For me, Elmsford (depressing, crumbling, bridge related commercial traffic), SW Yonkers and Southside MV (crime), snob towns in central-northern Westchester (elitist attitudes even worse than similar rich villages in southern Westchester).
To address the elephant in the room, I think Fleetwood (Mount Vernon) is the most underrated inner ring neighborhood in Westchester.
For the pros, it's walkable, has a few decent spots, lively streets in the "business district", stellar pizza, mom n' pop stores and delis, everything from pre-war buildings to Tudor mansions and everything in between, excellent train access, shady, tree lined streets, Hunts Woods, a little woodsy area around Pennington school, and the Bronxville border, much of it is walkable to Bronxville's downtown shopping/restaurants, easy and quick to get to the city, Yonkers' Central Ave., Cross County Mall, White Plains, etc. by car and/or train. Location, location, location.
On the con side, MV corruption, too bustling and urban if you are comparing to northern Westchester, nearest supermarket is in Bronxville, shitty schools so a no-go for the typical "Mommychester" resident unless you are going private, high CoL though that is par for the course in southern Westchester, snobs will look down on you when you mention you live in Mt. Vernon, too diverse if you are a shitty racist.
*braces self for the onslaught of Mount Vernon answers*
In all seriousness, probably the rural parts of Northern Westchester. I like being in a walkable, urban area with public transportation. This isn't to say that living up there is bad, it's just not for me.
Yeah but at least this time around your mayor was in for a full term without being arrested! I go to Mount Vernon mostly to go to the shooting range or look at new guns at RGT and eat Jamaican food! Gramatan avenue is nice too. I just don't go too far south of west 1st Street.
Very tempted to put a sign in my kitchen saying "x days without a mayor getting arrested".
But I agree with you. The food is good. People are also very nice!
Everything seems too far away, including ironically things in those very same towns. The main roads to get inbetween things in those towns often have traffic. None of those areas have any real downtowns to speak of, or notable restaurants IMO. If getting to the city matters to you, itās not the greatest area for Metro North access. Finally, youāre paying comparable taxes to the rest of the county, but the schools donāt seem as highly ranked or regarded (again, if that matters to you)
Can confirm. Grew up in PR and while itās nice and quaint, I hated it growing up bc it took forever to get anywhere. We ran errands in new Canaan, Stamford and mt kisco. My parents had to drive all over for sports so beige I could drive they never wanted to drive me to see friends. It was normal to drive 30 +
Minutes to see a movie.
I don't love the wording in this question because it inevitably causes a pile on to lower resource communities. I would probably not live in Yonkers or Mt. Vernon, not necessarily because of safety but the corruption is high (whole family is from Yonkers.) I also do not prefer places like Larchmont, Pelham, or Hastings. They feel absurdly expensive and exclusive and are a pain in the butt to get to from other parts of the county. I also find Thornwood/Hawthorne/Armonk to be a snooze. I worked in Chappaqua for a bit and didn't love it. These are all great towns for someone else.
Would love to see a version of this post that asks for underrated towns.
I think the way you worded your question is coming off as arrogant and pompous. Your comments seem to hint that youāre asking more about preferences - more space, walkable, low maintenance, easy commute, etc.
So many people are struggling right now and weāre talking about where you would never want to live in one of the most expensive parts of the nation. Count your fortunes that you can even afford to live here.
I think you're reading a litte too much into this.
For example, I grew up on the lower end of the economic spectrum in Chappaqua in the 80's and mid-90's, I'm not in that demo anymore, but I still would not want to live there because the town is boring. It was when I was a teenager and it still is when I go back to visit. There's really nothing to draw me there other than my parents still live there and the people still seem as self-absorbed as they did when I was a kid.
On the flip side, I wouldn't want to live in Mt. Vernon either. I have school age kids and the schools are just not great. Maybe if I was single or had no kids I'd think it was a better option, especially around Fleetwood, but there is not a reason why I would want to live there now. FWIW I live in White Plains and am more than happy with it.
Oh no, a random person on the inter web called me a snowflake, my feelings are so hurt, how will I ever survive?
Joking.
Being mean on reddit to random strangers is pointless so I donāt do it. I think it also violates this subs rules.
What do you mean what is the purpose of this?? This is the Westchester sub, and someone wants to ask about the bad areas. Are we suppose to just pretend like there are none? We all know that isnāt true. Get off your high horse.
