Westchester Schools and Towns (Eastchester, Scarsdale: best town, house, buy)

[ksasaki8]

Hoping someone could provide a comprehensive lay of the land in Westchester. We are a recent parents living in Park Slope considering Westchester and looking for towns with a solid (and safe) public school system, a town with amenities and character, a reasonable commute to Manhattan and parks in which we are able to run. Our price range is below $800K and we are hoping to secure a 4-bedroom. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. Thank you!

[Viralmd]

All this information is in many of the posts and threads already here. Just browse through them.

[bmwguydc]

Off the top of my head, I would suggest checking into Larchmont, Eastchester, and Pelham, that offer much of what you are seeking. The best value for the housing dollar will be in Eastchester, though the downtown area is not as unique nor as walkable as Larchmont in Eastchester; however, you would be close to Scarsdale and Bronxville for village character. The Village of Tuckahoe in Eastchester offers a nice small downtown and conveince of two MetroNorth train stations, Tuckahoe and Crestwood. Tuckahoe is a small village and has a small school district.

Larchmont offers the largest downtown area of the communities I mentioned, good schools, nice parks, and is close to the Sound. You can also get express trains to GCT which really help to cut the commute. Pelham is nice, but the downtown is not as large as Larchmont, and the area has a superb school system.

The nice thing is that you're close to the city in Pelham, and realistically can get by with one vehicle if you so chose. I would also venture that one vehicle would work in Larchmont as well, though in Eastchester you might need two vehicles, excluding the Village of Tuckahoe which can be close to the train as well.

[rubygreta]

Eastchester resident here. Eastchester is just beginning a $5,000,000 redevelopment of the downtown area (you can see the construction trailers in the library parking lot). It will make a big difference.

Having said that, even with the improvements it will not be nearly as nice as Larchmont. But you get a lot more house for your money in Eastchester (and for that matter, just about anywhere else is cheaper than Larchmont).

[LisaZ]

$800k is low for Larchmont and Eastchester and likely Pelham. I recommend going on a realtor website and doing some searches by town to see what your money will get you.

[hartsdalemom]

Hartsdale is a great place to live. One of the very few towns in central to lower Westchester where you can buy a NICE home (not a fixer) with 4 bedrooms and 2 baths under $700K with a great size yard. There is a small village with a weekend, farmers market & great restaurants, 30 minutes to NYC, the best town pool around, great parks, a brand new library, any every kind of shopping imaginable. That said - if all that appeals to you and you don't want to move up north or pay $780K and crazy taxes for a fixer upper in a better district...you can do what I did. I sent my oldest to the public school until high school, then onto Good Counsel Academy a gorgeous, wonderful private school for high school (and there were other terrific private schools to choose from). She loved it, it DID NOT break the bank by any means, and she's off to a fantastic college this year. My youngest, still in the Greenburgh public schools will do the same when he gets to HS. Best of luck to anyone looking in the area - I recommend NOT dismissing the area because of the schools - it's a terrific place, the pool is like a country club for the kids during the summer and you can get a wonderful home.