Taxes are way to high and keep going up, schools are ok but not the best. Too many People from NYC moving in Thornwood, glad I just sold my home there and starting to enjoy my retirement in another state.
Family has been in this town since the 1880's, I've live here my whole life and this town is by far "solidly middle class". The School Taxes alone are enough to drive people out and continuously rise, property taxes go up but the roads are horrible, yet another strip mall, pizza parlor, Chinese food restaurant are going in every week and when it's not one of them it's a yet another bank. Your article rang true about 15 or 20 years ago, but now? Not so much
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Affordable? Really? Why don't you list all the taxes and how much? What about the dreaded school tax bill that comes in September? Does the NYT realize there is a school tax bill outside the NYC? I truly believe the NYT has lost its way and caters to the rich readers. Affordable is not realistic to working class folks. And stop listing these homes and not putting in the real costs (taxes) in the story. We would really like all the news thats fit to print.
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@Mickey I've been complaining to the NY Times for decades about not including taxes in their stories of neighborhoods being profiled. It's a big deal to consider all costs. I don't know why they refuse to include tax information in their articles.
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Born and raised in Pleasantville, NY - my parents moved there in the late 80's from NYC to get better schools for my siblings. Thornwood/Pleasantville are less and less middle class every year, although there's still a range from working class/blue collar up to million dollar McMansions, with Thornwood slightly more diverse. Property taxes are INSANE, especially after the Republican tax bill. Even for a 500k house, it comes out to 12+k a year. Taxes pay for the local high schools (Westlake, Byram Hills, Pleasantville), which are all pretty good, way better than the city but not quite as good as the really rich areas in Westchester are (Briarcliff/Chappaqua/etc). I think they (Westlake/Byram/Pleasantville) are still in like top ~10% nationally, lots of AP courses and a handful of students going to Ivy league level colleges every year (out of ~150 students)
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I always enjoy these articles about upstate NY communities.
I would like to retire to this area in another 8-10 years.
It would be helpful (to me anyway) if you could include information about renting as well as buying and how senior-friendly these places are in terms of medical services and other things that might make the community attractive to retirees.
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@lb
We have people in San Jose. The weather is great but housing is expensive.
Remember that some of these older Westchester homes likely have many stairs so that would be a concern for a retiree. I believe Medicare.gov provides information about hospitals, etc. You may need a car for certain trips and fuel prices in New York State and Connecticut are not cheap. Dining out in Manhattan, which is accessible by train, is quite expensive.
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@robert
Thanks. Yes, housing and traffic are why I don't want to retire here. We also have the highest gas prices in the country (except maybe Hawaii).
I hope to find a small community to retire in and downsize (rent not own, car-share service, etc).
I guess I'll know it when I see it!
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@lb
Check out Ridgefield Ct. if you want a lower property tax or rental apt. In a walkable community with loads of culture. The Ridgefield Playhouse host big name entertainment acts and concerts. There’s a small movie theater showing art films, a beautiful new library and great restaurants. I grew up in Mt. Pleasant, raised our family in Yorktown and Somers where houses were more affordable. We retired to FL and Cape Cod. But while living in Somers, which was fine, we regretted not buying in Ridgefield. But that’s just my opinion. Good luck.
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