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Greenwich isn't bad, but keep in mind that some of the housing surrounding the Cos Cob area is considered a flood zone; so there are considerations to purchasing there (we learned this while shopping in the area). On average, Greenwich area has newer housing stock < $1m; but are mostly condos. If you choose to live in the southern portion of Greenwich it's about equal distance to the Port Chester station vs. Greenwich.
There are a lot of rougher areas in Westchester. I didn't find Pelham to be more or less dangerous than other comparable towns.
To us, it's one of the few communities that actually feels like a small town. Land is generally flat, sidewalks on most of the streets, people and their kids walking around, etc. The "downtown", while small, is serviceable. As mentioned above, the housing stock is more attractive. More historical tudors/colonials as opposed to split-level designs from the 1970s
Downtown Pelham has such wasted potential (and doesn't compare to Larchmont, Bronxville, Scarsdale, Rye, etc), and being surrounded by Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, and the Bronx is not exactly a positive. But yea, the commute is nice. If you can afford the Esplanade then its worth it.
Looking for anyone who has moved from Westchester to CT (or vice versa):
We currently reside in Manhattan and looking at options outside of the city. Property taxes - especially in lower Westchester - are norotiously high (~$30k on a $1mm home in areas like Rye, Pelham, Dobbs, etc). While pricier from a sq foot perspective, comparable houses in Greenwich have significantly lower tax bills (~11k on a $1mm home).
All other things constant, is there really a ~3x premium to live across the NY border? Maybe the schools are better in Westchester, but it's not like Greenwich High is a dump. Just trying to make sense of the large disparity.
A $1M home price in those towns would probably get u at a minimum a $1.4M house in Greenwich due to the tax differential for the same monthly cost, but it depends on the time you think you would stay in the house. I know of lot of people in Westchester who plan to move the second their kids graduate high school because of the ever increasing taxes.
Looking for anyone who has moved from Westchester to CT (or vice versa):
We currently reside in Manhattan and looking at options outside of the city. Property taxes - especially in lower Westchester - are norotiously high (~$30k on a $1mm home in areas like Rye, Pelham, Dobbs, etc). While pricier from a sq foot perspective, comparable houses in Greenwich have significantly lower tax bills (~11k on a $1mm home).
All other things constant, is there really a ~3x premium to live across the NY border? Maybe the schools are better in Westchester, but it's not like Greenwich High is a dump. Just trying to make sense of the large disparity.
We currently live in Greenwich - the difference we noticed is the rate of NIMBYs among its residents seems to be significantly higher than that of Westchester. Looks like communities being formed around golf clubs, not the town's neighborhoods.
As someone else mentioned, it’s purely a product of how long you plan on staying. Many in the Westchester market are on the NYC grind, work long hours, make good money, put their kids through the schools, and then move/retire elsewhere. The taxes are not retirement friendly, and the splits between monthly mortgage and average monthly tax bill is almost akin to a long term rental. It’s only a matter of time that you tax bill (on a monthly basis), outpaces your monthly mortgage, and you find yourself paying more to “rent” from the town.
CT is a bit different. Many are there for the long haul, dump a big down payment for the home (which is considerably more) and chip away at their mortgage over time, in hopes of retiring into the home. Which is way more feasible due to low taxes.
Don’t forget 30k in taxes in Westchester was 15k not too many years ago. Live there 20 years, and those 30k in taxes may be 60k. When you’re prepping for retirement on zero income, it makes things that much more difficult, even if you own debt free. Which bring me back to the first point - many view Westchester as a long term rental, which still pencils out to less than NYC living plus private school. But still not retirement friendly.
Thanks everyone. We weighed NY/CT tax and $/sq ft tradeoffs, and ultimately chose Pelham. Very family-oriented community with good schools and a unique housing stock.
In my opinion, it's difficult to make a case that it's economical to retire anywhere within reasonable commuting distance to Manhattan (whether that's NY, CT, or NJ). Property taxes in all three states are materially higher than the rest of the US, and each has its own set of fiscal challenges.
Thanks everyone. We weighed NY/CT tax and $/sq ft tradeoffs, and ultimately chose Pelham. Very family-oriented community with good schools and a unique housing stock.
In my opinion, it's difficult to make a case that it's economical to retire anywhere within reasonable commuting distance to Manhattan (whether that's NY, CT, or NJ). Property taxes in all three states are materially higher than the rest of the US, and each has its own set of fiscal challenges.
Congrats! Pelham is a great place to raise a family. We have been here almost three years and love it! A wonderful community. Taxes are very rough, no joke, but we think it is worth it for the schools, community, commute, etc.
As someone else mentioned, it’s purely a product of how long you plan on staying. Many in the Westchester market are on the NYC grind, work long hours, make good money, put their kids through the schools, and then move/retire elsewhere. The taxes are not retirement friendly, and the splits between monthly mortgage and average monthly tax bill is almost akin to a long term rental. It’s only a matter of time that you tax bill (on a monthly basis), outpaces your monthly mortgage, and you find yourself paying more to “rent” from the town.
CT is a bit different. Many are there for the long haul, dump a big down payment for the home (which is considerably more) and chip away at their mortgage over time, in hopes of retiring into the home. Which is way more feasible due to low taxes.
Don’t forget 30k in taxes in Westchester was 15k not too many years ago. Live there 20 years, and those 30k in taxes may be 60k. When you’re prepping for retirement on zero income, it makes things that much more difficult, even if you own debt free. Which bring me back to the first point - many view Westchester as a long term rental, which still pencils out to less than NYC living plus private school. But still not retirement friendly.
This is pretty much the math I did and my first child is less than a year old! If it weren't for my job I would never live in the Northeast. We are buying in Westchester and rather than a "forever" home we view it as our "for as long as we're stuck in NY" home. Mortgage + taxes is more than my rent today but will be much cheaper than renting 3-4 bedrooms in NYC + private school tuition. I'll trade the higher taxes for the shorter commute knowing we are getting the hell out of dodge as soon as we can (which is sadly/realistically 10+ years).
We chose Westchester for the better public schools and especially for the MUCH better special services. If your kids EVER need or could benefit from - which up to 75% seem to at some point - speech, pull-out reading or math support, occupational therapy, counseling, social skills, or more significant special needs support, you’ll get it readily in NYS. In CT, you’ll need to fight for it - and simply may not still get all you need - or put your kids in private schools - typical or special needs. Special needs (ADHD, attention issues included) private school runs 60-80k / year.
NYS and CT, state wide, see the federal disability act very differently.
There’s no comparison for families who do or may ever need school support. 15k diff in annual taxes pales in comparison to having to fight and maybe fail to get what your kids need, self-esteem and behavior probs, supplementing privately, getting unhappy calls from the school, and certainly the cost of private school.
Does anyone have any recent firsthand experience with this? There's just such a massive difference between the two that I feel like I am missing something (aside from a slightly longer commute).
Public schools, I am thinking too.
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