AHHH HELP, please! (Hempstead, Babylon, Union: apartment complex, rental market, condos)

[dsprate]

This moving to NYC stuff is way TOO hard. Just an example (please don't judge me by what I'm about to tell you)....

My fiance is a fashion model and I'm an independent marketing consultant. She recently signed a contract with a great NYC modeling agency and they are optimistic about her future (and I am too!). So obviously, it came time to move to NYC from our cushy life on Miami Beach. My job isn't affected because I do what I do on my phone anywhere in the country.

So we make decent money and figuired we'd go for a place in upper west side, and applied at a few co-ops. Guess what? They all denied us! Saying we're too young (she's 23, I'm 27), and un-married. WHAT? RIDICULOUS!

We've lived in the city before in the East Village 4 years ago...and have decided that we are going to try and do something outside of the city.

So after weeks of lurking and reading on this forum...I'm afraid you all have confused me worse than before I starting reading...so now I hope you'll help me out.

We are an attractive white couple. Love cooking at home. Travel frequently. Must commute to the city nearly everyday(but primarily off-peak). Obviously, we'd prefer to not have to deal with buying/owning a car given that we haven't needed one in Miami Beach(keep overhead low)..but we realize that if we go to Long Island we'd need one(a la grocery shopping). We don't mind a train ride/commute but prefer to keep it under an hour one way to the city.

ALRIGHT, here's where you ALL start to hate us. Everyone on this forum seems to have something against the "RENTER's". We really have no desire to reside in NY for all that long, but right now accepting this job is the best thing we can do for our future family. Does that make me what so many of you call a "migrant worker"? I hope not!

So I'm looking to start a dialogue about good places on LI or in Queens/Brooklyn that would be good for me to investigate further. Growing up, my Italian father always spoke about what a great community LI was..hopefully it still is and someone will help guide me through the most important decision thus far in my life.

Thank You for your time and help. God Bless!

[NY62]

Train ride 1 hour from sayville or ronkonkoma. you need a car on the island and expect rent around 1500 to 2500 depending on what you want. new apartments in bohemia vets highway and broadway ave they look like condos very nice check them out looks like a gated community.that is in between sayville and ronkonkoma stations. and you can ride down into sayville town you would like that. good luck

[4StanleyCups]

Trust me on this: You and your fiance are NOT, repeat NOT, what anyone on this forum is talking about when they say "migrant worker"!

What's meant here by the term is someone who is most likely an undocumented immigrant from Mexico or South America and is working here in one of the "service industries".

You're legal, you're yuppies (meant as a compliment), therefore we love ya. ;-)

Now to logistics. If you're looking at an hour's commute by train to Penn Station, try something in or near the Village of Babylon. Many of the trains originate there (the others are on the Montauk line) which is a plus in the mornings although you say you'd travel off-peak. There are quite a few express trains from Babylon to Jamaica (Penn is 2 stops past Jamaica) during peak hours. A monthly commute from Bablylon to Penn is currently $239. That's for the train (LIRR) only, no subways which can be paid for with a Metrocard on $40 "refills" each.

If you're looking for a one-year rental in a traditional garden apartment, there is a place called Somerset Village which is just north of Babylon Village. Website is here

Somerset Village

I don't know what the interiors are like but it's worth checking out if it's in your pricerange and you prefer something other than an apartment in a private home.

For those, IMO because you're coming from outside this area you'd be better served by going through a local realtor to find one. It will cost you a month's rent in commission/fee but at least you will be able to make it clear to the realtor that you don't want to end up in an illegal apartment which you could be tossed out of anytime that the owner's neighbor gets p'd off and rats him out to the Town....

[wardlwag]

I now live on Long Island but prior to our house purchase here we lived in Brooklyn Heights...it is beautiful there and 1 subway stop to lower Manhattan..we moved there when we were in our 20's and had our first child there...when I got pregnant again we sold our co-op at a huge profit and moved to Long Island...I wish I could afford to go back to the Heights...beautiful brownstones, great parks, promenade with view of Manhattan, a great family atmosphere...try looking there, it has alot more to offer a young single couple with no kids than Long Island...it may be very pricey there now so you could also consider Cobble Hill which is on the other side of Atlantic Avenue...also a great neighborhood with great restaurants...good luck

[fopt65]

If you want to be closer to Manhattan, look at Astoria. It's the first subway stop in Queens. Plenty of apartments both buildings and 2-3 family homes. It is becoming more popular for younger people starting out in their careers. Plenty of restaurants, shopping etc. You could get by without a car here. Having a car would be an annoyance as parking is tough.

[dsprate]

Thanks everybody for the help...Glad to see people still care!

As far as multiple family homes..OUT OF THE QUESTION!!!

Keep 'em coming...again thank you for the help!

[4StanleyCups]

Just as a point of comparison: There is a brand-new apartment complex in Nassau County (technically in Westbury but it is at the extreme southern end of Westbury, where Westbury 'touches' both East Meadow and the northeastern part of Uniondale... it's right off where the Meadowbrook Parkway meets Stewart Avenue) built by Archstone. I know from personal experience (a close relative lived in one of their properties for 3 years very recently) that Archstone is one of the best rental property development/management companies in the Northeast.

