Yonkers (New York, New Rochelle, Peekskill: real estate, apartment, rent)

[Wevi]

Hi, what's the scoop on Yonkers? A friend of mine is moving there. Thanks!

[7 Wishes]

A lot depends on your budget and priorities. This is a very expensive area to live in and Yonkers is one of the more affordable parts of this area to live in. However, there are some things to consider:

1) You have to pay a city income tax. It is small, but if this is an issue and you are on a budget, you might want to consider nice parts of neighboring Mt. Vernon. I you live in Yonkers and work in NY City, you pay TWO city income taxes (though the NY City one will be a "commuter tax" that is much lower than what residents pay).

2) If you have school age kids, the public school district is one of the "less reputable" districts in the area. However, this doesn't mean that their schools are a complete waste, they have a decent magnet school, and a public Montisorri school and a trade/technical high school, but there's usually big waiting lists to get into these.

3) Some parts of Yonkers are notorious for high crime. Certainly in general, Yonkers has one of the higher crime rates in the county (alongside Mt. Vernon, Peekskill and perhaps parts of New Rochelle), but like many urban areas in the county, some parts are very very nice and belie the "bad reputation" and some parts are truly to be avoided. Generally, the southwest "downtown" portion of the city is where you want to most avoid and generally the further north you go in Yonkers, the nicer it gets.

I hope that helps!

[josephrand]

7 Wishes, are you sure there's still a commuter tax in New York City? I'm pretty sure that was knocked out about five years ago.

As for the rest, Yonkers is the most affordable part of Westchester County, and the reason for that is that it is an older (i.e., settled earlier) and more urban district than other parts of the county. In some parts, it feels a lot more like Riverdale in the Bronx than a part of Westchester. But I have friends who live in Yonkers who feel like it's the greatest small city in the world.

You can find out a lot about the school districts and crime rates here on this site, I think, with all the stats they have. As a real estate agent, I generally don't comment on comparing schools or crime rates, there are ethical considerations with that.

[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by josephrand

7 Wishes, are you sure there's still a commuter tax in New York City? I'm pretty sure that was knocked out about five years ago.

I thought they brought it back last year, but maybe I'm wrong, maybe it was just proposed and didn't happen. I haven't worked in the City in over a decade so I'm probably not the best expert on the subject.

[Wes927]

Commuter tax was repealed in 1999. Yonkers income tax is less than one percent of AGI.

[julienyc]

My husband and I work in Manhattan and live in the Dunwoodie neighborhood of Yonkers. Rent is affordable. We pay $1400 for a large, older, 3-bedroom, which seems the norm. Our neighborhood is safe, quiet, lots of trees and green space. There's a diverse mix of people--mostly Italian and Irish, but also a lot of Hispanic, some African American, some Middle Eastern. We are in our 30s/40s, work in the arts, and are originally from the Midwest. We always feel a little like outsiders. It seems like most people in our neighborhood have either lived here all there lives or have extended family here. There's a big elderly population here too. Most of the people I know live in Brooklyn--Park Slope area. Dunwoodie is definitely not hip and full of life like Park Slope. While it's a bit dull, it is peaceful. There aren't issues with bedbugs or rats, which is a plus. There are some great Italian delis that make fresh mozarella, also some good bakeries, diners. The bars are sort of seedy.
The commute is ok, considering it's Manhattan. We walk to the bus stop and can either take an express Bee-Line bus into the city or a city bus to the Woodlawn subway station. On a good day it's 45 min door to door--bad, it's 1 hour and half. Depends on the time of day you commute.
I have actually been hoping to move for a couple years, but we can't find a place that offers as much apartment space, green space, safety, and cheap and fairly easy commute for the money. We're leaning toward Brooklyn, but I'll miss the trees and grass.

[artbrown]

While there are downsides to Yonkers (such as its government), some of the nicest sections are actually in the southwest. Park Hill is beautiful, even compared to some more expensive Westchester towns. It's also neighborly and safe; some residents don't lock their doors there. Ludlow is nice and an easy commute on MetroNorth.