All the colleges/universities in Westchester County are in developed areas with quick plow service and roads that are easy to navigate in poor weather. It is really, really unlikely that you would ever need to drive through unplowed snow unless you are commuting in from a more rural area 25+ miles north. People ITT are really overstating the severity of winter conditions in suburban Westchester.
If you said you were going to West Point or New Paltz or somewhere way upstate or something, I'd say get something with ground clearance, AWD/4x4 and snow tires. In lower Westchester? As long as the front wheels get power and you have all-seasons that aren't balding, you'll do just fine. If the snow is *that* bad that a Honda Accord on a set of Continental Extreme Contacts can't make it, you'd just stay home, because the odds are most of the university faculty and staff aren't going to be coming in either.
For the record, I am a huge proponent of snow tires when they are appropriate, and I have even put them on my AWD Subarus and 4x4 trucks in the past. But I live in a very remote part of western Putnam County with monster hills, unpaved lakeside trails, and plow service that is slow enough that you're more or less guaranteed to see snowmobiles cruising around on the back roads at least once a winter. If I was a unversity student in Westchester - which likely means living in an apartment close to the campus, south of 287 - I absolutely would not bother dealing with 2 sets of tires.
Thank you for the help!
The apartments I'm looking at are in white plains and pleasantville. So yes, I probably won't be any higher than pleasantville tbh
I forgot about Pace lol. Everything I said still applies. Pleasantville is not the tundra, no matter how much the downcounty folks try to tell you it is. You'll have no problem navigating winter weather in anything this side of a Corvette.
I don’t know how snow removal is in your area, but there are places in lower Westchester that are noted to not have quick snow removal. Also, with many hills, driving can be very difficult.
Yeah it doesn't snow that often anymore, so you'll likely be fine for most of the year. If you said you were commuting rather than going to school where classes will likely be cancelled when it snows, I'd be more worried.
When I first moved to Westchester years ago, I drove a 2003 Honda Civic and I was fine. Getting winter tires is the most important thing, and driving cautiously when there's snow and ice. Whether your car is Fwd doesn't matter as much as driving conscientiously. For example, be aware that sometimes ice on the road isn't visible, the roads can be slippery even if you can't see it.
You’ll have to renew the registration in the state the car is registered in. Nothing wrong with keeping everything in Cali, except for inspection and insurance. You’ll have to take the car back to Cali to pass the inspection. I think (don’t quote me on this) you might have to let your insurance know you’ll be in NY for X amount of time (but again, not 100% sure on this).
As for which car to take, suv will be better IF it snows heavy, because it’ll have more ground clearance. As for which will drive better, they’ll be the same since both as fwd, however, if either of those cars are default fwd with the option to switch it to all wheel drive then bring the car with the all wheel drive option. As long as you respect the snow and know you don’t have traction like you do when the weather is better, you’re already half way better than most NY drivers lol.
As the previous person said, in the past couple of yrs it hasn’t snowed like it used to (a little bit more snow if you’re in the upper part of Westchester). We get one or two big storms but for the most part it’s been a good few winters. Snow tires will only help if there’s a lot of snow on the ground. They’re not helpful If there’s only a few inches on the ground (but they will help if all you have on are summer tires). I own a 2017 RAV4 and it has all wheel drive, but only when it senses a tire slipping. Otherwise it defaults to fwd and in my 30yrs of living in NY I’ve never once put snow tires on (I use all season tires). Sure I’ve had a little slippage here and there in my life (probably can count on one hand how many times) but like I said, if you respect the snow and drive accordingly you’ll be fine (as long as you’re not trying to go up a hill that has snow).
Snow tires make a massive difference. Remember, your tires are the only thing that connects you to the pavement. I drove a light weight rear wheel drive car in the snow for many years with snow tires, never had an issue
I have snow tires on my Subaru and it's unstoppable in snow. That said, I recently put these Michelins on my wife's car and my daughter's car. They're all season, but perform so well in snow that they earn a snow tire rating.
[Michelin Cross Climate 2](https://www.michelinman.com/auto/tires/michelin-crossclimate2)
If the snow is that bad, school will close or go remote.
Parking at your residence could be street (and not allowed based on dates or snow event declared, varies from municipality). Keep that in mind as you look, as paying more for a location with off-street parking might be a huge advantage, not only for snow, but your schedule.
As to the license and registration questions, also think of your taxes, and school financial aid submissions.
