Thoughts on Suburbs?
This may be the most unlikely question to be posted here, but we are really looking for some opinions. We have been in BedStuy for the past 6 years, great house, nice neighbors. Growing family and less disp inc we are reluctantly considering relocating out of the city. Know nothing about NY suburbs. Not a…
This may be the most unlikely question to be posted here, but we are really looking for some opinions. We have been in BedStuy for the past 6 years, great house, nice neighbors. Growing family and less disp inc we are reluctantly considering relocating out of the city. Know nothing about NY suburbs. Not a huge suburb/country person so looking for a place that is diverse, has a nice walking village area, not a 3 hr 1-way commute to the city, “hip”-ish like BK 🙂 and a reputation of happy residents. I know it’s asking for a lot. Some folks have mentioned Riverdale, Garden City, Westport, Hoboken. Just wanted to see what others thought. Thanks sooo much!
Archi
I think the prices have come down quite a bit. Westchester has a multiple listing service. An MLS search for 4 bedrooms in Pelham returned 10 houses prices under 620K and 28 under 900K. They all seem in good condition.
Check out this victorian 3 blocks from Metro North-compares favorably with most of ditmas stock and closer to midtown than park slope
http://buyersedgerealty.listingware.com/search/searchdetail.cfm?ListingID=3010864
Ridgewood, NJ is in NO way diverse. I think there was one black family living there in the 90s (I knew them) and I doubt much has changed.
Montclair – yes, diverse. But very much divided between the right side of the tracks and the poorer other side. Plus, I’ve always heard the schools are not good, particularly the high school.
Maybe look into Pelham or Eastchester. Easy commute.
Best thing to do is to take the Metro-North or drive up and take a look around.
We picked up sticks from DP for the Westchester/CT suburbs – and not by choice, I would add. Positives: it’s beautiful this time of year, taxes are high, but as an earlier poster pointed out, balances out somewhat against lack of city taxes.
Transportation – varies enormously from town to town. From Pelham Manor it’s a breeze, but don’t expect to pay less than $900k for a house in good condition. Further afield in Fairchester, you’re talking seriously high house prices (over a million, pretty much minimum, I would say akin to prices in Park Slope and Boerum Hill for what you get, in terms of quality renovation or new construction). I think Bronxville is the same story, Rye and places on the water, more so. I don’t know much about the Hudson side of things, although I did grow up near Nyack and think it’s great, although I would argue the schools don’t compete with Westchester and getting into the city is a nightmare.
I put three kids through public elementary school and ms school in Brooklyn – including the much vaunted 321. Nothing comes close to what my younger kids are getting out here. It’s a whole different world. As much as I miss sidewalks, subways, population density, etc… I would never voluntarily deprive them of the public education they are receiving in Westchester. Our taxes are just under $20k – two thirds of it goes directly to our local school system.
heh – Ja Rule.
Great ethnic dining in Queens too:
Green Fields, El Listo Pollo and Kum Gang San just to name a few…
Me too Legion, although I’ve lived in Brooklyn for most of my adult life.
And Louis Armstrong thought it a fine place to reside.
…more people from Queens,
-Nancy Reagan
-NAS
-JaRule
-Perry Farrell (Jane’s Addiction)
-Ron Jeremy
-Eric Holder
damn, talk about diverse!
quote:
the high school is quite large and we were concerned our kids might get lost.
mom, dad? is that you?
*rob*