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Can you explain the reasoning behind this sentiment? Thanks.
I am sure there are many people who do not commute to Mahattan and have no desire to live in Southern Westchester. Maybe they want less traffic and more space. They may want a more laid back lifestyle. I can think of many reasons people would prefer Northern Westchester if they didn't commute to the city.
DMA- I am sure you are right about the local demographics. I am sure there are parts of Yorktown that are more white collar and parts that are more blue collar. It is a big town and I am sure anybody who lived there can meet like minded people if someone really had issues with blue collar workers. I also never meant for it to be an insult on Yorktown. So many wonderful people I know from my neighborhood live there! Blue collar workers leave the Bronx for the same reasons white collar workers leave Manhattan, quieter lifestyle, good schools and more space.
DMA- I am sure you are right about the local demographics. I am sure there are parts of Yorktown that are more white collar and parts that are more blue collar. It is a big town and I am sure anybody who lived there can meet like minded people if someone really had issues with blue collar workers. I also never meant for it to be an insult on Yorktown. So many wonderful people I know from my neighborhood live there! Blue collar workers leave the Bronx for the same reasons white collar workers leave Manhattan, quieter lifestyle, good schools and more space.
Yorktown is indeed huge (the size of Queens) and in fact has two school districts. The demographics that you and shouldhave are referring to seem to reflect the northern swathe of the town that is in the Lakeland district (Shrub Oak, Jefferson Valley, Mohegan Lake, etc). It does not, in my experience, at all reflect the demographics of Yorktown Heights and the other parts of town in the Yorktown Central school district. Which isn't to say that YH/YCSD doesn't have a blue collar population--it does, but based on my experience in the town and district I think my previous estimate of the percentage is on target. As any Westchesterite knows, school district is the defining factor in terms of where you live.
I love the town's socio-economic mix, but I amN indeed a bit of a snob and I'm certainly aware of a blue collar feel when I go up to Shrub Oak and I don't think I'd be comfortable living there. But it's a different school district (and 7 miles from my house) and has no impact on my life. (My apologies to those I have offended.)
Now, as to why I and so many others who commute daily to Manhattan chose to live in Northern Westchester and have no interest in southern Westchester, I feel like I've answered that a million times on this forum. I'll give it another shot... Later.
Last edited by dma1250; 11-04-2011 at 07:06 AM..
Reason: Iphone created Typos
No, most of the people I know are in Yorktown schools. I know a few people in Lakeland but tons in Yorktown and they are all blue collar. I am sure it is socioeconomically diverse and there are many white collar city workers but I think you will find more verizon workers and trade workers than the rest of Westchester unless everybody that I grew up with only are in that 10% that DMA was talking about but that is pretty hard for me to believe. When I joined facebook, half of my old neighborhood friends have kids in Yorktown schools and they are not lawyers and doctors. To the OP, if you find blue collar workers a con, than I would stay away from Yorktown. If you want socioeconomic diversity, it is a very nice town with natural beauty and lots of shopping in it and close to it. It also has FDR park which is great! It has a lot to offer, natural beauty, shopping and great schools. It seems like a very nice place to live.
Ian3, Your description simply bears no relationship to my experience of living here and being active in the community for 10 years. But to check myself I just asked my wife (who is very active in the school and town and knows a lot more people than I do--and who isn't a snob like me) what percentage of YCSD Yorktown she thought had blue collar jobs. She said under 5%. I told her about your mass of Verizon workers and trade workers, and she was baffled. We tried to go through people over the years and she remembered one mom who works at Verizon, but she's an upper level executive. And last year one of my son's classmates mom was a nurse (does that count as blue collar?), and two years ago one of his soccer teammate's dad was a firefighter. My wife thought of two or three people who work for city agencies, but they have managerial positions. Together we thought of a handful of people we've met in our 10 years whose jobs could be considered blue collar. But the vast, vast majority are white collar and creative professionals. So, I can assure the OP that the Yorktown in Ian's experience bears no relationship to the real one. Of course, for all I know the OP is a Verizon worker. That'll be exciting--I'd love to meet one.
Now, as to why I and so many others who commute daily to Manhattan chose to live in Northern Westchester and have no interest in southern Westchester, I feel like I've answered that a million times on this forum. I'll give it another shot... Later.
Can you just post a link to an previous post of yours that covers this?
I've lived in Yorktown for the past 29 years. Before that, I lived in Putnam County for 3 years(bought a house there when I got married). And I grew up in the Bronx. Yep.. in the Bronx and guess what? I didn't become a policeman or a fireman. I spent over 20 years in IT(leaving as a project manager) and then spent 10 years running my own business. My husband(he is also white collar) and I bought in Putnam because we both loved the rural feel of the area and wanted far away from the city. We found that our commute from Putnam County was a bit much and moved to Yorktown in a rural area but which was still close to the Taconic and Croton RR. Lower Westchester is way too crowded, small lots and in alot of areas, too snobby for us.
We've been very happy in Yorktown. Our children are finishing up High School and when they finish college, we'll be leaving Yorktown to get back to a more rural area.
Can you just post a link to an previous post of yours that covers this?
Shouldhaveleft914,
My reasons for picking Northern Westchester where all about lifestyle. When we decided to leave Park Slope we first looked in southern Westchester (and close-in NJ like Montclair and Maplewood). We liked some towns (and almost bid on a place in Hastings) but none of it felt right. It all felt very dense and suburban and house, driveway, house. We felt like we were giving up a lot by leaving the city and weren't getting anything in return except for square footage and schools, which wasn't enough to make up for what we were losing. So then we started looking in a wider range and Northern Westchester felt perfect for us. We loved the natural beauty and the hiking and openness and relative calmness and mellowness. It felt like we were getting a lot of things that we simply couldn't have in the city--and at the same time it still offered a good commute, good schools, good restaurants, and cultural amenities. We bought a 1700's farmhouse on 4 acres on a gorgeous road in a lovely area with hundreds of acres of protected land beyond us and a number of amazing nature preserves minutes away. 10 years later, and we still love it here.
I understand that the commute may seem long to some, but it has never felt so to me. it takes me 60-70 minutes (depending on the train) from my door to Grand Central and since I commute out of Croton there are loads of train options and I never have to wait too long. In my many years of daily commuting I've only cursed the commute a few times (and what I'm cursing is always having to catch a train, not the length of the trip).
My advice to people is always to look all over and see what feels right for you. Hope that helps.
I visited Yorktown once for a bachelor party with a lawyer friend of mine. All the other guys were a mix of electricians, entrepeneurs, architects, plumbers, etc. Everyone had always known each ohter and stayed in touch. No snobbery in evidence. I had a blast.
I currently live in Yorktown Heights with a child in the elementary school. If you want a real country feel, Yorktown Heights is great. I live in what is probably the least blue collar section of Yorktown (12 minutes from the Croton train station) and it's true that my neighborhood is largely white collar professionals. That said, Yorktown Heights is enormous and most of it, though not necessarily blue collar per se, is very provincial. As a professional woman with a graduate degree, I have found it exceedingly difficult to fit in in the ten years I've lived here. Also, I have been underwhelmed by the school system. If I were on a Yorktown budget but looking for a more educated, city-focused vibe, I'd opt for Croton-on-Hudson next door. There's plenty of acreage to be had, and it's got a laid-back, artsy, progressive and educated vibe (if that's the kind of thing you're looking for
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