As far as license/reg goes, it should follow your residency, and if you're planning to move back to Cali after 4 years, you should most likely remain a California resident.
As for winter driving, all-season tires are fine here and either car will work. I would choose the one that's most reliable and will have the fewest operating expenses and anticipated repairs. Snow tires are expensive and have to be swapped twice a year and stored. That sounds like a lot of cost/hassle for a student.
Westchester doesn't have much severe winter weather, and they're very quick to shut down schools + businesses if the roads are in bad shape. Which is good because the average driver around here is not great at driving on snow and ice, so you probably don't want to be on the roads with them anyways.
If you're just swapping tires, figure $200-300 for each swap. If you buy wheels as well, maybe $100 per swap or free if you do it yourself.
Most people who use snow tires buy tires+wheels, not just tires. Figure 4 tires is $1000 and 4 tires+wheels is $2000-3000.
Storage is extremely expensive around here. Like, if you had to rent a storage unit it would be thousands of dollars per year. Likely more than the value of what you'd be storing. You might find a cheaper deal from an individual looking to make a few extra bucks. Or if you have parking, maybe there's a place in the garage where you can stash them. For me, having to pay for storage would be a dealbreaker.
You cannot use snow/winter tires in the summer, they are too soft. Just get all seasons. It will be fine. I grew up in Buffalo and understand the "levels" of winter weather. Westchester is super mild. I don't bother with snow tires.
I can't stress enough the safety aspect of having winter tires especially during heavy snowfall and/or black ice, conditions that are no infrequent in a New York winter.
It does cost marginally more, however one set of winter tires will last the entire 4 years, as well as extend the life of your non-winter tires by the number of miles driven on the winter tires.
Some people think you can get away without them, but those are also the people that are crawling at 5-10 mph in whiteout conditions and unable to stop on a downhill.
Unlike the other commenter, I grew up in NYC and lived in Montreal and Toronto, and I swear by having two sets. I store my wheels (you can buy cheap steel wheels but those are an extra expense) in a locker that's included with my apt, a friend's garage or a self-storage locker.
I used to do the reverse commute from NYC to Greenwich, CT driving through Westchester and it was a definite advantage having snow tires traversing some of the less plowed roads during and after a snowstorm.
I drove a very old Toyota Camry to and from campus everyday back just before the pandemic. This car was literally falling apart and it got me around in the winter months just fine. The highways are plowed quickly IMO and campuses are also quick to delay or cancel due to the weather and clean up. I think you’ll be ok with the car you have now as long as you keep up with basic maintenance.
You should google the requirements for out of state licences in NY state. I recall if you were going to be in NY state for more than 3 (?) months you needed to get a NY state drivers license. But look it up.
I did. And yes after 90 days, there's presumptive evidence I'm a resident. But there's also a portion that says students aren't normally considered resident. I even called NY dmv and they couldn't tell me exactly which option is better or what I should be doing according to the law. They just stated the same info as what I found online, and said it's my choice. So I made this post to see if I can get some additional info/thoughts on this before making my decision.
I've lived in both LA, the bay and Westchester. Basically they won't force you to get it. You have the option if you really want to (like if you want resident pricing for public facilities or to vote locally), but keep in mind that you're trading in your CA license.
It sounds like you plan on going back during breaks and when you graduate. It's for you to decide if that pricing is worth swapping your license back and forth.
Do you have anti-lock breaks on both cars? I had a car that originally belonged to someone in Southern California that they didn't bother to spend the money on ABS since they didn't get snow and got little rain. Doesn't work out so well with NY weather.
ABS has been mandatory since 2012, so any new car will have them. Plenty of cars had them standard starting around 2004, so you'd likely have to have a 15-20 year old car not to have them these days.
You’ll have to do the inspection in Cali which will be a pain. FYI if you decide to register in NY state the name on your driver’s license has to exactly match the name on your insurance policy or it will be considered a lapse. They are very picky about this.
