Suggestions on Commute friendly Suburb?

Summit, NJ; Alpine, NJ, Morristown, NJ; Darien/Greenwich, CT.

Keith Burkhardt\TBG

He said grand central, those NJ places get you to Penn or PA on the west side. Though yes Summit has great schools and is nice.

you have all of Westchester

Greenwich gets one to Grand Central via Metro-North. However, the fastest express from Greenwich to GCT is still 42 minutes, and you have to add your time spent getting to the Greenwich station on top of that.

You can try for a closer stop, such as Rye or Harrison, to shave off some additional minutes.

Scarsdale

Could you look in the single family home area of Riverdale? Lovely houses with yards, many with water views and NYC tax levels the savings from which you could use to send your kids to one of the outstanding private schools in the area. And the commute to GTC is really quick (22 minutes?).

A bit of a PIA but the shuttle to GC from PA is pretty seamless. Could be worth it if you liked the areas well enough.

Thanks but, all of the places mentioned Summit, NJ; Alpine, NJ, Morristown, NJ; Darien/Greenwich, CT., Rye or Harrison are farther than 30 mins from GC.
Private school is never cheaper; Riverdale country school is 40k+ a year!

Westchester is the best chester.

All depends on how long you are looking to commute for 30 mins, White Plains and south on the harlem line. Not sure if Scarsdale with the 30k in property taxes is under 30 mins since it's a local south of north white plains but I'm sure there are a few rush hour trains make less stops to get there.

Water front, head over to Croton, sleepy hallow, parts of tarry town, rye or irvington. All are over 30 mins though.

with the 30 minute commute time I dont think thats going to happen. Most of Queens/Bklyn would take you over 30 minutes to Grand Central.

You could probably do 1 hour door to door from different places in Westchester to Grand Central and also Long Island - by changing at Jamaica for the E and then for the F across the platform.

I think LI is cheaper than Westchester too. here's one in Mamoroneck (Westchester) vs. Hewlett Harbor (LI)

http://www.raveis.com/eprop/3115441/1064__bayhead_dr_mamaroneck_ny/

http://www.mlsli.com/unidetailsredo_test.CFM?MLNum=2503377&typeprop=1&start=1&rpp=100

if you live on the upper upper west side it will take you more then 1/2 hr to get to grand central with the train switch

Pelham and bronxville will get you the schools, commute and ambience, but not the water. Douglaston, but I think it's too far out for you.

Larchmont?

It takes 25 minutes on Metro North to get out of the North Bronx, so 30 minutes is not realistic. Closest places for you are Bronxville, Larchmont or Mamaroneck. But, unless you are planning multiple children, private school + NYC is not that different than $40K+ Westchester property taxes.

Forest Hills/Forest Hills Gardens?

Summit, NJ; Alpine, NJ, Morristown, NJ; Darien/Greenwich, CT.

KeithB
9 minutes ago
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Forest Hills/Forest Hills Gardens?

Do you know what waterfront means Keith?

OP, how about Bergen County, along the Hudson in NJ? Edgewater, etc.

Rivertowns on the east of the hudson - hastings, irvington, dobbs. Might be slightly over 30 minutes, but not by much.

By "suburb" you mean outside New York City? Within 30 minutes: not many choices, and to GCT!! Try Pelham and Pelham Manor. If you extend the station-to-station travel time to 60 minutes, then we'll have some suggestions. Next up the line in that range: Harrison and Rye, but that's more than 30 minutes. Pull out a commuter map and draw a 30 minute circle around GCT.

Does anyone know what the best way to get property taxes online for westchester properties? Listings are not forthcoming in this respect. i know how to do it for NYC but not westchester.
Welcome more suggestions on LI locales.
30-35 min is really my max for station to GC, at the end of the day that's actually a 1 hour door to door commute for me.

Pelham looks to have some real values compared to Bronxville. Looking at Scarsdale also but there's no water in sight.

you will not get near LI within 1 hr of commuting. once you hit 34 st, you need at least 20 min for 2 trains to get to GC, i work a few blocks away.

4500 sq. feet, really? Large yard? Why do you need all that space?
If you were buying a townhouse in PS, you'd have none of this.
Sounds like you're trying to justify the suburbs with amenities you do not need.

You're much better off figuring out what you really want.
You can live in the suburbs for a lot less than you're budgeting for.

Port Washinton
Greatneck
Rye

We looked in Pelham. It's one of the few towns where you can get nice, substantial homes within walking distance of both the train and the town. People generally have very good things to say about the town, although in the past, at least, there have been many who have claimed that the quality of the elementary schools is not consistent, so do your homework.

Scriber: taxes are collected on a town-by-town basis. Most towns do not have on line access. Most cases you need to go to town hall. There they have a public computer to access the tax assessment database. True, relative value in Pelham vis a vis Bronxville; but very different communities.

