Questions About Westchester

[karkara]

great place to live in Westchester and don't have to pay the big price- Town of Cortlandt ....

you can find a nice house here for under 500.000 w/ land and good schools. look for Lakland district .

[LookingForQuality]

I have just recently joined this website and have read many of the posts here regarding Upstate, NY. I'm also looking to move with my fiance and our daughter to Upstate, NY, possibly either Westchester County or Monroe in Orange. I have joined a realty website that has been sending me a few listings regarding affordable homes; however, I am curious to know about Lake Peekskill. Please if anyone could enlighten me I would be grateful. I don't want to move so far away to an area that is not considered quality for my daughter. I work as a city cop and need to get the hell away from NYC in general as far as living conditions. Thank you

[LookingForQuality]

Any information regarding the school system? Is it quality? Safe? Gang filled? I don't know anything whatsoever about Westchester County. How are the schools in Lake Peekskill? Is the crime rate high? The town of Cortlandt, is it close to the city?

[bmwguydc]

Generally speaking, the schools in Peekskill are not on par with neighboring communities in terms of performance. Peekskill has some areas that are great, and some that are more transitional. The Cortlandt school district is much better, overall. Some parts of Cortlandt Manor do tend towards newer, larger homes, so they can also come with a hefty price tag, though not as bad as other parts of Westchester.

In Westchester County, I would recommend looking into Cortlandt and Cortlandt Manor. Also, check into the Yorktown area, including: Shrub Oak, Yorktown Heights, and Mohegan Lake. There might not be much in the way of selection of affordable homes in these areas, however, but the schools are good in these areas. You can sometimes find good sized cottages, ranch houses, and some minor fixers in these areas that can offer a good return on investment.

However, all is not lost, since you're not far from the Putnam County line in this area, which also has some contenders in terms of schools and neighborhoods for families. In Putnam, check into Garrison, which is close to the river and Bear Mountain Park, offers some good buys on houses and has good schools. Mahopac is also an area worthy of consideration in this vicinity for the same reasons. These areas offer a country feel, while still being in commutable distance to NYC. The schools and neighborhoods are very safe and neighborly. And, I would recommend Putnam over Orange, since you do not have to cross the bridge, though you could always use the Bear Mountain Crossing to avoid the Tappan Zee. It's just easier to be on the same side of the Hudson, sometimes, especially since you have an option to take the train to Manhattan for work or pleasure from many of these areas. Yorktown would require a drive to the station, as would Mahopac, but Cortlandt, Garrison, and Peekskill stations are nearby.

Using driving distances from Midtown, arbitrarily set at 5th Ave & 53rd, Peekskill is roughly 40 miles, Yorktown Heights is about 45, Cortlandt is about 45, Shrub Oak is 45-50 miles, Mohegan Lake is close to 50 miles, Garrison is closer to 55 miles, and Mahopac is about 50-55 miles.

I think that any of these areas would be great to find a house for a family, and they offer a respite from the city, where you can go for a walk, have a barbeque, and just enjoy the neighborhood and not worry about the stresses of living and working in the city for your family.

And, I would like to add my sincere thanks to you for all that you do as a member of the NYPD. And, I hope the search for the new family home goes smoothly and easily for you.

[bmwguydc]

I just noticed you were interested in Lake Peeksill as well. That's in the Putnam Valley area of Putnam County, sort of inbetween Garrison and Mahopac. The school district there is decent as well, and distance to Midtown is roughly 50 miles.

[LookingForQuality]

My goodness, you are very knowledgeable. I appreciate your input, advice and wisdom. I will definitely look into it further. I just found a home for about $180,000 in Patterson, NY. The home is beautiful inside and out. I will definitely go view it. I currently in Brooklyn but will easily transfer to Manhattan. Don't know if Patterson is in Westchester or Putnam. Any opinions on Patterson or Blooming Grove in Orange County?

