Moving to Putnam

[grumpyff 1,159]

Hi everyone,

I am looking to buy a house within the next 6 months to a year in Putnam county. The areas that I have been looking at have been Brewster, Carmel, Mahopac, Kent and Patterson. Does anyone out there know these areas, and are there any parts that should be avoided, such as have bad wells ,problems with septic tanks, etc. Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated. And yes, I would most likly join the FD where I move to.

[WAS967 97]

I too am looking for houses in that general vicinity. Perhaps we can put our heads together.

[LCFD994 8]

OH NO THERE STARTING TO INVADE....lol

IT all depends on where you go to look, there are good and bad points for every area that you guys have mentioned.

[DOC22 1]

There are a bunch of houses in the area of Lake Carmel Where I live and they all look decent.

[foreman1923 22]

If you like a boring town with absolutely nothing to do then mahopac is your place but if youre looking to join some good fire departments mahopac and mahopac falls are pretty good

[JBE 328]

Taxes are outrageous, it's not as quiet as it used to be. The fishing is good.

[Guest NYTruckie]

I had in laws in Putnam Lake, some of their wells would go dry, in the summer. Also converted summer cottages, to year round houses.

[X2321 133]

We moved up to Brewster (Southeast) from central Westchester 5 years ago. We love it up here. If you have school aged kids the Brewster school system is fantastic. Taxes are a bit on the high side depending on where you buy and how much property you have. There are a bunch of great guys in the Brewster Fire Dept and they keep busy.

[EJS1810 7]

Dont buy a house in a neighboorhood with the word lake in it, i.e. Lake Secor, Lake Baldwin, Lake Peekskill, etc. they are all converted summer homes right on top of your neighbor

[grumpyff 1,159]

Thanks for all the responses. =D> I had looked at a house in Putnam Lake, and was wondering why so many houses were for sale. I wonder if it problems with the well.

[WAS967 97]

Yeah. I would stay away from Lake Peekskill unless you can get a house with a decent amount of property (.25 acres+ is rare) and some of the areas of LP are really scummy. Like bucktooth redneck kinda scummy. Put Lake is definatly packed. Good luck finding your way to the house much less buying one. :-> I'd buy a house in Lake Carmel however. Some nice spots up there.

[DOC22 1]

Yeah. I would stay away from Lake Peekskill unless you can get a house with a decent amount of property (.25 acres+ is rare) and some of the areas of LP are really scummy. Like bucktooth redneck kinda scummy. Put Lake is definatly packed. Good luck finding your way to the house much less buying one. :-> I'd buy a house in Lake Carmel however. Some nice spots up there.

Yes there are like Putnam Drive and others on the North side of route 311.

[LCFD994 8]

good fire dept. in Lake Carmel as well.....lol

[WAS967 97]

Yeah, thats exactly the area I was thinking of. I have to call my agent on Monday and make arrangements to sit down with her to go over the basics. Spring is quickly approaching, and is probably the best time to start looking.

[WAS967 97]

Okay, so we have heard about the Brewster schools. Any word on Carmel schools? How about Patterson (do they have a district or do they go elsewhere?).

[DOC22 1]

Okay, so we have heard about the Brewster schools. Any word on Carmel schools? How about Patterson (do they have a district or do they go elsewhere?).

Part of Patterson goes to Brewster Schools and Part goes to Carmel, I believe.

[LCFD994 8]

Patterson dosent have there own school district. Doc is right about part of Patterson, more or less the Putnam Lake area goes to Brewster Schools.

Carmel Schools are ok. I just dont like how they have the district lines drawn up for the elementary schools.

IE: Matthew Patterson is in the town of patterson, but part of the carmel school district, and kids from Patterson, and part of Lake Carmel ( town of Kent) go there. No there is no Kent school district.

IE: Kent Primary, and Kent Elementary have duplicate grades and are in the town of kent. ARE YA CONFUSED YET......

[Guest]

As for areas - I grew up in Putnam Lake - was great for kids when I was there, but heard it has changed a lot - definite septic and well problems in that area - nothing at all to do in Patterson or Putnam Lake - I now live in the Village of Brewster - another place I wouldn't recommend - I'm not sure about the other side of the county but Southeast - (also referred to as Brewster) is a great area as well as Mahopac/Mahopac Falls

As for fire departments - they're all great with a great bunch of people - you can't really go wrong

[grumpyff 1,159]

I also started looking at Putnam Valley. It seems nice, and quiet, which to me is not a problem, I get enough excitment at work ](*,) . Any one out there who knows about Put Valley, feel free to answer, good or bad.

[LCFD968 10]

Hey Grumpyff, I used to work for a floor covering store in Peekskill and I always went into Putnam Valley. It is bueatiful back there in them hills. Like someone had stated earlier in this thread, if you look near a lake you are going to look at summer cottages mostly. I do know in some spots in Putnam Valley you could drive for ten minutes before you see civilization which in my opinion is a good thing sometimes.

I have lived in places like Manhatten, Bronx, Mamaroneck, Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Mohegan, Peekskill to name a few. I have had the pleasure of living in this wonderful town of Kent. It is bueatiful here you have your Lake communitiy(lake Carmel) and then you have the hills of Kent. The school system is rated one of the top in New York but the problem is that the taxes are one of the highest in New York and that is chasing everybody out to right into Dutchess County.

I plan on staying here for a while high taxes and all. It took me a while to find a place I would really like and the kids, my wife and myself really love it here.

Grumpyff good luck in your trek for new home.

[grumpyff 1,159]

I'm happy to say all the house hunting has come to an end, we have decided on Patterson . Our closing is in a few weeks, thanks again for all your input it was really helpful.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

I'd go a bit more north and look in Dutchess. I always live in areas with hydrants. :wink: Either way good luck with your search and I'm sure any FD will be glad to have you especially if you ride the ambulance.

[WAS967 97]

From the quick looks I've done Patterson does seem to have quite a few houses at reasonable prices. What pluses and minuses did you find for the area? I assume schools are Brewster?

[Guest DADAY]

In patterson, most schools are Carmel.

[WAS967 97]

Ah, that makes sense. So I've seen good marks for the Brewster schools. How about Carmel? Any comments?

[Guest NYTruckie]

All of Putnam Lake (Town of Patterson) is Brewster Schools

[WAS967 97]

Put Lake? Ugh. I'd just as soon move to Lake Peekskill. Stuff is just too crammed together. I could never find scenes in Put Lake when I worked putnam. I just met the BLS crew at the fire house.

[Guest DADAY]

Not all of put lake is brewster, some of it is patterson its all based on the mail.

[Guest NYTruckie]

Some is Brewster I think west of the monuments on Fairfield Drive is a Brewster po

[grumpyff 1,159]

I will be in the North part of town, near route 311. Carmel schools, which I have heard some good things about. Some shopping is nearby, and the area is quiet ( a plus/minus depending on how you look at it). The fire house is also close by, once I get settled in. As a member of Pleasantville VFD, living in Bedford Hills, I have gotten real lazy :oops: about responding/ training so I will have to change my mindset on that. It is real easy to roll over and hit the reset button when the pager goes off. Most off the problem though is I work at night and sleep during the day. My days off are not steady, they rotate. I know most Depts would love to have more daytime members, but sometimes I think my situation can be a hinderance as I often miss training drills and meetings. Being new to a different Department, this will make it hard to meet the members and learn how they operate. 8-[ Does anyone have any thoughts on this? :-k