Page 31 - Westchester 2022 Relocation & Moving Guide

according to a recent web survey done by Houlihan Lawrence.
Ample interior space is also on the top of everyone’s wish lists these days, adds Knief: “Buyers want room for kids to play, homework areas, workspaces, Zoom rooms, et cetera. Houses with a home office or two, already in place, are selling at a premium.”
Adds Elwell: “We are definitely seeing buyers interested in a little more space than normal. If they were thinking of buying a three-bedroom, now they want to get a four-bedroom and use the fourth bedroom as an office.”
Whatever home suits a family’s needs — and whether they prefer the Sound Shore, a Rivertown, Northern Westchester, or somewhere closer to Manhattan — it’s clear the Westchester suburbs are the new hotspot.
Who: Amy and David van Erk
Where: Brooklyn to Mount Kisco
Why: Room For Baby Plus A Big Foodie Scene
Amy and David van Erk and their son, Elliott, moved from Brooklyn to Mount Kisco at the end of July 2020. Their decision to move to Westchester was accelerated by the pandemic yet fairly typical of young urban families, who know that “a 9-month- old in a one-bedroom apartment doesn’t fly for too long,” as Amy says.
“I knew that I loved Mount Kisco and all its great food places, which matter a lot to me. I worked remotely even before the pandemic, and my husband was fine with the commute to the city, so the location was ideal,” Amy adds.
Less typical was their experience when making the transition to Westchester in the middle of a global pandemic. The van
“I knew that I loved Mount Kisco and all its great food places, which matter a lot to me.”
Erks toured their current home, in Mount Kisco — an unusual property, containing a 1922 prewar Colonial three-bedroom, plus a 2,000 sq. ft. dilapidated former flower shop/greenhouse that the couple plan to turn into a home-office space — the
Why Westchester?
weekend before the lockdown was issued. That same weekend, they had held an open house on their Brooklyn co-op and found a buyer, squeaking by just before such indoor activities were suspended.
Once the lockdown ensued, the real estate market shut down entirely, and the couple decided to proceed with buying the Mount Kisco home — even though it was the only Westchester property they toured.
A year later, they family is thrilled with their decision. “We’re so grateful to be here,” Amy says. And their now-toddler son, Elliot, has all the room he needs. “I wouldn’t move back to Brooklyn, seeing how happy Elliott is, running all around here,” says David.
LIVING IN WESTCHESTER AND THE HUDSON VALLEY | RELOCATION & MOVING GUIDE 29
Perennial favorite Rye boasts a charming downtown and highly ranked schools.
© ANNE MARIE SOWDER GORMAN