Scarsdale (New Rochelle, White Plains, Rye: renting, houses, transfer)
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I posted a while ago that my family are moving to Westchester and was asking for help choosing a nice town to live in. Thanks to the brilliant advice from members I narrowed it down, then did further research and narrowed it down further to Scarsdale and Bronxville.
We looked at houses in both areas, Bronxville was really lovely but the only house in our budget went for more than we were willing to spend. Houses in Scarsdale were of a comparable standard, but there were more available, so I think our mind has been made up for us.
I have read a lot of criticism of Scarsdale (and Bronxville) about the snobbery and elitism, particularly amongst competitive schoolchildren, bullying for not wearing the right brand names, or only getting a second-hand car for their 16th birthday etc. I'm sure this does happen, but I'm not sure it's as entirely widespread as the criticism implied.
Does anyone have any thoughts to share on Scarsdale as a place to bring up children?
Yes, the towns are THAT bad. When there were 4 or 5 suicides in the town within 2-3 years, people in Scarsdale were saying, "Yes, this place is insane." These are not "nice" towns, as you stated you were looking for in your post. Get your gear on, because you and your children will need it.
My son attended pk in Scarsdale, and that was enough for me. Are there nice people there? Certainly, especially in more family centered area like Green Acres and Edgewood. But eventually you will all be together in middle and HS, and that is where the kids get clobbered from what I was told by many, many teachers at my son's school. A caveat is that my son has some learning issues, so I was very uncomfortable sending him into a pressure cooker district. But for me, just going to the gym or shopping in Scarsdale feels more intense - like I have to dress up for the occasion. I'm just too laid back for that.
Many love it there, though. Easy commute, good schools, central location. It's just not what we were looking for personally. You should spend some time there for sure as well as communities on the Sound and elsewhere to get a better read.
But then again, Bronxville is no better or worse, just less Jewish really.
Scarsdale is typical bouge. Old money teaches its kids that you don't build yourself up by putting others down and that it's OK to drive a beater.
Kids can be taught these values anywhere. In Scarsdale, along with other towns in Westchester and Long Island, the kids are NOT going to get these values from their peers.
In that case, what are the towns in Westchester that offer good schools, a train ride to midtown of less than 40mins, generally solid values? Would Rye Brook, Larchmont, the River Towns, and New Rochelle fit that description?
White Plains. Everyone I've met so far has been extremely nice and down to earth. Son started kindergarten this year and we'll see how the school is - but very happy with the teacher from what I've seen so far.
I'm sorry that I have to agree with others who chimed in, OP. I lived in Scarsdale Village and my eldest went to Fox Meadow school for one year, which was more than enough. If I hadn't decided to transfer, I would have pulled him out of the school anyway.
It wasn't just that the kids weren't nice, the mommies indulged in "competitive parenting" (which didn't mean they were better parents, at all), it just meant they one-upped on vacation destinations, lessons, etc.
And the teachers and administration were sub-par. My son's teacher was always telling me how little schoolwork my son accomplished compared to anyone else. When I said evenings are important family time, and it's too much homework, the teacher hissed "Well, you just go on with your child-centered home life then." Well....okay, I will! Thanks for your permission! Anyway, he was in 1st grade!
One of my other kids went to pre-k at a private school in Scarsdale; he had a better experience, but most of the families were not from Scarsdale, they lived in Greenville, Bronxville, Larchmont and Eastchester.
Drive around any time of the day in Scarsdale -- you will never see any kids playing outside. No kids are riding their bikes, nobody's playing in their yards. If you want your kid to have a play-date you have to set it up with the nanny. If you take your kids to the little park in Scarsdale Village, be prepared for the nannies to question you rudely, or assume you are the nanny, and when you say you are not they will ask you -- "Don't you have a nanny? What is wrong with your husband?"
Another reason I lost faith in the 'Scarsdale school mystique' is that their test scores were meh, when you take into consideration the amount of money being poured into Kaplan and private tutors. A survey was done of drug and alcohol use in the high school, and they determined that Scarsdale High School had "no worse of a problem than any other place". In fact, I think drug/alcohol use and binge drinking were comparable to schools in average-priced areas. If you observe the after-school conduct of high-school kids, they are just as squirrelly as any other place. There's a lot of smoking, bullying, drag-racing, bad language, you name it.
So why bother with Scarsdale, if actually it's no better or worse than any other place? Is it the name brand? The sense of 'prestige'?
Incidentally, my kids were admitted to the best colleges in the country, Ivy League and better (meaning the best tech schools too), despite their Scarsdale experience. I don't think my kids -- in some of the best colleges -- know anyone at school who went to Scarsdale High. Not to say that they don't get admitted to HarvardYalePrincetonMIT, but just that taken in aggregate, I don't think that Scarsdale produces more of those than similar communities without the Scarsdale name brand.
In that case, what are the towns in Westchester that offer good schools, a train ride to midtown of less than 40mins, generally solid values? Would Rye Brook, Larchmont, the River Towns, and New Rochelle fit that description?
River towns, not so much. P-Ville, Chappaqua (to an extent). FYI, though I am not a person of color, I grew up in "Da hood" and went to more competitive schools than most of the people in Scarsdale so there.
ETA: River towns generally have good schools but Hastings and Irvington have a bit of snootiness to them despite their veneer of faux-hippieness.
Last edited by ponytrekker; 09-08-2011 at 11:13 AM..
"In that case, what are the towns in Westchester that offer good schools, a train ride to midtown of less than 40mins, generally solid values? Would Rye Brook, Larchmont, the River Towns, and New Rochelle fit that description?"
Rye Brook means abit of a hassle of a commute. Larchmont really only has stellar schools at the elementary level, by the time you get to High School you might want to look elsewhere. New Rochelle has a lot of school issues, and not good issues. Some of the river towns are excellent, and I think my own neighborhood on the Sound also meets those requirements too which I won't name for fear of being a shill.
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