Can somebody explain Westchester County in NY to me?

[NewJeffCT]

In my never-ending quest to find a town that is commutable to Secaucus and also has good schools, I looked online into Westchester County in NY. So, I started looking for towns that I knew had good schools, but I suspected would be too expensive - Scarsdale, Edgemont, Chappaqua, Ardsley, etc.

However, I found several homes that seemed to be affordable in those towns, but upon further inspection they are not really Scarsdale, Ardsley, Bronxville, etc. Homes that were listed under Scarsdale might really be Yonkers, Eastchester or elsewhere. I mean, there is a big difference between a home in the Bronxville school systems and the Yonkers school systems.

You'll see something like: 555 West Street, Scarsdale, NY and then inside the description, it will say "city/town: Mamaroneck" or "city/town: Eastchester"

Yet, I thought Scarsdale, Eastchester, etc were all separate towns?

Even if you go to individual realtor websites, it is similarly confusing.

[KamaAina]

1. Westchester has villages within towns

Familiar place names like Scarsdale, etc. are generally incorporated as villages. The towns (like Eastchester) work more like townships in NJ.

Sorry, I have no clue how the school districts are carved up. :shrug:

[NewJeffCT]

2. I see

But, you can see a place like Scarsdale as part of the Eastchester school systems.

[Betty88]

12. Its kind of tricky

I lived in Scarsdale when I was a kid but went to school in Eastchester. Scarsdale has its own school, but I lived on the wrong side of the street so I had to go to Eastchester High School. Bronxville's school is very good. Yonkers not so much.

[TreasonousBastard]

3. For various reasons the mailing address may not be...

the actual town the house is in. This is common in both NY and NJ.

Sometimes, a developer will pay for a more exclusive address-- many new developments in Princeton, NJ are not only not in Princeton, but aren't even in the same county. Other times, the PO doesn't plan to expand as fast as local towns do, so new projects are given mailing addresses in a more established town.

What you have to so is confirm the school district you'll be in.

(You're looking in Westchester? That's expensive, and you get stuck on the bridge. How about Rockland?)

[NewJeffCT]

4. well, I know the schools are excellent in a lot of Westchester towns

and, yes, I know Westchester is expensive, as is Fairfield Cty in CT and Bergen Cty in NJ

[CTyankee]

6. I lived in Dobbs Ferry many years ago.

You can live in a small part of DF and be in the ARdsley school district. I know because my neighbors just a couple of blocks away were in the Ardsley district and I was in the DF district. You might try there. But actually, anyplace is expensive in Westchester. Some are more expensive than others. I found DF to be affordable at the time. Scarsdale has "always" been, in my mind, overrated and snooty, but that's me I guess. DF had a more down to earth population.

Dobbs Ferry is also on the Hudson River. I commuted to NYC from there and the train trip along the river was pleasant and soothing...

[NewJeffCT]

7. thanks

it is kind of confusing.

and, I'm sure a place like Scarsdale has a reputation for being snooty, but just the average SAT score of a high schooler there (1260 or so) is enough to get into most colleges.

[CTyankee]

8. I would imagine Ardsley would be the same! n/t

[Steven_S]

5. It is confusing...

In many places it has to do with mailing addresses. You may have a Scarsdale mailing address and the bragging rights that go with it, but your kids might wind up in the Yonkers school system, and then again bussed into an area you might not want them to be in.

These issues are very local in their nature; sometimes specific to what block and lot is in question and you need to find out from a local resident exactly what's what in the neighborhood.

Good luck with that - realtors are not the most honest people around.

[Burma Jones]

9. It's a big headache....I would avoid Westchester

When I lived there, our house was in Bedford, our mailing address was in Pound Ridge and we were in the Katonah/Lewisboro School District. The people across the street were in the Bedford School District. Had we stayed, our children would have gone to the third farthest Elementary School from us - third. I can understand why the taxes are so high and do not seem to pay for much, there is a lot of duplicated effort among the little villages, towns and school districts.

[NewJeffCT]

10. well, price might keep us out

and it's not like the job my wife may be getting is paying a low salary, either.

[Burma Jones]

11. We bought a house from a divorcing couple, so it was a "bargain"

There were five lawyers at closing though, one for us, one for each of them, one for the bank and one that represented the divorcing couple as its own entity. I should have just ran away then.........

[LostinVA]

13. It's probably like where I live

My mailing address is in one town, but I'm really considered part of another town.

[raccoon]

14. Trixie Belden and her friends lived in Westchester County.

I imagine it's grown a great deal since her detecting days.