Advice on Hartsdale (White Plains, Rye, Scarsdale: appointed, crime, house)

[purewaves]

Hello all. We are considering relocating from Manhattan to Hartsdale. We saw a place in particular up on that hill near Central Park Ave and East Hartsdale Ave. which was very nice, reasonably priced, and near the Metro North.

So I have a few questions -

Is the area near Central Park Ave and East Hartsdale Ave considered to be a good one in Hartsdale?

How is the quality of public safety in town? Anyone know about the crime statistics?

Is there much to do in the evenings in the area? We love to cafes, restaurants, and such. Does everything stay open late or close early?

How are the doctors rated in the area, generally speaking?

Finally, I've read the schools are not impressive. Are there many private school options in the area?

Thanks for your time!

[jeena]

Don't worry about Hartsdale, it's a nice, safe, neighborhood, although a part of it backs up to Greenburgh (part of Rt. 119) where there has been one or two store robberies in the last few years, but the Hartsdale section you are talking about is very nice, I would definitely move there without worry if I had to sell my house in Westchester.

Hartsdale borders upscale Scarsdale, which you will be very close to but you won't have to pay the high Scarsdale property taxes to enjoy the lovely shops and you will be very close to all the shopping White Plains has to offer, which borders Hartsdale also.

As far as clubs, cafes, nightlife, and all that, Westchester is not Manhattan and you will be disappointed on that front. There might be a restaurant or two on Central Avenue that offers entertainment on weekends, but it's usually a singer for the old folks. People who live here usually go out to a restaurant and a movie, there aren't many dancing places or live entertainment places that I know of. You would probably be better off jumping on Metro North in Hartsdale to keep enjoying the nightlife Manhattan has to offer while you live in Westchester, my neighbor takes Metro North to enjoy NYC on weekends, he's doesn't want to hang around Westchester all weekend, he likes the city nightlife better.

Don't worry about medical care, White Plains Hospital and Westchester Medical Center will be the closest ones to you and there are at least three other good quality hospitals within 20 minutes or so of Hartsdale, and you can always use NYC hospitals if needed.

Maybe someone else can help you with nightlife in White Plains and surrounding areas, the school system, etc.

[purewaves]

Thanks very much for the tips!

[Forest_Hills_Daddy]

Originally Posted by purewaves

Finally, I've read the schools are not impressive. Are there many private school options in the area?

Not sure what they mean by "not impressive". Academically-speaking (that is, in terms of classroom instruction), the schools in Hartsdale are just the same as neighboring districts. There might be differences in terms of household wealth but that's all, nothing else. Or do you mean that the public schools in general are not impressive?

There are many private schools in the county like Hackley, FASNY, Iona Prep, Ursuline, Montfort, Harvey, Holy Child, etc. Maria Regina HS is in Hartsdale. Some districts will offer school bus service to private schools outside the district. Call them to ask.

[bg7]

FHD - what are you talking about? If you're saying Woodlands HS (Hartsdale) is "just the same as" neighboring Ardsley, for example - you're way off.

[PullingHairs]

Originally Posted by bg7

FHD - what are you talking about? If you're saying Woodlands HS (Hartsdale) is "just the same as" neighboring Ardsley, for example - you're way off.

+1, Woodlands is not impressive at all, and pales in comparison to neighboring districts in Ardsley and Scarsdale.

[Forest_Hills_Daddy]

bg and PH,

Look at the curriculum of Woodlands. It's the same as other Westchester districts. Look at the faculty credentials of Woodlands. About the same also, as is the average class size. Those are the things that really matter when comparing academics. Not that Woodlands is itself impressive in general, I'm not impressed either. Just saying it's not less impressive than other public schools in the area in terms of academics.

The differences with other districts lie with income and wealth only - families who can afford tutoring, after school help, exam prep, etc. That's really all there is to it.

[TAK8]

Purewaves:

For what it's worth, having grown up in the area and recently shopped for housing in it (before moving north of 287), I would be very, very surprised if a typical child reported an educational experience at Woodlands materially similar to that at Ardsley, and that's focusing on the "campus" experience only.

Paper similarities like curriculum and teacher credentials, while important in their own way, matter less in my view than whether or not the culture is essentially pro-learning. I haven't been to Woodlands in a long while and am open to persuasion, but I've heard nothing to suggest that it has changed from when my impressions were formed, at which time it was not a good learning environment.

One can have an interesting debate about whether there is any real advatage to so-called "elite" districts, based on the points Forest Hills Daddy was making. For many, Westlake, or Tuckahoe, or parts or Tarrytown might have schools that are a better net fit than Bronxville, Scarsdale or Rye. But it's one thing to compare top-tier to next-tier or third-tier. It's quite another to say essentially every public school in Westchester is the same.

[PullingHairs]

Originally Posted by Forest_Hills_Daddy

bg and PH,

Look at the curriculum of Woodlands. It's the same as other Westchester districts. Look at the faculty credentials of Woodlands. About the same also, as is the average class size. Those are the things that really matter when comparing academics. Not that Woodlands is itself impressive in general, I'm not impressed either. Just saying it's not less impressive than other public schools in the area in terms of academics.

The differences with other districts lie with income and wealth only - families who can afford tutoring, after school help, exam prep, etc. That's really all there is to it.

You're not giving enough deference to the academic environment and community of Woodlands vs. other districts. Greenburgh is an economically diverse district, and this presents unique challenges to the district at the expense of general academic nurturing (or hand-holding) that is par for the course in many other Westchester districts. It's a good day at Woodlands HS when only 3 teachers have to find out why 5 students only showed up for one class...

I'm not saying that Woodlands is the worst in Westchester by any means, but there are far better districts, and if your child is g&t material, then I wouldn't rely on the schools (the High School, especially) to nurture his/her talent as well as other districts would...

[Forest_Hills_Daddy]

Most of them are the same in terms of academics only. That is what really makes schools impressive versus peers. And it's not like the agebra or chemistry in Woodlands is different from that in Scarsdale. They are the same in almost every respect - same topics, same sequence, same level of challenge, same teacher credentials, etc. Moreso if you take AP courses.

And unless your household is hard up, you will probably spend the same amount of time and money on after-school support services like SAT prep and college counselling as a Scarsdale resident. So at the end of the day, a student in Woodlands will learn at the same level as one in Scarsdale if he/she makes the same effort and investment to learn.