Chappaqua or Katonah? Need advice! (Somers, Bedford: sales, cliquey, rental)

[NYCLawyerMama]

Looking for some advice/thoughts from all Northern Westchester folks. We are seriously considering a move to Chappaqua from Long Island. We have been house hunting for a bit and finally saw a home we liked in Chappaqua today. After we were finished we drove up to Katonah because I've read so many great things about that town on these boards. The town is adorable but I am afraid it is too far of a commute to midtown for me (I commute daily and my office is across the street from Grand Central). My husband will be commuting to Roslyn a few times a week (he is in sales so does not always have to be in the office). We have driven back and forth from Chappaqua a number of times and he says he is ok with the drive (although we have only made the drive on the weekends). Katonah is not too far of a drive from Chappaqua and he said he doesn't mind the extra drive if it is worth it.

I am also not sure whether the Katonah schools are comparable to Chappaqua. I have read all about the Chappaqua pressure cooker schools and I am not put off by that. We currently live in a pressure cooker school district and both my boys are doing just fine and are very happy (I personally believe it is parents who create the pressure but that is not the subject of this post). I checked the great schools ratings and Katonah/Lewisboro schools are ranked a bit lower. But this is not a tell all-not for me anyway.

Finally, it seems we can get a lot more for our money in Katonah based upon what I have seen online, but when we visited the town we saw a lot of quaint, but old, spooky looking homes with no land (lots of land is an absolute must for us and is part of the reason we are moving). Are the homes I see online far from the train? How long would the commute be, honestly?

We still have a few months before we have to make our decision since we are in our current rental through the end of the school year. So while we have time I would really appreciate some input as to the quality of life/schools/commute/community in Katonah. Thanks to all in advance.

[bmwguydc]

All that appears Katonah may not be Katonah. The Katonah address straddles neighboring areas in Somers and Lewisboro. Katonah, proper, is in the Town of Bedford -- it makes a difference with respect to train parking, as the Town of Bedford owns and administers the lots.

The downtown area does have older Victorian houses that are not on large lots. For land, you need to look to the east/southeast, off Route 22, across the reservoir from the train tracks. Houses in Katonah proper do have a price premium compared to neighboring areas, so a larger house on a larger lot is comparable with Chappaqua pricing. The value advantage that you are seeing is likely due to houses in Somers appearing as a search for Katonah or 10536, or they are smaller, older ranches and capes that are built on the hills to the west of Katonah avenue.

Another area where you can find land is to the west of Cherry Street, off Croton Lake Road and close to the reservoir near the end of Cherry Street at Route 35, assuming you are only looking for <4-5 acres; larger properties are generally off Route 22.

My parents always had us in private schools, either in the city or in Westchester, but people I knew who went to Katonah-Lewisboro enjoyed the experience and received a good education. Anecdotally, I know people who left Chappaqua because of the schools and general environment after raising their first three children there, placing the younger three in private school and moving to Ridgefield. There are some wonderful people in Chappaqua, in addition to the cliquish, pushy types that give the town the stereotypes, just as while Katonah tends to be a bit more relaxed, overall, there are some who are contrary to that perception as well.

In terms of the downtowns, Katonah would have an advantage in my opinion as it was planned when the town was moved for the construction of the reservoir, and chains, outside of locally-owned, like Mrs. Green's, are eschewed. It has more of an organic small-town feel, at least as small as you can get when still an hour to Grand Central.

I would evaluate both areas, giving Chappaqua an advantage for the commute, and Katonah for some of the aspects of the downtown. However, since you're at work most days, you'd really not be enjoying the quaint nature of Katonah such that it would outweigh the better commute. I would look at houses that are actually in Katonah (Town of Bedford) and Chappaqua, and would pick the house and setting you liked best.

[NYCLawyerMama]

Thank you for that detailed response that was very helpful. We are definitely looking for less than 4 acres. 1.5 acres is a lot of land coming from our 5000 square foot lot in Long Island, and from our house in Brooklyn before that (with a concrete slab in the back that was supposed to be a backyard).

We're down to either Katonah/Lewisboro schools or Chappaqua. The commute from Ridgefield would be a killer for me-I work long hours as it is so I can't go past an hour (give or take 5 minutes). I saw some nice houses online in Katonah that the map shows as being close to the Golden's Bridge Metro North Station. Is that an area you recommend? If so, do you know how parking is at that station?

We also drove by Lake Katonah but I'm not sure if that's Katonah/Lewisboro schools or whether there are even houses near there. It was very pretty though.

I also went to private school but I grew up in Brooklyn. Private is a fortune these days, and I don't want to send them and have to live in a more affordable area with a longer commute if I can take advantage of great public schools. I work such long hours that a long commute would pretty much ensure that I never see my boys awake during the week. We want to make the right move for the kids, so what is most important is schools, open space, great people, and lots of kids/community activities. And of course, a decent commute.

