relocation to Westchester County with kids (New York, White Plains: rent, condo, townhouse)

[Silvia76]

Hi,

We're planning a relocation from Europe to Westchester County. My husband will be working at White Planes. We have two kids who will be attending elementary school. We are looking for a nice friendly neighborhood with excellent schools. Which towns would you recommend and what is the average rent for 3-bedroom house/condo?
Thank you,
Silvia

[Walter Greenspan]

Silvia76, 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.

[havoc315]

To commute to White Plains, and get the most bang for your buck, you will want Northern Westchester. Somers, Yorktown, Croton, Armonk, Chappaqua, Pleasantville, Katonah, North Salem, are all nice towns with good schools, and reasonable commutes to White Plains.
The more northern towns will be more affordable. I can't speak of an "average" rent, as there will likely be a wide range depending on the size of the house, a townhouse, and which town. I'd be suprised though, if there were many options for under $3,000 per month. I'd expect to pay $3,000 to $4,000 per month.

[DCNY]

I like Ardsley and Irvington town with best schools and 10-15min commute to white plains trains station.