where to buy???? (White Plains, Rye, Yorktown: credit, houses, school district)

[lindasmith6677]

We are looking to buy into a good public school district in Westchester or Fairfield. The consideration is affordable tax (since STAR is to be removed and tax growth rate is high), easy commute to the city, decent level backyard that can put down a swing set (.3 acre), down to earth communty with some diversity. So far I looked at following areas and found the issues and are very confused:

Scarsdale - Quaker Ridge is so far from train, Fox Meadow and Green Acre have tiny lot for our price range 900k-1.1m.
Edgemont - huge tax because of it's such a small town, tiny tiny lot
Rye Brook - Rye train station told me the permit waiting list is 8-10yrs! please anybody tells me how those people on the waiting list go to work!!
Ardsley - unless it's in Harsdale or Scarsdale, it doesn't have own train station. How do people go to work if they work in the city??
Armonk - 20-25 minutes hike to North White Plains station, which has a permit waiting list as well. Lot is large but mostly hilly.
Greenwich - limited houses in Riverside except the one on top of I95.
New Canaan - no direct train to the city and >1hr ride, I won't see my kids until weekend.

Don't think we are picky but so far it's been very hard and discouraging. Knowing houses on the market are getting multiple bids and wonder if we miss something important or misunderstand something. Many thinks for any help!

[Viralmd]

STAR is NOT going away. It just won't be a rebate, but you'll still receive the credit.

[havoc315]

For Rye Brook, you use the Port Chester train station, not Rye. I just called myself a few days ago, and I was told permits are available. Rye Brook does have nice homes in your price range.... Taxes are high, it no worse than most other Westchester towns.

[7 Wishes]

To extend what viralmd said, the rebate was an additional "add on" beyond the normal credit and unlike the credit you only got it if you were under a certain income (but I think that income was like $250K and below, with higher rebates the lower your income) or over 65 years of age regardless of income. Unlike the credit they only did the rebates for the last 2 years so it's not that much of a political football for them to remove it.

So regular STAR is still safe.

Regarding some of your other questions:

1) Ardsley and commuting - It's relatively small in population for the area (about 4000) and not everybody in Westchester commutes to Manhattan. And some who work on the West Side of Manhattan actually drive from Ardsley because the Saw Mill Parkway is very nearby and goes directly to the West Side.

2) Armonk - IBM is HEADQUARTERED there, a lot of people who live in Armonk commute there or to White Plains, Stamford, etc. Again, not everybody around here commutes to Manhattan and needs a train. Armonk is also very small (about 2500 pop and almost rural in character), so perhaps not being near train stations does help keep its population low.

3) New Canaan - See Armonk

[lindasmith6677]

thanks so much everybody for clarifying STAR and parking at Rye Brook. agree with 7 Wishes on Ardsley and Armonk. Love CT tax but dread the commute. think most jobs are still in the city for the long run.

[czarinalex]

Have you considered further north? In Yorktown Heights, you get so much more house and property for your money, a solid school system and a decent commute from the Croton station. It's also a very down to earth community with lots of green space for outdoor pursuits.

[lindasmith6677]

no, Yorktown is way too far from the city commuting wise. Armonk is far enough and I am struggling here. If I can go that far, I might just move to Ridgefield for all the benefits there.

[havoc315]

Ridgefield is a much further commute than Armonk, mostly because Armonk has good highway access.
I know there are some Armonk residents who park at the Chappaqua and Mount Kisco train stations as well, so you can look into non-resident permits for those stations.

I believe there is no non-resident room currently in the main Mount Kisco lot, but there is a secondary lot, where non-residents can currently get permits.

Of course, the main benefit of Ridgefield is lower taxes. But honestly, Armonk taxes are not horrible for Westchester, as Armonk's tax base is helped by some major businesses (IBM, Credit Suisse)

[dma1250]

Originally Posted by lindasmith6677

no, Yorktown is way too far from the city commuting wise. Armonk is far enough and I am struggling here. If I can go that far, I might just move to Ridgefield for all the benefits there.

I don't know the Armonk commute, but if you're in the southern parts of Yorktown (Huntersville, Teatown, Kitchawan, Croton Heights, Crow Hill, most of Yorktown Heights) you should be no more than a 10 to 15 minute drive to either the Croton station or the Mt. Kisco station. I'm in Huntersville and drive to Croton and my commute is 65 minutes to Grand Central from my house. The train ride from Mt Kisco is longer...but a 10 to 15 minute drive to Mt. Kisco will still be a much shorter commute than from Ridgefield.

[Ekulu]

The Ardsley commute is an is really bad from what I have heard lots of traffic.

From your list I will pick Scarsdale but like you said your money will not go very far in Fox Meadow and Greenacres. The Edgewood section will be great for your price range, the lots there are in general are the smallest in Scarsdale but they do have a few bigger lots. You should also consider the part of Mamaroneck zoned for Scarsdale schools (it is a very small part of Mamaroneck), since you will be in the town of Mamaroneck you will be able to park at Larchmont Station. People that live in Quaker Ridge typically take the bus to Scarsdale Station, but make sure you choose a home close to the bus stop if you decide on Quaker Ridge.