Prospect Park South ("Victorian Brooklyn")

http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sales/prospect-park-south-brooklyn/status:open%7Ctype:X

Prospect Park South has lovely buildings. But when we were looking the options for food, etc. were very limited. Granted, that was a long time ago, so I'd love to hear people's opinions. A friend recently moved to the Prospect Heights/Crown Heights border, and the family is having some troubles adjusting (from living near Columbia in Morningside Heights). They have a lovely apartment in a pre-war building that is a fair bit larger than their old apartment, but there is so much less in terms of food and services.

BFD. You get to have a car, or two if you don't want the double garage to feel too cavernous; you can load up at Sam's Club twice a day. Who needs food and services? And anyway, with 6-8 bedrooms you can certainly support a servant or two. Noblesse oblige.

For Long Island - www.mynassauproperty.com - not sure about how to find it for Westchester other than the listing.

whoever said Prospect Park South, or stupid enough to have bought there, has not been there during summer days. it's a mad house. there's a reason they have a cop or 2 stationed on every corner. the yuppies moved in and the police force has to protect them from the majority.

As everyone on here already stated, if you want waterfront, you're not getting a 30 minute commute unless it's from Yonkers, which doesn't sound like your cup of tea (if for no other reason than public school quality). Being a product of what you're looking for, and in a similar boat with the small child that will squeeze us out of the UES in the near future, I have some of my own opinions here.

As for schools, Edgemont, Bronxville, Rye, Scarsdale, Irvington, Ardsley, Chappaquah (Horace Greeley) are all excellent, and offer very different feels. Only Rye and Irvington are on the water. You need to spend your weekends driving around each place.

You also need to factor in parking and distance to train station. Some of these towns have 10 year waitlists to park at the station, while others are a breeze. This can add significant time to your commute.

How about Astoria? It's about 30 mins to Grand Central. PS 122 in the Ditmars area is great school - on par w/Park Slope. $800-$900k will buy you a nice corner 2-family that will need renovations, but with your budget you could renovate to your taste. You'll also probably get a small yard and a parking spot.

Waterfront is stated as a "want", not a "must". If it were a "must" and good schools didn't matter, I'd suggest Bronx waterfront neighborhoods, of which there are many that sound charming. I assume mediocre-to-bad schools, but you never know.

ab_11218, you mean IN Prospect Park South, or just at the Park and the areas to the side? Well before the yuppies moved in, Prospect Park South was a nice, stable middle-class area. Predominantly West Indian, I believe. Not a lot of house-to-multi conversion either.

Portchester

i live in the west village and it usually takes 30 mins to grand central. obviously u mean "nyc commute" "30 mins" which is really an hour. otherwise, i don't think any place will really have a true 30 min commute

You want to look in Westchester, Connecticut and NJ, however Westchester & Connecticut have better commuter lines. The Jersey guys are always cursing out their delays.

Something not looked at enough is Riverdale. Great area!

what does it mean that its not looked at enough?

who doesn't look at it enough?

what areas are looked at enough?

are there areas that are looked at too much?

who looks at those areas too much?

do you have any basis for any of this?

Parts of it are much too frummy for people to look at it.

You know, columbiacounty is not looked at enough.

where is hunters burg?

huntersburg is a fictional neighborhood within the 5 boros.

And hfscomm1 is the main street there.

Odd street name. Was it named after something to do with Rip Van Winkle?

South Orange, NJ. It has a Midtown direct line which is 33 minutes. Nice town - NJPerforming arts center, movies, great restaurants and town center. In the summer, concerns outdoors. Very diverse. I highly recommend it!

"Does anyone know what the best way to get property taxes online for westchester properties?"

If you know the address of the listing, try Zillow

"OP, how about Bergen County, along the Hudson in NJ? Edgewater, etc."

There are virtually no single family houses along the waterfront in NJ. And the few that do exist, he ain't touching in his price range. Oh, and he needs good schools and Hudson County schools are a compalte disaster. Moast of them were taken over by the state since they were run so poorly.

Hastings-on-Hudson would fit the criteria of excellent public schools, water and 30 minute commute to GCT. Probably Pelham Manor too although I don't know about the schools. Once the LIRR goes to GCT then Great Neck and Manhasset would also fit the bill. Scarsdale and Edgemont are top schools within about 30 minutes but not on the water.

I suggest south west Harlem - It's the next Park Slope.

PS 180 is now up to a 5 on Great Schools - many agree that Great Schools ratings lag by a year or two - so many would say that PS 180 is more likely a 7 or so (right now Great Schools give their 7th grade an 8 so things are getting much better).

A "5" overall is not acceptable, but in 5 years, with the changes the neighborhood has recently had and as the reputation continues to change the school will be great. Once that school gets a 9 on great schools you won't be able to touch a townhouse nearby for less than $3MM.

And of course the charter schools there are legendary (if you can win the lottery).

But even if none of these school options in Harlem work, plenty of people living north of 110th send their kids to schools south of 96th.

Commute is 15 min to work (obviously).

Ah, Huey Newton Elementary School. My sister tagged along with my Principal For A Day brother-in-law several years ago, and was very favorably impressed with the place. A support-staff coworker of mine had her children there, and hated the principal, but I get the feeling my coworker viewed the place as a babysitting service, so she's probably in the wrong on their disputes.

