Bronxville vs Pelham vs Rye vs Other(?) (Yonkers, New Rochelle: real estate, rentals)
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I'm moving to a NYC suburb next year from Ann Arbor. Have a 6 year old who will be going to 2nd grade next year, and a good school district is a top priority. I'll be renting the first year, and maybe purchasing a house within 3 years, but that's up in the air. I'd probably be looking for a 3 bedroom and that could be a townhouse/condo/SFH/co-op, etc... I don't really have a budget, but hoping to stay under 1 mil when the time comes.
I recently visited Bronxville, Pelham, and Rye. Bronxville seems very compact and more upper class. Pelham and Rye seems very similar, and probably more like Ann Arbor than Bronxville.
I like all 3 areas and was wondering if someone can offer a recent comparison of the 3 areas? I've seen some posts on here before about these areas but they're a bit dated, so not sure if there are any significant changes.
All 3 areas seem to have top public school districts, so I don't think the school district will determine which of the 3 areas I'd move to.
I work right next to Penn, but will work from home permanently. Even though I won't have to go in to the office, it would be nice to have easy access by public transportation, but it seems WC has no direct public transportation commute routes to Penn from anywhere. Are there plans to extend the train networks to Penn? I'm also considering NJ and LI, and several of those areas have direct routes to Penn. I don't want to over-index on commute time because this is largely irrelevant, but just included that here in case someone wants to offer some insight.
In terms of upper class feel, its Bronxville, Rye, Pelham in that order, but it's close. They are all upper class compared to 99% of the country and they are more similar than dissimilar. Of the three, Bronxville will have the smallest school and most private school feel. Rye and Pelham are more or less medium sized schools. Some people like small schools, some don't. There are obviously pluses and minuses. Rye and Pelham, owing to their larger size, will have a bit more economic diversity - but just a bit.
Dated posts would still be relevant. Not much has, or will, change in these three communities. Also understand that you are choosing an area based in School District first and foremost. Ignore mailing addresses. Some Bronxville addresses are in the City of Yonkers, and as such, your kid will not be going to Bronxville schools. Rye addresses - I am less familiar - but some may be in other school districts like Rye Neck, or may not be. You will need to be aware.
Penn as in Pennsylvania? You'd have to take Metro North to Grand Central and then get to Penn station (subway, cab, walk) for Amtrak train to Philly or NJ Transit and then change in Trenton for SEPTA to Philly.
Penn as in Pennsylvania? You'd have to take Metro North to Grand Central and then get to Penn station (subway, cab, walk) for Amtrak train to Philly or NJ Transit and then change in Trenton for SEPTA to Philly.
Not sure what you mean by Penn.
Penn as in Penn station (not the state ). Yeah, I saw that route on Google Maps. Do you know if they're consider having a direct train route from WC cities to Penn station like they have with GC?
In terms of upper class feel, its Bronxville, Rye, Pelham in that order, but it's close. They are all upper class compared to 99% of the country and they are more similar than dissimilar. Of the three, Bronxville will have the smallest school and most private school feel. Rye and Pelham are more or less medium sized schools. Some people like small schools, some don't. There are obviously pluses and minuses. Rye and Pelham, owing to their larger size, will have a bit more economic diversity - but just a bit.
Dated posts would still be relevant. Not much has, or will, change in these three communities. Also understand that you are choosing an area based in School District first and foremost. Ignore mailing addresses. Some Bronxville addresses are in the City of Yonkers, and as such, your kid will not be going to Bronxville schools. Rye addresses - I am less familiar - but some may be in other school districts like Rye Neck, or may not be. You will need to be aware.
Oh I didn't think Rye would have a more upper class feel than Pelham. I assume real estate is also in that order, i.e., Bronxville > Rye > Pelham?
I was thinking it wold've been Bronxville > Pelham > Rye because Pelham is closer to the city compared to Rye.
I heard there's "a lot" of racism in Bronxville. Do you think that's a fair statement or exaggerated?