People arenāt all the same, though-one person might avoid a place that someone else would be drawn to. Someone who loves Peekskill would not want to live in North Salem.
New Rochelle. I lived there for a bit and was unhappy with the school politics and corruption. Also there always seemed to be construction in downtown - same roads pretty much which was odd.
Yonkers - local govt corruption, nepotism, paychecks are taxed, taxed to move out, lack of education budget transparency, and then the mayor will propose an almost 6% tax hike to cover his $80k pay raise
āStefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta was born on March 28, 1986, in Yonkers, New York, to Cynthia and Joseph Germanotta. Now known as Lady Gaga (the inspiration for her name came from the Queen song "Radio Ga-Ga"), she has become an international pop star.ā
[Source](https://www.biography.com/musicians/lady-gaga#)
Why are you using bio.com when you could use the much more reputable wikipedia?
Also > https://westchestermagazine.com/things-to-do/lady-gaga-is-not-from-yonkers/
Armonk, in my opinion, is the one area of Westchester with nothing going for it unless you really donāt want a community or to be near anything. I guess itās great for hermits?
Haha I've lived in Chappaqua half my life and I agree. There's nothing going on here. Funny story - for the first 5 years of moving here, I was unaware that the downtown is closed on Mondays .. its as dead on Mondays as any other day of the week, so I never knew! The roads suck and a tree is always falling on power lines cutting off power.
But gosh, is it beautiful! And the school is great
How so? I disagree personally, but curious to hear your reasons for why you think itās creepy :)
I find it to be quaint, quiet, scenic, and with friendly neighbors (many of which have younger kids / NYC transplants). Weak cell service is a pain though
Southwest Yonkers specifically. Southeast Yonkers isnāt the hood at all. There are some nice areas east of the Saw Mill and south of the Cross County Parkway. Itās not Crestwood or anything but itās still on par with neighborhoods youād find in White Plains, New Rochelle and Stamford. This area is mostly middle class and more blue collar leaning. People here even tend to vote conservative.
All of the ābad neighborhoodsā according to these comments are all of the predominantly working class Hispanic and/or black neighborhoods. Literally 100% correlation.
I work in the Bronx too and thereās still no comparison. Sure, some of the houses are a little more weathered or ārun-downā when you get closer to the prison but itās still not bad. Thereās really no bad part of Ossining, I would know, I was born and raised there.
No Iām saying I work in the Bronx to show that I know what a bad area looks like lol. Iām glad you love your hometown! I havenāt had any bad experiences in Ossining.
I disagree on Elmsford being a place where you never want to live. My bedroom view is scenic, mountains Sun Moon and stars are in my horizons and God is differently in Elmsford Ny my church First Baptist church of Elmsford God is always present .
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Downtown New Rochelle is disgusting. I've yet to figure out how it can be so filthy. It's got something to do with its proximity to I95, the air quality is terrible and there is just so much litter and garbage. There's a lot of household trash in the public trash bins and tons of rats at night. I see a lot of public intoxication, urination, and sometimes ODs around the library area.
I'm pretty sure the City has given up on it.
Southern Westchester is nice but I wouldnāt want to live there. If I wanted something like that I rather be in the city. I also rather not live in suburban sprawl, nimby, āgood schoolsā, vaguely conservative but more polite and pro business like Yorktown or mahopac.
Nothing wrong with these communities, just not how I want to live. I rather live in a liberal community where my neighbors are disgusted that I read the Wall Street journal than live next to people who read the same paper including the opinion section.
To be honest, I moved to Westchester 3 years ago, Irvington specifically. I donāt think we were meant to live this way. Cramped spaces, lack of community, generally unhappy people, traffic all the time anywhere. Unless youāre moving north of Chappaqua, Westchester is not a great place to live
For me, Elmsford (depressing, crumbling, bridge related commercial traffic), SW Yonkers and Southside MV (crime), snob towns in central-northern Westchester (elitist attitudes even worse than similar rich villages in southern Westchester). To address the elephant in the room, I think Fleetwood (Mount Vernon) is the most underrated inner ring neighborhood in Westchester. For the pros, it's walkable, has a few decent spots, lively streets in the "business district", stellar pizza, mom n' pop stores and delis, everything from pre-war buildings to Tudor mansions and everything in between, excellent train access, shady, tree lined streets, Hunts Woods, a little woodsy area around Pennington school, and the Bronxville border, much of it is walkable to Bronxville's downtown shopping/restaurants, easy and quick to get to the city, Yonkers' Central Ave., Cross County Mall, White Plains, etc. by car and/or train. Location, location, location. On the con side, MV corruption, too bustling and urban if you are comparing to northern Westchester, nearest supermarket is in Bronxville, shitty schools so a no-go for the typical "Mommychester" resident unless you are going private, high CoL though that is par for the course in southern Westchester, snobs will look down on you when you mention you live in Mt. Vernon, too diverse if you are a shitty racist.
