Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I respectfully disagree with that, at least in Lakeland. I would say I agree with it 100% in Yorktown and I have heard the same for Yorktown. One of those little differences.
My daughter was and still is a big soccer player, recruited to college. Her social life was heavily into the sport she played. My son was not an athlete, but still played some recreational athletics, but also did math league, some STEM contests. He will not get any college sports scholarship offers. But he is far more social with a wider group of friends than my daughter who was a big athletic type.
Thank you
The ratings are super confusing on greatschools as well as US news so I will take that with a pinch of salt.
In the end it will have to depend on inventory but I will def not rule out Yorktown or Somers. Yeah Somers do seem to have lowe taxes, some new houses being built with a mahopac address and super low taxes but somers schools.
It is really great to hear that you have kids that went to college or will and are doing really well. Because if I have to go by greatschools ratings they are not very high for Somers.
I hope to find somethng in the KLSD school district just for the commute etc but if that doesn't work out I think it will have to be Somers or Yorktown, most likely Somers because that will leave us with big amounts of disposable income cuz of the lower taxes.
From someone who's exposure to these schools is limited to opponents on the field vs my kids, and just generally being in the area my entire life, I am of the opinion that Lakeland, Somers and Yorktown are virtually identical. If you are coming in from the outside, just throw a dart on a map .... which means choose a home based on costs and commute, and finding a property you like. As someone else stated, John Jay (Lewisboro-Katonah) has more of a horse farm, rural upper class vibe. Lakeland, Somers, and Yorktown are much more generic suburban areas, and far less Westchester-y - meaning they are no different than Long Island, Rockland, NJ, not to mention suburban Boston, Philly, Chicago ....
Regarding the comment about being "sporty", it is true everywhere in the world - if you are a teenager and you are good at team sports you will have a much greater chance of being liked and accepted by your peers, and will have a much easier time making friends. This is true at basically every HS in America absent maybe a handful of STEM/nerd schools where admission is selective. You are not avoiding this dynamic, so don't even try.
I have spoken to some parents in KLSD as well and they advised me they feel their high school is only marginally better and certainly not worth forfeiting a nicer and more affordable home in Somers.
I honestly was a little thrown off by the ratings not really understanding how greatschools rated the middle school in Somers at a 4.
But I understand that is based on somany factors that it doesnt really mean the education is of lower sanddards.
The pressure on sports is harder for boys than girls.
If you are commuting to NYC, a big factor will be your distance from a train station. The road from Croton-Harmon to downtown Yorktown is dark and winding. It's not a road to travel in bad weather. It was easier to use the Katonah station with less scheduled than Croton-Harmon.
From what I understand, the taxes are lower in Somers. The taxes are all over the place for Yorktown. A friend's house was larger than mine but her taxes were half of mine. I think it depends on when the house was built. I don't know how often houses are reaccessed. Dr. Strangelove might have more info on this.
I looked at US News Best High Schools (which is entertaining when your kids are grown and schools are no longer an issue). Yorktown is rated higher, Lakeland is next, Somers is rated much lower. https://www.usnews.com/education/bes...-york/rankings
Look into Croton-on-Hudson too. Millwood has a lower priced houses from time to time & parts are zoned for Chappagua schools.
You raise some very very good points and honestly have helped me a lot.
Yeas we have been watching Chappaqua zoned schools in other towns like a hawk, the inventory has been really poor in general.
Yes Croton on Hudson since the schools got better in the last few years the taxes have shot up as well.
I do really like the KLSD high school however I prefer that Yorktown and Somers are more 'city' like.
I think we need to visit and really drive around in the towns.
I am going to asume that the Somers school district is good enough for hard working kids to florish and learn
The ratings do really throw me off I have to say, but according to the ratings John Jay high school in KLSD is higher rated than Scarsdale ...so not really sure that all that is based on. So I won't ponder on that too much ..
I wouldn't focus so much on ratings. It's not like buying a TV. It's very subjective and everyone has different things that are important to them when looking for a school district. It's pretty much impossible to rate them in any standardized, meaningful, or objective way.
I wouldn't focus so much on ratings. It's not like buying a TV. It's very subjective and everyone has different things that are important to them when looking for a school district. It's pretty much impossible to rate them in any standardized, meaningful, or objective way.
Agreed. A good analogy is to restaurants. For me, a good steakhouse is better than a great sushi place, because I don't like sushi. All of the schools mentioned on this thread are good or better. So picking one is a matter of personal tastes for you and your family, based on a myriad of factors.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