They are gated communities with the usual upscale amenities (clubhouse, pool, fitness center, computer center, meeting rooms, etc etc). Their website for the Westbury location is here:

http://www.archstoneapartments.com/A...tone_Westbury/

You can view the prices for each kind of apartment by changing the "move in date" (right now they all say "Not Available" but apparantly that meant "not YET available.. change the date to after Oct 1st).

The one-bedroom (765 sq ft) seems to be going for $2390.

So that's at the upper end of the non-multi-family rental market. Also, since these are in Nassau County (closer to NYC) they will naturally be more expensive than something in Suffolk.

A plus to the Archstone properties is that they almost always have an integral garage (a garage actually part of each apartment, from which you can enter and exit). That is unheard of in private-home apartments, and rarely found in garden-apartment properties either.

You'd appreciate a garage from December through most of March, especially since you're coming from snowless Florida.

Actually it won't be the snow as many times as the coating of ice needing to be scraped off the windshield....

[baylovers]

You guys sound like the trendy type.... check out Long Beach. Less than an hour to midtown by LIRR, lots of good restaurants some decent bars.

There are several nice apartment buildings that are along the boardwalk/beach. It may give you a little of your "Miami spice" while in NY.

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by 4StanleyCups

There is a brand-new apartment complex in Nassau County (technically in Westbury but it is at the extreme southern end of Westbury, where Westbury 'touches' both East Meadow and the northeastern part of Uniondale... it's right off where the Meadowbrook Parkway meets Stewart Avenue) built by Archstone.

That area is in the Hamlet of East Garden City: it's in that part of the Hamlet of East Garden City that has a "Westbury, NY 1590" mailing address (other parts of the Hamlet of East Garden City have a "Garden City, NY 11530", "Uniondale, NY 11553" and "Hempstead, NY 11550" mailing address).


For those who may not be familiar with East Garden City:

East Garden City is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the northeast part of the Town of Hempstead, in the central part of Nassau County, along the Hempstead/North Hempstead town line.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of East Garden City in the Town of Hempstead is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Carle Place and the Village of Westbury in the Town of North Hempstead (the Hempstead/North Hempstead town line); on the east by the Hamlet of East Meadow; on the south by the Hamlet of Uniondale and the Village of Hempstead; and, on the west by the Village of Hempstead and the Village of Garden City.





East Garden City is one of those many villages and hamlets on Long Island where none of the places in the community have the hamlet name as part of their mailing address: places in the Hamlet of East Garden City have a "Garden City, NY 11530", "Westbury, NY 11590", "Uniondale, NY 11553" and "Hempstead, NY 11550" mailing address.

Here are some well-known places that are in the Hamlet of East Garden City:

Cradle of Aviation Museum, East Garden City (Garden City P.O.)
Fortunoff, East Garden City (Westbury P.O.)
Hofstra University Dorms, East Garden City (Hempstead P.O.)
Mall at The Source, East Garden City (Westbury P.O.)
Nassau County Community College, East Garden City (Garden City P.O.)
Nassau County Veterans Memorial Coliseum, East Garden City (Uniondale P.O.)
Roosevelt Field, East Garden City (Garden City P.O.)


For a good set of town-by-town maps showing all the villages and hamlets in each of LI's 13 towns (3 in Nassau County and 10 in Suffolk County): http://www.city-data.com/forum/long-...-resource.html

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by 4StanleyCups

Just as a point of comparison: There is a brand-new apartment complex in Nassau County (technically in Westbury but it is at the extreme southern end of Westbury, where Westbury 'touches' both East Meadow and the northeastern part of Uniondale... it's right off where the Meadowbrook Parkway meets Stewart Avenue) built by Archstone. I know from personal experience (a close relative lived in one of their properties for 3 years very recently) that Archstone is one of the best rental property development/management companies in the Northeast.

They are gated communities with the usual upscale amenities (clubhouse, pool, fitness center, computer center, meeting rooms, etc etc). Their website for the Westbury location is here:

http://www.archstoneapartments.com/A...tone_Westbury/

You can view the prices for each kind of apartment by changing the "move in date" (right now they all say "Not Available" but apparantly that meant "not YET available.. change the date to after Oct 1st).

The one-bedroom (765 sq ft) seems to be going for $2390.

So that's at the upper end of the non-multi-family rental market. Also, since these are in Nassau County (closer to NYC) they will naturally be more expensive than something in Suffolk.

A plus to the Archstone properties is that they almost always have an integral garage (a garage actually part of each apartment, from which you can enter and exit). That is unheard of in private-home apartments, and rarely found in garden-apartment properties either.

You'd appreciate a garage from December through most of March, especially since you're coming from snowless Florida.

Actually it won't be the snow as many times as the coating of ice needing to be scraped off the windshield....

Archstone was in the news late last year -- it is LOADED with TOXIC MOLD!

Toxic Mold in Westbury, Long Island Apartment Complex Forces Residents to Relocate
Long Island Toxic Mold Victims to Get Relocation Assistance