From Brooklyn to White Plains

[WayneS]

I've been meaning to post to this board for a while and I finally found the inspiration (and time). We moved from Park Slope, Brooklyn to White Plains about a year ago, and this is our experience.

I lived in Park Slope for the last 10 years. Got married there, had a kid there, and like a lot of people on this board, when the second kid was in the works, we decided we needed more space. We absolutely loved Park Slope - even though the life style had its annoyances (many of which were amplified once we had a baby). We were a block from Prospect Park, a block from the train, and walking distance to everything the neighborhood had to offer. Giving it up was going to be extremely hard!

We started looking at houses off an on about 2 years before we actually moved. I actually grew up in White Plains but I was determined to move anywhere but back to the place I grew up. Staying in Park Slope was off the table because the point was to get more space - and we couldn't afford to pay over a million dollars for a moderately sized 2 BR apartment. We looked other places in Brooklyn - Bay Ridge, Midwood, Windsor Terrace but had a hard time finding anything.

So, we started looking at New Jersey. I work in midtown so commuting convenience was a priority for me. I didn't want a bus commute, and didn't want to take two NJT trains before even reaching the city. That eliminated a lot of towns. We looked at Maplewood and Montclair - both were very nice - but we never quite saw something we liked. Also, growing up in NY, I couldn't quite get over the stigma of living in NJ (other native New Yorkers will know what I'm talking about). Also, even with a direct train line, the commute was still kind of a pain in the ass because I work in East Midtown.

This brought us back to Westchester (we never considered LI because, no offense to anyone, I hate LI). Growing up in Westchester, I was much more familiar with the area and started to appreciate it more after seeing all the other places. Central location, quick drive to the city, and not too bad of a drive if you have to go to NJ or LI. There are tons of great towns there. We looked at Pelham, Bronxville, some river towns, Pleasantville, Croton, etc etc. I was still avoiding White Plains, maybe because my parents live there??

After seeing all these places we realized a few things. First, you don't get as much house for your money in Westchester as in NJ, and second, the taxes are INSANE. More than NJ, more than LI. We saw modest sized houses and properites in places like Hastings-on-Hudson, where the taxes were $23k!

Then I realized something - the taxes in White Plains are extremely reasonable and there was a wide variety of housing types to choose from. There is a bustling, walkable downtown, with tons of restaurants, brand new movie theater, and lots of shopping. And the commute! Ohhhh the commute. Its a dream! At rush hours, express trains run every 7-10 minutes, and take 35 minutes - Yes, 35 minutes I said. I work 7 blocks from Grand Central - and after my walk from the train, my commute is now exactly the same as it was as when I lived in Brooklyn. Even if I go out somewhere after work, late night, the trains still run 2-3 per hour all the way until 2am. The one unknown was the school system, and admittedly I did not do a lot of research before buying our house - but more on that in a little bit.

We now decided we want to live in White Plains and the hard part of finding an actual house began. We had some trouble finding a place within our budget becuase we didn't want to buy more house than we could afford. It took several months before we finally found something - believe it or not, on Craigslist.

Now, about the schools.... White Plains is a city, and like a lot of cities, it has a diverse population - specifically a large and growing immigrant hispanic population. I believe, for this reason, White Plains Schools (unfairly) has developed a negative reputation. The large immigrant population drives down test scores and make the schools out to appear just average on the usual statistic sites. So, I resorted to what is probably the best source of information - other parents. So far, every single parent I have spoken to, from elementary up to high school age, loves the schools. Our son enrolled in the public pre-K system (as of this writing the status of this program for next year is still unknown) and has been extremely happy there. I am amazed at the things he is learning. Next year he is starting Kindergarten and we got a glimpse of things when we went on the Kindergarten tours. I have to say that I was very impressed with what I saw. We will see next year how it goes but am confident that he can get a great education in White Plains.

We still miss Brooklyn from time to time, and to be honest, if money were no option and I could afford a decent sized place, I would probably move back. But every time I light up my BBQ I'm happy with my choice.

If anyone has any questions about White Plains, please post them here or elseware on the board.

~W

[1994Tigers]

Great posting!

I'm often amazed at people who want to move to Westchester but won't look at WP, "because of the schools," they say. Admittedly, it has been a long time since I was in WP schools (attended them from the first day of kindergarten through the last day of high school), but, still, I think it's wrong to think that schools in Rye Brook, Scarsdale, or Chappaqua are worth paying significantly higher taxes for than WP schools. Even if it's true that the education in those places is "better," it comes at a cost beyond the higher taxes: a more competitive environment (arguably nullifying the "benefit" of that "better" education, by making it less likely that your child will get into a top-ranked college), and less diversity. I keep hearing about people who make the decision to go elsewhere, keep listening to what they have to say about their reasons, and I remain unpersuaded.