What are the best towns in Westchester for 30’s married couple no kids? 1.2mil max budget
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Anyways, looking for a nice town that offers walkability and various things to do such as restaurants coffee shops and folks my age. Being NYC folks I’d like to meet similar people. Not interested in the whole I never use or go into the city I just live 45 mins away for some reason people.
A hundred years ago, my husband and I lived in NYC and Sunnyside Queens.
For nearly two decades, we loved Yorktown. I had an acre of land to garden. We frequently drove to NYC. We had museum memberships, Met Opera, and Music Before 1800 tickets. When our kid became independent adults, they meet us to the concerts. We got to see each. It was great pre-pandemic time.
While there are childless and older couples, most of Westchester is geared towards young families. Naturally, the younger families form friendships with other families with children the same age.
My husband and I searched for a more walkable Westchester town with restaurants and shops. In the end, we left New York six months ago. If we had stayed in New York, we would have returned to a townhouse in historic Sunnyside, Queens.
You might want to look at Tarrytown or White Plains. Still, I don't know about them.
EDIT. Rye has the prettiest walkabout downtown. I advise you to rent an apartment/condo in Rye.
Westchester housing prices have been inflated since the start of the pandemic. They rose again when NYC crime increased.
Three things could happen:
1) inflation with the continued low interest rates which increases home values.
2) a return to the Jimmy Carter years with high inflation and high interest rates which lowers home values.
3) less demand as people return to NYC and no increased inflation which allows for a housing market correction.
Financially, it might be better to rent in Rye. You'll get to know the area and find your dream house when the market isn't so crazy.
I am building a house now. For much of the country, it's the same situation. All the money saved from restaurant dinning and vacations are fueling a national renovation resurgence. The price of lumber across is crazy high. It's taking me a month to book an appointment with cabinet, lighting, tile, flooring. etc. contractors. Then I am waiting for a month to six weeks to get my quotes.
Just a heads up, if you buy a house now with plans to renovate, it will take more time than usual.
Last edited by YorktownGal; 06-04-2021 at 10:05 AM..
A hundred years ago, my husband and I lived in NYC and Sunnyside Queens.
For nearly two decades, we loved Yorktown. I had an acre of land to garden. We frequently drove to NYC. We had museum memberships, Met Opera, and Music Before 1800 tickets. When our kid became independent adults, they meet us to the concerts. We got to see each. It was great pre-pandemic time.
While there are childless and older couples, most of Westchester is geared towards young families. Naturally, the younger families form friendships with other families with children the same age.
My husband and I searched for a more walkable Westchester town with restaurants and shops. In the end, we left New York six months ago. If we had stayed in New York, we would have returned to a townhouse in historic Sunnyside, Queens.
You might want to look at Tarrytown or White Plains. Still, I don't know about them.
EDIT. Rye has the prettiest walkabout downtown. I advise you to rent an apartment/condo in Rye.
Westchester housing prices have been inflated since the start of the pandemic. They rose again when NYC crime increased.
Three things could happen:
1) inflation with the continued low interest rates which increases home values.
2) a return to the Jimmy Carter years with high inflation and high interest rates which lowers home values.
3) less demand as people return to NYC and no increased inflation which allows for a housing market correction.
Financially, it might be better to rent in Rye. You'll get to know the area and find your dream house when the market isn't so crazy.
I am building a house now. For much of the country, it's the same situation. All the money saved from restaurant dinning and vacations are fueling a national renovation resurgence. The price of lumber across is crazy high. It's taking me a month to book an appointment with cabinet, lighting, tile, flooring. etc. contractors. Then I am waiting for a month to six weeks to get my quotes.
Just a heads up, if you buy a house now with plans to renovate, it will take more time than usual.
I love reading your posts. I learned a lot about Westchester through reading them. Where did you end up, and why did you pass on returning to NYC?
Saw two houses in Larchmont today that were very nice. 1 Mil and 1.1 mil. Saw two others in Scarsdale for 999 a couple on the NR Scarsdale line for 900 and even a few out in Chapp for around a mil. Lots of options out there that would give us double the space we have in nyc for basically the same cost minus taxes. With that said buying a unit in the city would round up coa costs so it sorta works it’s self out in a way. Yes there are many houses inflated in prices but many are not getting into bidding wars which is good. Starting to see cracks In prices too. Nothing like the total craziness in other cities. Probably waiting till the fall but learning a lot.