As for snooty people, they're everywhere. The cliques don't bother me-I work so much and have so much going on I don't pay attention to that adolescent nonsense. And even if I had the time, I still wouldn't bother with those types of people, as they tend to possess below average intelligence and are generally insecure. However, I don't want to move to a place like Armonk (which I have learned is extremely cliquey from reading these posts) where my personal refusal to accept and conform to the clique world may end up hurting my kids by ostracizing them. More importantly, I don't want to raise my children in an environment like that.

So far everyone in Chappaqua has been super nice and we like the town. But before we make the plunge, I want to check out all of the surrounding communities to see if there is something better. Any thoughts/advice are much appreciated!

[jjinla]

FWIW, we are all the way down in Larchmont and commute is still an hour door to door. And your husband HAS to do the LI commute during actual times for sure. A ton of land is nice if that is your thing, but if you are never home to appreciate it well...just something to think about. Keep in mind that it snows more north of the 287, too. Not trying to sway you, just full disclosure.

[bmwguydc]

The areas close to Goldens Bridge are equally as lovely, and there's nothing wrong with the Town of Lewisboro at all. Parking is managed by a contractor, however, not the town. I believe that station currently has a waiting list, but there are also daily meters, though I do not know at what time those are filled. The Lewisboro side of the Katonah zip code is also slightly better in terms of value, so that's another consideration as well, and the schools are shared, with Increase Miller being an excellent elementary school.

[dma1250]

Originally Posted by jjinla

FWIW, we are all the way down in Larchmont and commute is still an hour door to door. And your husband HAS to do the LI commute during actual times for sure. A ton of land is nice if that is your thing, but if you are never home to appreciate it well...just something to think about. Keep in mind that it snows more north of the 287, too. Not trying to sway you, just full disclosure.

1. According to the metronorth schedule, peak trains from Chappaqua to GC are 10 to 12 minutes longer than those from Larchmont. Commuting from Croton-Harmon, I sometimes take a semi-express train which is 10 minutes longer than my usual express. I have to say the difference makes zip impact on my day. But I suppose that extra 20 minutes a day might be important to some.

2. The point of upper Westchester isn't to have "a ton of land" but rather to live in an area with a ton of land--a ton of open space, a ton of hiking trails, a ton of parkland, etc.

3. South of 287 gets a lot more ice and sleet.

[jjinla]

True, but Chappaqua doesn't have as many express trains, and when we looked there we were warned that it can take up to 10 minutes to get out of that blasted parking lot. Perhaps things have changed now that construction is done? Also, Katonah does lack parking, which can be an issue. Plus, if she works normal lawyer hours, she'll be lucky to ever see an express train in the evening.

At any rate, I was simply pointing out that if she wanted an hour max, she wouldn't hit it in northern Westchester unless she was specifically referring to train time.

Hard to say about the weather...2 years ago we got plenty of snow and last year snow 1x before Halloween.

[CaliInChappaqua]

You should definitely consider parking availability when selecting a town to live in, if you commute to the city every day. There are many lovely communities with great schools and affordable housing that have a years long waiting list for train station parking.

We bought in Chappaqua. I'm reasonably happy here. I avoid the cliquey, appearance oriented people in town and I've found some laid back, genuine, down-to-earth people.

Other towns to consider would be Pleasantville and Mt. Kisco. Both have much larger shopping districts than either Chappaqua or Katonah. However, check the train parking.

Pleasantville only gives parking permits to people who live in the village proper, and most of those houses you could probably walk to the train station from. There is no busing to the schools in Pleasantville, which might also be a consideration for your family.

Mt. Kisco I know very little about other than it has the closest Target and car dealerships.

Good luck finding the town and house you like!

[Forest_Hills_Daddy]

Originally Posted by NYCLawyerMama

Looking for some advice/thoughts from all Northern Westchester folks. We are seriously considering a move to Chappaqua from Long Island.

Where in LI do you live and were you or your friends there impacted by the power outages caused by Sandy? Some people in LI were out of power for about 2 weeks. If it matters to you, then you might be considering installing a standalone generac generator and if that's the case, you might want to know that there are parts of Northern Westchester that don't have natural gas service. What that means is that any generator you get in those places will have to be powered by either petroleum or propane, which you will have to figure out how to stock up in your home and could come in short supply in the event of another calamity. Check which neighborhoods have natural gas and which ones don't.

[dma1250]

If you live in an area without gas lines (most areas outside of a village in Upper Westchester) you'll have a propane tank for the stove. The same tank can be connected to the generator (and the barbecue grill too). You'll contract with a propane company to keep the tank filled, and I have never heard of any supply issues. We've never had any issues in our 11 years, including after Sandy.