Mount Pleasant

Westchester County is known for its great affluence, but middle-income house-hunters will be pleased to stumble upon the town of Mount Pleasant, a collection of geographically desirable villages and hamlets characterized by quality schools, excellent amenities and housing options for a wide range of budgets. Combined, the population of the town is about 45,000, and it covers 27.7 square miles.

The town’s many services, including recreation and libraries, are shared, which gives residents more options than they would have in a smaller town. House-hunters will find a great deal of variety among the neighborhoods, with unique elements to make each area unique.

Hawthorne, which grew as a suburb during the 1950s, is small and densely populated. Its own Metro-North station makes it a great option for city commuters. The Mount Pleasant School District educates children from Hawthorne and neighboring Thornwood, and performs well on state assessments, which are one of the most important indicators of quality. Several corporations, including IBM, are located in Hawthorne.

Pleasantville is probably the most affluent part of Mount Pleasant. The village of 7,000 features lovely Victorians and colonials, as well as ranches built during the Sixties. It’s a good place for boutique shopping, and the Jacob Burns Film Center draws people from all over to view documentaries and independent films. Its school district, which has three schools, gets excellent results.

Sleepy Hollow is Mount Pleasant’s riverside village. Still struggling after the 1998 closure of it General Motors plant, the village is reinventing itself as a shopping and dining destination, with appealing historic sites. Its location in the town of Mount Pleasant has not kept village officials from establishing a partnership with nearby Tarrytown, in an effort to revitalize both communities. The schools have some strong points but need to improve certain areas as mandated by the state.

Thornwood has the advantage of in-town shopping, meaning residents don’t have to travel to nearby towns to get groceries and other necessities. It is part of the Mount Pleasant School District, along with Hawthorne. The town’s Metro-North station closed years ago, but the Hawthorne and Pleasantville stations both offer relatively easy commutes to the city.

Valhalla is the town’s southernmost hamlet. It has its own train station, and travel time to Grand Central is about 40 minutes. Though small in size, it is home to two hospitals, Westchester Community College, and a large cemetery. It has its own school district, which performs well and has a good sports program.

Mount Pleasant has a lot of possibilities, especially for those who don’t have a million dollars. The location, schools, and variety of amenities combine to make it a popular place to live.

Mount Pleasant is a 32.7 square mile town that encompasses the hamlets and villages of Hawthorne, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, Thornwood, and Valhalla, each of which have their own unique offerings. Mount Pleasant is a lovely family-friendly area with some ethinic diversity, pretty good schools and a good deal of shopping and entertainment options. The area is a mixed bag of larger more upscale homes, stunning old Victorians, Tudors, Colonicals, more modest single-family homes, condos and apartment rentals. There is a little something for everyone in this area and it is hard to get bored.

Hawthorne has a huge mulitplex showing all the big blockbuster hits. Before or after your movie, you can head on over to the Executive Diner, Applebees, Wendy's or even Gasho of Japan, a very cool long-standing Hibachi house that has a beautiful strolling garden out back replete with a bridge and large bulbous koi fish. Pleasantville will charm you with its fairy tale Victorian houses set on quiet and quaint tree-lined streets that jut out from the artsy, laid back center of town. The town is rightfully proud of the Jacob Burns Film Center and Media Lab, which shows the best of the best artistic and independent films and often holds special events with celebs and interesting Q&A sessions with acclaimed writers, directors, actors and producers. Sleepy Hollow is a charming hamlet with spectacular Hudson River views and tons of explorable historical sites. Must-visits are the Old Dutch Church, the original Sleepy Hollow cemetery and Philipsburg Manor, a 300 year old manor where families can visit with oxen, view a working gristmill or work wheat in their old Dutch barn. Thornwood has a great night spot, Lucy's Lounge, where one can get their groove on listening to the best live local music around. Valhalla is home to the Kensico Dam and plaza with its large grassy field where concerts are held in the summer. Families come and spread out their picnic blankets and enjoy a festive night of music under the stars. In the daytime, you will see many people spinning their rollerblading wheels around the perimeter of the field. They even have a nice memorial to September 11th. For a nosh in Valhalla, check out Valhalla Crossing Restaurant in the local train station and dine in a caboose!

Mount Pleasant has a community pool as well as the wonderful Grahams Hills Park, a beautiful 431-acre park with five miles of hiking and mountain biking trails and Caroll Park which has a baseball field, fishing, ice skating, picnic areas and a playground.

For peace of mind, there are three well known excellent medical facilities in the area, Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, Phelps Memorial Hospital Center in Sleepy Hollow and Blythedale Children's Hospital in Mount Pleasant.

The Mount Pleasant School District is quite good. The average SAT score is 1606 and it is reported that 100% of its high school students do go on to attend college.

Mount Pleasant is fairly safe and the crime rate is relatively low.

The median income is roughly $96,403 and the median home value is around $647,000.

Mount Pleasant is 78% White, 7.5% Hispanic, 5.5% Asian and 2.5% Black.

The population is approximately 43,724 and the median age is 35.