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We are a couple moving to Westchester from the SF Bay Area with one college grad and one high school age child. We decided on this area for its commute to the city compared to LI, CT, and Jersey, however one issue we have now is not knowing which town to pick given how many there are.
Some conditions I have are:
1) Outdoorsy Feeling/Close to Nature - We live in Saratoga, CA currently which has a nice small downtown with a community feeling but is located in the hills of Silicon Valley. Our town is located right by a state park and has great hiking/nature spots. We would like to find a community that has similar amenities but obviously is not too far from the city.
2) Budget - Our budget is $4 million maximum- given the higher taxes in this part of the country I do not want to exceed this maximum.
3) Good Public Schools - Our local high school is fantastic and among the best nationally, so I would want a similar standard of excellence for our youngest as well. We would prefer to save money by not having to pay for private schools. As far as I can see, Westchester has the best schools in the NY Metro so I hope this isn't a huge constraint.
4) Community - We live in a town that is majority-minority, about 50-50 Asian/White. While I imagine this is nonexistent on the East Coast, I would want a community that is welcoming enough and so that I do not "stick out" or feel excluded- I am Asian-American for reference. Preferably there is a downtown type area in the area if not in the town itself we can go to for great food as well.
5) Politics - This one is the least important but I would prefer a town that is mostly liberal leaning. Saratoga is about 70-30 Democrat overall
Please let me know if there's any other information you'd need to help me out and I look forward to moving to the area!
Last edited by BayAreatoNY; 05-27-2022 at 11:48 AM..
With your budget, you can move pretty much anywhere you want in Westchester. Most towns in Southern Westchester with the exception of a few lean Democratic.
I also recommend Scarsdale but would also recommend Edgemont & Chappaqua. Chappaqua if you want more land a littler further North & to be closer to nature (Chappaqua has an express train station to Grand Central). Chappaqua is also where the Clintons live. Chappaqua is ~14% Asian.
Scarsdale is ~22% Asian but growing every year. Here are the NYSED stats including demographics.
Edgemont is a smaller school district. Houses are priced lower but the tax rate is higher since it doesn't have a lot of $5mm+ houses to help carry the tax bill. Tax rate is ~3.5% of assessed value there whereas it's closer to 2.5% in Scarsdale.
The Greenburgh Nature Center (located in Edgemont off of Central Ave) is close by. There are hiking trails all over Westchester.
There are towns that are close to 50% Asian/White, notably in Long Island. Great Neck which borders Queens NYC is ~43%. Great Neck South High School is ~60% Asian.
AAA magazine says Westchester County has the best highway system in the entire nation, so that's an added bonus of living here, plus you will be only a 20 minute train ride away from Grand Central Station, NYC. Best of both worlds, city and country-like living.
We are a couple moving to Westchester from the SF Bay Area with one college grad and one high school age child. We decided on this area for its commute to the city compared to LI, CT, and Jersey, however one issue we have now is not knowing which town to pick given how many there are.
Some conditions I have are:
1) Outdoorsy Feeling/Close to Nature - We live in Saratoga, CA currently which has a nice small downtown with a community feeling but is located in the hills of Silicon Valley. Our town is located right by a state park and has great hiking/nature spots. We would like to find a community that has similar amenities but obviously is not too far from the city.
2) Budget - Our budget is $4 million maximum- given the higher taxes in this part of the country I do not want to exceed this maximum.
3) Good Public Schools - Our local high school is fantastic and among the best nationally, so I would want a similar standard of excellence for our youngest as well. We would prefer to save money by not having to pay for private schools. As far as I can see, Westchester has the best schools in the NY Metro so I hope this isn't a huge constraint.
4) Community - We live in a town that is majority-minority, about 50-50 Asian/White. While I imagine this is nonexistent on the East Coast, I would want a community that is welcoming enough and so that I do not "stick out" or feel excluded- I am Asian-American for reference. Preferably there is a downtown type area in the area if not in the town itself we can go to for great food as well.
5) Politics - This one is the least important but I would prefer a town that is mostly liberal leaning. Saratoga is about 70-30 Democrat overall
Please let me know if there's any other information you'd need to help me out and I look forward to moving to the area!
Everyone is sending you to Lower Westchester towns when Upper Westchester is similar to what you are
currently living in- Scarsdale is the last place I would recommend if you want to be in an outdoorsy area.
As I say to everyone- first priority is do you require frequent travel to NYC and where in NYC. Secondly,
are you then going to drive to NYC or take the train?
My initial gut feeling is to recommend Pound Ridge- but that may not be the best choice if you require a daily NYC commute. Chappaqua and Armonk may fit the bill- but although there are more large acreage properties and it is way more rural feeling than lower Westchester- it is more manicured lawn suburban than a place like Pound Ridge- although the schools are rated higher than Pound Ridge.
Katonah would also be a really nice fit- but once gain commute times may be an issue.
My top recommendations would be to look in the following school districts- Katonah-Lewisboro, Chappaqua, Byram Hills to start. North Salem is also an option- but that is a very small district and although highly rated the High School has less than 500 students- which appears to be a very big change from the schools in Saratoga.
My real choice with the little I know would probably be the area of Pound Ridge that is zoned for Katonah-Lewisboro Schools. Second would be Katonah itself.
As for Asian- you aren't going to stick out in Westchester. Politics- Westchester is "Liberal" but CA and NY have different interpretations/definitions of what a Liberal is so you may want to research that a little more. But on a whole you will not have that much of a culture shock transitioning between the two areas.
However- housing stock tends to be much older in the Northeast than it is in California- and that seems to be a huge culture shock to many transplants.
With your budget- I also would not rule out Connecticut. There are some easily commutable areas there as well that may fit your wants.