But I don't know how you can commute to the Grand Central Station from there in 15 minutes, let alone obviously.

I assumed Grand Central was a general term meaning Midtown - but even if not - the 2/3 train would get to 42nd street in 10 minutes and the shuttle over would be 5 minutes. - On the B,C you would be more like 20 minutes.

Also I'll clarify that I mean you won't be able to touch a townhouse for less than $3MM meaning a 20 footer or wider.

Ronkonkoma

I just like saying that.

I like saying:
Ho-Ho-Kus
Piscataway (scat)
Lake Success ("only the best for me")
Hicksville ("only the worst for me")
Plainview ("dullsville")

Socialist
1 day ago
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"OP, how about Bergen County, along the Hudson in NJ? Edgewater, etc."

There are virtually no single family houses along the waterfront in NJ. And the few that do exist, he ain't touching in his price range. Oh, and he needs good schools and Hudson County schools are a compalte disaster. Moast of them were taken over by the state since they were run so poorly.

Pay closer attention, Red, I said Bergen county specifically, not Hudson. And 2million would get a nice house in Edgewater. Good schools, ferry is 13 minutes, then free bus to GC. Maybe not 30 minutes, but not far off.

How can i look up what school a property is zoned for in Westchester online? There are some listings with Scarsdale addresses that might be zoned for new rochelle schools, etc and I want to make sure.

If you go to one of the realtor sites, you can typically search for "school district", but the listing itself should tell you what school it is zoned for. BTW, Scarsdale (and similar towns like Edgemont and Bronxville) do not meet your criteria of waterfront. I also doubt you will find a large yard and large house at the $1.5m price point in those towns. However, all meet the criteria of a 30 min GCT commute and great schools. Tip: look for a house that you can walk to/from the station. Will save you commuting time plus parking fees.

Jazzman, GreatSchools does the ratings based on user input. There are plenty of dillusional parents who put in high ratings just to make themselves feel better.

ya--parents are oft the worst soucrces of info re their children's schools--or anything they arrange for their children--but a school choice connected with a real estate purchase is an irreversable move--so rather than concede a serious disservice to their child, they delude themselves and others.

I went through this same issue recently and there is no suburb only 30 minutes from grand central with all of the amenities you want. Rye comes closest, but you still have to factor in time to drive to the station, park and wait for your train.

I even considered CT since the taxes are much lower and you can buy near the water. I couldn't get comfortable with the 1 hr train ride though.

I ended up buying on the UWS for MUCH less than I would have spent in the suburbs. I can walk to work or take a 15 minute subway ride and I'm zoned for really good schools. Of course I sacrificed on space, but it's just something you have to do if you want to live in this city and not spend your entire life commuting.

Westchester County would be your best choice. The metro north is reliable, and will get you to GCT within 30 mins depending on where you live in the county. Also, depending on where you live, the car ride to the city is short.

yikes
about 5 hours ago
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ya--parents are oft the worst soucrces of info re their children's schools--or anything they arrange for their children--but a school choice connected with a real estate purchase is an irreversable move--so rather than concede a serious disservice to their child, they delude themselves and others.

I thought it was universally agreed on streeteasy that yikes/Wbottom should have nothing to do with children.

CT is great if you don't have to commute into NYC *every day*.

Ditto on NYCmodern's comments and I really struggled with this. Got a lot of help from most on this board. I did every commute car and train and really nothing came in less than 57 minutes door to door. Yes, I timed it that closely. Best I got was Scarsdale with a 48 minute commute. The only place I did not consider but think I should have is Bronxville. I ended up happier staying in the city b/c of spending more time with kids. If I had been younger I do think I would have a different point of view. At my age though the ease of the city and location so close to our office outweighed more space. Definitely a give and take on space so you have to really be okay with the difference in lifestyles. Good luck..

Commuting is often the highlight of many people's entire day. Pure solitary bliss with interwebz, laptops, movies, and music.

>Pure solitary bliss

Crowded trains ... no.

Eastchester, great schools and much lower taxes than Scarsdale. Metro North at Crestwood station. You could get a nice place on Lake Isle if you want waterfront in that price range.

Great Neck is 25 minutes or less to penn station peak. And that will "soon" be Grand Central.

Great Schools does not use parent reviews to calculate their scores. From their website -

"What data is used in calculating GreatSchools Ratings?

GreatSchools Ratings are based on the most recent available standardized test results for schools in each state. The results we use are typically the percentage of students scoring at or above the proficient level on the test in each grade and subject (e.g., grade 4/math) and each grade, subject and student category (e.g., grade 4/math/Hispanic students). The proficiency levels and student categories are defined by the state Department of Education."

Within 10 years time -Harlem will have all of the things you want. I'm a landlord there - you wouldn't believe the difference in the type of applicant I got to apply for my vacant units this year compared to summer 2010. All of my 2012 vintage tenants are people I would want to live near and as long as these kinds of people continue to fill every vacant apartment, the neighborhood will be like Park Slope sooner than later.