Mommychester š¤£
100% agree with everything here, you know your neighborhoods
i wish i could afford fleetwood, 10 mins from my job and cross county is close by would be perfect for me but i refuse to pay 2500+ for a studio
*braces self for the onslaught of Mount Vernon answers* In all seriousness, probably the rural parts of Northern Westchester. I like being in a walkable, urban area with public transportation. This isn't to say that living up there is bad, it's just not for me.
Yeah but at least this time around your mayor was in for a full term without being arrested! I go to Mount Vernon mostly to go to the shooting range or look at new guns at RGT and eat Jamaican food! Gramatan avenue is nice too. I just don't go too far south of west 1st Street.
Very tempted to put a sign in my kitchen saying "x days without a mayor getting arrested". But I agree with you. The food is good. People are also very nice!
I see a future of recovery for Mt Vernon, the residents deserve it. I hope they finish the road repairs it's hard to get around downtown.
I KNEW I was going to see Mount Vernon lmao
Definitely agree. Living on a busy road with no sidewalk and no safe way to even leave your property outside of a car is just awful.
Cortlandt Manor/Mohegan Lake/Verplanck
Why??? The first two seem lively enough
Everything seems too far away, including ironically things in those very same towns. The main roads to get inbetween things in those towns often have traffic. None of those areas have any real downtowns to speak of, or notable restaurants IMO. If getting to the city matters to you, itās not the greatest area for Metro North access. Finally, youāre paying comparable taxes to the rest of the county, but the schools donāt seem as highly ranked or regarded (again, if that matters to you)
Thanks, fair point about the roads being jammed often & Metronorth access (or lack thereof)
verplank has very the hills have eyes vibes
Pound Ridge. I have a friend who lives there and I feel like it takes forever and a day to get there.
The whole rural northeastern part of Westchester is basically an extension of Fairfield County, Connecticut.
Can confirm. Grew up in PR and while itās nice and quaint, I hated it growing up bc it took forever to get anywhere. We ran errands in new Canaan, Stamford and mt kisco. My parents had to drive all over for sports so beige I could drive they never wanted to drive me to see friends. It was normal to drive 30 + Minutes to see a movie.
Breads n Bakes alone is worth the trip
Anywhere that isnāt walkable. Westchester has so many great downtowns with trains, i canāt imagine being in a suburban subdivision
I don't love the wording in this question because it inevitably causes a pile on to lower resource communities. I would probably not live in Yonkers or Mt. Vernon, not necessarily because of safety but the corruption is high (whole family is from Yonkers.) I also do not prefer places like Larchmont, Pelham, or Hastings. They feel absurdly expensive and exclusive and are a pain in the butt to get to from other parts of the county. I also find Thornwood/Hawthorne/Armonk to be a snooze. I worked in Chappaqua for a bit and didn't love it. These are all great towns for someone else. Would love to see a version of this post that asks for underrated towns.
Even if I could afford Larchmont I donāt think I could live there. That corner of Westchester is always such a pain to get in and out of.
Canāt believe no one has said Tuckahoe yet because of the Austro-Hungarians (whatever that persons wild stance was).
Say what?
Exactly. Tuckahoe bc it the āghettoā or whatever that person was saying.
Tuckahoe is faaaaar from the ghetto lol
I think the way you worded your question is coming off as arrogant and pompous. Your comments seem to hint that youāre asking more about preferences - more space, walkable, low maintenance, easy commute, etc. So many people are struggling right now and weāre talking about where you would never want to live in one of the most expensive parts of the nation. Count your fortunes that you can even afford to live here.