Everyone is sending you to Lower Westchester towns when Upper Westchester is similar to what you are
currently living in- Scarsdale is the last place I would recommend if you want to be in an outdoorsy area.
As I say to everyone- first priority is do you require frequent travel to NYC and where in NYC. Secondly,
are you then going to drive to NYC or take the train?
My initial gut feeling is to recommend Pound Ridge- but that may not be the best choice if you require a daily NYC commute. Chappaqua and Armonk may fit the bill- but although there are more large acreage properties and it is way more rural feeling than lower Westchester- it is more manicured lawn suburban than a place like Pound Ridge- although the schools are rated higher than Pound Ridge.
Katonah would also be a really nice fit- but once gain commute times may be an issue.
My top recommendations would be to look in the following school districts- Katonah-Lewisboro, Chappaqua, Byram Hills to start. North Salem is also an option- but that is a very small district and although highly rated the High School has less than 500 students- which appears to be a very big change from the schools in Saratoga.
My real choice with the little I know would probably be the area of Pound Ridge that is zoned for Katonah-Lewisboro Schools. Second would be Katonah itself.
As for Asian- you aren't going to stick out in Westchester. Politics- Westchester is "Liberal" but CA and NY have different interpretations/definitions of what a Liberal is so you may want to research that a little more. But on a whole you will not have that much of a culture shock transitioning between the two areas.
However- housing stock tends to be much older in the Northeast than it is in California- and that seems to be a huge culture shock to many transplants.
With your budget- I also would not rule out Connecticut. There are some easily commutable areas there as well that may fit your wants.
Not to discount what you said but Katonah is 3% Asian.
Where in his post does it say being in an Asian area is the top priority?
The OP states they want to live somewhere they wont feel excluded or stick out- I cannot see ANYWHERE in Westchester where this would happen- even in Mount Vernon, Peekskill or Port Chester. It is not like they are moving to Utah.
The #1 concern was to live in outdoorsy feeling/close to nature area that is similar to where they already live. Saratoga, CA has much more in common with Upper Westchester than Lower Westchester.
99.9% people in areas that the OP can afford don't care about race. They care about class status and money.
The only way you stick out in the towns the OP can afford to live in is by driving a cheap car.
Where in his post does it say being in an Asian area is the top priority?
The OP states they want to live somewhere they wont feel excluded or stick out- I cannot see ANYWHERE in Westchester where this would happen- even in Mount Vernon, Peekskill or Port Chester. It is not like they are moving to Utah.
The #1 concern was to live in outdoorsy feeling/close to nature area that is similar to where they already live. Saratoga, CA has much more in common with Upper Westchester than Lower Westchester.
99.9% people in areas that the OP can afford don't care about race. They care about class status and money.
The only way you stick out in the towns the OP can afford to live in is by driving a cheap car.
It’s not a top priority but it is on the OP’s list.
If you live in an area that is 3% Asian, that will be culture shock coming from an area that is 50% Asian.
People may not be overtly racists but you will stick out.
Out of your list, I agree on Chappaqua which I mentioned in my original post. Armonk might work too but I always discounted it since it didn’t have its own train station.
BTW, Scarsdale is more like the land of Subarus than high-end cars. With the exception of maybe Murray Hill in Heathcote, no one cares what car you drive.
We are a couple moving to Westchester from the SF Bay Area with one college grad and one high school age child. We decided on this area for its commute to the city compared to LI, CT, and Jersey, however one issue we have now is not knowing which town to pick given how many there are.
Some conditions I have are:
1) Outdoorsy Feeling/Close to Nature - We live in Saratoga, CA currently which has a nice small downtown with a community feeling but is located in the hills of Silicon Valley. Our town is located right by a state park and has great hiking/nature spots. We would like to find a community that has similar amenities but obviously is not too far from the city.
2) Budget - Our budget is $4 million maximum- given the higher taxes in this part of the country I do not want to exceed this maximum.
3) Good Public Schools - Our local high school is fantastic and among the best nationally, so I would want a similar standard of excellence for our youngest as well. We would prefer to save money by not having to pay for private schools. As far as I can see, Westchester has the best schools in the NY Metro so I hope this isn't a huge constraint.
4) Community - We live in a town that is majority-minority, about 50-50 Asian/White. While I imagine this is nonexistent on the East Coast, I would want a community that is welcoming enough and so that I do not "stick out" or feel excluded- I am Asian-American for reference. Preferably there is a downtown type area in the area if not in the town itself we can go to for great food as well.
5) Politics - This one is the least important but I would prefer a town that is mostly liberal leaning. Saratoga is about 70-30 Democrat overall
Please let me know if there's any other information you'd need to help me out and I look forward to moving to the area!
Based on your requirements, I would say Chappaqua is probably your best bet. It’s located in the northern half of Westchester County, which will give you more of that outdoorsy feel that you’re looking for. The $4M max budget is probably a bit overkill for Westchester, anything approaching that price is going to have an astronomical tax bill. If you need to get into Manhattan, you have about a 1 hour train ride on the Metro North. Chappaqua. Homes up in northern Westchester tend to have oil heating and septic tanks, which is something to keep in mind if you’re not used to it.
You are going to be very disappointed in the number 4 when it comes to community/food. It won’t be the same for you in terms of heavy Asian community and great food. I’ve know more than a few California transplants who came and left westchester. Westchester towns are very “sleepy” compared to what you are used too. The community for the most part is centered around the schools growing up and you already have a high schooler. There is not as much focus on “downtown” communities. There aren’t giant Bay Area style farmers markets and great Asian food neighborhoods. You need to go to the city for all of that. Westchester itself is quite boring and for the most part people keep to themselves and their close friends
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