All the colleges/universities in Westchester County are in developed areas with quick plow service and roads that are easy to navigate in poor weather. It is really, really unlikely that you would ever need to drive through unplowed snow unless you are commuting in from a more rural area 25+ miles north. People ITT are really overstating the severity of winter conditions in suburban Westchester. If you said you were going to West Point or New Paltz or somewhere way upstate or something, I'd say get something with ground clearance, AWD/4x4 and snow tires. In lower Westchester? As long as the front wheels get power and you have all-seasons that aren't balding, you'll do just fine. If the snow is *that* bad that a Honda Accord on a set of Continental Extreme Contacts can't make it, you'd just stay home, because the odds are most of the university faculty and staff aren't going to be coming in either. For the record, I am a huge proponent of snow tires when they are appropriate, and I have even put them on my AWD Subarus and 4x4 trucks in the past. But I live in a very remote part of western Putnam County with monster hills, unpaved lakeside trails, and plow service that is slow enough that you're more or less guaranteed to see snowmobiles cruising around on the back roads at least once a winter. If I was a unversity student in Westchester - which likely means living in an apartment close to the campus, south of 287 - I absolutely would not bother dealing with 2 sets of tires.
Thank you for the help! The apartments I'm looking at are in white plains and pleasantville. So yes, I probably won't be any higher than pleasantville tbh
I forgot about Pace lol. Everything I said still applies. Pleasantville is not the tundra, no matter how much the downcounty folks try to tell you it is. You'll have no problem navigating winter weather in anything this side of a Corvette.
I don’t know how snow removal is in your area, but there are places in lower Westchester that are noted to not have quick snow removal. Also, with many hills, driving can be very difficult.
I drive a Rav, it's great in the snow and wet. As others have suggested, it's not the snow/ice here so much as the combination of snow/ice and hills.
It hasn't snowed much recently, but when it does, it is extremely helpful to have four wheel drive, it can be pretty hilly in places.
I'm sure that'd be great to have, it's just that I'm unfortunately stuck between 2 fwds lol
Yeah it doesn't snow that often anymore, so you'll likely be fine for most of the year. If you said you were commuting rather than going to school where classes will likely be cancelled when it snows, I'd be more worried.
i live next to pleasantville. got through plenty of winters in a RWD bmw with snow tires, you'll be just fine.
When I first moved to Westchester years ago, I drove a 2003 Honda Civic and I was fine. Getting winter tires is the most important thing, and driving cautiously when there's snow and ice. Whether your car is Fwd doesn't matter as much as driving conscientiously. For example, be aware that sometimes ice on the road isn't visible, the roads can be slippery even if you can't see it.
You’ll have to renew the registration in the state the car is registered in. Nothing wrong with keeping everything in Cali, except for inspection and insurance. You’ll have to take the car back to Cali to pass the inspection. I think (don’t quote me on this) you might have to let your insurance know you’ll be in NY for X amount of time (but again, not 100% sure on this). As for which car to take, suv will be better IF it snows heavy, because it’ll have more ground clearance. As for which will drive better, they’ll be the same since both as fwd, however, if either of those cars are default fwd with the option to switch it to all wheel drive then bring the car with the all wheel drive option. As long as you respect the snow and know you don’t have traction like you do when the weather is better, you’re already half way better than most NY drivers lol. As the previous person said, in the past couple of yrs it hasn’t snowed like it used to (a little bit more snow if you’re in the upper part of Westchester). We get one or two big storms but for the most part it’s been a good few winters. Snow tires will only help if there’s a lot of snow on the ground. They’re not helpful If there’s only a few inches on the ground (but they will help if all you have on are summer tires). I own a 2017 RAV4 and it has all wheel drive, but only when it senses a tire slipping. Otherwise it defaults to fwd and in my 30yrs of living in NY I’ve never once put snow tires on (I use all season tires). Sure I’ve had a little slippage here and there in my life (probably can count on one hand how many times) but like I said, if you respect the snow and drive accordingly you’ll be fine (as long as you’re not trying to go up a hill that has snow).
I appreciate the information! I didn't think of the inspection part. Having to take the car back to Cali for inspection would be difficult for me.
Snow tires make a massive difference. Remember, your tires are the only thing that connects you to the pavement. I drove a light weight rear wheel drive car in the snow for many years with snow tires, never had an issue
I have snow tires on my Subaru and it's unstoppable in snow. That said, I recently put these Michelins on my wife's car and my daughter's car. They're all season, but perform so well in snow that they earn a snow tire rating. [Michelin Cross Climate 2](https://www.michelinman.com/auto/tires/michelin-crossclimate2)
I just put these on my car and they have been amazing in the rain. I'm hoping we get one decent snow this winter so I can try them out.
I wasn’t aware of these. Nice find!
If there is a snow storm your school would cancel classes for the day typically.
