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We are recent transplants from Houston. We decided on Larchmont after looking at homes in Scarsdale, Harrison, Rye, Dobbs Ferry, etc. We liked Dobbs, but didn't like how hilly it was. I was actually concerned about my kids (8 & 11) trying to ride their bikes and getting hurt if they went down a really steep decline.
Harrison was ok, but that is about all I remember from it. Rye was nice, but there was not much on the market for us.
Scarsdale was nice too, but we were scared off by the pressure-cooker school mentality, and school is of the utmost importance for me and my kids - I just didn't want that pressure so many people warned us about.
We ended up taking the best of the worst rentals that was still available in Larchmont. We wanted to rent vs. buy initially, in the event this very issue presented itself to us:
Let me tell you a little about "us" - I am a self employed attorney (opened a NY office in addition to the Houston offices that my partner runs). My wife is a stay at home mom and takes care of, well, everything. She enjoys playing tennis and is currently a member at some place in Rye so she can play with the ladies during the week.
We are 36/35 respectively and typically the youngest people around with kids aged 11 & 8. My issue is there has been so little on the market we are worried we may need to get out of Larchmont and expand our search some.
We "prefer" not to spend more than $1mm on a house. However, I cannot justify spending $1mm on a 1700 sqft fixer-upper on a 4800 sqft lot on a street that looks like it has been in a war 30 years ago and no one has bothered to fix it since. That means I may have to spend upwards of $1.1-1.3+
I would prefer not to, but I have no idea what the spring will bring.
We are currently in 1800 sqft PLUS a finished basement, but the drawbacks which I must avoid like the plague are the following: we have a tiny 1-car garage that will not likely fit either of our cars (and certainly not mine b/c the tiny driveway is so steep I cannot get my car up it so it remains permanently parked on the street), only 2 tiny bathrooms, and no real closets to speak of.
My wife is your typical woman - she likes her shoes. And now her scarves, and sweaters, and (fill in the blank with clothing choice). So, we need something larger than the closet I had in my college apartment. Literally, we had to buy 5 commercial clothing racks which are strewn throughout the house (in our bedroom, my son's room, the coat closet, the basement x 2, etc).
We need a master bathroom that is a real master bathroom (2 sinks, etc). Ideally, we need at least 2300-2500 sqft + a finished basement to boot. The fact that I am adjusting to the space constrictions, in my opinion, is me having made a lot of strides since we moved here early this summer (we sold our 4600 sqft house in Houston complete with game room, theater room, etc, for under $700k). Yes I have adjusted to the house pricing differential and the taxes are not even a factor as we paid almost double in taxes in the area of Houston we lived in (it was a new area and the schools were top notch so they tax you to death - think almost 4% of property value, so easily $40k for every million your home is worth), so I am not too concerned about the tax factor. In all honesty, the taxes in Westchester are not high, relatively speaking - it is the home valuation that is out of control. The taxes 2%-2.5% are really common in most major cities in the US, but in most cities you don't see old run-down 1700 sqft homes worth $1.3mm+.
That brings me to where we are now...we are considering looking outside Larchmont (as we are cognizant of the fact that there may not be anything worthwhile on the market in the Spring). Very little inventory + lots of potential buyers = buying and bidding wars, which = overpaying for a house simply just to buy a house. I refuse to get sucked in to this. I would rather find another rental if I had to, before I did this.
So we have considered Mamaroneck (zoned to Rye Neck schools) or Rye. Someone mentioned we should look in Eastchester, Bronxville, etc, but I honestly do not know enough about it them to opine one way or the other. I am in the City almost every day (I say almost b/c I have an office in White Plains that I meet clients at as well). I like the fact that I am an 8-10 minute walk to the Larchmont station and then my office is 3 blocks from GCT, so total commute time door to door is about 50 minutes.
I get a lot of work done on the train, so the train ride itself is not a real concern for me. What is a concern is having good schools (so I am not interested in New Rochelle High School) for my kids, and a little bigger house with a 2-car garage and a longer driveway. It would be a bonus if the street was a little nicer. Lots of streets in Larchmont are in horrible shape, but lots are in great shape, so it is hard to say. Ideally, we find everything I am looking for and the kids stay in Murray Ave. school (well my youngest would, anyway), without having to change schools again next year, but if that is what it takes, we are fine with that as well.
We think we are pretty adaptable to most anyone (white collar or blue collar). I grew up in a blue collar neighborhood most of my life and worked hard to get where we are at today. I am a car guy, and hence like nice cars (especially since I didn't have nice cars growing up) so we drive nice cars, but not for the "fit-in" factor, but rather b/c I want to and I like them. On the other hand, I get my hands dirty (I know my way around under the hood of a car, and I like to work with wood in the garage, and can fix most things that go wrong in the house) so I could have a plumber for a neighbor and get along with him as well as I do with my doctor neighbor now.
That was a long way of me saying, I am putting feelers out there to see what other towns we may need to consider looking at in the new year for a purchase.
Your post, though long and detailed, is still a bit puzzling. You apparently know what you want, you're already here so looking around is easy, and you know what the neighboring towns are. All of them have been covered here extensively. And none is all that different from Larchmont in the aspects that you apparently don't like about Larchmont.
