Your Friends and Neighbors: Is Westmont Village a Real Neighborhood in New York?

In ‘Your Friends and Neighbors,‘ a wealthy hedge fund manager named Andrew Cooper, AKA Coop, faces a nightmare situation when he is fired from his managerial role at a hedge fund company, only to realize he has no way to sustain his family’s exorbitant lifestyle and his divorce payments. The show primarily unravels in a privileged New York state neighborhood known as Westmont Village, characterized by its posh, suburban homes and affluent residents who are busy frolicking in the sun and catering to their expensive needs. As one of its occupants, Coop finds himself embedded in the social vagaries of the place and its residents, who are caught up in some drama or web of conspiracy. Things get even more complicated when he realizes he can steal from these rich folks to pay off his climbing debt, making Westmont an integral setting within the narrative.

Westmont Village is a Fictional Neighborhood at the Heart of the Show’s Drama

Although rife with drama, secret, and deception, Westmont Village is a fictional New York State area brought to life by the show’s scriptwriters, Craig Gillespie, Greg Yaitanes, Jonathan Tropper, and Stephanie Laing. It is a fenced suburban area brimming with luxurious homes, country clubs, markets, and wellness centers. The production crew primarily used the neighborhoods of the Hudson Valley in New York to embody these culturally pristine and rich neighborhoods, which are pivotal to the show’s central setting. Hudson Valley is known for its vineyards, orchards, and farms and is also host to urban architecture that is reflective of the higher echelons of society. As the show mainly centers on showcasing the lives of people who belong to the upper middle class and the super-wealthy, it is the perfect stand-in for the fictional Westmont Village.

The film crew went to great lengths to imbue color and vibrancy to Westmont, either through recording scenes in real locations or through the use of intricate set environments to display the opulence and lavish lifestyle surrounding Coop in his day-to-day existence. For instance, the golf scenes that take place at the Oakwood Country Club were lensed at the Woodlea mansion in Briarcliff Manor, which is a suburban village just north of New York City. Additionally, key scenes for Westmont were filmed in Rye, a coastal city part of the New York City metropolitan area. These small touches help layer a sense of realism and authenticity to the fictional suburb and make it feel familiar as a place. Scenes were also shot in the suburban town of Harrison in Westchester County, New York.

Thus, the area of Westmont feels like a thriving and bustling neighborhood populated by society’s elite because of the production team’s efforts. It is vital to the overarching narrative as Coop finds himself increasingly alienated within the neighborhood, realizing he can no longer be a part of it following his firing. As such, he becomes increasingly aware of the facade and masks people wear in Westmont as they try to live up to unrealistic standards and false images. It also gives him the opportunity to make some bucks illegitimately, as most of the inhabitants are unlikely to miss their possessions because of how affluent and well-stocked they are. He begins a life of stealing and robbery to sustain his own out-of-control lifestyle, showcasing the trappings of life in the fictional neighborhood of Westmont.