Need clarification on a couple areas (Pelham/Tuckahoe/Larchmont)

[KathyNY76]

Where in MI are you from? I'm originally from there and now live in Westchester. I might be able to make some comparisions between MI and NY towns to give you a feel for things.

[rubygreta]

Originally Posted by ratgirlny

I live in Eastchester. There is very little economic diversity here. You may be thinking of Tuckahoe. Eastchester is largely Italian middle class, with a significant Japanese minority. My kids are in the public schools. They are good in the sense that they get good test scores. They are very test-driven, and don't teach anything that isn't aligned to the NY standards (at least in the elementary schools). There is little enrichment or individuation for kids who are ahead. On the other hand, they are very good at meeting the needs of kids on IEPs. I have kids in both situations, that is how I know!

The high school offers a ton of advanced and AP courses. If your kids are hard working and bright they can be challenged in the Eastchester School District.

[susan61]

Larchmont is a great place for families. I manage a doorman condo building, 1/2 block from the train (New Haven line) and our building is full of young professional couples from the city who have chosen Larchmont to raise their kids. Our building is in the Murray Avenue Elementary district, a great school with a real community feeling. Parking can be tough, but nothing like the problems you have in the city.

[Tuckahoer]

Originally Posted by minymom

My husband and I and 2 young children are relocating to NY in a couple weeks from MI, and based upon much information from this site, greatschools, insideschools.org, etc we are looking into rental properties in these areas: Larchmont, Pelham, Tuckahoe, and Bronxville. My husband and I wanted to be in areas within an hour train commute to the WTC, with the top public schools, good community offerings, and of course, safe and family friendly.

-Are there any other areas that we should consider?
-Where exactly are these so-called "bad areas" of Pelham, and what schools are they affliated with?
-We read that the parking spaces for the Larchmont train is extremely difficult to obtain, if we have a property that is not within walking distance to the train, where to commuters park?
-How do Tuckahoe schools compare to Larchmont and Pelham?
-For a family with a toddler and a preschooler would Larchmonts community offerings provide more diverse options and convenient access than Pelham or Tuckahoe?
-An agent told me that there is no parking in Bronxville, unless you pay for it, specifically that if you live in an apartment and have a car, you can't find parking for it anywhere unless you have a reserved spot. Is that so?
-Lastly, are any of these areas a closer and easier commute to the WTC than others?

You should look into Tuckahoe.

I was in a similar boat. We (young couple w/ toddler son) also moved from Michigan (Rochester/Oakland Twp. area outside Detroit) to New York (to work in New York City near Grand Central). I spent a lot of time considering where to live (examining northern New Jersey and much of lower Westchester). NJ is not ideal given commute to Grand Central (much more conducive to Penn Station). I really believe southern Westchester is the pretty much objectively the best option from a commute perspective.

First, you can get on the Harlem line train from Tuckahoe station (I previously lived closer to the Crestwood station) but now closer to Tuckahoe. 28-35 minutes to Grand Central. There are even some expresses from Crestwood that take 25 minutes. No changing trains, etc.

Eastchester (Tuckahoe & Bronxville villages and unincorporated area outside the two villages) is a very nice place. So is Scarsdale. I located in Tuckahoe because it is less expensive than the other areas but still very safe and was able to locate new construction housing (rental). I would say that, coming from Michigan, one thing you have to get used to is the lower quality of housing stock in Westchester. People in Bronxville love paying obscene amounts for their made-in-1926 homes without central air and with lead paint. Sorry -- just not for me. I actually lived in one such home for the first year I was here until I could figure out exactly what I wanted. I needed to find a town ASAP and had just a short-time to figure it out in early '07. My boss lived in Bronxville. He recommended that from a commute and quality of life perspective. I looked into it, didn't see much I could afford, and hurriedly decided on a place in Tuckahoe I considered would be for just one year (was on a one week look-see). I then decided that during my one-year rent term I would figure out what I really wanted. During that year I spent a tremendous amount of time doing due diligence -- examining all the various towns in Westchester (it was kind of fun), including some that were further away than I'd suggest and -- lo and behold -- I found that what I was looking for was in Tuckahoe all along.

If I'm in this area long-term, I could see eventually settling down only in either Bronxville, Tuckahoe, Eastchester, or Scarsdale. There are some good areas of Yonkers JUST RIGHT OUTSIDE either Bronxville, Tuckahoe, or Eastchester (not much outside) that have some nice homes that are comparatively less expensive and often you can find newer construction -- but then you lose the school district, so not a good long-term option at least for us. And the only place I'd want to live that is closer to the city is Bronxville but that is just 90 seconds closer on the train and is more expensive.

Tuckahoe is a very community-minded place. There are an inordinate amount of parades, fairs, etc. The background is historical working/middle class (primarily Italian and, to a lesser extent, Irish) who worked a marble quarry in the 1800's. You can still feel this today, as the "snob factor" of some surrounding towns is really not evident at all in Tuckahoe yet there are all the amenities and the proximity of upper-class areas/restaurants/etc. in surrounding areas (plus some nice places in Tuckahoe that we more often than not frequent anyhow).

Also you mentioned you have two young kids. Tuckahoe has a free preschool program (I have friends who pay more for their kids' preschool than they did their own college educations). It's a lottery (we're still waiting to hear) and not guaranteed. But if you get it, it's at least a $8,000 value (likely more) compared to comparable programs. You'll want to be sure you're in Tuckahoe schools and not Eastchester if you want to take advantage of this program. We were previously in Eastchester schools (I was surprised to learn) and when we moved 0.25mi to our new place we moved into the Tuckahoe school district.

Anyway, I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have on Tuckahoe. Probably I could be accused of cheerleading my own village but since I moved from southeast MI to Westchester and it can be a tough adjustment and we are 100% happy with where we ended up, I thought I'd chime in.

IMO, Bronxville, Tuckahoe, Eastchester, Scarsdale you really cannot go wrong. Living right near the train in Tuckahoe has been great.

Other places are nice and should not be discounted (though I personally would not look beyond the ones mentioned above). But places like Mamaroneck, Larchmont, Pelham, Rye, etc. are also very nice. Places like Chappaquah, Mount Kisco, etc. in my opinion are much too far away.