Where to move in Westchester county NY?

[Anonymous]

I grew up in Mt. Kisco on outskirts of town and absolutely loved my childhood there. I have tons of friends who moved back and sent kids to our school district. Look into Bedford, pound ridge and katonah. St. Pats is in Bedford so will be most convenient to Bedford and PR. You’re going to have $$$ everywhere In northern westchester where you’re looking at 2 million dollar houses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rye and Darien are nice. New Haven is a shit hole. Guns. Drugs.

Um...have you visited in the last 15 years?
I’ve lived in posh Fairfield county and if you want to be among the jaded rich then...go for it. I like yale and good restaurants. We had a lot more crime when living in dc.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in Katonah and it was a pretty idyllic childhood. I have a few friends who live there now and are happy. I didn't grow up in the super rich part of town (where famous people have weekend houses) and it was pretty down to earth. That was a long time ago though, so it may be snootier now?

There's not a whole lot to do though. It's a very small town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I regularly work in most of the towns listened in this thread. I’m a general contractor-remodeler and all the towns have their own vibes.

You mention that you in Rye and Darien. Both lovely, scenic towns with a strong beach vibes. As much as I love the drive through Darien and Rowayton I would not be comfortable living there. Invariably I have problems with my clients and getting paid and I always get the vibe that the wives are under a lot of pressure to keep costs in line. Finance doesn’t pay what it once did and the pressure for show is pretty intense so the Lax Bro husbands are feeling the pain. Yes, it is ok if you sense my disdain.

We say the folks in Darien wish they lived in Greenwich but they don’t have the money. Both demanding clients but at least the folks in Greenwich have the money to pay to be demanding.

Personally, Darien would be way too strung out for me. I have had good luck with clients in New Canaan and for what was once one of the richest towns in the US you can get screaming buys. If you are not tied to a NYC commute you can go as far north as Ridgefield. Beautiful town real estate is very reasonable but taxes are relatively high. Would definitely make my short list as you will experience down socio-economic diversity in a very pretty town.

This is an anonymous board so I will say it. When I think of Darien and Rye they are very WASPy. When I think of Chappaqua I think Jewish. Some stereotypes have a basis in truth. And while I am not Jewish I have a lot of family in Chappaqua - actually Millwood and they are not my cup of tea. Way too impressed with themselves and they ain’t all that.

Very good values in the River towns but very different vibe from Rye and Darien. Both are old WASPy money - kids go to SLACs and play Lacrosse and then go into the family business - Wall Street. That’s not the River towns.

Westport is nice but has changed a lot in the past and all my friends that live there want to move. And 2M isn’t going to buy you much.

I also like Old Greenwich - smaller, nice older homes. Some big dollar ones on the water. Very nice family feel.

Further up the line is Southport - incredible harbor and antique homes. Beautiful - property taxes will kill you and if you didn’t come over on the Mayflower well you may not fit in. and 2M is likely not a big enough buy in.

That all said I love the feel of CT and glad that I raised my kids here. It’s not perfect but definitely feels like you won life’s lotto living here. You just have to work hard to find your tribe.

Wow ! Why all the hate for Darien and Rye ?! Many families actually move from Greenwich to Darien for the relatively smaller public school.

PP here. That's not what I experience as I don't see a lot of folks moving from Greenwich to Darien. I see a lot of folks that initially select Darien because they cannot afford Greenwich. And you shouldn't read hate for Rye but I'd strongly caution against Darien for most folks but OP has relative's there so she might have a very different experience. Why the hate ? This generation lacks the social graces of the older generation, are incredibly entitled and most importantly intentionally do not pay their bills. Their kids are little sh$ts. When they play other towns and lose they taunt that it is ok because the other town's kids will work for them later in life. Have you spent much time there ? It is a town full of Lax Bro finance a$$holes that are all levered up. It's beautiful down by the water and Tokeneke has a great feel to it and Rowayton, albeit in Norwalk, is the quintessential harbor village, but it takes a certain type to live there and I don't see that coinciding with a family that elects to send their kids to catholic schools like the OP.

[Anonymous]

My in laws live in ketonah. I think it’s boring but you may like it. It’s definitely not flashy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rye and Darien are nice. New Haven is a shit hole. Guns. Drugs.

Um...have you visited in the last 15 years?
I’ve lived in posh Fairfield county and if you want to be among the jaded rich then...go for it. I like yale and good restaurants. We had a lot more crime when living in dc.

