The $10k question: Is this charming Chappaqua colonial worth the commute?

If you’re just tuning in, the Garcias—newlyweds with house fever but no prognosis—are taking a temperature on suburban life. They’ve already seen properties in Midtown, Harlem, the Bronx, and southern Westchester, including:
Midtown
Harlem
Wakefield
Tuckahoe
White Plains

Each property resides within walking distance along 15-minute increments of the Metro-North’s Harlem Line, starting at Grand Central Terminal. Today, they’re heading up another 15 minutes from North White Plains to... Chappaqua.

Property #6: 8 Elizabeth St, Chappaqua, NY 10514

A 1,824 sq ft Colonial-style single-family home built in 1964, featuring:
3 bedrooms
3 baths
Hardwood floors
Formal dining room & eat-in kitchen with pantry
Finished walk-out basement
2-car garage
0.65-acre lot with partial fence
Vinyl siding exterior with deck & patio
Convenient access to public transportation

Details on Property #6
Type: Single-Family Home
Location: Westchester / Chappaqua (Town of New Castle)

Commute Breakdown
Train Stop: Chappaqua (Harlem Line, Stop #21)
Distance from Station: 1.1 miles | ~22 min walk
Train Ride to GCT: 72 min
Total Monthly Commute Time: 69 hours
Monthly Commuter Cost: $300.00 (Train only)

Financial Summary

List Price: $999,000.00
Monthly Mortgage (P&I): $5,051.00
Utilities & Suburban Overhead: $2,493.00
Property Tax: $1,795.82
Total Monthly Cost: $9,976.00

Please note: This property just sold, so most of the photos have been removed online. I’ve added them back to the gallery below.

Comments
This 1960s Colonial blends classic bones with thoughtful updates—sun-splashed rooms, a brick fireplace, and a kitchen layout that’s genuinely family-friendly. The walk-out basement and expansive deck create seamless indoor-outdoor flow, while the generous yard offers a true step up in space compared to White Plains.

Beyond its fame for having the Clintons as residents, Chappaqua is well known for its highly-rated school district (Chappaqua Central Schools). If they choose the hamlet of Chappaqua, part of the town of New Castle, the Garcias will pay taxes through the nose. So, if having kids is a sneeze, this is a great place to be.

The commute, however, is a serious time sink:
10x longer than Midtown
More than 4x longer than Harlem

For buyers like the Garcias who are weighing “more land, more house” against “more time at home,” this is a quintessential Westchester tradeoff. Big lot, quiet neighborhood, a house with room to grow—but at the cost of hours back and forth on Metro-North.

Cost Check:
Whereas the White Plains property came in under the Tuckahoe property, Chappaqua will run the Garcias nearly $10k/month. Is it worth the price to spot Bill Clinton at Lange’s every now and then?

Methodology
I identified properties priced at or below $1,000,000 near Harlem Line stops (plus one LES subway wild card) to compare commute time, costs, and ownership overhead. Assumptions include consistent walking pace, standard fares, and normalized monthly costs across property types.

Full methodology here.