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Looking to move from Atlanta to one of these towns. Married, have 2 kids - 8 and 2 and half, have about 750K for a house. We are pretty laid back not looking for something super snooty or stuffy. Good schools, entertainment for kids, things to do on weekends, restaurants, good sense of community are all important. Would love to hear thoughts on pros and cons of all three towns. Thanks!
Just went through the whole moving process ourselves. We were looking in the same areas. The towns themselves are all lovely. Pelham was always our first choice for the schools (smaller in size) and commute for job. Luckily that is where we found the right house for us and ended up. Pelham is pretty laid back and we have been fortunate to know and meet some nice people here. Town is filled with families with young children. Haven't lived here that long, but from what we have experienced so far has all been positive.
As for the town itself, I would have to say that Larchmont/Mamaroneck is much prettier. Just my preference though. Pelham's town isn't bad by any means, just a bit smaller and not as many shops/eateries as the others. The nice thing is that we are very close to Larchmont/M-neck, so getting to those towns for something we are interested in is not a big deal!
The cons I would have to say of Pelham is the taxes. They seem to be a little higher than the others. The way I look at it is, we have two children, we will be using the public schools, so that is tuition. To us, it is worth it. I also think that you may get a bit more property in Pelham. Both towns tend to have smaller lots, but while searching, Pelham homes seemed to offer a bit more space.
They are all nice towns in my opinion and nice places to raise a family and live. I would say if you find the right house, any of those choices wold be fine.
All towns are lovely, but Larchmont/Mamaroneck has more to offer in terms of shops and restaurants. For your budget you'll get a better house in Mamaroneck. Larchmont houses tend to be very old and on tiny lots, same for Pelham. (I disagree about getting more property in Pelham, we never found that to be the case when we were looking.)
FYI it will be hard to find a house in those 3 areas on that budget unfortunately. You will be looking at 3 bedroom older homes. I'd definitely stick with Mamaroneck (be sure to look in the part zoned for Rye Neck schools also) as it has the best combo of schools, town amenities, community feel, low snoot factor, and bang for your buck.
Disclaimer - we live in the Orienta neighborhood of Mamaroneck and LOVE it here. So much to do and so convenient.
I'd second Mamaroneck, including the Rye Neck portion, but I'm certainly not knocking the others. There are an abundance of restaurants of different cuisines, a cinema, a theater, a swiming pool and ice-rink, a park on the harbor (many junior sports leagues play there at weekends), dance schools, Karate and Tae Kwon Do, two independent toy stores, very friendly and well-regarded public schools, excellent safety, pasta-makers, bakers, butchers (no fishmongers but a smoked fish factory outlet) etc etc. The Mamaroneck Shares block parties, concerts in the Harbor Island park, the fierman's carnival and July 4th parade. Very decent place to raise a family. Oh and the library. Excellent part-modern part-historical building with good views from the top floors, superb children's section and well-funded. The library budget passes every year! Yes, I live there.
Why specifically the Rye Neck portion for schools? From the research I've done the Mamaroneck schools look pretty exemplary. Is there dirt that a non-local needs to know?
Why specifically the Rye Neck portion for schools? From the research I've done the Mamaroneck schools look pretty exemplary. Is there dirt that a non-local needs to know?
Not at all.
The choice of Rye Neck vs. Mamaroneck schools is really only difference in size, the Rye Neck schools being very small. Academically and facility-wise they are very close. Some prefer a smaller school, some prefer larger. The other difference is that the elementary, middle school and high school for Rye Neck are all within a walkable 1 sq. mile. Mamaroneck HS has a more expansive catchment area, including Larchmont. I live in the Rye Neck school district but would have been fine with my kids attending Mamaroneck.
The exhortations above are to include Rye Neck in your search, as you might not realize the school district overlaps with the Village of Mamaroneck.
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