?s for the non-LI non-NJ peeps...

OK so we're kinda sorta starting the house hunt. VERY early in the process... We're basically ruling OUT certain areas vs. picking one we like. The hubs is anti-LI and anti-NJ... So our options are NYC/W'chester/Rockland (maybe?). He works ridiculous hours and needs handy access to NYC (Chelsea area).

SO here are some questions... How did you pick your neighborhood? Just word of mouth or was there some other strategy?? Do you like it there?

Is it convenient to NYC??

What are your taxes??? I keep finding cute houses we love, then the taxes are $15K or more!! School district matters but we know if we end up in a crap one it'll be catholic school, but paying $$$$ for a crappy district is the worst of both worlds, so we'd like to avoid that...

Or just cut to the chase and tell me where we should live

Re: ?s for the non-LI non-NJ peeps...

I live in Brewster, Putnam County. We are about 10 minutes north of the Westchester border. We liked all of Putnam and looked in Mahopac and Carmel as well. We came up here and drove around a lot, which was how we decided to live here. All the school districts are good. There is not a lot of retail (at the moment) but Danbury is very close, has a good mall and the tax is less. I am not sure what our taxes are but I know they are less than LI, maybe around $8K? We have 1500 sf, 1.5 baths and a quarter acre. Of course, for what we paid when we bought we could now have something much bigger, but that's life. We like it here a lot, especially in the nice weather.

Metro North is very close to my house (Harlem Line) and it's about an hour and 20 minutes to GC. But it seems that there are lots of nice towns on that train line in N. W'chester that are a little closer- Golden's Bridge, Purdys, Katonah (which has a cute little village area.) But I don't know about the taxes- other than they are generally more than Putnam.

Feel free to fm if you want.

Message edited 2/23/2011 8:10:34 AM.

Re: ?s for the non-LI non-NJ peeps...

We moved to Westchester 6 months ago. We LOVE it here.

Both DH and I grew up on LI and didn't want to move back there.

We both lived in Manhattan until a few months after we got married, then we moved to Hoboken. We knew we didn't want to stay in NJ for a variety of reasons-- commute sux to NYC, it's a total pain to get their from LI (all of our fam is still there), etc.

DH gets an express into Grand Central, that's about 40 mins long. He usually gets a seat too, so he can work on the train. New Haven line has been screwed up lately because of all the snow though...

My school district, Blind Brook is excellent. Very good and very small.

Taxes are high though-- the taxes are on our house are *good* for the area, and are just under $16K to put it in perspective.

Other things we like about where we live, we have more land than we would on LI in a similar area-- we are not on top of our neighbors. There is a lot of corporate oppty, so if you wanted to look for a job up here, it is feasible. Pepsi, Mastercard, IBM, GE-- and many more are within a 5 to 20 min drive.

We are also close to lots of little town centers-- with good shopping and good restaurants with NYC chef pedigree like Mario Batali among others. We went to the city for dinner one night, and I hated the drive. But there is enough here, we don't feel like we are missing out.

Re: ?s for the non-LI non-NJ peeps...

I'm in Rockland - Pearl River.

DH was from Rockland and he was insistent in living there.

We chose Pearl River because DH wanted to be a resident of the town for the golf course and I wanted to be in a town with a train.

He commutes to the Bronx - it takes him 30-40 minutes. I commute to lower Manhattan via train - it takes me anywhere from an hour and 15 to an hour and 45. If I drive to work and there's no traffic, I can be here in 45 minutes. The train isn't the best during non rush hour but, it has a lot less issues than the LIRR and is pretty reliable.

We live in a great school district and our taxes are reasonable - currently, they are about $6,500 with STAR for a cape and .30 acres but, we are renovating so they are probably going to be just under $10k a year.

There are trains and busses from the town to Manhattan and there are lots of nice restaurants and bars. It's close to NJ for cheap gas and close to lots of shopping.

I love our neighborhood - kids are always outside playing and it has a nice homey feel.

Re: ?s for the non-LI non-NJ peeps...

CT!

depending on budget :


500-900k - Stamford, CT
(schools will need private- low taxes, great shopping, restaurants etc beaches 42 min express to Grand Central)
Taxes on a 500-600k house =$6k a year

900k+ - Darien, CT or New Canaan, CT
(schools are state-renowned, VERY low taxes, great shopping restaurants etc 50 min express to Grand Central)
Taxes on a 900k house = $6-7k a year Darien or 10-11k New Canaan

Message edited 2/25/2011 2:12:01 PM.

Re: ?s for the non-LI non-NJ peeps...

well, we bought in Orange.

we have almost 1900 sq ft, .5 acre property, 200 year old farmhouse. our taxes are less than $4500 for the year. Our house was a bit less than $300k. school are good, though I am not a nut about the districts either, especially since I am undecided if he will go to school up there or in the city.

we are closer to Sullivan and therefore the commute into the city is longer...when I do take the train I take Metro North to Hoboken and then the PATH to WTC. I work a few blocks away though.

it's aleast 90 minutes.

we looked all over Orange b/c we didn't have a neighborhood in mind. I also LOVE Warwick (taxes are higher though) Goshen, and Cornwall. If we were to sell my house I'd either look in Goshen or Cornwall. Cornwall especailly has a nice church/catholic school that I like.
I also like both Tuxedo and Tuxedo Park (one is Rockland, the other is Orange) and Suffern but again, taxes and prices were higher in Rockland and in Orange. these are all closer to the city than my lil hamlet.

we checked out both westchester, rockland, and Putnam but the taxes were higher than what we found in Orange.

especially Putnam. I was surprised at what I saw there for the taxes. but it's a nice area.

I just tried to avoid a town with taxes that made me b/c before you know it, it's then then then in 5 years.

NO THANKS!

Re: ?s for the non-LI non-NJ peeps...

Would you consider Queens?

Whitestone, Bayside, Flushing, Fresh Meadows, Douglaston, Little Neck are all great areas with great schools.

Houses are pricey though and while RE taxes are low if you make good salaries they get you on city tax.

BUT you are very close to Manhattan.

I call our neighborhood Suburban/Urban and feel we have the best of both worlds.