What do you say about Cortlandt (Peekskill, Hudson: violent crime, homes, unemployment)

[shimaa_cs]

Dear,

I will stay in Westchester for 3 months.

I have an options now in Cortlandt, but I heard before that the north westchester is not safe.
What about cortlandt? do you recomment to go there or wait for other options in mid, especially that I will move around with my kids while my husband is at work.

[dr.strangelove]

Originally Posted by shimaa_cs

Dear,

I will stay in Westchester for 3 months.

I have an options now in Cortlandt, but I heard before that the north westchester is not safe.
What about cortlandt? do you recomment to go there or wait for other options in mid, especially that I will move around with my kids while my husband is at work.

I have lived in several parts of Westchester adn currently live in Cortlandt. I live north of peekskill, not far from the Home Depot (Cortlandt Town Center) on route 6. Let me please put your mind at ease about the safety of Cortlandt. I rarely lock my door. I have not locked my car in the past 8 years. My kids (6 and 8) ride their bikes to the park down the block from me on a daily basis in a group of other kids.

Like most of Westchester, we in Cortlandt are dealing with drinking and drugs in our high schools. There is the occassional crime, but overall it is a VERY safe place to be. I think this is true for most of the northern county. Its a wonderful place to be with a family. Its major drawback to me is that its a long commute to the city, but for the peace and quiet, we deal with that. Safety and crime is simply not an issue at all. I am very shocked to hear people think that northern westchester is not safe. Its just as safe as southern, eastern or western westchester. Its also a HUGE town. It includes several villages and a massive amount of unincorporated space. Where abouts in the Town are you thinking? I would be happy to give you any information I have. I know the town pretty well.

[john70]

Agree. Northern Westchester is much safer than southern Westchester south of 287. Two different worlds.

[shimaa_cs]

Aha great.

But what about Buchanan and Peekskill ??

[dr.strangelove]

Originally Posted by shimaa_cs

Aha great.

But what about Buchanan and Peekskill ??

Buchanan is a wonderful village. It is part of Cortlandt though, not a separate place. It is whats known as an incorporated village within the town of Cortlandt. Buchanan is mostly made up of families. I have many friends there and visit it often. Two things to consider are that it is home to the Indian Point Nuclear Power plant and it is probably the whitest section of westchester. Both of those turned me off a little bit when we were looking for our home. I did not want to live so close to the plant, and I wanted a bit more diversity in my town. I think Buchanan is something like 97% white. But don't let me say anythign really bad about the village. Those things were just not my cup of tea. The village has great waterfront parks, beautiful old homes, the schools are Hendrick Hudson, which are pretty good. Its also a very safe community.

Peekskill is a great place too, but it has some more crime than its neighbors due to population density, unemployment and typical urban pressures. Peekskill is a small city. Its population is big for such a small area, leading to many of its issues. Its got about 25,000 people. While Cortlandt has about 40,000 people, it has 8-9 times the land mass of Peekskill. Peekskill has a much lower median income and has far more unemployment, so there is some more crime. Mostly car break-in type crime. There is not a lot of violent crime, but with any urban area, its worth noting even a slight increase. while crime is not an issue, overcrowding at the schools and limited school budgets are an issue. Peekskill sufers from the urban school problem of too many kids and not enough money.
That said, there are some wonderful parts of Peekskill with incredible values. There are big old homes in very safe neighborhoods. There are great parks that are filled with kids. It can be a great place, but you just have to be a little careful about where you choose to live. Peekskill has a great set of restaurants and pubs. some very expensive and others less expensive but still very nice. It has the Paramount, which brings great entertainment to the area.