Moving to suburban NYC from metro-west Boston (White Plains, Cortland: houses, neighborhoods)

[Bostonguy123]

I need to move my family from suburban Boston to suburban NYC. I will be commuting to Wall Street so am looking for a town that is a reasonable distance away with excellent schools, safety and amenities. It has been suggested that I look at lower Westchester county but dont know if this is the right place for my family. I have three children and am looking for a larger home but dont need more than 1/2 acre of land. Teardowns are OK. I know that I will have to pay a hefty price to enjoy the type of lifestyle we enjoy in our newer 5 br home in the western suburban Boston area - any suggestions on towns/neighborhoods is appreciated!

[7 Wishes]

One thing you'll find is that while it is mighty expensive here, it's not much more than metro-west Boston IMHO (unless you lived way out, like close to Worcester). I almost relocated to your area about 15 years ago and I found it to be virtually as expensive as here (if I picked the matter I'd say it's still more expensive here, but barely). I don't think that's changed; I've heard that Boston more so than here has not been affected by the housing downturn much.

Good luck!

[Viralmd]

What commute do you consider reasonable? And what is your budget for a home?

[ponytrekker]

Originally Posted by Bostonguy123

I need to move my family from suburban Boston to suburban NYC. I will be commuting to Wall Street so am looking for a town that is a reasonable distance away with excellent schools, safety and amenities. It has been suggested that I look at lower Westchester county but dont know if this is the right place for my family. I have three children and am looking for a larger home but dont need more than 1/2 acre of land. Teardowns are OK. I know that I will have to pay a hefty price to enjoy the type of lifestyle we enjoy in our newer 5 br home in the western suburban Boston area - any suggestions on towns/neighborhoods is appreciated!

Half acre in lower westchester is probably 1.2.

Watch out for teardowns -- you will be reassessed and your taxes will be a fortune.

[Poliana]

Bronxville, Pleasantville, Larchmont, Scarsdale....

[annette gasparro]

Depending on the price of the houses, their are many areas of Westchester, that you could consider..
Northern Wchr. From Cortlandt Manor to southern Wchr.. Irvington..
or east wchr.. Millwood, Chapppaqua..
Croton houses for a 2500 SF could range 400K upwards to 600K, the further south the higher the price.. If you are handy you can do better if you don't mind the work
start to look in Croton / Cortlandt Manor and work your way south..
Their are very good schools in Westchester and some great areas....
AA

[ravioli78]

If you're working on Wall St and thinking lower Westchester, I second Bronxville, Scarsdale, and Larchmont. I work for a bank in midtown, and those seem to be popular areas for coworkers with families.

One caveat is that the commuter rail parking permits for these towns tend to have multi-year waiting lists, so you may have to arrange for transportation to the rail station, or find a house within walking distance of the station.

[nonny]

Check out Pelham too.

[streetsmart]

Originally Posted by ravioli78

If you're working on Wall St and thinking lower Westchester, I second Bronxville, Scarsdale, and Larchmont. I work for a bank in midtown, and those seem to be popular areas for coworkers with families.

One caveat is that the commuter rail parking permits for these towns tend to have multi-year waiting lists, so you may have to arrange for transportation to the rail station, or find a house within walking distance of the station.

Scarsdale does not have a wait, as they built a new underground parking lot recently.

[YanksRule]

Originally Posted by ravioli78

If you're working on Wall St and thinking lower Westchester, I second Bronxville, Scarsdale, and Larchmont. I work for a bank in midtown, and those seem to be popular areas for coworkers with families.

One caveat is that the commuter rail parking permits for these towns tend to have multi-year waiting lists, so you may have to arrange for transportation to the rail station, or find a house within walking distance of the station.

If you are in lower westchester, you may also consider putting yourself on the waiting list for White Plains while commuting from a station like Scarsdale that doesn't have a waitlist. If you do end up in a town with a waitlist, White Plains also has the Galleria Parking lot about 2 blocks from the train station that never has a waiting list for a permit.

White Plains is one of the most busy stations and has about double the trains as Scarsdale, many of them express to and from the City.