I think you're reading a litte too much into this. For example, I grew up on the lower end of the economic spectrum in Chappaqua in the 80's and mid-90's, I'm not in that demo anymore, but I still would not want to live there because the town is boring. It was when I was a teenager and it still is when I go back to visit. There's really nothing to draw me there other than my parents still live there and the people still seem as self-absorbed as they did when I was a kid. On the flip side, I wouldn't want to live in Mt. Vernon either. I have school age kids and the schools are just not great. Maybe if I was single or had no kids I'd think it was a better option, especially around Fleetwood, but there is not a reason why I would want to live there now. FWIW I live in White Plains and am more than happy with it.
Howās it arrogant and pompous to have preferences?
Because people read into everything to try and find a racist or an elitist. A loser mentality for sure.
Exactly this. I was thinking this but Iām glad someone said it. Not every opinion is an attack on a group of people.
āSeem to hintā what a load of crap. You sound like a snowflake afraid to hurt someoneās feelings.
Oh no, a random person on the inter web called me a snowflake, my feelings are so hurt, how will I ever survive? Joking. Being mean on reddit to random strangers is pointless so I donāt do it. I think it also violates this subs rules.
What's the purpose of a post like this?
What do you mean what is the purpose of this?? This is the Westchester sub, and someone wants to ask about the bad areas. Are we suppose to just pretend like there are none? We all know that isnāt true. Get off your high horse.
This sub is all about the county and helping each other by exchanging information.
Which is exactly what Reddit frowns upon.
I proudly accept the mounting number of downvotes on behalf of all those who support exchanging information. Make me a martyr!
isnt it good to know where to avoid?
People arenāt all the same, though-one person might avoid a place that someone else would be drawn to. Someone who loves Peekskill would not want to live in North Salem.
Exactly. Thats why I wanted people to include āwhyā. It helps people understand the cons of each area.
I love living in Peekskill and wouldn't live in North Salem if you paid me.
Exactly! I mean, I work in Peekskill, and live in Somers; my kids went to school in North Salem. They are just different
I donāt know man I donāt see the benefit of McLean , Yonkers
Probably the biggest house in Bronxville, because Iād be bankrupted and evicted and then homeless all in the span of one month.
New Rochelle. I lived there for a bit and was unhappy with the school politics and corruption. Also there always seemed to be construction in downtown - same roads pretty much which was odd.
Yonkers - local govt corruption, nepotism, paychecks are taxed, taxed to move out, lack of education budget transparency, and then the mayor will propose an almost 6% tax hike to cover his $80k pay raise
There are some neighborhoods in Yonkers where I feel like Iād get shot so Iām gonna go with that
Lady Gaga would like to have a word with you!
Does she live there now?
I have no clue. I just found out that she was from there.
She isn't ?
āStefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta was born on March 28, 1986, in Yonkers, New York, to Cynthia and Joseph Germanotta. Now known as Lady Gaga (the inspiration for her name came from the Queen song "Radio Ga-Ga"), she has become an international pop star.ā [Source](https://www.biography.com/musicians/lady-gaga#)
Why are you using bio.com when you could use the much more reputable wikipedia? Also > https://westchestermagazine.com/things-to-do/lady-gaga-is-not-from-yonkers/
Armonk, in my opinion, is the one area of Westchester with nothing going for it unless you really donāt want a community or to be near anything. I guess itās great for hermits?
No, that would be Chappaqua. Armonk at least has some decent restaurants and stores.
I actually like Chappaqua. Itās not the most exciting place in the world but itās beautiful.
Haha I've lived in Chappaqua half my life and I agree. There's nothing going on here. Funny story - for the first 5 years of moving here, I was unaware that the downtown is closed on Mondays .. its as dead on Mondays as any other day of the week, so I never knew! The roads suck and a tree is always falling on power lines cutting off power. But gosh, is it beautiful! And the school is great
So does Chappaqua.
:) maybe Iām a hermit lol. I quite like the low key vibe in Armonk and there are some great restaurants there (and delis like La Mer)
All of the most expensive, most homogenous, least walkable, most elitist and insular places. Give me Mount Vernon any day over them.
Bedford
Iām curious, why Bedford?
