Larchmont Woods / New Rochelle (Rye, Mamaroneck: house, neighborhoods, school district)

[Topher87]

Hello,

I am looking for some insight on the area of New Rochelle called Larchmont Woods. Over the last 7 months, my wife and I have viewed at least 50-75 properties in Scarsdale, Larchmont, and Harrison.

To say that the housing stock is pretty dismal in the 900-1.5 range is an understatement. We either see a lovely house, but the family has lived there for 40 years and the house needs another half a million dollars worth of work to update it. Or, you're paying 1.5 for a postage stamp of a place.

Which brings me to my original question, as we were driving on Forest Ave in Larchmont traveling West, we came upon a most beautiful section of New Rochelle, Larchmont Woods.

The place reminded me of the streets that I grew up on back in the Midwest. There were families walking with their kids, and the homes had a lot of character. Some of which I found was lacking in the other areas that we have looked in.

My question is, how does the place compare with the other towns that I mentioned? Not in terms of average family income, but real life matters, community, schools etc...

We are interested in looking for a place here, but want to know a little more about the place from people who currently live there or who have resided there in the past.

Thank you in advance.

[CityOnDown5250]

you were walking right on the border of Larchmont and New Rochelle. Larchmont is an amazing town. i personally love it. Larchmont students, however, attend the Mamaroneck school distrcit. Mamaroneck high school is nothing great. dont get me wrong, Larchmont has a great community. friendly people and good shops and good foods. but Mamaroneck High school is crap. im friends with alot of kids there, and although alot of their graduates attend prestigious universities, the school itself is nothing special. New Rochelle has very two distinct sides two it. it has the upscale part and the not so upscale part (north ave.) the school district is huge, just like the high school. the other towns you mentioned, if you can afford, you would be MUCH better off. first, Scarsdale is almost a dream come true. first off its only 20 mins by train to Manhattan. the town itself is great. a high jewish population just on a side note. the schools in Scarsdale are excellent, much better than NRHS and MKHS. the community is great. the sceneary is wonderful, personally the downtown is just as nice as Larchmont. I would go with Scarsdale if you can afford it. Harrison is a nice town as well. the actually town part, which borders Rye Neck, is full of great Italian eateries (being that it is a predomintaley Italian town) across the tracks and 95, the "other side" as they call it, is filled with huge homes, as you probably saw. the Harrison school district exteneds all the way down near Rye Neck to some parts of Purchase, its pretty spread out. the school district? lets put it this way. its better than Mamaroneck and New Rochelle, but nothing like Scarsdale. Scarsdale has the best of everything. infact, Scarsdale High School is the 3rd best high school in Westchester county. one of the schools infront of them is its neighboring Edgemont High School, which shares some Scarsdale in their school district, but is associated with the town of Hartsdale. go with Scarsdale

[E. Ross]

I moved to New Rochelle from Boston 15 years ago and have raised 3 children. They have all gone through the public schools. My eldest is now in college. New Rochelle is a wonderful, livable city. The public schools are outstanding. THe high school is very large and diverse. It has a tremendous depth in both the academics , arts and sports.. It is profoundly different from Scarsdale or some of the other Westchester towns mentioned because of the ethnic and economic diversity. The kids come from many backgrounds. The school therefore faces problems and issues that are not faced in the Scarsdale or other of the very wealthy Westhcester towns. However, my children have been offered unbelievable choices in music and AP courses....the top students compete and go to the best universities and colleges. I believe my children have grown and matured by dealing with some of the "real life" issues that are faced with going to school in a large, diverse community. NEw Rochelle tends to attract people that celebrate diversity. One of the drawbacks of the town is the downtown which has improved over the last few years but has a long way to go. However, the neighborhoods are a great place to raise a family. New Rochelle attracts many professionals from the city who take the train. I have always worked. I worked part time when my kids were little and now work full time. I have found a community of friends through the public schools and local organizations.