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any pros or cons? i work in midtown manhattan and currently looking to buy a condo. done my bit if reasearch but cant seem to favor one over the other. your inputs would be highly appreciated!
any pros or cons? i work in midtown manhattan and currently looking to buy a condo. done my bit if reasearch but cant seem to favor one over the other. your inputs would be highly appreciated!
thanks...
Nassau is far more congested traffic-wise. Driving from Westchester to NY (If you drove) is far less of a pain than driving from Nassau. Driving around locally is much easier in Westchester.
As far as commuting by train to the city, Penn Station is a DUMP compared to the grandeur of Grand Central Station. The train trips trips from Westchester to NY are generally a little bit longer.
Both areas have good school districts (and are equivalently expensive, I think) but it seemed to me that Westchester had more good school districts.
There are many variables. Would you be commuting by train or car? Do you need good school districts? What is your price range? Do you prefer the beaches or the mountains? Does it matter whether or not you have a village nearby?
There are many variables. Would you be commuting by train or car? Do you need good school districts? What is your price range? Do you prefer the beaches or the mountains? Does it matter whether or not you have a village nearby?
To narrow it down, we'll be commuting by most of the time. Price range for a condo would be 250-325k. I guess townhouses are out of the question for this budget?
Will be planning to have kids soon so school districts are also a factor. Does this mean school districts are better in Westchester compared to Nassau or vice versa? Beaches or mountains are not really a factor, we wouldnt mind having the "outdoors" a few miles away for recreational activities (biking, running, hiking, shopping...etc).
If you need to get into Manhattan on a regular basis, then there's no contest. It's much easier to get to midtown from Westchester than from Nassau county. I find the MetroNorth system much less crowded and more direct than the LIRR.
Also, if you're driving, there are many more highways going into Manhattan from Westchester than from Nassau. From Manhattan there are only two direct ways into Nassau: the LIE or the GCP/Northern State. The LIE is usually always congested, and the GCP/NS is only slightly better. Whereas Westchester has an extensive and well-interconnected parkway system, giving you more options into NYC.
Most school districts in Westchester range from good to excellent. There are only a few that are considered problematic (Yonkers, Mt. Vernon, Greenburgh and parts of New Rochelle).
The main con for Westchester is the property tax. Overall, it's higher than Nassau's. Another con is the smaller inventory, especially in your price range. Westchester has fewer units of real estate on the market than Nassau. However, nice properties are out there. You just have to look a bit harder to find a great deal.
When I said "village", I was refering to a central shopping district. Some areas are completely residential, some areas have scattered shopping and others have villages with main streets that are lined with stores for several blocks.
Judging from test scores, I agree that a larger portion Westchester has good schools where close to 90% or more of the students pass the state regents exams. In comparison, there are fewer schools in Nassau scoring this high. Most of the higher scoring Nassau schools are on the north shore. You can go to greatschools.net for further info on each school district.
With my limited experience on Westchester roads, it does seem like the highways leading in and out of Westchester are less congested than the Long Island Expressway.
I have to disagree with Marie1249 regarding the quickest train rides. There are areas in Nassau such as Great Neck and Manhasset that are only 25-30 minutes from Penn Station.
I'm not familiar with condo prices. I know that there are starter homes in Westchester within that price range but I believe you would have more choices in Nassau. The median price of a house in Nassau is about 30% lower than Westchester. You could get a clearer picture of this by visiting realtors web sites and looking to see what you can get.
I myself chose to focus on Westchester rather than Long Island because of the schools and the natural scenery.
I have to disagree with Marie1249 regarding the quickest train rides. There are areas in Nassau such as Great Neck and Manhasset that are only 25-30 minutes from Penn Station.
While it's true that a few areas of Nassau are a quick commute to Manhattan--this is the exception, especially for areas with good school districts. Also, many areas are not a direct line into the city and require a connection, resulting in a longer commute.
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