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I currently live in park slope Brooklyn and we are an African American family. I have two beautiful daughters and love where we live. However as most brooklyners who move to the burbs we are looking for more space.
We are thinking of Westchester and have been eying towns like Pleasantville and Larchmont, NY. We are not to familiar with what Westchester has to offer but we are looking for a town where the people are not going to look at us as if we have two heads.
Looking to spend anywhere from 2 to 4 million and not limited to either way. Schools are important but we are not looking for stuffy pretentious schools.
Downtown is important with the amenities that it has to offer. Looking for a descent commute to nyc maybe one hour.
In general we are looking for an easygoing place to live and raise our kids without feeling like we don’t belong their.
I think you would do fine in Westchester, including those towns. As an African American family, you will be part of a small minority in many of Westchester's more affluent towns. But whether that's an issue for you, is really up to you. I am friendly with a couple of African American families in my own town (Chappaqua). 1 family sends their children to local public schools, but the other family sends their children to school in White Plains just so there is more racial diversity.
Larchmont shares a school district with Mamaroneck. The high school is quite diverse compared to many other school districts. It is also a shorter commute into the city than Pleasantville.
I really like Pleasantville. It's a bit more of a smaller town. There is some diversity. (Not a ton compared to Brooklyn, but some). The commute into the city would be more on the 1-hour side.
It really depends on you. In towns like Larchmont and Pleasantville, you should expect a good chance that you will be the only African American family on the block. That there won't be tons of other African American students in the schools. But I don't think that most people will look at you any differently than they look at anybody else. It's hard to call Westchester easy-going, but I don't think you will encounter any signficant amount of racism, and I don't think your daughters would have any trouble making friends.
Not to question your decision, but if you really love Brooklyn and can afford up to $4 million, why move? You can still get a 3,500 square foot brownstone in the Slope for under $3 million. The local schools are good, and even if you splurge on 60K a year for private school you should stay in your budget. Just wondering...
Thanks for the feedback. @ havoc315 thanks for providing me with some insight as to what to expect. @ dma1250 I am really looking for the space and to escape the hustle and bustle that we experience here in the city. Your right I could stay here in our brownstone and we will probably keep our place here but we would like our kids to have more space to play around without worrying about speeding cars and some of the other elements that come with living in the city.
@ dma1250 I am really looking for the space and to escape the hustle and bustle that we experience here in the city. Your right I could stay here in our brownstone and we will probably keep our place here but we would like our kids to have more space to play around without worrying about speeding cars and some of the other elements that come with living in the city.
I totally understand. I grew up in "Brownstone Brooklyn" and stayed there until parenthood. It has many pros, and many cons. Like many I chose to bring up my kid outside of the city, but close enough that he can still reap its benefits.
I think you would love Pleasantville as a town, but $4M is probably out of the stratosphere there. You could probably get an awesome colonial in town or a nice amount of land on the outskirts, for $1.5-$2M.
Not sure if Purchase shares schools will surrounding areas, but if it does you may get some diversity there as well as a number of homes in your price range.
@ cali_to_nj.. thanks for the reply... ill also have to check out Pleasentville... does Cali to Nj mean you live in newjersy.. i was also thinking about south orange but after reading about the crime that takes place there i was wondering if that would be a good move for me and my family. particularly the auto theft.. although i really love that town.
LOL - when I first started posting here last spring we were in the process of relocating from Los Angeles, and we were focused on NJ initially. Then my hubs was assigned to the midtown area for his job so we switched gears to Westchester to get the commute to Grand Central (could never figure out how to change my screen name). We were considering Montclair, Chatham, Summit, Maplewood, and some towns in North Bergen County. All in all I do prefer Westchester for space and natural beauty. Coming from the suburbs of LA, NJ seemed similarly crowded, and FORGET about driving on the highways there. I found it impossible not to get lost.
We rented in P-ville for a year and finally ended up buying in Chappaqua. Central Westchester definitely has more open space and a more rural feel than the Southern parts of the county, and the commute to NYC is right around an hour or slightly less on the express trains. You will find a nice selection of homes in your price range in Chappaqua - it may not be the most racially diverse town, but people here are pretty educated, progressive and cosmopolitan for the most part so I can't imagine that you would encounter any attitudes that would make you uncomfortable (especially being able to afford something in your range).
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