Carmel vs Brewster in Putnam County, NY. Which is better? (Patterson: sales, buying a home)

[re6914]

My wife and I are considering buying a home in Carmel or Brewster. We like Carmel's town with the size and the shops, the schools receive good statistical reviews, the houses are with good bargains. Brewster is commuting wise, easier to NYC, the housing bargains are better, the taxes are cheaper, but the schools are inferior statistically, the town is unknown to us, but some have said it isn't anything to rave about. An acquaintance of my wife who resides in Brewster and teaches there claims Brewster has received an unfair shake and that the town is pleasant and the schools are comparable, if not better to Carmel. I don't see this as an unbiased opinion though. Which home would have a better value? Brewster is more affordable for us but I would assume Carmel has the much higher value now and in the future. Again, we really liked the town of Carmel and Brewster is still unknown to us. Does anyone have any thoughts or opinions?

[jdhall1]

You might get a better responce in the NY forum. Good luck!

[sheenie2000]

Yea post in the Westchester Forum.

[doninbrewster]

I don't know where you saw that Brewster schools were statistically inferior, but all the reports I've seen for all grades including the SAT's have Brewster schools near the top of the heap for all of Putnam County. I believe only Haldane, which is an incredibly small district may have some higher scores. FWIW, I lived in Carmel and now live in Brewster. Although some of the home prices in Brewster may be a touch higher, they more then make up for it with lower taxes. There were only 2 sales of homes over a $1m in eastern Putnam last year, both in Brewster (which is actually the Town of Southeast).

[Wannabetx]

Both Brewster and Carmel are very nice towns and quite frankly the school systems are comparable. If you are an involved parent who watches what your child is doing, then you will have no problems in either school district. I will be perfectly honest with you about why people say Brewster schools aren't that good - - there are a lot of Mexicans and South Americans who live in Brewster and people will tell you that they bring the scores down. I will guess that if that is the case it is simply because many need to catch up with the English language because it certainly isn't a lack of work ethic or importance on education. There are a lot of "minorities" in Brewster because of the metro north train. It is accessible and the men hang out waiting for work along Main Street. It is an eyesore but I think Brewster has been working to resolve many of these social issues.

Just my thoughts.

[steven r.]

Yeah I'm from the area myself although I now reside in Virginia. I think both towns are fine in my opinion. Brewster has a high population of Mexicans but those folks are some of the hardest working people you'll ever want to meet. Bob's Diner is still alive and kicking, that place has been there forever. As a kid I grew up in Mahopac and in my opinion both Carmel and Brewster are a lot cleaner towns then Mahopac ever was. My favorite quaint little town in that area is Patterson.My dad still lives up there so I make the 7 hour drive from Virginia to go visit. Out of that whole area Westchester is probably the snobbiest, it was over run by yuppies long after I moved south many years ago. Northern Westchester is still very prett y and down to earth. West Point, Bear Mountain, still as breath taking as ever.