Help! Where to move from SF to Westchester? (Scarsdale, Hastings: apartment, townhouse)

[sfeast]

My husband, 1.5yr old and I are moving from San Francisco to Westchester. I love the laid-back and relaxed lifestyle in SF and hope to find a town in Westchester with a village closeby. . .coffee shop, yoga studio, train commute to the city. Any towns in Westchester come to mind? Thanks!

[Viralmd]

What's your budget and how long a commute is tolerable? Where is work located (East side or West side)?

[havoc315]

Essentially, the entire county of Westchester comes to mind.
So let's narrow it down... What distance of commute is tolerable? Commuting by train from Westchester, basically means a train to Grand Central Station. So how long of a train ride to Grand Central would be tolerable?

Next question, are you looking for a single-family house, a townhouse, an apartment?

What's your priority on schools? You said you have a 1 1/2 year old -- Planning school districts now, or want to wait a few years and move again?

And finally, and most importantly, budget range?

[Futcha]

There's really not many places in Westchester, or the whole Tri-State Area, that are laid back.

[dma1250]

Westchester is huge and offers a huge range of lifestyles. There are loads of towns that are laid-back and have coffee houses, yoga, and all the other basics. So, in addition to havoc's important questions, you also need to ask yourself what type of area you want to be in and what you want to be near to. Do you want a smaller village with more rural areas around it, or do you want a more dense and suburban area? Do you want to be in a village or would you prefer to have more land and privacy and be near a village? Do you want to be close to woods, hiking, swimming or are you more concerned with proximity to malls? Westchester doesn't offer what you'll find in San Francisco, so you should think about the things that you want the next area to provide.

[Futcha]

I never thought there were people who actually believe Westchester is laid back. Just so you know, some of the most uptight people are at these coffee shops.

The villages here may look quaint and laid back, but the people living in them aren't quaint or laid back.

[dma1250]

Originally Posted by Futcha

I never thought there were people who actually believe Westchester is laid back. Just so you know, some of the most uptight people are at these coffee shops.

The villages here may look quaint and laid back, but the people living in them aren't quaint or laid back.

My area of northern Westchester feels quite laid back. For the record, I spend a fair amount of time in my local coffee houses.

Where do you live??

[Viralmd]

He's from Scarsdale.

[bmwguydc]

I agree that you can find many different lifestyles in Westchester, depending upon what you seek, and there are laid-back people, but it's going to be laid-back in a Northeastern sense. Generally, the river towns in Westchester are more liberal and relaxed, places like Ardsley, Hastings, and Croton. Northern Westchester has a longer commute, though many of the people there are not as uptight as Lower Westchester, even in the more expensive towns.

There are places to avoid, however, if you want an easy-going lifestyle that does not require keeping up with the latest trend going for children and adults.

As others have pointed out, the budget can really help narrow things down, especially with a guide as to the size of house you want for the budget, since many places in Westchester can be quaint, but few are inexpensive.

[ponytrekker]

Originally Posted by sfeast

My husband, 1.5yr old and I are moving from San Francisco to Westchester. I love the laid-back and relaxed lifestyle in SF and hope to find a town in Westchester with a village closeby. . .coffee shop, yoga studio, train commute to the city. Any towns in Westchester come to mind? Thanks!

YOu'd feel at home in the steep hills of Hastings and probably have the cardiovascular capacity to walk its 45 degree hills.