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Firstly, I am not a native New Yorker so my opinions of different places have not been tainted by years of bad news and urban legend.
Second, my husband (native NYer) and I are potential first time buyers looking to move from a 1-bedroom in Manhattan which we share with our almost school age child. It's like camping except not fun.
We are interested in a small single-family home, condo or townhouse. Ideally in White Plains but now I'm looking at Yonkers just south of White Plains. Problem with White Plains is that there are many condos available that we could almost afford. They are older buildings - some "charming" some ghastly 70's architecture. While we could afford one of these, there is a lot of new construction in White Plains - a lot. I don't think we could afford a new one and my concern is that it would be impossible to sell an older one when we need to due to a glut of new construction.
For kicks, I looked online at some places in Yonkers. And there are some nice little houses - after living here..hell, anything is a palace..almost. My concern, SCHOOLS...my SIL says that they have a bad reputation but we should investigate more. Does anyone have any personal experience with Yonkers schools or know of a source for HONEST information about Yonkers schools?
If you bothered to read this whole thing, I thank you whole-heartedly!
Sincerely, Annamommynous
Unfortunately, I have to agree with the other posters to the thread. The school system isn't good; don't have the figures but from experience working with the NYSDOH, I know that poor education is a big issue.
On the other hand, I also know that community organisations, unhappy, with the state of the City on many social levels have been joining together in an effort to make massive improvements.
I wish them luck because Yonkers is rich in history, geographically situated close to NYC and worth saving!
Well parts of Yonkers aren't bad. The Eastern part of Yonkers, specifically west of the Bronx river parkway and east of the Saw Mill is pretty nice. This area is directly north of Woodlawn and has a lot of blue-collar Irish and Italian people. This is a really great area for starter homes in my opinion. There are also a couple of stops on Metro North in the area which will take you into Grand Central station if you have to work in the city.
Western Yonkers on the other hand is horrific. Stay away.
Now as the to school system in Yonkers. I wouldn't send a kid into the public school system there unless he speaks Spanish or knows how to throw down gang signs. Catholic school is really the only way to go in Yonkers. There is a nice Catholic school in Dunwoodie and one in Woodlawn, (I think its St. Barnabas).
A lot of people are going to tell you to look at Bronxville, Tuckahoe, Eastchester, Scarsdale, etc for good schools. Of course all of those places are probably going to be out of your price range if you are looking for a place in Yonkers. These are the towns with the best school districts, but as a result all of the houses are REALLY pricey.
Oh BTW, if you are looking at houses in Yonkers that are around the 400k price range, you might want to look into towns in NJ that are similar but have much better public school systems.
Towns like Bayonne, Kearny, Totowa, and Little Falls come to mind. Bayonne even has a light rail line that can get you into the Financial district in 30 minutes.
Forget Yonkers School's! No Money There For Schooling System. Its Not Worth The Cheaper Condo. When You See Cheaper Places You Have To Ask Yourself Why. Since You Are Not A Born New Yorker This Is How Things Work Here In New York. It's Not A Trick It's Just How it Seem's. House Bigger And Cheaper Means Stay Away!!!!!!!!!!!!Same With White Plains Ok School's But When You Get To High School That One School Is For All Of White Plains Yikes!!!!!!!!
You Might Want Look In The Area's Everyone Else Told You about ,which Is Expensive. Hartsdale Is Greenburg Schooling Not Great Either. But Of Couse Not Until You Get High School. Thinking The Grammer School's And Middle School might Not Be So Bad Since There's More Than One. Think About Rockland County If You Need More For Your Buck And Most school Systems There Are Great. And Still Close To City.
It is so comforting to hear that you too are ready to leave Manhattan for greener pastures. I have been torn about leaving Manhattan (a native too)
but have truly had it here. The idea of not wsating $20K + a year on rent and actually being able to afford a sprawling 2 bedroom for the same price is
thrilling. I still remain a bit torn but think making the move is the right thing.
I am looking into Bronxville...Good luck!
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we are in a similar boat
