What are the school districts like in the areas you are looking in? I know it sounds like an old saw, but it really does make a difference even if you don't plan to have kids.

Check it out. This one's at the high end of my price search, but the kitchen's to die for. Beach rights, even.

So many to choose from... parking and a marina!

Pool anyone?

How about beamed ceilings and a fire place! With the added pluses of no board approval necessary and puppies allowed! And did you catch the sunroom? For $168,000!

How low can they go? $120,000?! (Some as low as $105,000... why are these so cheap? Overbuilt? Signs of the economy?) Shiiiiiite. Even with a $500/month maintenance, we'd pay less than $1,200/month. (Significantly less than our current rent.)

(I'll stop now.)

I am so glad that you are able to look, and have such joy in this hopeful prospect. I'm so, so happy for you both.

Mount Vernon has a bit of a bad reputation.

That, combined with the bad economy, might explain the low prices.

jamaro: School system's pretty good in New Rochelle, I believe. A bit less so in Mt. Vernon or Yonkers (I know the Yonkers system had some financial problems the last few years). But I teach in the Bronx (and not at Bronx Science or Lehman), so I'm open-minded about these things. I do note that the median income listed for New Rochelle is about $79,000. Anything over $50,000 is pretty good, though. It was $53,000 for Kew Gardens/Forest Hills.

Course, in New Rochelle, I run the risk of running into my ex-inlaws, who live in nearby Larchmont (la-de-da). Not that things were all that acrimonious. Perhaps they're retired to Phoenix by now. It has been fifteen years or so. New Rochelle, Mt. Vernon, and Yonkers are all more diverse and low-key than LARCHmont. (Not judging, really.)

Thanks, Grace, appreciate it. It is fun -- doubly so to share with y'all.

Yeah, I know what you mean, JP, about Mt. Vernon. I think it's a mixed bag, though (some nice areas, some not). Like Bridgeport, CT, where we used to live. A teacher at our school lives in Mt. Vernon and seems to like it. We'd have to look around in person for sure.

It's fun, just looking. That's why those real estate shows are so popular. I sort of miss it, now that we're settled in our house. Whenever I pass by an interesting-looking house with a for sale sign, I look up the listing. It's sanctioned snooping, and it's neat to imagine yourself and your possessions in the various places.

From your first set of listings to the ones today, I see a huge difference in the kitchens especially. All of the suburban ones look roomier and newer.

Would you really have an hour and a half commute from Kew Gardens? Each way? Ouch. I used to take Metro North a lot when I lived there, to visit my sister in Westchester. It was easy and very comfortable. So any of the places you mentioned today would be easily accessible to and from the city but yeah, you wouldn't be living in the city.

City Island from yesterday's listings looked really neat.

Apparently, New Rochelle was voted the "best city" in New York overall this year, and the best for raising families. Some nice diversity, very "walkable" (says the podiatric society -- second only to NYC in NYS, it seems), with "blue chip" schools (perhaps a good fit for the gaspodes? If so, do I get a commission? : ).

I think Jon might have his heart set on the city, though. It is great just hoppin' on the subway and being part of all this. But New Rochelle looks mighty temptin'. It seems it has a sister city in France, too -- La Rochelle.

Isn't New Rochelle where Rob and Laura Petrie lived on the Dick Van Dyke show? You should totally live there and buy an ottoman.

Those places are really, really neat and I am so excited for you! I can't wait to see what you pick.

Yeah, Kangaroo, I think I'm a frustrated real estate agent myself. It is a lot of fun looking. Congrats on your home...

One other plus of living outside the NYC limits is not having to pay the city income taxes (about a $2,500/year savings for us).

Thanks, jrossi! (We were just watching Goodfellas again last night and thought of you! : )

In terms of commutes, there's one crazy teacher at my school who commutes to the Bronx from Pennsylvania! (I thought my commute was bad.)

Maybe I'll have better luck transfering to a school in Queens or Manhattan this year. It's a matter of whether they want to pick up my relatively higher salary (compared to a new teacher), especially with more budget cuts in store. *sigh*

Somehow I can't see you guys living anywhere but in the city. But I guess if you can find a pocket of mixed culture groovyness it might be ok. :)

How fun for you both! Thanks for sharing these. Nothing like vicarious home-shopping.

Pips/Jon, what are the things you love and not-love about the place you're in now. What makes you think, "I've really enjoyed (fill in the blank). Hope we can find that in our next place too." What makes you go, "Next time, we really have to make sure our place has/is (fill in the blank)."

I really liked the Mount Vernon one with beamed ceilings and fireplace. I'm a sucker for older architecture. (But I know NOTHING about any of these neighborhoods.)

Good questions, marsha... I like being on an upper floor. It makes me feel safe (and appeals to my cat side). I like the arched doorway between the den and kitchen. The second bedroom, though small, is great as an office for Jon, where he can listen to music, smoke. (I don't think we can swing a two bedroom for now, though.) And of course the large back porch is great. It's great having that outdoor space. I'd fix it up so nice if it was ours, with benches and hanging strawberry pots and a grill, but it just never made sense to put money in when it wasn't ours. We can compromise on a lot to have a place that's ours, though. Ours, and a neighborhood we like, the only musts. Laundry and parking, which we don't have now, would be big pluses, too.

