Making the Move from Brooklyn
It's been almost nine years since the wife and I left the city, where we had both lived our whole lives, and headed north. The transition was both challenging and rewarding in ways that we hadn't foreseen. In the meantime, plenty of people have gone through the same move. I'm going to start posting chats with readers about their moves to the area and their lives here. To kick things off, one reader, Lauren, recently shared her experiences making the move from the city.
Where do you live? How long have you lived there?
We’ve lived in Katonah for about a year now.
Where did you move from?
Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
Why did you pick the area?
We were looking for a place within commutable distance to the City, with natural beauty and open spaces. With a baby on the way, great public schools and relative safety were important. Northern Westchester offers all of this, including a reputation for being more down-to-earth and welcoming than other “commuting” towns, not to mention less congested. We also found a fair selection of housing within our price range here.
What has been the hardest part of the transition from the city to the rural burbs of Northern Westchester?
We don’t even know where to begin with property maintenance! It’s also been challenging to keep in close contact with our city friends.
What do you miss most about living in the city?
Walking…..to neighborhood restaurants, friends’ apartments, parks, etc.
What is your favorite thing about living here?
There are so many favorite things! But the thing I appreciate most is what a beautiful part of the country this is. We love being near so many wonderful parks and nature preserves, not to mention the little stand of woods right behind our house.
What do you tell city friends who think you were crazy to move up here?
Come visit, then tell me who’s crazy.
Thanks for sharing, Lauren!
If you'd like to be interviewed about your experiences moving to, living in, and/or working in Northern Westchester, email me.
4 comments:
Welcome to the area Lauren. We moved up from Park Slope a few years ago and really love it here. I used to miss being able to walk to the store, but in truth I much prefer being able to walk into the woods behind my house or down my lovely road. I can't get a carton of milk without driving, but I can get peace and quiet and calm by taking a short walk.
This is a great idea/thread! We moved up from Park Slope 2.5 years ago also, and I'm always curious about how other people feel who make the move. I had a much tougher time with the move than my husband did. I took a lot of classes in the city & miss my friends & being able to bike over the Brooklyn Bridge. But I've found amazing places to bike here and wonderful people nearby (mostly found the community after having a child), and my husband and I both love being able to have a garden and the peace & quiet everyone talks about... although the crickets tonight are awfully loud. ;-)
We moved from Brooklyn (Fort Green) to outside of Croton last year and love it here. We've met lots of other former Brooklyn residents in the area. I do love the beauty and quiet, but even more than that I'm enjoying the community and finding all the cool places. This site has been great!!
Hello all, we too, like many of you here, made the move from the stroller city of Park Slope to Katonah. It was a transitional nightmare at first for us, but after two years now my wife an I have finally adjusted.
All of the issues here we experienced, like missing walking to dozens of great restaurants, or to the corner store for milk. We would take weekend drives back to Brooklyn to get our fix, but that has been played out, and quite fast. The greenthumb/handyman fix it your self is something that has been the hardest to overcome. My instinct is to call the handy man only to realize I'm him now. All and all you get used to that too.
We continue to explore great parks, bike trails and small towns in the Hudson valley. We love JBFC in Pleasantville, and Caramoor right here in Katonah.
We still have had difficulty meeting people with the same interests and background. There is still an isolation factor up here and what neighbors we do have are spread out and not very neighborly.
But overall, we like it here and with a baby on the way and a six year old established in a great school, we plan on staying, at least for the next few years.
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