Westchester Information for Possible move (New York, Yorktown: mortgage, houses, school district)

[Mike_Brooklyn_NYC]

Currently live in Brooklyn, NY and I am married with 2 young kids. I work in Midtown and I would like to live in a place with a country setting so I feel that Westchester would be the logical place to look because of the commute to the city and all the good things I hear about the education system. Can anyone please let me know which areas are good with around a 1 hour commute to Midtown. Would only like to spend around 550K for a 3-4 bedroom single family house with a decent backyard. Also has to have excellent schools and a family atmosphere. Thanks for your help.

[Viralmd]

Originally Posted by Mike_Brooklyn_NYC

Currently live in Brooklyn, NY and I am married with 2 young kids. I work in Midtown and I would like to live in a place with a country setting so I feel that Westchester would be the logical place to look because of the commute to the city and all the good things I hear about the education system. Can anyone please let me know which areas are good with around a 1 hour commute to Midtown. Would only like to spend around 550K for a 3-4 bedroom single family house with a decent backyard. Also has to have excellent schools and a family atmosphere. Thanks for your help.

Maybe a co-op, but your budget won't get that size house in an EXCELLENT school district.

[dma1250]

Originally Posted by Viralmd

Maybe a co-op, but your budget won't get that size house in an EXCELLENT school district.

I suppose that depends on how one defines "excellent." 550K is tight, but you can find some houses in that range in parts of northern Westchester which have excellent schools. And if you want "a country setting" northern Westchester is definitely your best shot. For a commute of around an hour you can look in Croton, Yorktown, and Katonah--with Croton having the best commute since it has the shortest trip and the most trains. (In Yorktown you'll want to look only in those areas that are less than 15 minutes from the Croton station or about 10 minutes from the Mt Kisco station). You won't have lots of options in your price range, but there are some in all three towns (Katonah being the priciest), and all three have excellent schools. The area is wonderful and certainly has a "country" feel as well as a plethora of amenities.

[bmwguydc]

If you look around the "town side" of Bedford Hills, you should be able to find a decent house for around your price range, though perhaps not a huge selection. Look in the area around Bedford Town Hall, off Cherry Street. It's not terribly far from the Bedford Hills station (about 1 mile), though parking can be an issue if you drive, since many of the metered spaces administered by the Town of Bedford fill up with cars from out of town. If you can be dropped off, or walk, it's easier, to be sure, but you should also get on the permit list if you plan to drive.

For Town of Bedford (Bedford, Bedford Hills, Katonah), parking, contact the town at: (914) 666-8097 or Parking@BedfordNY.info to inquire about permit availability and lot, though when starting out, it's the lot furthest from the station where you will park and move closer as you move up the list. An annual pass is $350 for residents, whereas the meters are $5 for 16-hours.

[Walter Greenspan]

Mike_Brooklyn_NYC, 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 the geography of "New Yawk".


You can get a fact sheet for any city, village or hamlet in New York 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 "New Yawk".)

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

[alexei27]

To the OP...


On top of the mortgage associated with the 550K...you'll acquire a pretty hefty tax bill on top of that. I grew up in northern Westchester and believe it or not it is cheaper to live on Long Island (eastern) that it was in Westchester. Not to steer you away...it is very nice, but the taxes are brutal.

You might also check out Mahopac/Carmel in Putnam County if you are willing to look a little farther north (although you are really pushing the hour commute limit there).

[jyyanks]

I second Croton - it has a train station, water views, good school system and you can get a decent size yard/house for your money.

There are homes in your price range in Ardsley but they probably need some work or are a bit smaller. Nevertheless, Ardsley has great schools, a family community and a small town feel. Only issue is that there is no train station so you will have to drive or call around to neighboring Dobbs Ferry, Hartsdale or Scarsdale for train station parking.

One other place to consider where you can get a nice home (in your price range) in a good school district and a very family oriented community with its own train station, is Hawthorne. Hawthorne is a very nice area that is often overlooked but it is a nice area with friendly people and a community atmosphere. It is a small town (or village) with its own train station and is about 45 min from NYC.
Good Luck!