Finding a town in Westchester to Live (White Plains, Yorktown: real estate, 2009)

[Furrygoat]

I have a 15 month old son, and me and my wife are thinking about moving to Westchester. We both need to commute into NYC, and are concerned about the school system in whatever town we choose. Our price range is approx 500,000 give or take 40-50k. Any suggestions for a town where we could get a decent space in this price range?

[fyrisle]

Both Croton-on-Hudson and Yorktown Heights have housing in that price range and good school districts. The train ride to Croton is about 44 minutes. Yorktown Heights is less expensive but you would need an extra 10-15 minutes or so to get to the Croton train station. There is also some housing in that price range in Katonah but the train ride is 55-60 minutes. The Katonah schools score well and it also has a nice New England style village. All of these areas have a lot of natural scenery.

[Furrygoat]

anything a bit south of that?

[Viralmd]

Further South you'd have to spend more money...

[Furrygoat]

such as?

[halfoffpeak]

Don't get discouraged by the high prices. There was a bubble in the westchester housing prices and the whole region is due for a correction. Usually house prices decrease slowly because re agents and owners are in denial so I if I were you I would wait for a year or so. 500k will be enough though for a single family in every town.

All is explained in detail in this post

http://www.city-data.com/forum/7525674-post27.html

but check also the real estate section of nytimes

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/nyregion/long-island/22Rstuck.html

and

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/20...singchart.html


Good luck!

[havoc315]

In the nicer central and southern Westchester towns, 500k will only buy you tiny fixed uppers and such.
If you were to consider townhouses, it would open up options in your price range, which can be great for young families. 500k can get you a decent 2 bedroom townhouse, and 550-600 can get a 3 bedroom in many of Westchester's finer towns.

[bmwguydc]

I would try Pelham. Sometimes you can find smaller houses that would be in your range that are in move-in condition. The schools are great, and it's about 30 minutes to GCT.

Hastings and Tuckahoe are two other closer-in areas that might have a smaller house in range that would work for a young family. Hastings has a very good school district, and Tuckahoe is well regarded, though it's a very small district and does not have the same features as the top districts in terms of facilities and enrichment.

Off the train slightly, Ardsley and Eastchester might have something in range. Ardsley's schools are very good and Eastchester is also well regarded, though performace stats are a little below neighboring top districts of Bronxville and Scarsdale.

Harrison and North White Plains (sometimes listed as White Plains, but Valhalla schools) are a little further, but you can get express trains at Harrison and White Plains for faster commutes to GCT. Harrison has a much wealthier side to it with mansions, but there are also some decent single family homes that appeal to families in the town at more reasonable price points. Both have good school districts.

Parts of Dobbs Ferry might also be in range, though as with many towns there may not be huge supplies of houses, but there are some at times. And a little north of White Plains, Valhalla, Thornwood, and sometimes Pleasantville have listings in range, though Pleasantville might not be the most attractive and/or best condition of housing stock in this price range.

[angelgrid]

I too will be shopping for a house as soon as I sell my Greenburgh condo. I have 3 year old child, and would like to buy a house in a neighborhood that has good schools. My price range is about 515K. In addition to good schools, I would like to be in a good school district that also has good numbers in terms of racial diversity. Any thoughts as to what areas I could look into? Thanks

[metsfan24]

If you want to beat some of the westchester taxes try looking into southeast right outside of northern western westecher.