Yeah, that Mt. Vernon one sure is pretty, isn't it? And cheap. Gloriously cheap. I wouldn't mind a closer look, just to see.

(Course, this apartment was a wreck when I first saw it -- the landlord was in the process of painting/fixing it up -- but I grabbed it all the same. I will miss this place. We even have a view of the top of the Empire State Building out the back door to the porch. I love looking to see what color the lights are each night. It was blue and white for Chanukah the other night.)

I lived in New Rochelle for ... fifteen years. Until last year, actually. And I wrote for newspapers in Westchester county for almost eight years. Here's what I can tell you:

The north end of New Rochelle -- all houses, on the expensive side -- has great schools. The south end has awful schools and is much less expensive. It's also been flooded with overdevelopment in recent years in an attempt to "revitalize" the city. None of it has worked: the giant entertainment complex there is not the huge moneymaker people thought it would be, and the luxury apartment buildings aren't appealing to people as much as the city council hoped it would, because there are few good restaurants or nice stores in New Rochelle's downtown.

If you want to live within walking distance of the train station, you will need to live downtown, on the south end.

(If you aspire to own a car, you're fine.)

Mt. Vernon is very, very shady in some areas and absurdly nice in others. You'll need to do a very thorough check on the neighborhood before buying there.

Yonkers boasts what is probably Westchester's worst school system, mainly because the city has been dealing with a corrupt government and school board for ages. Also because it's a poor city, with a pocket of wealth -- I believe close to Bronxville.

Good places to look, though, include Port Chester, which is not a wealthy town by any means but which does have an excellent sense of community. The schools are okay, some better than others. Neighboring Rye Brook is in general much wealthier and also much more obnoxious.

Eastchester is a nice place, though I don't know how good the schools there are. They seem fine, but I didn't ever get a good reading on their secondary education.

Scarsdale, Rye and Bronxville are probably not to be considered. Expensive homes, high property taxes, etc. Bronxville is especially prone to flooding.

Pelham is a nice town, very friendly. The downtown area is cozy.

But the nicest downtown area in Westchester is, in my opinion, in Larchmont. (The village of Larchmont is part of the town of Mamaroneck, but the village of Mamaroneck is a separate entity.) Larchmont is pretty affluent, and I don't know if it's at all affordable, but it's just one train stop away from New Rochelle. If I ever had to move back to Westchester -- and I won't -- I'd want to move to Larchmont.

Mamaroneck is also a nice town, though not *particularly* pedestrian-friendly. Actually, none of these towns are pedestrian-friendly. The Mamaroneck school system, which includes Larchmont, is fantastic, especially for the arts. Unfortunately, the mixed income levels make it similar to that of New Rochelle in that there are a lot of wealthy folks in Larchmont who want their kids to have everything, and there are a lot of working and middle class folks in Mamaroneck who routinely vote against the school budget.

The diversity in New Rochelle, by the way, is ... misleading. People say New Rochelle is diverse. What that really means is that the rich folks live on one side of an invisible line, and the poor folks live on another side, and they never interact. And the rich folks are white, and the poor folks are not white. Really, that's how it is. Don't get me wrong; there are things I love about the city, but the faux-diversity is not one of them.

Sorry. Ranting. But if you want to talk more about New Roach Hell, as I often call it, please do feel free to contact me. :)

Ours, and a neighborhood we like, the only musts.

Yeah, agreed.

Location, location, location. Cliches become cliches because they're usually true.

Getting my own washer/dryer was SUCH a luxury when I moved from an apartment to a house 22 years ago. Although, 22 years and two bad knees later, I now curse the fact that it's in the basement instead of on the main floor.

We even have a view of the top of the Empire State Building out the back door to the porch.

Do take time to think thru leaving the city. For many, probably most people, it's the right move. But I know for me, it was one of the hardest adjustments. I still live in the city, but when I moved from the Uptown area in Minneapolis (very urban, young and hip) to a VERY quiet, older white-bread neighborhood, I was homesick for Uptown for a long time.

I vote stay in the city and balcony/terrace. I get to vote, don't I?

Wow, thanks brina. It's great to have such insider information. Larchmont, actually, I know well. My former in-laws live in Larchmont. I was a regular weekend guest at one of the local country clubs (very posh and snobby -- though they did have gorgeous Har-Tru tennis courts). Nice enough place, Larchmont, but very, very quiet. Very "suburban." No grit in sight.

I think now I'm really leaning towards Kew Gardens/Forest Hills. Still very much in the city, very walkable, affordable, from the looks of things. This has been very helpful. (There's still the issue of the commute, but I may be able to transfer schools yet.)

(Taz, you always get a vote. :)

Yeah, marsha, I love being able to walk out our door and grab some great bagels and coffee a few doors down, and be able to walk/take the subway home from any number of bars and eateries at any time of day or night. And the crowds of people. I love seeing people everywhere. Like being in an ant colony. When I go to my mom's in Connecticut, that's the first thing I miss -- where are all the people?

I think it needs to be one extreme or the other for us -- the city, or rural. Half in one and half in the other might be nice, if we're ever financially independent, with such flexibility.

Pips, if at any time you want more info on New Ro or other parts of Westchester, please do feel free to get in touch. I'm not saying New Rochelle is a bad place to live, just that there is a *lot* to consider before you move out there.

And I for one think it's better to stay in good ol' NYC. :)

Happy New Year!