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Hi everyone, my husband and I have started our search for a condo/townhouse in Westchester and am interested in learning about the schools in the area, as well as local crime stats. Can you refer me to any websites that can help answer these questions?
We're looking around White Plains, Greenburgh, Scarsdale, Hartsdale, Harrison but are just starting and really do not know that much about the area.
Check Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Real Estate Company - under 'Buying your home' tab there is a lot of information including school and community (with crime stats). That's a good place to start. Very interesting school information can be found on GreatSchools.net - it has parents' reviews and ratings. In addition, Westchester magazine publishes annual ranking/review of its public schools. It can be found online at Westchester Magazine - go to Archives, April 2007 "Examining our public schools". Online edition has only the article, not the actual data on individual schools. You can probably find that issue in local library, if not - I have it and will be able to fax/mail you the copy of the full article. Let me know.
Natasha
All of the areas you mentioned are nice. Crime in those areas and Westchester overall is relatively low. There are incidences in places like one of the malls in White Plains (it's not fair for me to say which one)...
Greenburg may be the lowest priced place that you mentioned - Thus, you may want to look closely at the schools and other factors there. But, it is still a relatively nice area...
Do one or both of you need to commute to NYC? One thing I did when a friend moved up to Westchester, was to give her a map onto which I drew the three railroad lines: New Haven line (that goes up through Port Chester to Fairfield County, CT), Harlem line (that is the middle one, going straight up through Westchester to Brewster) and the Hudson line (that parallels the Hudson). It is instructive to actually look to see how long it takes you to get to Grand Central from any of the stations on these lines, and how far you are away from the train station in any given area you may be considering. You might find that the northern Westchester communities are more "doable" in terms of a commute than you might think.
I live in Bedford, and I'll just share my opinion about school systems in my town and those nearby. Going from south to north: The Chappaqua school system is excellent (but has the reputation of being extraordinarily high pressured -- hard to be a "star" with so many kids out to be a "star"); Bedford Schools are excellent (yet have a population that is more ethnically and economically mixed, due to the inclusion of Mt. Kisco in the school district); Katonah-Lewisboro School district is also excellent. Saying that crime is not a problem in these areas is an understatement.
Also -- if you think you can't afford a given area, what I've found in my life is that "there is always an exception". The ritziest town has some apartments or smaller housing, but the taxes that are paid by everyone in that ritzy town get you some great schools. Good luck!
Check Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Real Estate Company - under 'Buying your home' tab there is a lot of information including school and community (with crime stats). That's a good place to start. Very interesting school information can be found on GreatSchools.net - it has parents' reviews and ratings. In addition, Westchester magazine publishes annual ranking/review of its public schools. It can be found online at Westchester Magazine - go to Archives, April 2007 "Examining our public schools". Online edition has only the article, not the actual data on individual schools. You can probably find that issue in local library, if not - I have it and will be able to fax/mail you the copy of the full article. Let me know.
Natasha
Hi there, I saw your post on public schools and the article in the Westchester Magazine and was wondering whether you could fax me a copy? We're thinking of moving to the area and I'm so overwhelmed as to where to start looking for information on schools and towns.
Thank you. my email is a.gibson@hotmail.com
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All those areas are mostly nice areas
