Long Island and Westchester town comparison (New York, Hempstead: houses, school district, living in)

[slou0122]

I am a 30s mom with two young kids and considering moving to Westchester from Long Island in the near future. I've been reading some posts on this board asking about the school ranking, socio-economic atmosphere, etc, of some of the most sought-after towns of Westchester. Honestly I was not able to narrow down on a list of places that I want to consider because there are so many opinions from so many people, and it's quite common for one to like or dislike a particular area because of personal experience.

This made me think, why don't we make a straight forward comparison. The criteria is simple, socio-economic atmosphere, or the "feeling" you get from living in or knowing a place . For example, town A in westchester is most similar to town B in Long Island in this aspect. Therefore, if I don't feel like living in town B in Long Island, I will definitely not going to consider town A of Westchester. Of course there will not be a clear cut or the most correct answer to my question, but I think most people will agree on the final result, more or less. And I know not many people can comment on this because you need to have some experience on both counties. But can people who do have lived in both places help me out? Thanks.

Here are the town I want to compare, 11 areas for each county

Long Island: Great Neck, Manhasset, Garden City, Old Westbury, Jericho, Syosset, Hewlett, Rockville centre, Merrick/Bellmore, New Hyde Park/Herricks, Cold Spring Harbor

Westchester: Bronxville, Scarsdale, Irvington, Rye, Pleasantville, Chappaqua, Ardsley, Harrison, Larchmont, Briarcliff Manor, Hasting-on-Hudson(as an example of a river town)

[Walter Greenspan]

slou0122, in case you are unfamiliar with the local geography:

What people refer to colloquially as "towns" are actually villages and hamlets, which are within actual towns; and, because villages and hamlets are referred to as "towns", then, many times, the error is compounded when actual towns are referred to as "townships".

Also, many colloquially refer to a "downtown business district" in a hamlet as a "village".

http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-y...-glossary.html may be of some help to you in understanding local geography.


You can get a fact sheet for any city, village or hamlet in either Nassau and Suffolk or Westchester Counties by going here American FactFinder and input the name of the city, village or hamlet for "city/town" (leave out the ZIP Code) and New York for "State", and then click "GO".

You'll get a lot of demographic, and some economic, statistics for the city, village or hamlet you selected, and if you click on "Reference map" (it's on the right hand side), you'll get a map.


When you do find a house that you like, you can find out in which community (city, village or CDP) that house is actually located, which is oftentimes different from the community named in that house's mailing address, by using the Census Bureau's online address search function. (CDP or Census Designated Place is the Census Bureau equivalent for a hamlet in Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester Counties.)

And, very importantly, among other things, the Census Bureau's online address search function also indicates in which school district an address is located.

[slou0122]

thanks for clearing things up. I do realized someone would point out the mistaking in my wording or definition of "towns". But the general purpose of my question is to broadly compare the villages I listed in two counties so I will be able to narrow down to some options. I currently live on Long Island and know this area. I just want to have some idea of which is equivalent to which so I can start to make a list.

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by slou0122

thanks for clearing things up.

You're welcome.

Originally Posted by slou0122

I do realized someone would point out the mistaking in my wording or definition of "towns". But the general purpose of my question is to broadly compare the villages I listed in two counties so I will be able to narrow down to some options.

Only some of the communities you listed are villages:


Great Neck is a village in the Town of North Hempstead, Nassau County.

Manhasset is a hamlet in the Town of North Hempstead, Nassau County.

Garden City is a village in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County.

Old Westbury is a village, partly in the Town of North Hempstead and partly in the Town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County.

Jericho is a hamlet in the Town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County.

Syosset is a hamlet in the Town of Oyster Bay, Nassau County.

Hewlett is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County.

Rockville Centre is a village in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County.

Merrick is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County.

Bellmore is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County.

New Hyde Park is a village, partly in the Town of North Hempstead and partly in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County.

Herricks is a hamlet in the Town of North Hempstead, Nassau County.

Cold Spring Harbor is a hamlet in the Town of Huntington, Suffolk County.


Bronxville is a village in the Town of Eastchester, Westchester County.

Scarsdale is a coterminous town-village, Westchester County.

Irvington, sometimes known as Irvington-on-Hudson, is a village in the Town of Greenburgh, Westchester County.

Rye is a city in Westchester County.

Pleasantville is a village in the Town of Mount Pleasant, Westchester County.

Chappaqua is a hamlet in the Town of New Castle, Westchester County.

Ardsley is a village in the Town of Greenburgh, Westchester County.

Harrison is a coterminous town-village in Westchester County.

Larchmont is a village in the Town of Mamaroneck, Westchester County.

Briarcliff Manor is a village, partly in the Town of Mount Pleasant and partly in the Town of Ossining, Westchester County.

Hasting-on-Hudson is a village in the Town of Greenburgh, Westchester County.

[bmwguydc]

Here's an approximation, given your list, that I used to define the areas in question in terms of culture and relative affluence. It's a gauge, but the areas don't exactly equate in several areas, depending upon the criteria used for making the comparison. I looked at the cultural perception of the two areas and ballpark affluence, and familiarity with most of these areas lends a bit a housing stock comparison (again, a broad level comparison). However, IMO, there was no corresponding area for New Hyde Park/Herricks, so I inserted Tarrytown since it's similar, though not an area on your list.

Hope this helps a bit.


Long Island/Westchester
Great Neck/Scarsdale
Manhasset/Rye (Town of)
Old Westbury/Rye (City of)
Garden City/Bronxville, Irvington
Jericho/Briarcliff Manor
Syosset/Harrison
Hewlett (inclusive of all the Hewletts)/Chappaqua
Rockville Centre/Pleasantville
Merrick, Bellmore/Ardsley, Hastings-on-Hudson
New Hyde Park, Herricks/ Tarrytown
Cold Spring Harbor/Larchmont

[mfenimore]

I think that as a generalization, the North Shore of LI is going t be a bit more similar to Westchester than towns on the South Shore. These towns will give you more of a villagy feel like many of the Westchester towns have as compared to more strip mall like with houses much closer together.

[slou0122]

thank you Bmwguydc for the information you gave. Does everyone agree on this?

[WJFM]

I would replace the following.

Old Westbury / Scarsdale(Heathcote Estates part)
Jericho/Chappaqua


Long Island/Westchester
Great Neck/Scarsdale
Manhasset/Rye (Town of)
Old Westbury/Rye (City of)
Garden City/Bronxville, Irvington
Jericho/Briarcliff Manor
Syosset/Harrison
Hewlett (inclusive of all the Hewletts)/Chappaqua
Rockville Centre/Pleasantville
Merrick, Bellmore/Ardsley, Hastings-on-Hudson
New Hyde Park, Herricks/ Tarrytown
Cold Spring Harbor/Larchmont[/quote]

[bmwguydc]

Chappaqua does have similarities to Jericho, I agree, and would also add in the Edgemont (aka Greenville) area of the Town of Greenburgh that has a Scarsdale/Hartsdale zip code and is organized around a school district, yet is unincorporated. Edgemont, being Lower Westchester, tends to be more congested than either Chappaqua or Briarcliff Manor.

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by bmwguydc

... would also add in the Edgemont (aka Greenville) area of the Town of Greenburgh that has a Scarsdale/Hartsdale zip code and is organized around a school district, yet is unincorporated.

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As per http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-y...-glossary.html, unincorporated areas are hamlets, and that would be the Hamlet of Greenville in the Town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, also known colloquially as Edgemont because it's in the Edgemont Union Free School District.
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