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Hello. I would like some insight into this village/town. We have been looking in Croton for a home, and we just cannot find what we want, but Cortlandt Manor has a plethora of beautiful homes that have low taxes and big yards. I have heard mixed reviews about the Hen Hud schools. I see they score mid-range in the rankings of Westchester High Schools. But I want to know more about the schools and more about the community. Several Manhattan and Chappaqua friends have tried to steer me away, but I think it looks ideal. Any insights on pluses and minuses? Would love to hear. (P.S. We are a liberal, do-it-yourself, gardening, homebrew, bookworm, outdoor kind of family with preschool aged kids.)
You would love it! We do. We did the same thing, started with looking at Croton but then kept seeing much nicer houses/lots with lower taxes in Hen Hud. I have four kids, three in elementary school, one in preschool, two of my elementary kids also have IEPs (special needs in school) although they are not cognitively delayed just have some behavioral stuff. This makes it hard to get the school right and we've been really happy with Hen Hud. The school community is wonderful and we've made great friends (lots of outdoorsy, liberal, gardening, composting, keep chickens in the yard, kind of folks here). We moved nearly two years ago and feel right at home. It was a great decision. We're so happy to have a giant yard for the kids to romp in, they have a woods right out their back door. Loads of wild life and free ranging. It's fabulous. If we had bought in Croton, they wouldn't have nearly as much room to roam. IM if you have more questions, but I think you'd like it. Cortlandt/Croton are really close communities and we have friends that live in both places. In fact, there's a CrotonCortlandt moms group on google if you want to join and find out more about the community. Also, if you're looking for a local preschool for the kids, you sound like you'd love The Garden Road. Started in Croton and then moved up to a multi-acre site in Crompound (just 10 min N. of where I live on the Croton/Cortlandt border). Check them out: The Garden Road School | Integrated. I think you'll find kindred folks there, too.
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Thanks. I received several private messages about Cortlandt and Hen Hud schools. It sounds as if it is definitely geared more toward families...in that there is little nightlife/restaurants and shopping. But that's OK. You can get that anywhere. What you can't get anywhere is open space. Other people wrote and said to consider Yorktown or Katonah. I just find it odd that there are so many people who are aligned to places like Scarsdale, Rye, Mamaroneck, and Chappaqua, but I rarely hear people discuss towns like Tarrytown, Croton, and Cortlandt on these boards. We have asked our realtor to start searching in Cortlandt, and I swear it seemed like she bristled.
We had looked into Croton as well, we drove there to get the feeling of the town, after 15 mins my son's asthma started acting up on him... I then researched the air quality and with the Plant so close by, its quite bad... Next!
I did recently learn about the nuclear power plant nearby, but I had not heard it causes air quality problems within Croton. Huh. Then wouldn't it stand to reason that Ossining and Tarrytown suffer from it, too?
Air quality in the rivertowns (and in the coast) really is bad, including Croton, Ossining and T-town. Some towns sometimes get air alerts. Though it doesn't have anything to do with the nuclear plant. It has more to do with geography and air pollution.
The point with the nuclear plant has more to do with having an industrial facility (of any kind) within the immediate vicinity. Though there is no conclusive evidence, this setup has been suspected of potentially causing soil and groundwater contamination in many places.
lol... nuclear power has nothing to do with air quality. Please do a little research before you jump to conclusions and give out bad information about a place that you visited for 15 min.
I grew up in the area and I think that you will really enjoy it. I did not go to Hen Hud schools, however I have heard mostly positive things about them from people that went there. The power plant will not effect your life at all.
Great. From the research I have done, it sounds like it's a thriving community on the upswing. The schools ranked like this on SATs: Croton 1663, Yorktown 1633, and Henrick Hudson 1608. Great scores. These seem to be middle showings in the Westchester High School charts, which still means excellent by all standards. I hear the Cortlandt Train Station is new and nice, too. The town itself is just such a bargain. Beautiful houses, big yards, low taxes, and lots of park land. Yes...the commute sort of sucks....as they say about Westchester: Good Schools, Affordable Taxes, Easy Commute.....pick two.
FYI, my husband using the Croton train station to commute as they have more trains per hour and options (he's forever missing trains) and it's a bit cheaper, even when you factor in non-resident parking rates. Not sure if there's a wait list for non-resident parking though. There wasn't when we moved in just about two years ago.
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