Life In Shirley, NY (New York, Islip: sex offender, crime, day care)

[Brooklyn-Shirley]

Greetings everyone...

I am in the process of migrating from Brooklyn, NY to Shirley, NY - yes, a HUGE change in life...but, marriage and a baby can encourage a person to seek some peace and tranquility from the city. As a result, I have a TON of questions...

1. How is the commute to Manhattan from Shirley on the LIRR?

2. How are the day care centers? Any recommendations? Preferably near the LIRR...

Any additional information about life in Shirley would be most helpful!

Brooklyn-Shirley

[New_Yorker]

1. Your commute may be a bit grueling. Your best bet is to drive to the Ronkonkoma train station, and get an express train from there into Manhattan;
they usually run in the mornings until 9-ish. After that, you may be stuck taking a local train. The express trains to Penn Station can take up to 1 hour-15 minutes. The local may take up to 1 hour-45 minutes. Depending on where you're going, you may be able to hop off at Jamaica and take the subway in.

2. I don't know much about day care. I only have a cat.

3. Shirley, Mastic, and Mastic Beach are all in the same general area. Some parts are good, some parts are bad. You may even find that the houses on one street are well maintained, but the houses on the very next block to be boarded up. It's important to check out the surrounding neighborhood before you purchase a home. Get a good realtor!

My Aunt and Uncle lived in Mastic Beach for 30 years. Never heard them complain. My Grandfather left Florida and moved to Shirley about two years ago. He's 86 and lives by himself. So far, no problems.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by Brooklyn-Shirley

Greetings everyone...

I am in the process of migrating from Brooklyn, NY to Shirley, NY - yes, a HUGE change in life...but, marriage and a baby can encourage a person to seek some peace and tranquility from the city. As a result, I have a TON of questions...

1. How is the commute to Manhattan from Shirley on the LIRR?

2. How are the day care centers? Any recommendations? Preferably near the LIRR...

Any additional information about life in Shirley would be most helpful!

Brooklyn-Shirley

[GypsySoul22]

My sister lives in Shirley.
She has four kids, none were in daycare but two of them qualified as preschoolers (the grade before kindergarten) for some lottery so they got a year free of preschool. (not sure if that was a town deal or what).

Like New Yorker said, parts are spotty (I think you will find this for many towns on Long Island. There are good parts and bad parts of town). The shopping is 'okay' according to my sister. I know there are TONS of dollar stores there (good ones).

There is a HeadStart but I don't know a lot about it.

Do you drive? I find William Floyd a bit daunting (there are many accidents on that road). But that is again driving on Long Island's crowded roads.

My sister is pleased with the school district despite the bad press.
What else do you want to know?

[kyle clark]

well let me start off by saying that i just moved to mastic(shirley=mastic=mastic beach) and let me tell you, this is unlike any other place ive lived in ny. i lived in queens and upstate. the first night i moved i left out some garden pots fertilizer, gardening hose, etc on my porch and what do you now it was gone in the morning. they stole my **** hose. my neighbor told me the same thing happened to her this summer. who the hell steals hoses!! also i would recommened staying away from the indian reservation area over there because its bad news. i was told by a few people not to be suprised if you here gun fire coming from in there. also at least once a week youll get a letter about a registered sex offender that moved to the area, not exagerating at all. hey if you like fast food youll have your choice of just about anything you want, theres even a roy rogers, i thought thoses were extinct. there all within 100 yards of each other, probably satisfy all the stoners and there munchies. i would say at least 70% of the people are on drugs or alcoholics, all it takes is a trip to the grocery store to see that. last but not least the school system is in disaray(william floyd). i think the middle school was something like the 3rd most violent school on long island, with the high school not to far behind. on ant given day you can drive down mastic road and see any where from 400-500 teenagers just hanging out soking pot or whatever not going to class. ive been told its getting worse and not better, something to think about if you have kids.
so its not the worst community its just not a ''7th heaven'' type place so if you move there with high expectations or even medium ones you might be dissapointed.


on a good note, if you like live entertainment there is this toothless ''singing lady'' who stands outside and sings for anyone who will listen. the locals call her mastic mary.

and finnaly some advice..... dont leave your gardening hose out!

[GypsySoul22]

Petty crime is a big thing. Bored kids do stupid things. My sister has had an egg thrown at her home, they stole her Halloween decoration, and there are numerous lights missing from her neighbor's house.

My sister has issues with neighbors but that's a Long Island thing, not Mastic Shirley specific.

[New_Yorker]

Issues with neighbors is an everywhere you have people kind of thing. Although I haven't seen it myself.

Originally Posted by GypsySoul22

Petty crime is a big thing. Bored kids do stupid things. My sister has had an egg thrown at her home, they stole her Halloween decoration, and there are numerous lights missing from her neighbor's house.

My sister has issues with neighbors but that's a Long Island thing, not Mastic Shirley specific.

[Brooklyn-Shirley]

wow - thank you all for the quick replies! I don't know where to begin...let's see...we do have a son. He is one. According to the location of our home, it's tagged to be in the Longwood school system - is that bad?

We heard about the good side and bad side of Sunrise...supposedly, our house is on the 'good' side of Sunrise. I hope that means no 'petty' crimes.

Thank you so much about information on the express train. I did not know there was one. How far is Ronkonkoma? That's something to consider doing. I checked the LIRR and it's calling for $300 a month-ouch!

[snowbound]

Just Curious as to why you would want to move to the Mastic area. There are alot better towns, I know the houses are cheaper but there are alternatives.

[LBNY]

Hi -

1. Don't go shopping at the Bellport outlets (off Sunrise Hwy). There are the Tanger outlets (Riverhead) that are nicer. Great stores.

2. You may want to travel just a little further east to do grocery shopping. Head east on Montauk Hwy and you will reach Manorville. It's less congested.

3. Try a day care in Ronkonkoma, maybe even Bohemia (which is a nice area).

4. Keep those doors locked (not that you wouldn't anyway).

The commute to the Ronkonkoma train station is about 25 minutes during the morning rush. Take LIE to exit 60 and head South on Hawkins Avenue. That will take you right into the station.

Best of Luck!!

P.S. from what I hear, it's best you lock your hose up to a permanent fixture outside. : )

[Brooklyn-Shirley]

Honestly, my husband and I were searching all over Long Island. We had looked at about 75 different homes spanning from Copiague to Shirley...we explored Deer Park, Central Islip, Islip, West Islip, Smithtown, Copiague, Amityville, Patchogue, Brentwood, Bayshore and Lindenhurst. Some places didn't tickle my fancy...others did. But for the most part, homes were all starting to look the same...ranch, with renovated basements, same layouts. We wanted a nice sized backyard for our son and hopefully "future kids" and we wanted a nice home. We found a home in Shirley, checked it out in person and we were completely floored. Aside from the commute, the home was absolutely gorgeous - located on a block completely filled with colonials...grand sized. We could not pass it up...and for the price - that just made it even better. We fell in love with it...now hearing all of the negative feedback about Shirley is a little surprising...but I am not disheartened. Instead, I am enlighted - so I thank all of you.

I'm from Brooklyn, so yes, my doors would be locked whether I lived there or on a deserted island - hahaha

So...in a nutshell...we liked the neighborhood...we liked the neighbors...and most importantly, we loved the house. The inspector confirmed that the house was one of the best designed homes he's had the chance to inspect...and he served as our inspector for 3 homes that we've bid on.