[bmwguydc]

Originally Posted by LookingForQuality

My goodness, you are very knowledgeable. I appreciate your input, advice and wisdom. I will definitely look into it further. I just found a home for about $180,000 in Patterson, NY. The home is beautiful inside and out. I will definitely go view it. I currently in Brooklyn but will easily transfer to Manhattan. Don't know if Patterson is in Westchester or Putnam. Any opinions on Patterson or Blooming Grove in Orange County?

You're welcome. I am happy to give whatever insight I can.

Patterson is in NE Putnam, the Harlem River Valley, and is just a little south of Dutchess, and west of Connecticut, which are borders for the town. In the area, you have an option of commuting via 84 to 684 and on to the city, or taking MetroNorth from Patterson on the Harlem Line. Harlem Line trains tend to be a little slower than other lines that have more express trains on them from northern locales, but it's a good option to have the train in town for work/pleasure commuting. The Carmel Central School District in the general area of Putnam is a good disrict and serves most, if not all, of the Patterson area I believe. It's a nice, stable, middle-class/upper middle class area in which you can find everything from a nice mid-century Cape Cod style house to a mini-estate home on several acres. The area dates to sometime in the 1730s, if memory serves, when the town was initially settled, and it has a nice mix of history and the new.

Blooming Grove is not that dissimilar to Patterson, as both are an hour and change from the city in terms of driving, close to an hour and a half. Where Patterson has easy public transportation, Blooming Grove, as with many west bank of the Hudson towns has transportation, but it's not an easy prospect to get across the river during rush hours sometimes. Housing types are similar, though Patterson tends to have more at the upper end of the market. Carmel schools are a tad better than Washingtonville which serves Blooming Grove. The Washingtonville area is home to the oldest winery in the country, Brotherhood Vineyards. You do have the option of MetroNorth on the Port Jervis line, and the commute time to Manhattan Penn Station from Salisbury Mills, whereas Patterson goes to Grand Central Terminal and are generally a little bit faster than the Port Jervis line.

Both areas would serve a family equally well, I think, so if you found a great house in Blooming Grove and could put up with shortcomings in transportation options, being the limited number of bridges if you drive or the train ride that's a little longer. Some have also said things about the quality of the Washingtonville schools that they are not up to par for the area, but I don't have any first-hand experience with that. Patterson offers an edge in transportation, and better schools, but either way, I think that you can decide based upon the house and neighborhood. Hope that helps!

Edit: I think that if memory serves it's at the middle and high school levels that you want to be careful in Washingtonville. In that area, I think that Goshen schools are much better rated for the west of the Hudson communities in the north suburbs.

[bmwguydc]

I asked someone I know about the Orange County schools situation, and they suggested that Cornwall, Chester, and Monroe districts might also be worth considering for both a good environment and good academics. Chester is a smaller school district that allows for people to know each other well, and Monroe-Woodbury has stable academics, though they did have the police called about a prank and had an epic food fight a few years ago, but if that's all they're up to, it's not too bad. Cornwall has a respected performance record as well. Washingtonville, which is Blooming Grove, they said can be fine, but there have been incidents with bullying that can be troubling to parents, not faulting the academics in this district which are decent.

In terms of housing, Chester has some houses that start below $200k, though many are higher than that, as with the rest of the Tri-State Area. Monroe has a larger number under $200k, but one needs to be sure that they are year-round homes, and not vacation cottagaes that dot the area. Not much in Cornwall is under $200k in a single family home, but there are some that are not too far over that price point, though Cornwall-on-Hudson will be more expensive.

There are areas in Orange that are comparable to Westchester and Putnam in terms of housing and schools, that will give you a nice neighborhood for your family. All of them are roughly the same driving time to Manhattan, an hour fifteen to an hour and a half, though parts of Cornwall are a little further out, and Orange can be more of a challenging drive to get across the river, as I said in an earlier post. Hope that gives some insight.