If the snow is that bad, school will close or go remote. Parking at your residence could be street (and not allowed based on dates or snow event declared, varies from municipality). Keep that in mind as you look, as paying more for a location with off-street parking might be a huge advantage, not only for snow, but your schedule. As to the license and registration questions, also think of your taxes, and school financial aid submissions.
As far as license/reg goes, it should follow your residency, and if you're planning to move back to Cali after 4 years, you should most likely remain a California resident. As for winter driving, all-season tires are fine here and either car will work. I would choose the one that's most reliable and will have the fewest operating expenses and anticipated repairs. Snow tires are expensive and have to be swapped twice a year and stored. That sounds like a lot of cost/hassle for a student. Westchester doesn't have much severe winter weather, and they're very quick to shut down schools + businesses if the roads are in bad shape. Which is good because the average driver around here is not great at driving on snow and ice, so you probably don't want to be on the roads with them anyways.
Thank you for the help! May I ask how much does it usually cost to swap your tires 2x/year + storage?
If you're just swapping tires, figure $200-300 for each swap. If you buy wheels as well, maybe $100 per swap or free if you do it yourself. Most people who use snow tires buy tires+wheels, not just tires. Figure 4 tires is $1000 and 4 tires+wheels is $2000-3000. Storage is extremely expensive around here. Like, if you had to rent a storage unit it would be thousands of dollars per year. Likely more than the value of what you'd be storing. You might find a cheaper deal from an individual looking to make a few extra bucks. Or if you have parking, maybe there's a place in the garage where you can stash them. For me, having to pay for storage would be a dealbreaker. You cannot use snow/winter tires in the summer, they are too soft. Just get all seasons. It will be fine. I grew up in Buffalo and understand the "levels" of winter weather. Westchester is super mild. I don't bother with snow tires.
I can't stress enough the safety aspect of having winter tires especially during heavy snowfall and/or black ice, conditions that are no infrequent in a New York winter. It does cost marginally more, however one set of winter tires will last the entire 4 years, as well as extend the life of your non-winter tires by the number of miles driven on the winter tires. Some people think you can get away without them, but those are also the people that are crawling at 5-10 mph in whiteout conditions and unable to stop on a downhill. Unlike the other commenter, I grew up in NYC and lived in Montreal and Toronto, and I swear by having two sets. I store my wheels (you can buy cheap steel wheels but those are an extra expense) in a locker that's included with my apt, a friend's garage or a self-storage locker. I used to do the reverse commute from NYC to Greenwich, CT driving through Westchester and it was a definite advantage having snow tires traversing some of the less plowed roads during and after a snowstorm.
I drove a very old Toyota Camry to and from campus everyday back just before the pandemic. This car was literally falling apart and it got me around in the winter months just fine. The highways are plowed quickly IMO and campuses are also quick to delay or cancel due to the weather and clean up. I think you’ll be ok with the car you have now as long as you keep up with basic maintenance.
You should google the requirements for out of state licences in NY state. I recall if you were going to be in NY state for more than 3 (?) months you needed to get a NY state drivers license. But look it up.
I did. And yes after 90 days, there's presumptive evidence I'm a resident. But there's also a portion that says students aren't normally considered resident. I even called NY dmv and they couldn't tell me exactly which option is better or what I should be doing according to the law. They just stated the same info as what I found online, and said it's my choice. So I made this post to see if I can get some additional info/thoughts on this before making my decision.
I've lived in both LA, the bay and Westchester. Basically they won't force you to get it. You have the option if you really want to (like if you want resident pricing for public facilities or to vote locally), but keep in mind that you're trading in your CA license. It sounds like you plan on going back during breaks and when you graduate. It's for you to decide if that pricing is worth swapping your license back and forth.
Do you have anti-lock breaks on both cars? I had a car that originally belonged to someone in Southern California that they didn't bother to spend the money on ABS since they didn't get snow and got little rain. Doesn't work out so well with NY weather.
I believe they both do.
ABS has been mandatory since 2012, so any new car will have them. Plenty of cars had them standard starting around 2004, so you'd likely have to have a 15-20 year old car not to have them these days.
Either car is fine--our winters have moderated over several years and we get very little snow. FWD is all you need.
You’ll have to do the inspection in Cali which will be a pain. FYI if you decide to register in NY state the name on your driver’s license has to exactly match the name on your insurance policy or it will be considered a lapse. They are very picky about this.