Best place to move in Westchester? (New York, Ossining: for sale, condo, buying a home)

[PhillytoNY]

My wife and I will be moving to WC county due to work. We are planning on buying a home. Our budget is upto $415K and need 3 BR.
Can you help us pick a city/town/village?
- safest neighborhood
- have to commute into Grand Central be train daily (max 1hr train ride)
- good school district (will need elementary in 2yrs time)
- easy accessibility to good restaurants & shopping area
- we dont like to live in the city, easy access is good enough
Need your help!!!

[bmwguydc]

I would look at the Yorktown area, since your budget will go further than other Westchester areas. You can drive to Croton-Harmon and be at Grand Central Terminal in about 45 minutes on an express train, since Yorktown does not have a train line (closed in the 1950s, though it's a great trail now).

Yorktown, itself, is a bit spread out, but there are shopping centers in the area, and you're not terribly far from Mount Kisco and Katonah for areas that have more of a downtown feel and many shops/restaurants/conveniences. The schools in Yorktown are good, and it's a safe area as well that's a great fit for many families.

The other area I would check, though your budget will be extremely tight, as in only a few houses on the market in that range, would be South Salem and Cross River. It's Katonah-Lewisboro school district, and sits between Katonah and the Connecticut border. Sometimes, you can find a split-level or ranch style house that would worth considering, though you would have to take the HART bus or drive to Katonah/Goldens Bridge to catch the train to Manhattan. Katonah parking can be difficult for a non-resident during commuting hours, with limited meters, though Goldens Bridge is administered by a Metro-North contractor, so it's easier to get a permit, though there is likely a waiting list. I'd check with Metro-North to know for sure.

Another place I'd check, though right now there are literally 2 houses in your price range on the market (both at $425k) is Bedford Hills. You can sometimes find a cape or ranch in this area, and it's a great community, part of the Town of Bedford. The schools are Bedford Central, and some elementary schools don't score at the top, but the middle and high schools do well. The quality of education is good, but the demographics are mixed with some parts of Mount Kisco and surrounding areas in the district where there are ESL issues that can negatively impact elementary school test scores. You are within the Town of Bedford, so you can get a resident parking permit for the station, check with town hall for particulars. Katonah-Bedford Hills stations are about an hour or so to Grand Central.

HART Bus Schedule, Katonah - Ridgefield (stops in South Salem)

Town of Bedford - Parking

Town of Bedford - fee schedule (http://www.bedfordny.info/html/pdf/finance/2009%20Fee%20Schedule.pdf - broken link)

The Goldens Bridge station parking fee is currently $348 for an annual permit, per Metro-North. Contact LAZ Parking at (888) 682-PARK for information.

[PhillytoNY]

Thanks bmwguydc.
I looked at the school ratings and it seems the better districts are - Croton-Harmon, Hendrick Hudson and Putnam Valley.
I saw some house in my range in Croton-on-hudson and Peekskill area. How is it?

[dma1250]

You can find some 3 bedroom homes in your budget in parts of Yorktown, mostly in the northern areas and in the Lakeland school district. But there are some in Yorktown Heights with Yorktown schools, too. You'll be limited to certain areas and certain types of houses, but you'll have some options.

The center of Yorktown Heights has a nice commercial area, with plenty of stores, restaurants, 2 parks, a number of playgrounds, a community center, a theater, a town pool, and the North County Trailway running through it. Further north, main street in Shrub Oak is nice too. For big box shopping, there's the mall in Jefferson Valley, a large strip and shopping complex in nearby Cortlandt Manor, and a big strip just north of Mt Kisco. Depending on where you are in Yorktown you can be 5 to 15 minutes from Katonah, Mt Kisco, Chappaqua, Pleasantville, Ossining, Peekskill, and other towns.

You can also find houses in your price range in nice areas in Cortlandt Manor, Croton, and Ossining, all of which have good schools, too.

[dma1250]

Originally Posted by PhillytoNY

Thanks bmwguydc.
I looked at the school ratings and it seems the better districts are - Croton-Harmon, Hendrick Hudson and Putnam Valley.
I saw some house in my range in Croton-on-hudson and Peekskill area. How is it?