I grew up in Riverside, CT - a rich sub-section of Greenwich CT. Darien was very smilier, Rye a little rougher around the edges and yes, NH awful except for Yale itself. A safe enclave amongst the detritus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, I don't think I'm totally prepared for the taxes. We could spend $2M or a little more. Would love to spend less and do some renovations. Love older homes.

Darien would be perfect.

Are you kidding? Darien is all about wealth flashing.

So is Chappaqua

[Anonymous]

I live near larchmont and LOVE it. That said, 2M unfortunately doesn’t get you incredibly far in that town- it’s expensive. But so charming. In the summer kids ride bikes around town, somehow it has a small town feel, great restaurants, and convenient to the city. However, if you don’t need to commute to the city I wouldn’t necessarily pay the premium for it. If you’re not planning to use the public schools, you can check out the north end of new rochelle (wkyagyl, forest heights, Bonnie crest) and some areas of white plains. That’s what we did. They are considered “cities” and the schools they’re zone for aren’t great, but they have upscale neighborhoods with huge old houses. With a 2M budget you could buy a beautiful property and renovate. .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live near larchmont and LOVE it. That said, 2M unfortunately doesn’t get you incredibly far in that town- it’s expensive. But so charming. In the summer kids ride bikes around town, somehow it has a small town feel, great restaurants, and convenient to the city. However, if you don’t need to commute to the city I wouldn’t necessarily pay the premium for it. If you’re not planning to use the public schools, you can check out the north end of new rochelle (wkyagyl, forest heights, Bonnie crest) and some areas of white plains. That’s what we did. They are considered “cities” and the schools they’re zone for aren’t great, but they have upscale neighborhoods with huge old houses. With a 2M budget you could buy a beautiful property and renovate. .

What are the annual real estate taxes on a 2M Larchmont home ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live near larchmont and LOVE it. That said, 2M unfortunately doesn’t get you incredibly far in that town- it’s expensive. But so charming. In the summer kids ride bikes around town, somehow it has a small town feel, great restaurants, and convenient to the city. However, if you don’t need to commute to the city I wouldn’t necessarily pay the premium for it. If you’re not planning to use the public schools, you can check out the north end of new rochelle (wkyagyl, forest heights, Bonnie crest) and some areas of white plains. That’s what we did. They are considered “cities” and the schools they’re zone for aren’t great, but they have upscale neighborhoods with huge old houses. With a 2M budget you could buy a beautiful property and renovate. .

What are the annual real estate taxes on a 2M Larchmont home ?

Depends on the property acreage home sq footage and how recently it was renovated. I’d say anywhere from 30-50k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rye and Darien are nice. New Haven is a shit hole. Guns. Drugs.

Um...have you visited in the last 15 years?
I’ve lived in posh Fairfield county and if you want to be among the jaded rich then...go for it. I like yale and good restaurants. We had a lot more crime when living in dc.

I grew up in Riverside, CT - a rich sub-section of Greenwich CT. Darien was very smilier, Rye a little rougher around the edges and yes, NH awful except for Yale itself. A safe enclave amongst the detritus.

I grew up in Rye. Like many in that (deep) pocket of the world, you have no imagination. Enjoy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have lived in DC area for 15 years (!!!), currently in South Kensington and love it. But are considering moving closer to family in the next year, as my job circumstances will allow that this summer... We have family in Rye NY, Darien CT, and Manhatten, as well as New haven CT. We do have a large budget for a home, but would prefer a low-key vibe, and do not want a flashy town where everyone is flaunting their wealth. We have 3 little ones and I'd anticipate sending them to catholic schools. Most likely neither of us will need to commute to the city daily. Based on some google research, I'm thinking Larchmont, Bedford, or Rye might fit the bill? Would appreciate any feedback on these towns and/or other suggestions!

Is a daily commute an issue?

[Anonymous]

We live in Larchmont and it really is a beautiful. Kids walk and bike all around town. You can walk to restaurants, library, train station, salons, etc. There is a small town beach and lots of clubs if you want to join one. I do think the schools are getting too crowded though. Unfortunately, 2 million won't get you as nice of a house/land as you can get in some of the other areas. Also, property taxes are astronomical. You would pay about 45K on a 2 million house.

[Anonymous]

Mamaroneck
Mt kisco
Rye
New Rochelle