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I've been researching all this stuff for several days solid, and at this point my head is spinning, so I seek your expert advice. Which city would you recommend for our family?
1. We are moving from Northern Virginia, so sticker shock is relatively minor
2. Husband will be working in Manhattan (Financial District), and we'd like to keep his commute under an hour and a half door to door
3. We have four kids, ages 4-11
4. We homeschool, so public schools aren't necessarily a huge concern, BUT I also know that the quality of schools tends to reflect other information about a community. Plus, you never know when we might need or want to put the kids in school, so I'd like to be near good schools in case we choose to use them.
5. Target budget for a home is about $1-1.2 million. We could go up to about $1.5m for the right house, but we'd rather keep it closer to $1m-$1.2m (all these kids and their activities aren't cheap!)
6. Our ideal community:
a) politically liberal (especially socially)
b) lots of families with school-age kids
c) great parks/trails and libraries
d) walkable downtown area, preferably with some historic charm (think Old Town Alexandria) (also, we don't mind living a few minutes' drive from said downtown area so we can get the space we need--we just like it to be nearby)
e) BUT I also need my Target and Costco (and I'm so excited about Wegman's in Harrison!)
e) abundant cultural activities and festivals
f) obviously safety and low crime
g) close to water is preferable
Bonus: And hey, if anyone happens to know of a robust homeschool community, that would awesome. Also, my son is a competitive gymnast, so proximity to a good boys' team is a consideration.
Thank you so much for any help or insight you can offer!
You’ll do fine in any Westchester County town if you can bear that amount in taxes. But, I will ask you to look at Warwick. Not completely sure how far it is from Manhattan but it’s very cute with a quaint downtown. Warwick is in Orange County. It will be more affordable than Westchester and Rockland County. Goshen is a cute town too. That will be a tad closer to the city. Both have good schools.
Pay close attention to the taxes. For a $1.2-$1.4M house, you will be well north of $30k and pushing $40k in some Westchester towns (Edgemont, Briarcliff, River Towns, for example).
It really changes the calculus on what's "affordable."
I didn’t see your budget before but I agree with Demographer. Taxes will be crazy high on that kind of house price. Skip Westchester and go a little farther north- where you don’t have to spend 1 million for a nice house
Look at homes near Patterson NY.(Putnam co.)
Train nearby, and you are close to Danbury ct.
Look for home near the thunder ridge ski area. Your price range, very private.
Also, there are many organized homeschool groups in westchester/Putnam county albeit Christian and Catholic. Not sure about secular home school groups here.
You should look in New Jersey if husband is going to work in the Financial District. You can get more for your money there, given the list of items you provided.
You should look in New Jersey if husband is going to work in the Financial District. You can get more for your money there, given the list of items you provided.
I second this. A commute from Fairfield or northern Westchester to the financial district would be no fun. After a few years it will be wearing. Plenty of decent places in NJ with a shorter commute.
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