New Rochelle, New York

New Rochelle is one of Westchester’s largest cities, serving a population of over 77,000 located conveniently right off i95, the Hutchinson River Parkway and right on the shores of the beautiful Long Island Sound. Once owned by the Sinoway Native Americans, the area now known as New Rochelle was later purchased by the French Protestant refugees fleeing persecution, and the land was declared “Nouvelle Rochelle” (or, in English, “The New Rock”) named after their hometown, La Rochelle, back in France. The settlement was later used by George Washington as a resting stop after he and his troops lost the “Battle of White Plains” to the Brisith in 1775, and later the city saw a huge influx of immigrants, mainly Irish and German.

Today, New Rochelle has survived the civil rights battle in American history, as it is a very diverse city, where people generally coexist peacefully: and it’s a town that is still booming industrially. The bustling streets of Downtown New Rochelle has become home to many professional offices and retail shops, including New Roc City, which is 1.2 square feet of entertainment venues and shops, as well as restaurants, and even houses a hotel and apartments. Located smack dab in the center of four bustling treets all joined in a square (Lecount, Harrison, Huguenot, and West City), Roc City contains Westchester’s first-ever IMAX theater (complete with 19 screens and chairs that have “posable” armrests), as well as many restaurants, Modell’s sporting goods store, a humungous Stop & Shop Supermarket and Authentic Cafe for scrumptious ice cream treats. After seeing your film, you can play lazer tag or video games at Funfuzion Arcade, go bowling with bowling balls that actually glow in the dark (!), or ride go-carts at Roc City Speedway (mind you, all of this is---incredibly---inside the same building). It’s a spectacular variety of fun things to do for the whole family to enjoy. You can always take the kids for an enjoyable dinner at the neighborhood Applebee’s, and The Gnarly Vine Italian is the picture-perfect place to take someone out on a serious date, complete with romantic candles and a charming atmosphere. Aside from New Roc City you’ll also find your next favorite video game at Game Stop, or find adorable home decor at Home Depot. There’s also unique stores like Defender Marine Supply, where you can find all of your sailing equipment needs (and being right near the Long Island Sound and the Hudson River, lots of people will find this useful, especially if you want to own a sailboat or go kayacking.)

In the busy downtown is where you’ll find affordable apartments for low-income housing. New Rochelle also accepts Section 8, and many of these apartment units (like To own a home proper can cost anywhere between 199,000 to 600,000+, which makes New Rochelle a great place for middle class families as well. Located on the outer parts of New Rochelle are the residential areas, where you’ll find many different communities, with pretty , charming names like “Rochelle Heights” and Sutton Manor”. There’s also three gated communities as well.

New Rochelle is famous for its highly diverse culture, where you’ll find a large South American population, including many African Americans and Asian as well. Its school system is recognized as one of the most ecclectic in the entire United States (especially New York State)! The community is very proud of this, especially since it is a highly populated area. Aside from the renowned New Rochelle Public Schools, there are eight private schools, and the College of New Rochelle is the very first college run solely by women. Many of the private schools are Catholic, as it is the most pronounced religion in the area.

There are many parks in New Rochelle worth visiting. Since it is on the Sound, most of the parks are actually tiny islands: like David’s Island, for example, which was once used as a military base in WWII (you can still see the cold-war structures on the premisis). Today it is home to a variety of wildlife including the endangered species like Kemp’s Ripley Sea Turtles and Least Turns (a variety of small herons that live in New Rochelle and the surrounding areas, like Larchmont). Many of these parks are great for hiking and bringing kids for a first taste of hiking and camping.

New Rochelle is a large city that somehow manages to maintain a fantastically low crime rate, and it was noted as one of the most wealthiest places in the United States during the Great Depression.

No matter what age, what class or what culture, you’ll always feel like you belong at New Rochelle, “The Home Town”, which is only a half an hour away from NYC.

First I have to say that New Rochelle is a fairly expensive place to live. There are lots of gated communities and multimillion dollar houses throughout the city and you would have to make upwards of a hundred thousand dollars a year to live comfortably in one of them.

However, if you're willing to give up the backyard and live in a condo then the prices are quite affordable, especially when you compare them to nearby Manhattan.

I often find that upper class communities are home to people cut from the same cloth but in New Rochelle it's different. It's a diverse city where everyone is accepted.

There's a great selection of restaurants in town with a good mix of chain restaurants and independent eateries specializing in all kinds of cuisines.

Another major plus for the city is its abundance of parks and green spaces to explore. The geography of New Rochelle is a little unusual but the city has certainly made the most of it. Many offshore islands were turned into parks like Glen Island and Five Islands Park. Hudson Park even has a sandy beach along the Long Island Sound.

The most incredible thing about it is you can have all of this beautiful open space, a waterfront property, and still be close to New York City. I guess there is a way to have it all.

New Rochelle is one of the few cities in Westchester county. Like most places in Westchester, New Rochelle is RELATIVELY affordable - when you compare it to most places in New York City. However, this does NOT mean that it's a cheap place to live. In fact, the cost of living is way above the national average. During the last decade, New Rochelle has seen a lot of changes - particularly in the downtown area. Developers have invested a lot of money in building luxury properties and courting more businesses - including cafes, bars, nightclubs, and trendy stores. A huge number of condos, townhouses, and apartments have been built, while there are still some single family homes outside of the bustling downtown area. While it was once harder to get to Manhattan from New Rochelle, now it only takes about half an hour, making the commute comparable to those from many of the boroughs. New Rochelle is also a very diverse town; it is historically an Italian community, but now there are also significant numbers of African American and Hispanic residents, with a slightly smaller minority of Asians. As a result, the town has seen the development of a large number of ethnic restaurants. There is plenty to do in New Rochelle: nice parks, a separate Children's Library, and the popular New Roc City entertainment & shopping complex.

New Rochelle is an ethnically, religiously, racially and economically diverse suburban community just north of manhattan. Residents range from blue collar / lower-middle class to affluent /extremely wealthy