At the end of the day it seems to boil down to "I need more space for my $$ cause S. Westchester (and Larchmont in particular) is too far removed from the size/amenities that we had in TX." Magic isn't going to happen. The only fix for that is looking farther north, where you'll get far more for your $$. Commute will be longer, but since you work on the train that shouldn't be an issue. Look at the MetroNorth map and note the towns north of I-287. Town names will be familiar if you've been lurking here. Then post specific questions after searching here first. Good luck.
I know you are considering Mamaroneck zoned for Rye Neck schools, but why not the rest of Mamaroneck? The houses will be cheaper than Larchmont but your oldest can still go to Hommocks Middle School. And your youngest will have to change elementary schools but he/she is almost done and then can go to Hommocks too.
Agree that if space for $$ is what it boils down to, then only in northern Westchester will you find what you're looking for. The challenge with the north is that there are not that many places (if at all) where kids can casually ride their bikes outside their homes. A former coworker who owns a large property in Lewisboro told me that because of this, playtimes are scheduled and a caregiver would need to drive kids around for their playdates. If you are willing to live with such an arrangement, you can find a home you can be happier with in northern Westchester. In terms of your commuting requirements, Chappaqua would probably be the most commuter-friendly to GC with its many express trains - it's no surprise that you will find many NYC lawyers living there. Alternatively you could also consider an area that is close to the Croton train station which like Chappaqua offers many express stops.
Why aren't you looking in Orienta in Mamaroneck? Not much on the market at the moment, but the minute Spring hits be prepared to move fast! If you can push your budget to $1.5 there's a nice house for sale on Constable Dr...
Bottom line is, you either need to increase your budget to get what you want around here, or look further north to get the house you want and compromise on other things.
Well, like anyone on here, I am looking for insight, and all the house-looking in the world will not bring you insight that people who either live there or used to live there, will bring. Specifically, I need someone to give me the raw, un-cut answers that your realtor either cannot, or will not, give you.
I will look north, as a last result, but mostly I am looking for insight in to a lateral move, if not a slightly north/northwestern move. Anyone have any insight in to Eastchester/Edgemont area?
We have considered Mamaroneck as well. It is not off the grid for choices, but like everything else right now, there is little to no inventory. Perhaps the spring will bring a few more choices. Yes, we would like to find something off of Orienta, if possible, but time will tell.
Hello there its me again. yes, look for edgemont. This was our fist choice but then taxes happened. The middle and high schools inArdsley are also top notch and you can drive to Dobbs or scarsdale and still have the commute you are used to.
Yes, ypu are young given the age of your kids. We are 40 and our kids are 2 and 5 respectively... Meaning you had kids young, but the peeps you meet are who they are and you either friend the, or not... So that's that.
There ARE good properties in the $950-1.2 range, but you gotta be open to not everything being perfect. FWIW, we really wanted to find something in Larchmont, because oh its so beautiful and oh everybody loves it and this and that, but there was nothing there worth buying, so we got a gon more for our money outside... Good luck.
So where did you end up? If not Edgemont, then where?
Yes, we started early having kids. In fact, a little too early back then. I was in the middle of law school, and to say it added some extra stress when it was not needed is an understatement. But like everything else, in the end it worked out just fine.
Good to know about the property search. I know exactly what you mean about nothing in Larchmont worth buying. I have been scouring the listings since early June and I can empathize with you.
yesss two car garage... Bought in Ardsley. Property was on market maybe a week before we made an offer. Two weeks to get to contract... Then we INSISTED on a 30 day close and I've been pushing everyone to hurry up ever since. The only reason they say 60-90 days is bc THEY take a day to read your email, then a day to get back with you, and things are simply more bureaucratic there IMHO.
Only reason we bought Ardsley is bc the home was renovated, recent and i loved it. We figured the difference btw one town and the next is similar to the difference btw Bellaire and West U, and Southside Place... In other words, when we drove around, It wasnt really clear when you left one town and entered the next. Larchmont and Mamaroneck are as close as going from my house to the Whole foods a mile away, so as long as schools were good, and it was LOWER Westchester, it didnt matter which town we ended up. What was a Must For us was to have an updated home, the right sq footage and the right street. Other then that we were not going to get hung up on whether this town is better then the next. It all seems to be within a 5 minute drive anyway...
New Rochelle. Yes, it is very large and very diverse. But so many kids come out of that school and attend the best colleges in the country. One of the nicest neighborhoods is Larchmont Woods, which is located along Forest Avenue, east of Pine Brook Drive. There are several gorgeous neighborhoods on the east side of North Avenue, North of Beechmont Drive.
You will be shocked to see how much better you can do in New Rochelle than in Larchmont.
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yesss two car garage... Bought in Ardsley. Property was on market maybe a week before we made an offer. Two weeks to get to contract... Then we INSISTED on a 30 day close and I've been pushing everyone to hurry up ever since. The only reason they say 60-90 days is bc THEY take a day to read your email, then a day to get back with you, and things are simply more bureaucratic there IMHO. 
