Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Westchester to Long Island doesn't seem like the proper comparison. Maybe Westchester vs Nassau, or Lower Hudson Valley vs. Long Island.
In any event, Westchester seems more cultured. More uppity (in both good and bad ways). More outwardly wealthy. For instance, when the guy who's life is well-to-do Ohio ~ Ivy League ~ Wall Street wants to settle in the burbs with the trophy wife, he is going to Westchester, and not Long Island. Long Island leans more towards the towns where everyone is a "townie". No one really chooses to live there without it already being home to them in one way shape or form (or to their spouse). People with zero connections to the NYC area will mostly choose Westchester.
Towards this point, I have multiple kids that compete in multiple sports all the time against kids/teams from Westchester and Long Island. The parents are night-and-day different. Long Island parents are obnoxious screamers and dress much more blue collar. Westchester parents behave like they are at the opera, and dress like they are coming off the yacht or the slopes at Aspen.
You are so right. Those parkways are confusing as heck in Westchester County. At least with LI, it's Northern State, Southern State, and LIE. Simple.
.. and the Sagtikos Pkwy becomes the Sunken Meadow Pkwy with no reason or signage, Northern State Parkway becomes the Grand Central Parkway (again no reason or signage), Southern State becomes the Belt Pkwy , we have TWO NY24s that are not connected (Hempstead Turnpike and the one in Flanders). Don't forget that the Sunken Meadow Parkway has a nutty number system for exits. (exit SM3E? Yes, that makes sense).
AND the Long Island Expressway exit for East Hampton Blvd. is a mere 88 miles from East Hampton. I'm sure that has confused more than a few tourists.
.. and the Sagtikos Pkwy becomes the Sunken Meadow Pkwy with no reason or signage, Northern State Parkway becomes the Grand Central Parkway (again no reason or signage), Southern State becomes the Belt Pkwy , we have TWO NY24s that are not connected (Hempstead Turnpike and the one in Flanders). Don't forget that the Sunken Meadow Parkway has a nutty number system for exits. (exit SM3E? Yes, that makes sense).
AND the Long Island Expressway exit for East Hampton Blvd. is a mere 88 miles from East Hampton. I'm sure that has confused more than a few tourists.
NSP becomes the Grand Central - Reason is you crossed in to NYC!!!!!
SSP techincally becomes the Cross Island - Reason is you crossed in to NYC!!!!!!
NY24 was once a continuous road but over time got broken up.
Yes, Mt Vernon and Yonkers are probably the worst two areas in Westchester county. I can't think of any others as bad as those two.
(Sorry I can't just say Westchester, I must always add "county" after Westchester because that's the way I first learned to say it. I also used to refer to it as "upstate" because that is how I initially learned to refer to it, lol).
Anything past the Bronx was 'upstate' in my family. . Only heard the term 'downstate' in the last 5-10 years but pretty sure it was used earlier. 'Tri-State' was also more commonly used, don't hear it so much lately.
Since the taxes are a wash, really depends what your personal preference is. I like the beach and couldn’t not live near it. I’d rather move to another coastal community in a warmer climate than Westchester. Westchester probably has more natural beauty overall compared to the sprawl of LI but there are plenty of parts of LI such as the north shore or out east that stack up favorably. Westchester is colder and gets more snow overall (boo!). Westchester has better access to points north but I don’t really go that way anyway; the vast majority of my travel is via airplane.
Honestly they both suck and the entire Acela Corrridor should be nuked repeatedly so we can restart civilization but I’d choose Long Island over Westchester.
Since the taxes are a wash, really depends what your personal preference is. I like the beach and couldn’t not live near it. I’d rather move to another coastal community in a warmer climate than Westchester. Westchester probably has more natural beauty overall compared to the sprawl of LI but there are plenty of parts of LI such as the north shore or out east that stack up favorably. Westchester is colder and gets more snow overall (boo!). Westchester has better access to points north but I don’t really go that way anyway; the vast majority of my travel is via airplane.
Honestly they both suck and the entire Acela Corrridor should be nuked repeatedly so we can restart civilization but I’d choose Long Island over Westchester.
Westchester also has better access to NJ and Newark Airport and even has better access to LGA Airport compared to the South Shore Nassau and Suffolk county.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. Only heard the term 'downstate' in the last 5-10 years but pretty sure it was used earlier. 'Tri-State' was also more commonly used, don't hear it so much lately.