Right now the East side of Westchester (Rye, Larchmont, Mamaroneck) are all popular with people relocating. We bought a house in Dobbs Ferry on the Rivertown side in 2015 after about 2 years of searching - also 30's no kids. Our preference was for an easy commute to/from NYC and the Hudson line seemed far less crowded than Harlem and New Haven lines. Door to door from Dobbs is around 1hr (I include driving to the station, finding parking, getting to the train and getting out of GCT, not including subsequent connections to the office). Door to door to Downtown is closer to 2hrs, sometimes more with delays. If convenience is a major factor, I highly recommend sticking to Southern Westchester and considering commute to/from the station during rush hour when traffic on small, village streets can quickly become congested - worse during bad weather/wintertime.
6 years later, I have mixed feelings, we're both working remote so that commute isn't really a big deal anymore. Dobbs is alright overall, though I take issue with the vocal contingent of people who seem to want the town to remain trapped in the 1950's (no renovations, shabby infrastructure, poor mix of commercial businesses, lack of accessibility/foot traffic to drive visitors to the town, etc). Roads are in pretty horrible shape, having degraded quite a lot over the past year. Public projects/improvements seem to take 2-3x longer than normal due to red tape and bureaucracy.
If I got a do-over (hindsight being 20/20) we might have chosen a move to Greenwich with a slightly longer commute/higher priced house and lower taxes with better public infrastructure and commercial amenities. Just my own experience though and I'm sure you'll find plenty of folks who have had different - better - experiences living in Westchester.
I love reading your posts. I learned a lot about Westchester through reading them. Where did you end up, and why did you pass on returning to NYC?
Thanks for your kind words. I really thought about my reply.
We went for Virginia.
First, my kids are in Washington DC. I'm closer now.
Second, I lived in Washington Heights in my twenties (during Mayor Koch/Mayor Dinkin's time). I was young, healthy and adventurous. There was an abandoned building with a busted concrete door behind my apartment building (assumed it was a crack den - not sure if it was). There was a rooster which crowed every morning (thought it escaped from a rooster fight - not sure if it had). However, the neighborhood was pretty safe. My (doorman) building was pretty safe. Besides, my husband was big, six foot tall, guy.
As NYC declines, I am not up for it a second time.
Third, taxes on everything. Tolls on the Henry Hudson Bridge. Whenever it comes, congestion pricing. Sales taxes, property taxes, retirement saving taxes. taxi taxes, etc. All on top of the federal taxes on social security.
Fourth, I feel like the city is pushing out families and older people. Subways stairs are not handicap or family friendly. Two parents are needed to bring strollers up and down subway stairs. It's worse with a double stroller (and two kids). Citi bikes are great if you are traveling alone, but not with toddlers or small children. A parent can hold onto two children and fold up the stroller, and board an empty bus, however, it's a project. Due to the tolls/congestion pricing plans and the bike lanes, cars aren't a solution now.
I still do subway stairs, but many seniors have knee issues which prevent it. I'm not bicycling in traffic. I love to walk, but I don't want to dodge crime, scooters or bicyclists. I want to walk without any reservations.
Besides the logistics of travel, I feel like the NYC is gearing itself towards wealthier, younger and childless population. It's hard to put a finger on it. There was something so middle class about NYC and it's missing now.
================================
There was no point in remaining in Westchester without regular access to NYC. As nice as Westchester is, it is pretty much like every upper middle class suburb.
In Virginia, the electrical wires are buried so much fewer outages. People are friendly and polite (even behind the wheel). I'm in a walkable area. Much less snow. Amtrak stops in my town for trips to DC, NYC and Boston. It's as nice as Westchester. Best of all, my property tax is less than $4,000 per year!
Last edited by YorktownGal; 07-25-2021 at 12:47 PM..
Word of advice - if you are not from the area, you may not understand how zip codes and school districts work. Make absolutely sure you know which school district you are buying. For example, the 10583 zip includes part of Yonkers. If you want that then fine just keep your eyes open. Your school district determines your resale value.
Word of advice - if you are not from the area, you may not understand how zip codes and school districts work. Make absolutely sure you know which school district you are buying. For example, the 10583 zip includes part of Yonkers. If you want that then fine just keep your eyes open. Your school district determines your resale value.
Same thing on LI, zip code does not match the school district
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