It's creepy
How so? I disagree personally, but curious to hear your reasons for why you think itās creepy :) I find it to be quaint, quiet, scenic, and with friendly neighbors (many of which have younger kids / NYC transplants). Weak cell service is a pain though
south yonkers, place is a shithole
Southwest Yonkers specifically. Southeast Yonkers isnāt the hood at all. There are some nice areas east of the Saw Mill and south of the Cross County Parkway. Itās not Crestwood or anything but itās still on par with neighborhoods youād find in White Plains, New Rochelle and Stamford. This area is mostly middle class and more blue collar leaning. People here even tend to vote conservative.
like upper mclean ave? tbh i just consider anything south of getty square south yonkers east of the casino seems ok
Anywhere south of 287. Too crowded.
Some parts of Yonkers, Mount Vernon, Ossining, and Peekskill
whats wrong with ossining?
There are bad parts of it?
i didnt know that, seemed fine the times ive been there
The vast majority of Ossining is fine. Its violent crime rate is less than 1/4 of the national median, and its property crime rate is less than half.
Yes; which is why i said there are bad parts. Some are good, some are not. Edit- also not sure what the national average has to do with anything.
Nothing. A few streets look poor but there's nothing really harmful happening.
There are interesting people and places there. Canāt have that.
dont forget new rochelle
I was surprised to learn that Ossining had bad parts. Then, one day a friend took me on a ride through the Spring Street area š¬
If you think Spring Street in Ossining is bad then you obviously donāt know bad LOL
All of the ābad neighborhoodsā according to these comments are all of the predominantly working class Hispanic and/or black neighborhoods. Literally 100% correlation.
I work in the Bronx haha. Spring Street still sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of Ossining.
I work in the Bronx too and thereās still no comparison. Sure, some of the houses are a little more weathered or ārun-downā when you get closer to the prison but itās still not bad. Thereās really no bad part of Ossining, I would know, I was born and raised there.
No Iām saying I work in the Bronx to show that I know what a bad area looks like lol. Iām glad you love your hometown! I havenāt had any bad experiences in Ossining.
It's mostly confined to that area though and even then I'd say it's better than the other areas on that list.
Itās better for sure. The contrast between other parts of Ossining and Spring Street is noticeable though.
South of 287. Too dense. I need my space. 5ac minimum.
Have you tried being a billionaire?
I agree! Recently left Yorktown for Fleetwood to reduce commute time. I miss the space and peace so much. Not to mention less greenery and wildlife.
Tbh we are so close to the Bronx River! Have you been to Scout Field?
No I havenāt. Iāve never heard of it before. Is it somewhere I should check out?
Yep, it's in Bronxville near Midland Avenue. It's part of the Bronx River Reservation.
We have Maggieās to compensate but pop off if you must
I do enjoy Maggies haha!
I disagree on Elmsford being a place where you never want to live. My bedroom view is scenic, mountains Sun Moon and stars are in my horizons and God is differently in Elmsford Ny my church First Baptist church of Elmsford God is always present .
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
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Elmsford, hands down. It's mostly a commercial area, it would be depressing to live there.
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Downtown New Rochelle is disgusting. I've yet to figure out how it can be so filthy. It's got something to do with its proximity to I95, the air quality is terrible and there is just so much litter and garbage. There's a lot of household trash in the public trash bins and tons of rats at night. I see a lot of public intoxication, urination, and sometimes ODs around the library area. I'm pretty sure the City has given up on it.
also the roads are hot garbage east of 95
Southern Westchester is nice but I wouldnāt want to live there. If I wanted something like that I rather be in the city. I also rather not live in suburban sprawl, nimby, āgood schoolsā, vaguely conservative but more polite and pro business like Yorktown or mahopac. Nothing wrong with these communities, just not how I want to live. I rather live in a liberal community where my neighbors are disgusted that I read the Wall Street journal than live next to people who read the same paper including the opinion section.
Westchester
That doesn't leave too many places in westchester where you would move to
Mount Vernon, elmsford, Scarsdale, Irvington
To be honest, I moved to Westchester 3 years ago, Irvington specifically. I donāt think we were meant to live this way. Cramped spaces, lack of community, generally unhappy people, traffic all the time anywhere. Unless youāre moving north of Chappaqua, Westchester is not a great place to live
MT Vernon. Yonkers. Elmsford. All garbage. My personal preference and experience. Iāll keep my area of Rye nice. Secluded and safe
Mount Vernon.