Larchmont vs. Chappaqua (New Rochelle, White Plains, Rye: renting, houses, buying)

[CityOnDown5250]

Compare and contrast Larchmont and Chappaqua. similarities, differnces, and everything in between, in terms of demographics, income. relgion, lifestyle, etc.

[Viralmd]

If you could be more specific in what you're looking for, that would help. You've asked a very broad question. Are you thinking of moving to one of these towns? If so, what's your price point? Renting? Buying?

[CityOnDown5250]

no price range. actually not even concerned about the houses, just wanna know about the unwritten things about the town. you know, the type of people, attitude, religious affliations, that kinda stuff. like what pops into your mind when you hear Larchmont or Chappaqua or people from larchmont or people from chappaqua?

[kletter1mann]

It's not clear what purpose you have in mind since these towns are different enough that neither would likely be on the same persons short list. Clearly you have something else in mind. Nevertheless, I'm quite familiar with both, having friends and coworkers in both of them and no one would dispute these generalizations. Obviously there are exceptions and your mileage may vary. Hopefully you'll they'll meet your needs.

Money:
Both towns are solidly upper-middle class and better. Both have plenty of seriously wealthy people (Chappaqua gets the edge).

Lifestyle and Cultural Drivers:

Larchmont:

High-brow, affluent family oriented community in the typical southern Westchester style - well educated, tastefully groomed, fast paced, nervous, competitive, overscheduled kids. Larchmontitself is a wonderful community, but it's too compressed and crowded to be relaxed. At least one person in every household commutes to NYC (otherwise you'd never live there), adding to the general strain. Strong need to visibly distinguish themselves in grooming, dress, speech and mannerisms from residents of communities regarded as less affluent, less educated, and less cultured (eg, Eastchester, New Rochelle, the Bronx, etc.).This attitude is commonly ascribed to all the "prestigeous" Sound Shore towns as well as Bronxville and Scarsdale. Larchmont isno different.

Chappaqua:

Also high-brow and family oriented, but far less crowded, slower paced, less blatantly competitive (except the schools, which are another matter entirely), less formal, less groomed. Far fewer NYC commuters, lots of people working in White Plains, Tarrytown etc. Hence the general family (and hence community) strain contributed by daily NYC commuters is far lower. Chappaqua residents have little need to distinguish themselves from anybody. Simply knowing you live in Chappaqua is enough. It's worth noting that this is far easier in Chappaqua than Larchmont, since the guys driving dented cars with tinted windows, huge spoilers and 6" tailpipes rarely make it up to Chappaqua anyway. But, if they do happen to find their way off the Saw Mill Parkway on their way to Mt Kisco, people just call the cops and let them deal with it.

Aspirational Heirarchy:

Larchmont:

• If you live in Pelham you wish you lived in Larchmont or Bronxville.
• If you live in Larchmont you wish you lived in Rye.
• If you live in Rye you wish you lived in Darien or New Cannan (unless you live on Milton Point, in which case all is well).

Chappaqua:

• If you live on Long Island you wish you lived in Scarsdale.
• If you live in Scarsdale you wish you lived in Chappaqua.
• If you live in Chappaqua you wish you were on the upper east side.

Preferred sports and venues

Larchmont: Sailing (anywhere), skiing (Stowe, Stratton)
Chappaqua: Tennis (back yard), skiing (Mt Snow, Killington)

Favored vacation spots and SUV's

Larch, Summer: X5, used to ferry everybody to the boat for the sail to Nantucket with stopover at Cuttyhunk.
Winter: Catamaran charter in BVI.

Chappaqua, Summer: Suburban with 4x4 beach permit, ferry to Nantucket
Winter: Villa with tennis court on St Kitts.

Religion

Larchmont: Mixed, though historically considered "WASPy."

Chappaqua: Regarded as heavily Jewish, "Scarsdale North" (not a judgement, just a fact).

May you find what you seek, Cheers.

[clevedark]

I wonder which town has more stay at home moms? Logic would say Chappaqua, since it's further from NYC.... And from my experience too many stay at home moms spells trouble.

[havoc315]

Kletterman's post is amusing, but probably less than 10% true.

The question was so broad, I've had trouble answering. Though I reside in Chappaqua, and I have family near Larchmont (Scarsdale and Mamaroneck).

Since it's a broad question, I'll give broad answers.
Both communities are very affluent. Larchmont is slightly more "waspy" and Chappaqua has a higher Jewish population, but both communities have a religious ethnic mix. The consistent factor is wealth.

Turning to school demographics, there is a major difference. Larchmont shares it's upper grade schools with Mamaroneck, which is a more economically diverse community. Thus the high school is larger, with more socio-economic diversity, than you find in Chappaqua.

In terms of lifestyle, both towns primarily have NYC commuting households. Perhaps a slightly higher percentage of commuters in Larchmont, but high in both areas. Larchmont has more of a southern Westchester feel -- small lots, more urban, etc. Chappaqua has the northern Westchester feel, 1 acre lots, open land, etc.

[kletter1mann]

Originally Posted by havoc315

Kletterman's post is amusing, but probably less than 10% true.

.........yet you seem to completely agree with my analysis, at least in broad strokes (if not the details)

More seriously, my business has many, MANY MANY customers from soundshore towns and Larchmont families in particular. I can't say I've had a single one that didn't have at least 1 NYC commuter in the household. Chappaqua certainly does have a lot of commuters, no doubt about it, though everyone I happen to know there (a fair number) works in Westchester (Platinum Mile, Rt 119 in Tarrytown, etc.).

What you say about the schools is certainly true. I didn't want to even get started on that.

[kletter1mann]

Originally Posted by clevedark

I wonder which town has more stay at home moms? Logic would say Chappaqua, since it's further from NYC.... And from my experience too many stay at home moms spells trouble.

Trouble indeed! And a stroll at 11am through the Larchmont Village yoga studios, coffee shops, tennis clubs etc reveals enormous numbers of SAHM's.

Something else not mentioned is the significant expat community in Larchmont, most noteably French and Japanese. I'm not aware of any significant expat community in Chappaqua.

[clevedark]

Ah, expat communities are a definite plus. Almost cancels out the effect of too many SAHMs.

[billin]

I live in Larchmont, having been here for 3+1/2 years, and kletter1mann's description is pretty much spot-on, in my eyes.

It is, indeed, quite WASP-y in many ways, from its ethnic makeup to its favorite pastimes. My son here was taught in his elementary school that "Y is for yacht club". Draw your own conclusions from that.

And, yes, Larchmont has a significant French expat community, but I'd never heard of (or seen) a Japanese one here. If you look at the data here: //www.city-data.com/city/Larchmont-New-York.html you'll see that 10% of the people in town are European-born. Only 1% of people here are Japanese. Being an American-Born Chinese (ABC) myself, I can safely say that diversity is not one of Larchmont's strengths.

Regarding stay at home mom's, there are quite a few based on my son's elementary school, though I make zero judgements based on that alone. However, you may want to read this interesting article entitled "Mean Moms" and note the towns mentioned, however anecdotally: Mean Moms—The Clique Is Back | lohud.com | The Journal News This is absolutely not to say that there are no nice, down-to-earth people in Larchmont, but I do feel that the town is uncomfortably cliquish in general. Your mileage may vary, of course.