What do you think about the availability of rentals and, in the future, real estate in these areas? Bronxville seems to be the most limited, probably because it's smaller.
Yeah, I heard about the issue with how some Bronxville addresses are assigned to Yonkers school districts. I definitely want to avoid that.
Oh I didn't think Rye would have a more upper class feel than Pelham. I assume real estate is also in that order, i.e., Bronxville > Rye > Pelham?
I was thinking it would've been Bronxville > Pelham > Rye because Pelham is closer to the city compared to Rye.
I heard there's "a lot" of racism in Bronxville. Do you think that's a fair statement or exaggerated?
What do you think about the availability of rentals and, in the future, real estate in these areas? Bronxville seems to be the most limited, probably because it's smaller.
Yeah, I heard about the issue with how some Bronxville addresses are assigned to Yonkers school districts. I definitely want to avoid that.
Rye is a water community. It has $20mm - $40mm+ mansions that are on the water and those mega mansions can subsidize the rest of the town. For that reason the tax rate on assessed value in Rye City is the lowest in all of Westchester.
Bronxville is exclusive because it's small (the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is a long time resident there), but it doesn't have anywhere near $40mm+ homes there. I would say excluding the houses near the water, a similar house in Bronxville will be more expensive than Rye City.
Bronxville like all of Westchester is becoming more diverse. Back in the day, it was known as a WASP town that didn't like Jewish people but that's changing over time. It's still about ~80% white per the NYS Dept of Education.
I know the least about Pelham but Pelham Manor is the nicer area of Pelham (there are some very detailed threads here on Pelham). Bronxville and Pelham are closer to the more urban and crime ridden areas (Bronx, Mount Vernon, Yonkers, New Rochelle) so it's easiest for crime to seep into those towns. There has actually been a big uptick of crime in all of Westchester due to crews (usually younger people) being driven in from CT, NJ, etc. to steal cars, break into homes, etc. This especially applies to people who don't lock their cars and homes; common problem in Westchester and then people are shocked when their car is stolen.
Penn as in Penn station (not the state ). Yeah, I saw that route on Google Maps. Do you know if they're consider having a direct train route from WC cities to Penn station like they have with GC?
There are rumblings about that but I have no idea how real they are or when/if it will come to fruition. We have some transportation gurus on CD who might chime in. In the meantime, here's a link to the website that talks about it.
Penn as in Penn station (not the state ). Yeah, I saw that route on Google Maps. Do you know if they're consider having a direct train route from WC cities to Penn station like they have with GC?
What would be better about direct train route to Penn Station vs. Grand Central? Grand Central is more central and Penn Station is further west.
Rye is a water community. It has $20mm - $40mm+ mansions that are on the water and those mega mansions can subsidize the rest of the town. For that reason the tax rate on assessed value in Rye City is the lowest in all of Westchester.
Bronxville is exclusive because it's small (the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is a long time resident there), but it doesn't have anywhere near $40mm+ homes there. I would say excluding the houses near the water, a similar house in Bronxville will be more expensive than Rye City.
Bronxville like all of Westchester is becoming more diverse. Back in the day, it was known as a WASP town that didn't like Jewish people but that's changing over time. It's still about ~80% white per the NYS Dept of Education.
I know the least about Pelham but Pelham Manor is the nicer area of Pelham (there are some very detailed threads here on Pelham). Bronxville and Pelham are closer to the more urban and crime ridden areas (Bronx, Mount Vernon, Yonkers, New Rochelle) so it's easiest for crime to seep into those towns. There has actually been a big uptick of crime in all of Westchester due to crews (usually younger people) being driven in from CT, NJ, etc. to steal cars, break into homes, etc. This especially applies to people who don't lock their cars and homes; common problem in Westchester and then people are shocked when their car is stolen.
Ah I see. I didn't know there was a difference between Pelham and Pelham Manor. I thoguht people used the two interchangeably, but I'll go back and read about the distinction between the 2
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(not the state 
