Want it all - prox. to NYC, great schools, nice town, walk-ability, $800k for 3-4BR (New Rochelle: real estate, condo)

[kafoki]

Hi everyone.

I appreciate any advice you can give me here!

My husband and I are thinking of moving from NYC to Westchester, and we're trying to get a feel for the different towns. Here are our priorities:

-excellent public schools
-3-4 BR house (townhouse or condo ok) for $820,000 at most
-nice town you can walk through
-neighborhoods with sidewalks
-safe
-not too conservative (we're liberal and like some diversity, whether it is racial, economic, sexual orientation, etc.)
-no pressure to "keep up with the Joneses"
-down-to-earth people
-young families
-activities for kids (sports, music, etc.)
-activities for adults (yoga, movies, etc.)

From reading this forum, it sounds like Bronxville, Chappaqua, and Scarsdale would be too expensive for us and may be a bit too "snobby?"

How about Rye? Larchmont? Pelham? Tarrytown? Pleasantville? Hastings? Harrison? New Rochelle? Ardsley? White Plains?

I was born and raised in NYC and the thought of leaving is quite frightening, so I need a place where I will not feel isolated as a stay-at-home mom. We are looking for a place to raise our family and meet great friends.

Sorry for all of the requirments, but I want to make sure we find a great match for us!

Thanks again!

[jyyanks]

Here are my thoughts. All the places you listed are safe and you will find "down to earth" people in every community (though I wealthier communities MAY have less down-to-earth people).

1) Scarsdale - great town, excellent schools but there may be a "keeping up with the joneses" attitdue. The area by the Edgewood school district is the more "affordable" area of Scarsdale, nice community, friendly people. The "keeping up" attitude may not be present in that community but will be when your kids go past elementary school and are mixed in with kids who come from wealthier areas of Scarsdale.
2) Bronxville - I love Bronville. It has a beautiful town center and excellent schools but the homes are very expensive and the taxes are very high (taxes in Westchester are high in general but Bronville taxes seem to be on the highest end)
3) Chappaqua - haven't looked at homes in Chappaqua for awhile but imagine they are also very expensive.
4) Rye - I think Rye "proper" ranks right up there with Chappaqua. Million dollar homes but also teeny tiny overpriced homes near Playland Park. For $820K, you may still be looking at a fixer upper.
5)Larchmont - I love the village of Larchmont. Great community and there is a beautiful park there (Manor Park) that I visit often. Just note that Larchmont shares a highschool with Mamaroneck. I don't know too much about Mamaroneck schools (I do know they are not bad per se but I don't know if they are considered good either) but I would look into that before purchasing in Larchmont.
6) Pelham - nice town, diverse, close to a train line, great schools. Surrounding areas of Mt. Vernon and New Rochelle are not so great in my opinion.
7) Tarrytown - diverse area, great town center but schools are not as good as all the ones mentioned above.
8) Pleasantville - very nice town, good schools - don't know as much about Pleasantville as other communities so can't comment too much here
9) Hastings - I personally love Hastings. We almost lived there. In fact we looked in Larchmont, Hastings and Ardsley. It has a decent town (not as nice as Larchmont and Bronxville) but not terrible either. Excellent schools and a wonderful community. I would recommend Hastings in a heartbeat.
10) Harrison - Great community, taxes on the lower end, nice town. Can't go wrong with harrison, This month's Westchester Family had a write up about Living in Harrison.
11) New Rochelle - schools not as good as the ones listed above, diverse, not a good town center. There are areas of NR that are better than others and there are areas that are downright scary. Another thing to consider about New Rochelle is the re-sale value of the homes. Homes don't appreciate as much as other they do in other areas of Westchester.
12) Ardsley - great schools, diverse, but the town center not nice. I live in Ardsley and I love it. Its a wonderful place to raise a family, the people are friendly, lots of recreational activities. $820 can get you a decent house.
13) White Plains - more city-like than the other areas, schools are decent. I wouldn't recommend going from NYC to White Plains if you're looking for a suburban feel.

You didn't mention if you need to be near a Metro North Station. If so, I would look at towns that have easy access to a Metro North station.

Of the ones towns you listed I would look into Scarsdale (Edgewood Section), Hastings on Hudson, Ardsley and Larchmont.

Here are some sites that might help

Houlihan Lawrence
Houlihan Lawrence Real Estate

Westchester Board of Realtors (don't have to be a realtor to browse homes)
Welcome to WCBR.net!!!

Journal News - links if you want to look up school district stats (under education)

lohud.com | Westchester, Rockland and Putnam Counties Data Central | The Journal News

Good Luck. Hope this was helpful.

[yosser]

THanks for the info jyyanks!
That answers most of my questions too!!

[Viralmd]

If you're looking for diversity, you're not going to find it in Bronxville. Nor will you find liberals there.

[kafoki]

Thank you everyone. You have no idea how much this helps!

[tennisaj]

You mention schools as your top priority, so I suggest visiting some of the local schools and checking the school reports (available on-line). You mention Bronxville, Scarsdale, Chappaqua (all excellent school districts)..generally, Scarsdale and Chappaqua would be more liberal than Bronxville, and more affordable. Rule of thumb is: the closer to NYC via MetroNorth, the more expensive. Ardsley, Edgemont also have excellent schools but may not have the village center that you seem to want. Hastings, Irvington are also nice communities, with a laid back feel. Pleasantville is a small, but very good school district and people are very friendly. A major question is whether you commute to NYC and how far you're willing to travel everyday. Otherwise, you've generally picked great communities.

[kafoki]

Thanks, tennisaj.

We probably won't be moving for another year or year and a half, and right now we're not sure if my husband will be commuting (I'm a stay at home mom). But either way, proximity to NYC is crucial for us because my parents live there and we will want to get in to the city as much as possible to see them.

I'm going to look into Edgemont and Irvington because I haven't heard or read much about them - thanks for the advice!

[jyyanks]

Edgemont is part of the "Greenburgh" section of Scardale. The PO is Scarsdale, the town is Greenburgh and the schools are Edgemont. Edgemont is actually the name of the school district but it is such an excellent school district that the whole area is known as "Edgemont". There is no town in Edgemont but you get to enjoy Greenburgh recreation.

Irvington is on the Hudson side, near Ardsley. The town is cute but very small, and right by the water. Some great restaurants for a small town. Schools are very very good.

I forgot to mention in my last post that Rye and Ardsley do not have a Metro North station. You can get parking in neighboring towns if need be. Edgemont does not have a Metro North station either but Irvington and the rest of the ones above do.

[sf2nyc08]

"I don't know too much about Mamaroneck schools"

I'm looking for exact same thing as Kafoki. This was a great reply. I would just add that PSK12.com lists Mamaroneck High t as 3rd out of 100 for high schools (based on 2006 numbers) in Westchester County.

[Ms.Hughey]

Hello

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