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Looking for some advice. Currently live in the western Boston suburban area and am going to be moving to the NYC area soon. I have a wife and three elementary school age children. Any opinions on where to live in the NY suburbs or NJ suburbs? My position will be in downtown Manhattan and I am looking for a very nice/safe higher end community with very strong public schools. I am hoping to keep the commute reasonable but am willing to look further out if necessary. Thank you in advance for any advice you can give me.
It all depends upon the lifestyle that you seek. If you want a place that's close to a village center, consider Scarsdale, Bronxville, and Larchmont. If the water is something you enjoy, Larchmont, Mamaroneck, and Rye offer proximity to Long Island Sound. If you prefer the river side of Westchester, be sure to look at Irvington. Commutes in lower Westchester range from 30-45 minutes to Grand Central Terminal, depending upon the line and station, as some stations offer express trains during peak travel.
If you prefer the more rural sophistication of Northern Westchester, be sure to consider Bedford, Katonah, Pound Ridge, South Salem, Chappaqua, and Waccabuc. Houses here range from village homes to large estate properties with several acres of land. Northern Westchester commutes are a little longer, on the order of an hour from Katonah to GCT, for example, but you will have excellent schools, a less congested lifestyle, and larger properties, on average, than lower Westchester offers at similar prices.
In New Jersey, parts tend to be a little overbuilt, and it just feels different than the other suburbs. There are some great communities, however, that might be worth checking, including: Short Hills, Montvale, Ridgewood, Alpine, Saddle River, and Ho-Ho-Kus. Some parts of New Jersey are very nice, and I know people who live there and like it, but to my eye (raised between Northern Westchester and NYC) Westchester's offerings are closer to those that exist in the Boston area. Short of crossing into Fairfield County, CT, Westchester is the most similar to New England.
You'll probably do better on the Long Island/Westchester/Northern NJ forums, but I warn you, those suburban forumers go a bit overboard sometimes, I've seen perfectly fine middle-class school districts be trashed like they're in the Bronx or something. Also, if you are in NY state, I'd recommend a "hamlet" or "city" instead of an "incorporated village" because the latter usually has higher taxes, unnecessary services, and silly parking and zoning laws.
We've been through this on the LI forum--incorporated village does not necessarily mean higher taxes. Village taxes are a tiny proportion of the total. School tax is the biggest chunk.
Long Island and Westchester both have excellent schools, but you'll cry at the taxes. Even if you're from MA.
bmwguydc - do you think that a commute from Westchester Cty is too far to Wall Street? I have to imagine that I would be looking at 1.5 hrs each way right using public transportation? I know the reputation of the area and I certainly agree that those towns would likely be exactly what we are looking for. I worry though that over time the length of the commute would really wear on me. Any thoughts on Chatham, Summit or Madison areas of NJ? Thanks again for your opinions
Yes, Northern Westchester to lower Manhattan can wear on you over time, that's for sure. I know people who do it, and it's done more for the lifestyle than anything else, since there are great districts in other close-in areas. Lower Westchester, with an express MetroNorth train, say from Harrison, Mamaroneck, or Larchmont would be a little less than an hour to Wall Street, with the connection to the subway.
The New Jersey options usually do offer a faster commute to Wall Street, though, that's for sure. I think that Chatham, Summit, and Madison are all fine towns, and they offer the proximity to the city via NJ Transit, which many people find to be reliable and easy, since it goes right to lower Manhattan. Plus, they are close to things like the Mall at Short Hills, and other shopping and services are all within a few miutes. Of these areas, the best schools will tend to be in Madison and Chatham, though Summit schools are not far behind. Plus, when driving to New York, you can just take 78 the whole way to the Holland Tunnel, bypassing the the dreaded NJ Turnpike, so that's an added benefit. These areas are do have less of a congested feel, though, than other parts of New Jersey that are close-in, but to my eye are a little more congested than the more New England style development. Overall, though, I would say that the areas are comparable to where you currently are in the Boston area, and you can find a good number of newer houses in the executive price brackets. People I know who live in the same general area do like it, although the only complaint, and it's a general New York area complaint, is the high property taxes.
You've got to add 15 to 20 minutes to get to Wall Street from Grand Central --plus your commute to the station from your house (which could be 2 minutes or 15, depending on where the house is). From Larchmont the train is 35-40 minutes; from Bronxville its 31-41; From Harrison it's 37-43. From Bedford/Katonah the train is about 55-65 minutes. From Chappaqua it's 46-50. There's also Croton-on-Hudson, which is 43-48. (These numbers are from the metronorth schedule for the morning rush, 7:30 to 8:30 trains--I think I'm listing the shortest ride and the middle-length ride. You should look at the schedule for number of trains, too, which makes a big difference.)
My commute from the Croton-Harmon station to the West Side around 34th street is just under an hour. I have a 10 minute drive to the station from southern Yorktown, so the whole thing is an hour and 15 minutes. Personally I generally enjoy the commute--the view from the Hudson line is awesome and it's a relaxing and mellow commute (except for the subways). In general I much prefer it to the 45 minute subway ride I had when I lived in Brooklyn--and I really doubt it would make a difference if it were 10 minutes shorter. As you probably know, the downside of commuting is catching the train and being on a schedule--45 minutes or 35 minutes on the train is pretty irrelevant (to me at least). But it's all a question of what where you want to be (and what you can afford). In the above mentioned towns you can be in either a village setting, a suburban setting, or a 'rural' setting that's close to amenities and tremendous natural beauty.
You should post on the Westchester board--you'll get loads of opinions!!
if you want to live in one of the 5 boroughs, i'd suggest the park slope area of brooklyn or the forest hills/kew gardens section of queens, or even parts of long island. riverdale in the bronx is another option, not as far as westchester. the public (or even the private schools for this matter) aren't too great in the park slope region of brooklyn, however. westchester county has a few decent schools, as does nassau county on long island. if schools are your main concern, a good site to check out are the rankings recently published by u.s. news and world report (though this is their first year and they left out some really good schools in queens and manhattan)..but generally its good. for all other public schools in NYC, check out insideschools.org << great resource!
bmwguydc - do you think that a commute from Westchester Cty is too far to Wall Street? I have to imagine that I would be looking at 1.5 hrs each way right using public transportation? I know the reputation of the area and I certainly agree that those towns would likely be exactly what we are looking for. I worry though that over time the length of the commute would really wear on me. Any thoughts on Chatham, Summit or Madison areas of NJ? Thanks again for your opinions
I think 1.5 hours from lower Westchester, at least, seems a bit high. Train to Grand Central hooks right up with the 4/5 subways to Wall St.
Chatham, Summit, and Madison are all very nice. I'd also check out Maplewood, which has some beautiful areas and is closer.
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