the big one in the area is the Pound Ridge show in September. Plenty of public golf courses within a reasonable driving distance (Waccabuc is private)

Roughly 15 minute drive to Katonah train station plus roughly 70 minutes on the train to GCT plus however far you have to go to get to your ultimate destination. I'd plan on at least 90 minutes door-to-door. By car 50-60mi each way and will take anywhere from 1h to 2h depending on traffic.

There's are little shopping centers in nearby hamlets such as Vista and Cross River that'll do in a pinch- but yes, for big box the most convenient locations are out of town and often across the border in CT. Costco in Brookfield, CT or BJ's in Yorktown. You'd probably be going down to Norwalk CT for WalMart. Target in Mount Kisco. Etc. Be prepared for a 20-30min drive to any one of these places. The good news is that big box stores exist in clusters, so once you're there you can just hit all the stores at once.

[RickRac]

Wow! Talk about solid info @ashowofhands Thanks so very much! You've been more informative than any real estate agent we've met, and that's easily upwards of 10 over several months!

If you have a moment and could recommend a similar town with all the perks you listed above, but a little less of a commute - what would you suggest?

Thanks again!

[globetrekker96]

In terms of shopping, the mall in Danbury is a 22 minute drive (12.3 miles.) The Jefferson Valley Mall in Yorktown is 27 mins away and is 17.9 miles west.

As far as other towns, the only way to reduce your commute is by taking the Saw Mill River Parkway south to towns like Bedford and Mt. Kisco. The commute will be 10-20 mins less depending on if it’s a express or local train. The town of Katonah might also meet your criteria.

You have to choose one. If you live in Katonah, the commute will be under 5 mins to the train station. Whereas, if you commute to John Jay Cross River High School, you will drive 15 mins, which is the same time it takes from South Salem to the Katonah station.

[neil1973]

Originally Posted by RickRac

Wow! Talk about solid info @ashowofhands Thanks so very much! You've been more informative than any real estate agent we've met, and that's easily upwards of 10 over several months!

If you have a moment and could recommend a similar town with all the perks you listed above, but a little less of a commute - what would you suggest?

Thanks again!

Bedford and Katonah have a similar feel to South Salem, and both have their own train stations and quicker access to I684 - so quicker to get out of for commuting.

[RickRac]

Thanks to everyone for the very helpful information! This is great!