That's interesting--I've never heard anyone say that Putnam Valley or Hendick Hudson is better than Yorktown Central Schools. (Northern Yorktown and parts of Cortlandt and Putnam Valely are in the Lakeland district, which is gnerally considered to be not as good, although some people love it.) I know some people who think Croton is better in some respects, but I know plenty who think Yorktown is superior. Personally, I know people with kids in Croton, Hendrick Hudson, and Yorktown (myself included), and all seem to be excellent in different respects. The general consensus is that Croton and Yorktown are the best of the bunch, but take that with a grain of something...

[Walter Greenspan]

PhillytoNY, 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".

NYS Geographic Glossary may be of some help to you in understanding the geography of "Noo 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 "Noo 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.

[bmwguydc]

I agree that Croton-on-Hudson and Hendrick Hudson are good districts, though I would hesitate with Peekskill because you have better school district options in your price range. Putnam Valley is also a respected school district. Ossining schools are okay, but Briarcliff Manor schools are much better, overall, though I am not sure you could find something in range in that district. Lakeland is between Ossining/Peekskill and Croton/Hendrick Hudson in terms of rank.

If you don't mind an extra few minutes on the train, you might look in the Garrison District of Putnam County that's well regarded. Prices can get expensive, primarily because of the good school district and larger lots, but there are houses in the high 300s/low 400s that might be worth a look. The early morning trains, at or before 6am, are faster -- 66 minutes scheduled to GCT. The later trains take 71 minutes, per the schedule, but this can be off by a few minutes some days.

[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by bmwguydc

I would look at the Yorktown area, since your budget will go further than other Westchester areas. You can drive to Croton-Harmon and be at Grand Central Terminal in about 45 minutes on an express train, since Yorktown does not have a train line (closed in the 1950s, though it's a great trail now).

Does Yorktown still have super-high taxes relative to elsewhere?

Back in the early 90s, my girlfriend (now wife) was working in Yorktown and I remember most houses in Yorktown being in the high 100s (i.e. $195K, etc.) when most other towns in the area were around $300K (obviously, nothing is either now, LOL!). What she told me was the reason for this disparity (she was living in a 1-bedroom condo in Carmel at the time that cost under $100K, could you imagine that now?) is that Yorktown taxes were almost twice that of neighboring towns ($10K/year at the time! Seems incredible except that's about average if not low in most of Westchester today, how times change).

My gut feeling is that things have "equalized" since if nothing else I know the price difference isn't that big anymore, but just thought I'd note.

[dma1250]

Originally Posted by 7 Wishes

Does Yorktown still have super-high taxes relative to elsewhere?

That definitely was true in the 80's and 90's, but hasn't been so for quite awhile now. The taxes are generally equal to those in surrounding towns, though perhaps lower than Chappaqua's and higher than Somers. In fact, since Yorktown has a big IBM complex and a number of other large companies and commercial taxpayers, the burden on residents is a lot smaller proportionally than in many villages and other towns with few businesses.

That said, the taxes certainly vary a lot from house to house, especally in relation to market value. There's one down the road from me for sale for 2.5 million with taxes of 29K (which seems relatively reasonable for the price range) and another on the same road for sale for $900,000 with taxes of 24K--which seems really high for the price range. So, as with most towns, I think you can find plenty of houses with taxes that seem "average" for the price range--and plenty that don't.

[dma1250]

Originally Posted by dma1250

That definitely was true in the 80's and 90's, but hasn't been so for quite awhile now. The taxes are generally equal to those in surrounding towns, though perhaps lower than Chappaqua's and higher than Somers. In fact, since Yorktown has a big IBM complex and a number of other large companies and commercial taxpayers, the burden on residents is a lot smaller proportionally than in many villages and other towns with few businesses.

That said, the taxes certainly vary a lot from house to house, especally in relation to market value. There's one down the road from me for sale for 2.5 million with taxes of 29K (which seems relatively reasonable for the price range) and another on the same road for sale for $900,000 with taxes of 24K--which seems really high for the price range. So, as with most towns, I think you can find plenty of houses with taxes that seem "average" for the price range--and plenty that don't.

Adding to my own post: On the same road as the house for sale for 2.5M and 899K, another house is for sale for 499K and it has taxes of 12K (which is kind of high for the house, but not bad since it has 5 acres of land!). Those are all of the houses for sale on that road, as far I know!