Yonkers, New York

The bottom line is that Yonkers is great if you want to have a car, commute to New York City, and be close to upstate New York.

The public transportation is good; the train takes about 30-40 minutes to Grand Central Station. There used to be a ferry into Manhattan which was a very pleasant ride but it closed a few years ago. Apparently it never brought in enough customers to be profitable.

Yonkers has its bad parts, mostly in the west, and the crime rates can be high depending on where you're living. There are more than a few neighborhoods I don't like to walk around in at night.

Nice restaurants and shops are springing up along the Hudson River as well as some luxury condos. One of its biggest selling points, for me anyway, is to see the New York City skyline from your backyard. The best area to live in is the northeast. In general the people are relatively friendly but, like the rest of Yonkers, the different areas sharply contrast one another.

There are a couple of parks, check out Untermeyer Park, and a nice little museum near the waterfront. They're great for families with small kids but being that there are so many amazing museums just across the river I found it a little disappointing.

Yonkers is one of the largest cities in New York (by population and area). I have been told that it's the fourth largest, but I'm not sure about its exact rank. Up until the '90s, the population was almost entirely white. However, over the past two decades, we have seen huge changes in the population. These changes have taken place throughout Westchester, but they are particularly apparent in Yonkers. Less than half of the residents are white while the African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Asian populations have experienced tremendous growth. Some of this can be attributed to the fact that a lot of low income housing was built in parts of Yonkers. While diversity is a good thing, the low income housing also resulted in areas with more crime. However, that isn't too say that all of Yonkers is cheap and unsafe. Since it is such a large city, quality of life and cost of living vary from area to area. While southwest Yonkers is a pretty impoverished area, Yonkers also has plenty of upscale areas such as Park Hill and the downtown waterfront area. Public transportation is okay, although it certainly isn't as quick or convenient as in most of the boroughs. It is definitely a better place for drivers, as the traffic and parking is much better than in most of New York City. Yonkers also has plenty of things to do... there is plenty of shopping, and you can take the family out to the Hudson River Museum or the Science Barge. For adults, if you like gambling, there is the Yonkers Raceway. I'm told that it also has slot machines, but I haven't been there myself.